1. society
2. unrest and war

5.3 Australians on the
overseas battlefronts
Australian men and women served in many parts of the world during World War II. At
first Australians were sent to the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa (see
source 5.6, page 166) where they fought against the Italians, Germans and French.
Later, most returned to face the Japanese in the Pacific. They then fought in Papua New
Guinea, the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), and south-west Pacific islands such as New
Britain and Bougainville, in the Solomon Islands.
AIF, 1939–1942
When the European war broke out there was little enthusiasm among Australians
to enlist. Many people had bitter memories of the conditions in the trenches of
World War I, and others were disinterested because the war was a long way away.
Although the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was formed in 1939, it took
months for the 6th Division to be filled.
In January 1940, the first troops left Australia for the Middle East, but until May 1940
there was little fighting in Europe. This period was referred to as the ‘phoney war’. When
Germany attacked France, the number of men who wanted to join up quickly increased.
SOURCE 5.14
A photograph of
Australian soldiers in
action in North Africa
during World War II
North Africa and Tobruk
Soon after Italy declared war on England and France (10 June 1940), it invaded Egypt.
From September 1940, the Australian 6th Division helped British troops force the
Italians back along the North African coastline.
AWM 010580
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 List five factual statements that can be made about desert warfare using source 5.14.
2 Australians gained most of their information about the fighting overseas from newspapers
and newsreels shown at the movies. These newsreels were like our television news programs
today. Imagine this photograph is a still image from a newsreel and, using the text and your own
observations, write a 30-second newsreel commentary about Australia’s involvement in the war
in North Africa.
172
Retroactive 2
One of the most famous events of the North African campaign was the siege of the
coastal town of Tobruk. Initially Australian troops were successful against Italian forces
in North Africa but, in 1941, German troops led by General Rommel drove the Allies
back through the deserts of North Africa to Tobruk. Around 15 000 Australians of the
9th Division were trapped in the town and they could be supplied only by sea.
Despite attacks from dive-bombers, tanks and infantry, the defenders — Australians,
British, Polish and Indians — held on for 242 days (eight months). The Germans called
them the ‘Rats of Tobruk’ and the Australians considered this a mark of respect. The
Australians were finally evacuated in October 1941 and, on 20 June 1942, the Germans
captured the town.
SOURCE 5.15
An Australian soldier’s
description of conditions
in Tobruk
Dust storms, heat, fleas, flies, sleepless nights, when the earth shook with the roar of the
enemy’s fury, daring raids into no man’s land through mine fields and barbed wire, scorching
day after day in the front line, where no man dared stand upright, but crouched behind a kneehigh protection of rocks — all these things had been the lot of the defenders of Tobruk.
Age, 24 November 1941.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Historians often test the reliability of a source by comparing it with other sources. What facts in
source 5.15 are supported by source 5.14?
2 Describe the feeling about the conditions in Tobruk that the author of source 5.15 conveys.
Greece, Crete and Syria
blitzkrieg: means ‘lightning
war’ and refers to the use of
aircraft and tanks to remove
opposition before the
German soldiers’ advance
One Australian who
fought bravely in Syria
was Lieutenant Roden
Cutler. He was awarded
a VC (Victoria Cross)
and later was knighted
and became Governor
of New South Wales.
From early 1941, Australians were also sent to defend Greece from a German invasion.
The Germans had control of the skies and its planes attacked soldiers, cities and supply
ships, forcing the Australian troops to evacuate to the nearby island of Crete (see map,
source 5.6, page 166). The Germans attacked the island using parachute troops to
overcome opposition and, from April to May 1941, the 6th Division lost over 6000 men.
As there weren’t enough boats to evacuate all the Australian troops from Crete, names
were drawn from a hat to see who would leave the island and who would have to stay
behind and become a prisoner of war.
By the middle of 1941 Germany’s tactic of blitzkrieg was such a success that Hitler
had conquered most of Europe. In only six weeks he took control of France (10 May 1940
to 22 June 1940), something that Germany had been unable to do in the four years of
World War I.
Now that much of Europe was under fascist control, the Australian 7th Division was
sent to Syria, which was controlled by a French government that supported Hitler. In
a five-week campaign during June and July 1941, the Australians helped liberate Syria
from French control.
From the end of January 1942, the Australian 6th and 7th Divisions began returning to
defend Australia from the Japanese. The 9th Division remained and, from late October to
early November 1942, it played a vital role in the Battle of El Alamein. During this battle
the British finally defeated the Germans and Italians and forced them out of North
Africa. The British commander, General Montgomery, expressed admiration for the
Australian soldiers for their determination in appalling conditions, saying that ‘we could
not have won the battle in twelve days without that magnificent 9th Australian Division’.
The fall of Singapore
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 (see page 169) was quickly
followed by attacks on Burma, Borneo, the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Malaya and
other parts of South-East Asia.
At the start of 1942 the island of Singapore was strategically important for the British
and Allied forces in South-East Asia and was the location of a British naval base.
Australian troops of the 8th Division were posted there in support of the British effort.
CHAPTER 5
| Australia and World War II
173
AWM HOB/56/0480/MC
Singapore appeared to be a stronghold whose coastlines could always be defended from
invasion. So long as Britain maintained its presence there, and continued to defend the
SOURCE 5.16
island and the seas around it, Australia felt protected.
A map showing SouthOn 10 December 1941, Japanese bombers sank two British warships, the Repulse and
East Asia and the Pacific
the Prince of Wales, off the coast of Malaya. This was a serious blow for Britain and its
and the area which fell
naval strength. Singapore’s defences were severely weakened and there was increasing
under Japanese control
concern in Australia.
by 1942
The British expected an attack on
Singapore to come from the sea. There
were no permanent defences on the
landward side, and Singapore’s big
OUTER
guns pointed towards the ocean and
1932
MONGOLIA
couldn’t be turned around. However
the Japanese advanced by land and the
JAPAN
KOREA
1937
troops moved quickly down the Malay
CHINA
Peninsula, many on bicycles.
Midway
Islands
Allied troops, including the soldiers
Hawaii
(U.S.A.)
of the Australian 8th Division, tried
BURMA
Pearl
Harbor
valiantly to hold back the Japanese
1940
December 1941
1942
THAILAND
PHILIPPINES
advance, but were forced down
Marshall Islands
FRENCH
INDO-CHINA
the Malay Peninsula and across to
Guam
1941
the island of Singapore. Japanese
PACIFIC
MALAYA
Caroline Islands
OCEAN
air attacks devastated the island’s
1942
SINGAPORE
New Ireland
defences, and Allied resistance was
New Guinea
Bougainville
INDONESIA
New
ineffective against the Japanese troops
SOLOMONS
Kokoda Britain
who crossed over the strait from Malaya
Darwin
by boat.
I NDI A N
Japanese empire
1931
OCEAN
On 15 February 1942, Singapore
Japanese expansion
AUSTRALIA
surrendered and the Japanese captured
1932–1942
Brisbane
Area under Japanese
around 85 000 Allied troops, including
control by 1942
15 000 Australians of the 8th Division.
N
Most became prisoners of war and
many died of starvation and ill0
1000
2000 km
treatment in Japanese prisoner-of-war
camps (see page 184).
For Australians, the
SOURCE 5.17
fall of Singapore was a
Australian troops on a
serious development in
training patrol in Malaya
the war and most people
in World War II
realised Australia was in
danger of being attacked.
For the first time,
Australia was alone and
SOURCE QUESTIONS
defenceless. The Prime
1 Why would it be
Minister, John Curtin,
difficult for the
called on all Australians
soldiers shown in
to focus their efforts on
source 5.17 to locate
the war that was now
the enemy?
on their doorstep and
2 Identify the
he made every effort to
similarities and
bring our troops back
differences between
to Australia to defend
desert and jungle
the country, despite the
fighting as shown
opposition of the British
in sources 5.14 (on
page 172) and 5.17.
Government.
174
Retroactive 2
Many Australians also served in the merchant navy that was responsible
for transporting food and equipment into and out of Australia. These ships
usually sailed in a convoy and many were sunk off the Australian coastline by Japanese submarines.
RAN
Just as the AIF initially went to fight against the Germans and Italians, so did the Royal
Australian Navy (RAN). The navy fought many battles in the Mediterranean Sea but,
shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Australian ships came back to defend
Australia’s coastline. During the Pacific war the navy helped protect Allied supply
and troop ships from possible attack and were themselves in danger from aeroplanes,
submarines and other ships.
The Battle of the Coral Sea
A few months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor a Japanese invasion fleet
approached Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. If the invasion were successful then
Japanese planes could easily bomb Townsville and other Australian cities and Japanese
troops could easily invade northern Australia.
On 4 May 1942, the battle began when an Allied naval force, led by HMAS Australia
and including the two United States aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Yorktown,
attempted to block the Japanese advance that was now only 700 kilometres from Cairns.
The two US aircraft carriers were very important because, for the first time, a naval
battle was fought in which the ships never saw each other. Instead, aircraft attacking the
enemy ships did all the damage.
For four days the Battle of the Coral Sea raged. Allied bombers from bases in north
Queensland helped the torpedo planes launched from the American aircraft carriers to
find and attack the Japanese ships. On 8 May the Japanese decided to withdraw. Despite
their aircraft sinking the USS Lexington and damaging USS Yorktown and HMAS
Australia, the Japanese invasion force had suffered even greater losses. Two of their
aircraft carriers had been destroyed and 16 other ships sunk.
The Battle of the Coral Sea was the first loss for the Japanese at sea and the Allied
success was considered by most people at the time to have saved Australia from
Japanese invasion.
SOURCE 5.18 Some of the Australian ships lost or badly damaged in World War II
Australian ship
Losses or damage suffered
HMAS Australia
A cruiser. Flagship of the Allied fleet during the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942).
Damaged in the Philippines when a Japanese kamikaze pilot scored a direct hit
(21 October 1944).
HMAS Canberra
A cruiser. Sunk during a night action off the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. 84 men
were killed (9 August 1942).
HMAS Nestor
Sunk after a fight with German aircraft in the Mediterranean (June 1942).
HMAS Parramatta
Torpedoed and sunk off Tobruk (17 November 1941). Only 20 men survived.
HMAS Perth
A cruiser. Sunk in the Sunda Strait during the Battle of the Java Sea (1 March
1942) against Japan. 883 men were reported missing.
HMAS Sydney
A cruiser. Sank the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni in the Mediterranean Sea
(19 July 1940). Was damaged and disappeared after fighting the German raider
Kormoran off the coast of Western Australia (19 November 1941). All 645 crew
members were lost. The wreck of HMAS Sydney was not located until 2008.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Draw a timeline showing when the Australian ships in source 5.18 were sunk or damaged.
2 Based on this evidence, identify which country caused the greatest damage to Australia’s navy.
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175
SOURCE 5.19 A painting by Frank Norton in 1942 illustrating HMAS Sydney in action in the Mediterranean,
19 July 1940. The description states: ‘HMAS Sydney steaming past the crippled Bartolomeo Colleoni in chase of
Italian cruiser Giovanni Dalle Bande Nere [not shown]; HMS Hyperion approaching to rescue survivors and finally
sink the wrecked Colleoni. Cape Spada, in background.’
AWM ART23692
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Describe what is happening in the painting.
2 Identify the HMAS Sydney. On what evidence do you base this?
3 On what evidence may the artist have based this painting?
RAAF
When the war broke out Australian aircrews went to Britain and Canada for training.
They then helped defend England during the Battle of Britain (1940), an air war
between the British RAF (Royal Air Force) and the German Luftwaffe that was fought in
the skies over Britain. Many of these Australian aircrews later served on British planes
that bombed German cities such as Cologne and Dusseldorf. RAAF (Royal Australian Air
Force) members also served in Crete, Greece, France, Italy and North Africa.
176
Retroactive 2
Battle of Britain
After his success in Europe, Hitler decided to invade Britain. However, the Germans
needed to destroy Britain’s RAF so that German ships could safely cross the English
Channel. On 10 July 1940, the Battle of Britain began. As the German bomber planes
and fighter escorts approached the English coast the British fighter planes known as
Spitfires attacked. Each day the Germans attacked only to be met with fierce opposition
from the RAF and anti-aircraft guns on the ground. Although the Germans had many
more planes, the Spitfires were more manoeuvrable and the German bombing raids
were largely ineffective in destroying British airfields and factories.
On 7 September 1940, the Germans changed their plans. Instead of destroying the
RAF, Hitler decided to weaken British morale in order to make the invasion easier. The
Germans carried out the first mass bombing of London. The British people only became
more determined not to surrender.
Gradually the RAF gained superiority as the German losses increased and, by 1941,
the battle was over. Although only 450 Australians served with the RAF during the
battle, 30 of whom actually flew RAF planes, Australians were fascinated by what
was happening, as it appeared to many that Great Britain might be taken over by
Germany.
Role in the Pacific
In the Pacific War, the RAAF played an important role in helping the soldiers by
bombing enemy positions and supply lines. From bases in the northern part of Australia,
they also escorted convoys and stopped Japanese bombers that were trying to attack
Australian cities.
Most of the planes flown by Australians in the Pacific War were American-built
Kittyhawks. These planes were effective for ground attacks and were able to match it
with the Japanese Zeros. Australia also built its own planes called Wirraways.
ACTIVITIES
Explain means give reasons
for something, especially in
terms of cause and effect
relationships.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
1 Explain what was meant by the ‘phoney war’.
2 Where did Australian soldiers first see action in World War II?
3 Explain how the Germans were able to capture Greece and Crete so quickly.
4 What happened during the siege of Tobruk?
5 Explain why the fall of Singapore was such a significant event for Australians.
6 Why was the Battle of the Coral Sea important for Australia?
7 Outline how the RAAF helped defeat the Japanese.
USE SOURCES
8 Historians use primary and secondary sources when attempting to reconstruct the past.
For each source in this unit state if it is a primary or secondary source.
RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATE
9 Prepare a half-page biography on the Australian General Blamey’s role in World War II.
10 Conduct an imaginary interview with one of the Australian soldiers at Tobruk. You
might start by asking him why he is proud to be called one of the ‘Rats of Tobruk’.
11 The Battle of Britain, Tobruk and the Battle of the Coral Sea are all important events
in World War II. Reread the text and do additional research on each battle. Present
a PowerPoint on the topic of which battle was most important for Australia in World
War II.
eBook plus
WORKSHEET
Worksheet 5.1 Armed forces graph
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