Download Australia and World War 2

Australians in World War 2
By Sea , Land and Air
Arenas of War
• Europe
• Nth Africa , Mediterranean and Middle
East
• Pacific
War in Europe
• In the summer of 1940, German forces 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
concentrated on bombing British cities, while the
British attacked German supply centres.
Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England, May 1944. Members of the ground crews of No
460 Squadron RAAF at their RAF Station, in front of "G for George" the
squadron's famous Avro Lancaster bomber, after the aircraft had been taken off
operational flying in April 1944. A total of 90 operational missions had been flown.
• Australian RAAF volunteers were sent to Britain
in large numbers, mostly as bomber and fighter
crews. These men flew hundreds of dangerous
missions eventually striking at the heart of
Germany itself. When Russia 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
Nth Africa, Mediterranean and
Middle East
• Australians played an important role in North
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Africa, the Mediterranean area and the Middle
East between 1940 and 1942
Royal Australian Navy ships were active in the
Mediterranean against the Italian navy from
1940, and supported Australian troops at
Tobruk. The ships took supplies to the besieged
troops by night, frequently under heavy attack
from the German Luftwaffe.
• Australian troops had been sent to the Middle East early
in 1941. They were very successful in defeating Italian
troops at Benghazi, and Vichy French forces in Syria.
The biggest test came against the German troops who
were trying to take the port of Tobruk, a strategically
important area. Allied troops, including many thousands
of Australians, dug in and were able to hold off repeated
and determined attacks. The Germans had
contemptuously referred to the defenders as 'rats' in
their holes - the Australians took on this title with pride,
and called themselves the 'Rats of Tobruk'. Australians
were prominent also in defeating the Germans at the
Battle of El Alamein in 1942
Rats of Tobruk
• Australian troops were sent to defend
Greece and Crete in 1941, but in a
disastrous campaign they were forced to
retreat, with the loss of many dead and
thousands taken prisoner.
9th Division
While perhaps too much has been made of the battle of El Alamein –
including such clearly jingoistic assessments that it was the turning point
in the war – the battle was very important for a number of reasons. It was
the battle that reignited Bernard Montgomery’s career, with him
eventually rising to the highest rank in the British Army and to command
Allied land forces in the D-Day landings. It was an early rehearsal for the
type of joint operations that were to become standard allied operating
procedures in north west Europe following the D-Day invasion.
Furthermore, it was the first large-scale battle fought by a British Army in
the desert in which all elements in the Army fought to the same plan and
same timetable, as a co-ordinated force.
Asia and the P acific
• The Pacific War began because Japan was trying to obtain
supplies of raw materials - such as rubber and tin - which
were vital to its industrial expansion. 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 Harbour 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 Harbour attack, the American aircraft carriers.
• The Japanese soon fought their way down the Malayan
Peninsula to Singapore, the supposedly mighty British
fortress which would stop them. Singapore fell in February
1942 and thousands of Allied troops, including over 15,000
Australians, became prisoners of the Japanese. The
Japanese advance towards Australia was eventually
stopped in New Guinea, first by our own soldiers and then
with the help of American forces
Timeline of the Pacific
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1941 December 7- Pearl Harbor attacked
1942 January 11-Japanese capture Kuala Lumpur, Malaya
February 15-Singapore surrenders
February 29-Japanese land on Java
January/February-Continuing Japanese attacks at Bataan,
Philippines
May3-, Battle of Coral Sea
June 4-Naval battle of Midway
July 21-Japanese land at Buna, New Guinea
September 11-Australians stop Japanese offensive against
Port Moresby, New Guinea
1943 September 15-Australians capture Lae, New Guinea
1945August 6-Atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan
1945August 9-bombing of Nagasaki, Japan
August 15-Emperor Hirohito announces surrender of Japan
Pearl Harbour
Pearl Harbour
• On 7 December 1941, the Japanese launched an attack
on the United States Pacific Fleet at its Pearl Harbor base
in Hawaii. The attack was not preceded by a declaration
of war, and took place while Japanese diplomats were in
Washington discussing American concerns about
continuing Japanese military aggression in East Asia.
These diplomatic discussions were intended by the
Japanese to distract the attention of Americans while
Japan secretly positioned a powerful aircraft carrier
striking force off the Hawaiian islands.
Spirit of the Digger
• “There were countless acts of
unrecognised courage as the
young Diggers held on grimly.
They ignored their lack of sleep,
their hunger and their fear as they
waited for the next assault. Some
positions rebuffed as many as ten
human-wave assaults in a day.
The Japanese dead piled up
around their perimeters like sacks
of grain. But they kept on
coming.” (from The Spirit of The
Digger)
Balikpapan, Borneo, 1945. Australian artillerymen of 8th Battery, 2/4th Australian
Field Regiment, in action at the landing at Balikpapan, pounding Japanese
positions 6000 yards away
General Douglas Macarthur
• Having been abandoned by Britain
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to a likely Japanese invasion,
Australia turned to the United
States for help, and it was
generously given.
On 22 February 1942, President
Roosevelt reluctantly ordered
General Douglas MacArthur to
abandon his hard-pressed army in
the Philippines and assume the
office of Supreme Commander,
South West Pacific Area (SWPA)
with headquarters in Australia
Battle of the Coral Sea
Turning Point in the Pacific
• The Battle of the Coral Sea was fought between the Japanese and
Allied navies from May 4 through May 8, 1942 in the Coral Sea, about 500
miles northeast of Australia. Occurring only six months after the surprise
attack at Pearl Harbor, it was one of the first naval battles fought in the
Pacific during World War II.
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• In the spring of 1942, Japanese forces planned to invade southern New
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Guinea, a move designed to knock Australia and New Zealand out of the
war. The Allies, including the U.S., Australia, and Great Britain, gathered a
large fleet to thwart the invasion
With the battle roughly a draw, both sides retreated but would meet again
a month later at the decisive Battle of Midway, 3,000 miles away in the
Hawaiian Islands.
The Battle of the Coral Sea was important for several reasons. It was the
first pure carrier-vs-carrier battle in history. Though only a draw, it was
also an important turning point in the war in the Pacific because, for the
first time, the Allies had stopped the Japanese advance. Before the battle,
the Japanese had enjoyed a continual string of victories while afterwards, it
suffered an almost continual series of defeats, including at Midway, a major
American victory
Macarthur vs Blamey
• Despite the fact that the Diggers were outnumbered by up to ten to
one, the Supreme Commander of the South Pacific Area, the
American General Douglas MacArthur was portraying the Diggers as
failures who were retreating before inferior forces.
• Even when the Australians were fighting for their lives at Brigade
Hill, under siege from a massively superior force, MacArthur sent
this message to Washington (and made similar public
announcements):
• “The Australians have proved themselves unable to match the
enemy in jungle fighting. Aggressive leadership is lacking.”
• Later in the Kokoda campaign, it was General Blamey, the
Australian Army Commander, who reported back to MacArthur the
real truth (after the Americans joined the Diggers in the final stages
of the campaign when the Japanese had been forced back to the
beachheads at Buna-Gona): ‘It is a very sorry story. It has revealed
the fact that the American troops cannot be classified as attack
troops. They are definitely not equal to the Australian militia and
from the moment they met opposition they sat down and have
hardly gone forward a yard.’
Changing Friends
• While the Japanese Imperial Navy was striking at Pearl Harbor,
Japanese troops were invading British Malaya and being resisted by
British, Australian and Indian forces. On 23 January 1942, Japanese
troops landed at Rabaul in the Australian Territory of New Guinea
and overwhelmed the heavily outnumbered Australian garrison
• . When Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, the
British government was not prepared to assist Australia to resist a
Japanese invasion, preferring instead to allocate all available British
and Australian military resources to the defence of India. The British
Government even resisted the return of Australian troops from the
Middle East to defend their own country.
• The Japanese invasion fleet was defeated in the
naval Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway; their
army suffered its first major defeats at 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.
Port Moresby: key to the Pacific
• Australia was a key to Japanese war plans in the Pacific, because it
was a base for land, air and sea operations against them. In turn a
key to controlling Australia was New Guinea.
• If Japan could control Port Moresby in New Guinea, then it could
constantly attack Australia's land, sea and air forces. So, whoever
controlled New Guinea, controlled Australia as a supply base.
• From the Japanese entry in the war in December 1941, they had
been an unstoppable military power in the Pacific. In May they were
ready to land an invasion force by sea to capture Port Moresby.
They had two fleets ready - the invasion fleet, and a naval fleet to
protect the soldiers, and to fight the American warships in the area.
• Between 5 and 8 May 1942 the Battle of the Coral Sea was fought.
The fighting was done by aircraft against ships. Allied land- and
carrier-based aircraft flew against the Japanese ships, and the
Japanese carrier-based planes tried to destroy the American fleet.
Kokoda
• After the battle, the Japanese ordered their
invasion fleet to withdraw. The attack on Port
Moresby would have to be by the troops going
overland from the Buna area, across the Owen
Stanley Mountain range, to Port Moresby. The
mountainous terrain was very difficult for the
troops, and Japanese supplies were not able to
get to the men as they moved forward.
Eventually, the Japanese were defeated on the
Kokoda Track by Australian troops, and Port
Moresby was safe
Mud Sweat and Tears
• The second 39th Australian Infantry Battalion,
Australian Military Forces (39th BN) was raised on 1st of
October 1941. Manned by 18 and 19 year old volunteers,
and designated for garrison duty at Port Moresby
(Fortress Moresby), Papua. By August 1942, against a
tenacious and battle hardened foe of 7000, this poorly
equipped, poorly trained and poorly supported group of
409 men, under deplorable odds and conditions on the
Kokoda Trail, provided extraordinary courage, tenacity,
devotion and results.
Kokoda Today
Conditions on Kokoda; MUD
Kokoda Veteran describes
• “Imagine an area of approximately 100 miles long, crumple and fold
this into a series of ridges, each rising higher and higher until 7,000
feet is reached, then declining again to 3,000 feet. Cover this thickly
with jungle, short trees and tall trees tangled with great entwining
savage vines; then through the oppression of this density cut a little
native track two to three feet wide, up the ridges, over the spurs,
around gorges and down across swiftly flowing happy mountain
streams.
• About midday and through the night, pour water over the forest, so
that the steps become broken and a continual yellow stream flows
downwards, and the few level areas become pools and puddles of
putrid mud. In the high ridges about Myola, drip this water day and
night softly over the track through a fetid forest grotesque with
moss and growing phosphorescent fungi.”
Problems of Supply
. Mules, horses and their attendants ready
to set off down the mule track on the first
stage of the journey to the small village of
Uberi, on the Kokoda trail.
Moving Heavy Artillery through
thick jungle
Conditions on Kokoda; Transporting
the Wounded over Rough terrain
Conditions on Kokoda; angels and
steep terrain
Resting from weariness.
Golden Stairs near Imita Ridge
1944 oil painting of Kokoda Trail;
steep terrain
Problems of geography
Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels
• Thanks to the 39th BN and the local
Papuans (fuzzy-wuzzy angels) early
resistance, they provided the first
proof to the Allies, that the Imperial
Japanese Army soldier on land was
not invincible, this action helped
turn a threat on Australia into a
victory.
• That no known live casualty was
abandoned, that of the many
hundreds brought out during these
weeks only four died subsequently
in hospital, is a magnificent tribute
to the fitness and the fortitude of
these men.
Statistics on Kokoda
• On 25
September the Japanese abandoned
their attempt to reach Port Moresby.
• Out of a force of about 20,000 the
Japanese had lost 13,000, most of
whom had fought to the death rather
than surrender. Tropical diseases, as
much as the fighting, had taken their
toll on both armies.
• More than 600 Australians were killed
and some 1680 wounded during
perhaps the most significant battle
fought by Australians in World War II.
Signing of the Japanese Surrender
on the USS Missouri