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Period: to
World War 2 from start to finish
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Conscription in Australia
In 1939 all unmarried men aged 21 were enrolled in millitia training for 3 months. These men could serve only in Australia or its territories. Conscription was effectively introduced in mid-1942, when all men 18–35, and single men aged 35–45, were required to join the Citizens Military Forces. -
Second Australian Imperial Force
On 15 September 1939, Menzies announced the formation of the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF). This was an expeditionary force, which initially consisted of 20,000 men organised into an infantry division (the 6th Division) and auxiliary units. -
The Sinking of HMAS Sydney
On 19 November 1941, HMAS Sydney, a light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy with an impressive record of war service, was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK Kormoran in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. The loss of the Sydney with its full war complement of 645 remains Australia’s worst naval disaster. -
Seige Of Tebruk
The Siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted for 241 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The siege started on 11 April 1941, when Tobruk was attacked by an Italo–German force under Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, and continued for 240 days up to 27 November 1941, when it was relieved by the Allied 8th Army during Operation Crusader. -
The Papuan Campaign
The Papuan campaign led to a significant reform in the composition of the Australian Army. During the campaign, the restriction banning CMF personnel from serving outside of Australian territory hampered military planning and caused tensions between the AIF and CMF -
Guerilla Campaign on Timor
Australian special forces played a significant role in the Pacific War. Following the outbreak of war commando companies were deployed to Timor, the Solomon and Bismarck islands and New Caledonia. Although the 1st Independent Company was swiftly overwhelmed when the Japanese invaded the Solomon Islands in early 1942, the 2/2nd and 2/4th independent companies waged a successful guerrilla campaign on Timor which lasted from February 1942 to February 1943 -
Bombing of Darwin
The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin,[5] on 19 February 1942 was both the first and the largest single attack mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On this day, 242 Japanese aircraft attacked ships in Darwin's harbour and the town's two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasions of Timor and Java. The town was only lightly defended and the Japanese inflicted heavy losses upon the Allied forces at little cost to themselv -
Attack on Sydney Harbour
In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, submarines belonging to the Imperial Japanese Navy made a series of attacks on the cities of Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarines, each with a two-member crew, entered Sydney Harbour, avoided the partially constructed Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net, and attempted to sink Allied warships. Two of the midget submarines were detected and attacked befo -
The Sinking of HMAS Canberra
On 9 August 1942, Canberra was struck by the opening Japanese shots of the Battle of Savo Island, and was quickly damaged. Unable to propel herself, the cruiser was evacuated and sunk in Ironbottom Sound by two American destroyers. The United States Navy Baltimore class cruiser USS Canberra was named in honour of the Australian ship, and is the only US warship named for either a foreign warship or a foreign capital city. -
Australia recaptures Kokoda
It is however 2 November 1942, when the Australians returned permanently, which is the official date of the recapture of Kokoda. On that day a patrol from 2/31st Battalion, the vanguard of Maroubra Force, entered Kokoda Government Station to find the Japanese had left two days before. By the afternoon the whole battalion had arrived and secured the area, capturing also Kokoda village, two kilometres away to the east on the track leading to the north coast. -
Cost of WW2 to Australia
Total Australian war expenditure was £2,949,380,000 and at its peak in 1942–43, military costs accounted for 40.1 percent of national income. This cost covered all costs involving the war such as transportation for troops, production of weapons etc...
