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FOCUS QUESTION Where did Australians fight in World War 2? ACTIVITY 2 Mapping the Australian experience of World War 2 Your task To produce a map showing where Australians fought in World War 2. This map may also be illustrated – e.g. with photographs showing some of the key actions surrounding the map. Using the evidence 1 Read through Source 2.1, the outline or overview of the war. Using an atlas, mark on the blank outline map (Source 2.2) the places underlined in the narrative. 2 From the summary, discuss what you think might have been the best things, and the worst things, about living through the war? 3 Working in groups, list five questions you would ask of somebody who had been involved in the war in one of the areas. You should have four different lists of five questions, one set for each ‘front’. 4 Discuss your questions in class. At the end of your discussion, revise your list so that you have the ten best questions for each front. 5 a b c d e f g h i j k l 16 Now answer these questions about the war. Why did Britain go to war? Why did Australia join? Why do you think Britain, alone among the nations of Europe, was not invaded by Germany? A major part of the war was the struggle in the Atlantic between German submarines and convoys of ships from the United States carrying supplies to Britain. Why would this have been such an important battle area? Why would the entry of Russia into the war have had such an important effect on the war? Why did Japan enter the war? Why did the USA? Why was Port Moresby so important in the Pacific War? Why would Australians have put troops in places such as Ambon and Timor? The Japanese conquest of Asia and the Pacific put great strain on her supply lines. Explain what this means. Why would Japan’s and America’s aircraft carriers have been so important in fighting the Pacific War? Many merchant ships were sunk in the waters around Australia. Why do you think the merchant ships were in those waters? Why do you think they would have been attacked by German and Japanese submarines? Why was Germany defeated? Why was Japan defeated? Source 2.1 An overview of the war …’ 1939 – ‘Australia is at war nding its territory. During the 1930s Germany was expa Britain and nd. Pola de In 1939 it threatened to inva they would ded, inva any Germ if France warned that ember, and Sept 1 on de inva did any Germ declare war. war. ared decl on 3 September Britain and France in Australia were Australia was a British nation. People were also very opposed to German expansion, but they Government sh Briti the closely tied to Britain. When unced that anno zies Men ster Mini e declared war, Prim . war’ at also was ‘Australia to make a With the coming of war, Australia had nce (there was defe e hom after look to ther decision: whe power), or to its a fear that Japan might try and expand pledged its had n Japa commit troops to help England. that it was ralia Aust red assu had neutrality, and England at l base Singapore secure from Japan – the British nava rds Australia. So towa would stop any Japanese advance War. pean Euro a to Australia committed itself a war, and in Australia was not well-prepared to fight Menzies ster Mini e this early part of the war Prim e an whil l’ Usua As s ines stressed that it was ‘Bus d. The lope deve were em syst ly supp and effective force of the rol cont the r Royal Australian Navy was put unde ; and men ing train and iting British; the Army began recru e. Forc Air l Roya the help to ised RAAF men were prom The War in Europe In the summer of 1940, German force s quickly overran much of Europe. By mid 1940, England was the only European nation still fighting against Germany. In the Battle of Britain, Germany’s Luftwaffe tried to control the skies so it could launch a sea-borne invasion of Britain. However this tactic failed. Germany conc entrated on bombing British cities, while the Briti sh attacked German supply centres. Australian RAAF volunteers were sent to Britain in large numbers, mostly as bomber and fight er crews. These men flew hundreds of dangerous missions eventually striking at the heart of Germany itself. When Russ ia and the USA entered the war during 1941, Germany faced overwhelming opposition. On D Day, 6 June 1944, the Allies launched an invasion of Europe from the west. At the same time Russia pushed towards Germany from the east. Germany finally surrendered on 8 May 1945. Source 2.1 Continued The War in North Africa, the dle East Mediterranean and the Mid in North Africa, the Australians played an important role between 1940 Mediterranean area and the Middle East and 1942. e in the Royal Australian Navy ships were activ from 1940, and Navy n Italia the nst agai n anea Mediterr The ships took uk. Tobr supported Australian troops at t, frequently nigh by ps troo supplies to the besieged affe. Luftw an Germ the from k attac under heavy Middle East early Australian troops had been sent to the ating Italian defe in ul essf succ very in 1940. They were forces in Syria. troops at Benghazi, and Vichy French an troops who Germ the The biggest test came against strategically a uk, Tobr of port were trying to take the y thousands man ding inclu ps, troo d Allie . important area off repeated hold to of Australians, dug in and were able had ans Germ and determined attacks. The s as ‘rats’ in contemptuously referred to the defender title with pride, this on took ns ralia Aust the – their holes Australians uk’. Tobr and called themselves the ‘Rats of at the ans Germ the ating were prominent also in defe . 1942 in ein Battles of El Alam Greece and Crete Australian troops were sent to defend they were forced n paig cam s strou in 1941, but in a disa and thousands to retreat, with the loss of many dead taken prisoner. The War in Asia and the Pac ific The Pacific War began because Japa n was trying to obtain supplies of raw materials - such as rubber and tin - which were vital to its industrial expa nsion. It was also seeking to create a great Empire in Asia . It launched invasions of Thailand and Malaya, and attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The United States was the only country with sufficient naval power to oppose Japan in the Pacific – but the Japanese missed their most vital target in the Pearl Harbor attack, the American aircraft carriers. The Japanese soon fought their way down the Malayan Peninsula to Singapore, the supposed ly mighty British fortress which would stop them. Sing apore fell in February 1942 and thousands of Allie d troops, including over 15,000 Australians, became priso ners of the Japanese. The Japanese advance towa rds Australia was eventually stopped in New Guinea, first by our own soldiers and then with the help of Ame rican forces. The Japanese invasion fleet was defeated in the naval Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway; their army suffered its first major defeats at Milne Bay, Buna and Gona early in 1943; throughout the remainder of the war they suffered defeats in New Guinea and Borneo; yet it was not until 15 August 1945 before the tenacious Japanese surrendered after atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. s The War on the Home Front and in Australian Water At home, men and women were conscripted into industries essential to the war effort. Women had a role as nurses in the services, but as increasing numbers of men were sent overseas to fight, women were allowed and encouraged to join the Air Force, Army and Navy in new support roles. Engineers and labourers were conscripted into the Civil Construction Corps to construct landing strips, and to build roads to carry supplies to the northern front at Darwin. Women did essential work in factories but most did not receive equal pay, although they did the same work as men. Wives, sisters and mothers, aided by the Women’s Land Army, took up the burden on farms as thousands of farmers went overseas. However the main role for most women continued to be that of home maker, a job made much harder and more demanding by the blackouts, rationing, shortages and the tragedies of wartime life. Wartime difficulties and shortages generally brought Australians together, but there were tensions caused by ‘black market’ operators, wartime restrictions, the presence of the ‘free spending’ American forces and the strikes on the wharves and in the coal mines. At times of greatest crises – such as the bombing of Darwin and the shelling of Sydney and Newcastle by Japanese submarines – some Australians acted selfishly by hoarding goods, or ignoring what was best for the community as a whole. But most Australians on the home front did voluntary work, accepted shortages and discomforts, and supported the troops in the struggle for victory. 17 Source 2.2 0 5000km 18 World map outline