Australia During World War II
Politics
During World War II Australia had five prime ministers Robert Menzies, Arthur Fadden, John Curtin, Frank Forde and Ben Chifley. Prime Minister Robert Menzies influenced how Australia participated in the world significantly since he served from the of 26 April 1939 to 28 August 1941. At the beginning of the war when Menzies heard that Britain would be going to war he said “in consequence of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her, and that, as a result, Australia is also at war”- Menzies. The following four prime ministers who served during World War II did not last long. Many felt that they were not suited for this huge responsibility and stepped down. In the case of Prime Minister Francis Forde he only last 8 days from the 6th of July 1945 to the 13th of July 1945, the shortest term for an Australian prime minister.
Citizens
For common people the war had both positive and negative aspects. A negative was that the government at this point controlled a lot of civilians lives such as the news they could see (censorship) since they didn’t want spies to see vital information. The government controlled what people saw more then ever before. However a positive was that during the war the economy actually improved because job opportunities opened up and it allowed people to get out of the Great Depression. The government also encouraged people to save there money and raised tax prices. Because of that Australian citizens were encouraged to donate there money to war efforts by the government in which was called by Prime Minister John Curtin “the season of austerity”. Another aspect that certain people had to deal with was complete opposite causing blackouts, rationing, shortages and the tragedies of wartime life. |
Military Technology
Over the course of World War II there were a total of 30 australian gun types. The most common gun was the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III, this rifle was originally created by the UK but then australia licensed it. Once the war began many soldiers would have this rifle and especially in December 1941, as Japan had attacked pearl harbour and then Singapore Australia the declared war on Japan. The prime minister said “We did not wait for British declaration, nor did we consider ourselves a part of the British declaration”.
Significant Battles
Since Australia was and is part of the commonwealth when Britain declared war Australia was also at war. At this point Australia was not prepared to fight a war and because of that the Royal Australian Navy was put under Britain’s control. Since war was happening even though the Phoney War was going on the army still began recruiting and training soldiers. The Military units formed fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and the South West Pacific theatre.
The Bombing of Darwin:
On the 19th of February 1942 Australia had its first and largest direct attack from a foreign power on homeland. 242 Japanese aircrafts came into the town of Darwin dropping bombs since they were hoping that they could prevent allies from creating bases against the axis power. During this attack 235 people were killed with an additional 300-400 people injured. Before the attack Darwin had 5800 citizens, meaning Darwin is a very small harbour town. However after the attack Darwin lost half of its population the reason being both because of the casualties as well as people moving since they were scared that this could happen again. Even though the community was impacted so drastically they fought back willing against the attack. That day the Japanese lost Four aircrafts, two Val bombers and two zero fighters. This was what caused the first prisoner of war to be taken on Australian soil since one of the fighters crashed on Melville Island which is north of Darwin and its pilot was captured by a local aboriginal man.
There is a movie called Australia that has a seen about the bombing of Darwin.
There is a movie called Australia that has a seen about the bombing of Darwin.
AHS Centaur:
On the 14th of may 1943 the hospital ship called the centaur coming from Sydney and going to Cairns was suddenly attacked by a Japanese submarine. On board there were 332 people sadly however only 64 survived.
Battle of Crete:
My great grandfather Ralph Thomas Lowe on the maternal side of my family battled in the battle of Crete. He also served in Egypt, Libya, Western Dessert, Greece, Crete, Palestine. This is a certificate of serving during the war and a picture of him and his metals he was awarded.
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On May 1941 Australian, New Zealand and British troops were involved in ten days of desperate fighting against German forces on the strategically important island of Crete. This was the battle between the commonwealth and Germany.
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The Cowra Breakout:
The Cowra breakout occurred on 5 August 1944, when at least 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war attempted to escape from a prisoner of war camp near Cowra, in New South Wales, Australia.
The Battle of the Coral Sea:
The Battle of the Coral Sea occurred from May 4 to May 8 1942. This was the first air-sea battle in history when Japan wanted to control the Coral Sea. However in the end the allied powers (Australia, United Kingdom and America) had won.
Works Cited:
Black, David. Menzies and Curtin in World War Two. John Curtin Prime Ministerail Library, 2006, john.curtin.edu.au/ww2leaders/governments.html. Accessed May 3 2018.
Military Factory. GlobalFirepower, 2018, www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/ww2-australian-guns.asp. Accessed May 6 2018.
Somoron, Bruce. Quora. September 3 2016, www.quora.com/What-guns-did-Australians-use-during-ww2. Accessed May 6 2018.
Alger, Nathan. Prezi. April 15 2013, prezi.com/pltqqrll0al1/impact-of-world-war-2-on-the-australian-government/. Accessed May 6 2018.
Australian war Memorial. www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/lookingback. Accessed May 6 2018.
National Archives of Australia. 2018, www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs195.aspx. Accessed May 6 2018.
Australian War Memorial. www.awm.gov.au/articles/second-world-war. Accessed May 3 2018.
Military Factory. GlobalFirepower, 2018, www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/ww2-australian-guns.asp. Accessed May 6 2018.
Somoron, Bruce. Quora. September 3 2016, www.quora.com/What-guns-did-Australians-use-during-ww2. Accessed May 6 2018.
Alger, Nathan. Prezi. April 15 2013, prezi.com/pltqqrll0al1/impact-of-world-war-2-on-the-australian-government/. Accessed May 6 2018.
Australian war Memorial. www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/lookingback. Accessed May 6 2018.
National Archives of Australia. 2018, www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs195.aspx. Accessed May 6 2018.
Australian War Memorial. www.awm.gov.au/articles/second-world-war. Accessed May 3 2018.