MILITARY HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA DURING WORLD WAR II

'Australia entered World War II' shortly after the invasion of Poland, declaring war on Germany on September 3, 1939. By the end of the war almost a million Australians had served in the Australian armed forces and Australian military units had seen combat in Europe, North Africa, and the South-West Pacific. In addition, Australia came under direct attack for the first time in its history. 39,366 Australians were killed and 23,477 were wounded by enemy action during the war.

Contents

Between the wars

Outbreak of war

Europe, North Africa and the Middle East

Prelude

North African Campaign

Greek Campaign

Syria-Lebanon Campaign

The siege of Tobruk

El Alamein

The RAAF in the Middle East and Mediterranean

Battle of the Mediterranean

The Royal Australian Air Force in Britain

War in the Pacific

Prelude

Malaya and Singapore

Netherlands East Indies and Rabaul

The Defence of Australia

Northern Territory defence

New Guinea Campaign, 1942-43

Mopping up in New Guinea and the Solomons

Borneo Campaign

The RAAF in the Pacific

Naval war in the Pacific and Indian Ocean

Australians in other theatres

Australian intelligence and special forces

Prisoners of war

Home front

After the war

Campaigns

See also

Notes

References

External links

Between the wars

In the years leading up to the war Australia followed British policy towards Nazi Germany. Australia was supportive of the policy of appeasing Germany and later supported Britain's guarantee of Polish independance.^[1]

Outbreak of war

Australia declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 after the British ultimatum for Germany to withdraw from Poland expired. Australia's first shot of the war was fired several hours later when a gun at Fort Queenscliff fired across the bows of an Australian ship which was attempting to leaving Melbourne without the required clearances.^[2]
At the time of declaration the Australian armed forces were less well prepared for war than they had been at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.^[3] While the Government began a large military expansion and transferred Australian warships and RAAF aircrew and units to British control, it was unwilling to immediately dispatch an expeditionary force overseas due to the threat posed by Japanese intervention.^[4]
On 15 September 1939, Menzies announced the formation of the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF), an expeditionary force of 20,000, to consist of one infantry division and whatever auxiliary units the Army could raise within this troop ceiling. On 15 November 1939, Menzies announced the reintroduction of conscription for home defence service effective 1 January 1940. Unmarried men turning 21 in the year ending 30 June 1940 would be drafted into the Militia. Because of this, the AIF could not accept personnel who were in reserved occupations.^[5]

Europe, North Africa and the Middle East

Prelude

During the first years of World War II Australia's military strategy was closely aligned with that of the United Kingdom. In line with this, Australia's war effort was concentrated in the Middle East and Mediterranean Sea. Most Australian Army units in 1939 were Militia (reserve) units barred under Australian law at the time from serving outside Australia and Australian overseas territories. The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) was formed in 1939 as Australia’s expeditionary force and would eventually consist of four divisions raised in 1939–40: the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th.
The Australian Army saw action in North Africa, Greece, Crete and Lebanon. The 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions, as the Australian I Corps faced Italian and German forces in the Middle East, Greece, and North Africa.

North African Campaign

The Australian Army first saw action in Operation Compass, the successful Commonwealth offensive in North Africa which was conducted between December 1940 and February 1941. The 6th Divsion relieved the 4th Indian Division on 14 December. Although the 6th Division was not fully equipped, it had completed its training and was given the task of capturing Italian fortresses bypassed by the British 7th Armoured Division during its advance.^[6]
The 6th Division went into action at Bardia on 3 January 1941. Although the fortress was manned by a larger Italian force, the aggressive Australian infantry quickly penetrated the defensive lines with the support of British tanks and artillery. The majority of the Italian force surrendered on 5 January and the Australians took 40,000 prisoners.^[7] The 6th Division followed up this success by assaulting the fortress of Tobruk on 21 January. Tobruk was secured the next day with 25,000 Italian prisoners being taken.^[8]
Following the fall of Tobruk the 6th Division pushed west along the coast road to Cyrenaica and captured Benghazi on 4 February.^[9] The 6th Division was withdrawn for deployment to Greece later in February and was replaced by the untested 9th Division.^[10]

Greek Campaign

In 1941, the 6th Division took part in the ill-fated Allied expedition to defend Greece from a German invasion. Outnumbered by the Germans, the allies were driven off the Greek mainland. The 19th Brigade Group then took part in the Battle of Crete. The Crete campaign also went badly for the Allies and were forced to evacuate. The Allies experienced many casualties, lost much equipment, and approximately 3,000 members of the division, who could not be evacuated, were taken prisoner in the Greek campaign, which included Crete.
The Allied defeat during the Greek Campaign indirectly contributed to a change of government in Australia. Prime Minister Menzies' leadership had been weakened by the lengthy period he spent in Britain in early 1941, and the high Australian losses in the Greek Campaign led many members of his United Australia Party (UAP) to conclude that Menzies was not capable of leading the Australian war effort. Menzies resigned on 26 August after losing the confidence of his party and was replaced by Arthur Fadden. The UAP government collapsed on 3 October and was replaced by a Australian Labor Party government under the leadership of John Curtin.^[11]

Syria-Lebanon Campaign

Main articles: Syria-Lebanon campaign

The 7th Divsion and the 17th Brigade from the 6th Division formed part of the Allied force in the successful Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Lebanon and Syria in 1941. Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft joined the Royal Air Force in providing close air support.

The siege of Tobruk

On 6 April, 1941, the 9th Division was ordered to enter and defend the important port town of Tobruk which General Wavell, the commander of the British Middle East Command, had ordered be held for at least two months. Reinforced by the 18th Brigade of the 7th Division and British artillery and armoured regiments, the 9th Division successfully defended the port for over 6 months. Through the use of existing fortifications, aggressive patrolling and the firepower of the garrison's artillery the Australian force successfully contained and defeated repeated German armoured and infantry attacks on the fortress. Upon the request of the Australian War Cabinet, the bulk of the 9th Division was withdrawn from Tobruk in September and October 1941. The defence of Tobruk cost the 9th Division 3,164 casualties (650 killed, 1,597 wounded and 917 captured).

El Alamein

In 1941, the 6th and 7th Divisions returned to Australia to face the Japanese threat. The 9th Division remained in North Africa under Maj. Gen. Leslie Morshead until victory over Erwin Rommel was assured. During early 1942 the Axis forces advanced steadily through north west Egypt. It was decided that the British Eighth Army should make a stand just over 100km east of Alexandria, at the railway siding of El Alamein. On 26 June 1942 the 9th Division was ordered to begin moving to El Alamein. The lead elements of the Division arrived at El Alamein on 6 July and the Division was assigned the most northerly section of the Commonwealth defensive line. The First Battle of El Alamein was a stalemate, but the Axis advance on Alexandria was halted. In October the Eighth Army decisively defeated the Axis forces in the Second Battle of El Alamein. In January 1943, the 9th Division started its return journey to Australia.

The RAAF in the Middle East and Mediterranean

The Australian contribution to the Desert Air Force (DAF) supporting the North Africa and the Mediterranean campaign included No. 3 Squadron RAAF which arrived in North Africa on August 23, 1940. The Squadron served with the DAF until the closing stages of the war in Europe, when it was transferred to the Australian First Tactical Air Force in the Pacific. By that time 3 Sqn had the most substantial service record of any DAF squadron, including the greatest number of kills (217 claims). At first it was equipped with the Gloster Gladiator, but by 1941 received the more modern Hawker Hurricane then the Curtiss Tomahawk. During El-Alamein it had the later Kittyhawk and was part of No. 239 RAF Wing, along with No. 450 Squadron RAAF. After the invasion of Italy, the Wing was transferred there. In late 1944 the squadron was equipped with North American Mustang till the end of the war.

Battle of the Mediterranean

At the onset of war, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) numbered two heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, five destroyers, three sloops and a variety of support and ancillary craft. From mid-1940, the RAN took part in the Battle of the Mediterranean as part of the British Mediterranean Fleet against Italy.
At the Battle of Calabria on July 9, 1940, the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy engaged ships of the Italian Regia Marina. The Australian force included the Leander class light cruiser HMAS ''Sydney'' and the destroyers HMAS ''Stuart'', HMAS ''Vampire'' and HMAS ''Voyager''. The outcome was inconclusive, but ''Sydney'' was credited with the sinking of the Italian destroyer ''Espero'' and shared honours in the sinking of the destroyer ''Zeffiro''.
Ten days later (19 July, 1940), ''Sydney'', with a British destroyer squadron in company, engaged the high-speed Italian light cruisers ''Bartolomeo Colleoni'' and ''Giovanni dalle Bande Nere'' (the Battle of Cape Spada). In the running battle which followed, ''Bartolomeo Colleoni'' was sunk. In September 1940, the County class heavy cruiser HMAS ''Australia'' sank a Vichy French destroyer while taking part in Operation Menace, off West Africa.

The Royal Australian Air Force in Britain

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) units served throughout the European Theatre of World War II, especially notable in RAF Bomber Command: they represented two percent of all RAAF personnel during the war, but accounted for 23% of the total number killed in action. This statistic is further illustrated by the fact that No. 460 Squadron RAAF, firstly flying the Vickers Wellington then the Avro Lancaster, had an official establishment of about 200 aircrew and yet had 1,018 combat deaths. The squadron was therefore effectively wiped out five times over. RAAF squadrons, including 460 Squadron, flew many missions in support of the D-Day landings in 1944 and Operation Manna, dropping food to relieve civilians facing starvation in the Netherlands in 1945. Overall, the Australian squadrons in Bomber Command dropped 6 percent of the total weight of bombs the Command dropped.^[12] Other Australian squadrons served as part of RAF Fighter Command and RAF Coastal Command and many Australian airmen served as members of British squadrons. The RAAF suffered heavy casualties in these campaigns, and 5,397 Australian airmen were killed in Europe and 1,135 in the Middle East.^[12]

War in the Pacific

Prelude

Due to the emphasis placed on cooperation with Britain relatively few Australian military units were retained in Australia and the Asia-Pacific Region. As war with Japan loomed in 1941, the 8th Division of the 2nd AIF was divided into four separate forces, which were eventually deployed in different parts of the Asia-Pacific region. The 8th Division was mostly destroyed by 1942. The Australian 1st Armoured Division was raised in 1941 and scheduled to deploy to North Africa but was retained in Australia to face a possible Japanese invasion.

Malaya and Singapore

''See also: Battle of Malaya and Battle of Singapore''

Netherlands East Indies and Rabaul

The Defence of Australia

Following the Japanese attacks on South East Asia in late 1941, Australia was attacked itself during the Air raids on Darwin, February 19, 1942, resulting in at least 243 civilian and military deaths. Australian troops were sent home from the Middle East to defend the country from a feared Japanese invasion of Australia. This invasion did not occur, however, and the Japanese did not ever intend to invade the Australian mainland.^[14]

The air raids on Darwin demonstrated how unprepared the RAAF was for the defence of Australia. Some RAAF squadrons were transferred back to Australia and to address the shortages of fighter and ground attack planes, US-built P-40 Kittyhawks were acquired and CAC Boomerang, an Australian designed fighter/close support aircraft, was manufactured.

Northern Territory defence

Following the bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942, an initial response was to create dispersed airstrips down the main road. In order southward were the airfields known as:

★ Sattler

★ Strauss

★ Hughes

★ Livingstone
Just north of Adelaide River were:

★ Coomalie

★ Pell

★ Batchelor

★ Gould
with Adelaide River being a headquarters, communications, stores, hospital, ammunition and war graves centre. South of it were airfields:

★ Fenton

★ Long

★ McDonald
and the Brocks Creek "Bulk Issue Petrol and Oil Depot (BIPOD).
Katherine had a major hospital and was a railway headquarters. Satellite airfields to its south were:

★ Tindall (bomber base)

★ Munbulloo (also a major military abottoir)

★ Venn

New Guinea Campaign, 1942-43

Australian forces in New Guinea, including brigades of the 6th and 7th Division, fought the Japanese along the Kokoda Track from July 1942 to January 1943. The Kokoda Track runs from outside Port Moresby on the Coral Sea and (depending on definition) runs 60-100 kilometres through the Owen Stanley Ranges to Kokoda and the coastal lowlands beyond by the Solomon Sea. The track crosses some of the most rugged and isolated terrain in the world and combines hot humid days with intensely cold nights, torrential rainfall and endemic tropical diseases. The track is passable only on foot; this had extreme repercussions for logistics, the size of forces and the type of warfare conducted on the Track. The Japanese objective was the capture of Port Moresby. After falling back from the Japanese attack, Australian commanders ordered in reinforcements and launched a counter-attack. After a vicious, see-sawing battle, Australian forces began to gain ground. Japanese marines launched an attack on Australian forces at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea (Battle of Milne Bay) on August 25, 1942 and fighting continued until the Japanese were forced to retreat in September. This was the first time Japanese troops had been defeated in a land battle since the start of the Pacific war. Thus it was a much needed morale boost for the allies. Units from the 6th and 7th Divisions, with US forces, re-took the north coast of New Guinea in the Battle of Buna-Gona towards the end of 1942-early 1943.

The 9th Division returned to Australia in 1943. Later that year it was pitched into battle against Japanese forces in New Guinea. By 1944, the 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions had been reunited at the operational level.

Mopping up in New Guinea and the Solomons

Borneo Campaign

Main articles: Borneo Campaign (1945)

The Borneo Campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area. In a series of amphibious assaults between May 1 and July 21, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. Allied naval and air forces, centred on the U.S. 7th Fleet under Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, the Australian First Tactical Air Force and the U.S. Thirteenth Air Force also played important roles in the campaign.
The campaign opened with a landing on the small island of Tarakan on May 1. This was followed on June 1 by simultaneous assaults in the north west, on the island of Labuan and the coast of Brunei. A week later the Australians attacked Japanese positions in North Borneo. The attention of the Allies then switched back to the central east coast, with the last major amphibious assault of World War II, at Balikpapan on July 1.
Although the campaign was criticised in Australia at the time, and in subsequent years, as pointless or a "waste" of the lives of soldiers, it did achieve a number of objectives, such as increasing the isolation of significant Japanese forces occupying the main part of the Dutch East Indies, capturing major oil supplies and freeing Allied prisoners of war, who were being held in deteriorating conditions.

The RAAF in the Pacific

RAAF Kittyhawks and Boomerangs came to play a crucial role in the New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Borneo campaigns, especially in operations like the Battle of Milne Bay. The RAAF's heavy bomber force was established in 1944 and comprised of 287 B-24 Liberators, which could bomb Japanese targets as far away as Borneo and the Philippines from airfields in Australia and the Netherlands East Indies.
The RAAF's main operational formation, the First Tactical Air Force, comprised more than 18,000 personnel and 20 squadrons; it had taken part in the Philippines and Borneo campaigns and was scheduled to participate in the invasion of the Japanese mainland, Operation Downfall. However, the war was brought to a sudden end by the US nuclear attacks on Japan. 3,342 RAAF personnel were killed during the Pacific War.^[12]

Naval war in the Pacific and Indian Ocean

There was Axis naval activity in Australian waters throughout the war. In November 1941, the HMAS ''Sydney'' was sunk with the loss of all hands (645 officers and men) after a battle with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, off the coast of Western Australia.
Following the Japanese attacks in December 1941 the RAN redeployed its larger ships to home waters to protect the Australian mainland from Japanese attack. At the Battle of Sunda Strait, in March 1942, the RAN suffered the loss of another Leander class vessel, HMAS ''Perth''.
The RAN took part in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, where HMAS ''Australia'' survived a brief but intense attack from Japanese torpedo bombers. The battle averted a Japanese attack on Port Moresby. HMAS ''Hobart'' also participated in the battle and would latter participate in the amphibious assaults on the Philippines and Borneo. She was in Tokyo for the Japanese surrender in 1945.
The most significant Japanese naval attacks in Australian waters occurred in May and June 1942, when Japanese submarines attacked Sydney and Newcastle. Three Japanese midget submarines were launched but only one actually attacked allied shipping in Sydney harbour, sinking the depot ship HMAS ''Kuttabul'' and damaging a Dutch submarine. On June 8, a Japanese submarine surfaced about 10 km (6 miles) off Sydney. For a four minute period, the submarine's deck gun was fired at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Every shot landed well short of its target, all but one of the shells failed to explode and there were no fatalities or serious injuries. The RAN's biggest single ship loss of the war was the sinking of the heavy cruiser HMAS ''Canberra'' at the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942.
In the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in 1943, Bristol Beaufighters of No. 30 Squadron RAAF proved to be highly effective ground attack and maritime strike aircraft, inflicting heavy loses on Japanese troop convoys, along with other RAAF squadrons. The battle was a combined operation with the United States Army Air Force and resulted in the sinking of 12 Japanese transporters and destroyers and hampered the Japanese forces in New Guinea.
At the Battle of Leyte Gulf, in October 1944, HMAS ''Australia'' became the first Allied ship to be hit by a kamikaze. The ship survived that and several other suicide attacks, although many crew members were killed. Overall, more than 30 Australian warships were lost in the war, the costliest in RAN history.

Australians in other theatres

Australian intelligence and special forces

Australia developed large intelligence services during the war. Prior the outbreak of war the Australian military possessed almost no intelligence gathering facilities and was reliant on information passed on by the British intelligence services. Several small signals intelligence units were established in 1939 and 1940 and these units had some success intercepting and deciphering Japanese transmissions before the outbreak of the Pacific War.^[16]
General MacArthur began organising large scale intelligence services shortly after his arrival in Australia. On 15 April 1942 the joint Australian-US Central Bureau signals intelligence organisation was established at Melbourne. Central Bureau's headquarters moved to Brisbane in July 1942 and Manila in May 1945. Australians made up half the strength of Central Bureau, which was expanded to a strength of over 4000 personnel by 1945.^[17]

Prisoners of war

30,000 Australians were taken prisoner by the Axis during the war. Only 14,000 of the 22,000 Australian prisoners taken by the Japanese survived captivity. The majority of these deaths were due to malnutition and disease. The treatment of Australian POWs led to many Australians continuing to be hostile to Japan after the war.^[18]

Home front

After the war

Campaigns

★ Greek campaign

★ Battle of Crete

★ Syria-Lebanon campaign

★ Battle of the Mediterranean

★
★ Battle of Calabria

★
★ Battle of Cape Spada

★ North Africa

★
★ Operation Compass

★
★ Siege of Tobruk

★
★ First Battle of El Alamein

★
★ Second Battle of El Alamein

★ Air combat in Europe

★ Malaya and Singapore

★
★ Battle of Malaya

★
★ Battle of Singapore

★ New Guinea

★
★ Battle of Rabaul (1942)

★
★ Kokoda Track Campaign

★
★ Battle of Milne Bay

★
★ Battle of Buna-Gona

★ Attacks on Australia

★
★ Air raids on Darwin, February 19, 1942

★
★ Japanese air attacks on Australia, 1942-43

★
★ Axis naval activity in Australian waters

★ Pacific naval combat

★
★ Battle of the Coral Sea

★
★ Battle of Savo Island

★
★ Battle of the Bismarck Sea

★
★ Battle of Leyte Gulf

★ Borneo campaign (1945)

★ British Commonwealth Occupation Force 1946–1951

See also

★ Military of Australia

★ Conscription in Australia

★ Planned invasion of Australia during World War II

★ RAAF units under RAF operational control

★ South West Pacific Area

★ Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945

Notes

1. Macintyre (1986). Page 325.
2. McKernan (1983). Page 4.
3. Coates (2001). Page 116.
4. Macintyre (1986). Page 326.
5. Long (1961). Page 39.
6. Long (1973). Page 54.
7. Long (1973). Pages 55-58.
8. Long (1973). Pages 60-62.
9. Long (1973). Page 63.
10. Coates (2001). Page 132.
11. McKernan (2006). Pages 125-133.
12. Long (1973). Page 393.
13. Long (1973). Page 393.
14. Dr. Peter Stanley (2002). He's (Not) Coming South: The Invasion That Wasn't
15. Long (1973). Page 393.
16. Horner (1982). Pages 224-225.
17. Horner (1982). Page 242.
18. Macintyre (1999). Pages 192-193.

References

★ Australian Women at War, , Patsy, Adam-Smith, Thomas Nelson Australia, 1984,

★ A Bastard of a Place. The Australians in Papua., , Peter, Brune, Allen & Unwin, 2003,

★ An Atlas of Australia's Wars, , John, Coates, Oxford University Press, 2001,

★ John Curtin. A life, , David, Day, HarperCollins Publishers, 1999,

★ Crisis of Command. Australian Generalship and the Japanese Threat, 1941-1943, , David, Horner, Australian National University Press, 1978,

★ High Command. Australia and Allied strategy 1939-1945, , David, Horner, Allen & Unwin with the assistance of the Australian War Memorial, 1982,

★ To Benghazi, , Gavin, Long, Australian War Memorial, 1961 (reprint),

★ The Six Years War. A Concise History of Australia in the 1939-1945 War, , Gavin, Long, The Australian War Memorial and the Australian Government Printing Service, 1973,

★ The Oxford History of Australia. Volume 4: 1901-1942 The Succeeding Age, , Stuart, Macintyre, Oxford University Press, 1986,

★ A Concise History of Australia, , Stuart, Macintyre, Cambridge University Press, 1999,

★ All in! Australia During the Second World War, , Michael, McKernan, Thomas Nelson Australia, 1983,

★ The Strength of a Nation. Six years of Australians fighting for the nation and defending the homeland during WWII, , Michael, McKernan, Allen & Unwin, 2006,

★ A Critical Vulnerability: The Impact of the Submarine Threat on Australia’s Maritime Defence (1915-1954), , David, Stevens, Sea Power Centre - Australia, 2005,

External links

★ Australian War Memorial Second World War 1939–45

★ RAAF in World War II - RAAF website