Australia is at War

During 1942 Australia faced very bad times, following Japan’s sudden entry into the Second World War in December 1941. There was a rapid advance of Japanese forces through Asia and the Pacific.

Australia has been shaped through war since soldiers set to the First World War right up until the now with the war in Afghanistan. Aspects that made it controversial ideas from being a colony of Britain and the politics that came with it, development of treaties with other countries, social groups, and family honour.

World war 2 started when Great Britain declared war on Germany In 1939. It ended in 1945. Almost one million Australians both men and women were involved in world war 2. On September 3rd 1939, Prime minister Robert Gordon Menzies announced that Australia will now be involved in world war 2. This was done after Australian land came under attack for the first time. Japanese aircrafts bombed towns North West Australia and Japanese submarines attacked Sydney Harbour. Australians fought in campaigns against Germany, Italy, The Mediterranean, North Africa, and Japan.

On September 1 1939 - September 2 1945 world war 2 took place. Around one million Australians, both ladies and men, served in world war two. They battled in crusades against Italy and Germany in Europe, the North Africa and North Mediterranean, and additionally against Japan in south-east Asia and different parts of the Pacific. About 39,000 Australian servicemen gave up their lives and over 30,000 were taken prisoner in world war

Australia had always acknowledge Britain as the “mother country”. When Britain declared war on Germany for invading Poland, Australia was announced to be at war by the former Prime Minister, Gordon Menzies. “Fellow Australians, it is my melancholy duty to inform you officially that, in consequence of the persistence of Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her, and that, as a result, Australia is also at war.”

These had the effect of Australia feeling vulnerable and lonely, and all the traditional beliefs of the mother country, Britain, coming to Australia’s aid in time of need vanished and with the reaction of Britain towards Australia, Australian Government had to accept the fact that they were only expendable part of the British Empire. Australia, led by the Curtin Government at the time, at last realized the limits of British powers, yet desperate in need of allies and protectors, looked up to the United States as the only support to assist Australia. This realization made a great impact in the changes of the relationships between Britain and Australia. United States did come to rescue Australia in 1942 but the motive was for its self interest because Australia was the best place from which the Americans could apply its counter offenses against the Japanese, and when General MacArthur arrived in Australia he was greatly welcomed by the Australia government, seeing as they didn’t have much choice other than follow US military strategies due to the fall of British power.

Introduction – introduce the topic of World War 1 – discuss the pain which it brought especially to Australia (e.g. how many died, fought), along with details (dates) about Australia’s involvement in the war (e.g. when/where they arrived, when they left – the ANZAC journey).

“Fellow Australians, It is my melancholy duty to inform you officially, that in consequence of 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.

Vietnam’s geographical location made it strategically important to Australia’s protection of its borders. If South Vietnam were to fall to their Northern Vietnamese aggressors, Australia believed that it would leave other countries in the Asian region including itself, vulnerable to attack. Additionally, Australian as a nation was psychologically prepared for a war. The Liberal government’s policy was shaped around the idea of ‘forward defence’ which was the notion that Australia should defend itself by attacking and never allowing the threat to reach our shores. The threat that the fall of South Vietnam presented is displayed in a speech given by Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies in April of 1965 in Source B, “The takeover of South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia and all the countries of South and South East Asia”. Menzies was firm in his conviction of the severity of the situation should South Vietnam be taken over by the communist regime and was convinced that a head on conflict with the problem was the answer. Australia saw Northern Vietnamese aggression as a direct military threat to the protection of their borders and was prepared for the governments ‘forward defence’ approach of taking the fight to the

The history of Australia’s paranoia of invasion is stated by Nikos Papastergiadis to been evident back in 1901 with Australia’s first immigration act weighted by the paranoia of an Asian invasion of the geographical isolated Australia. Australia’s fears increased with the rise of Imperial Japan in WW2. Australia kept itself isolated from Asia as much as possible, only keeping to economic deals, while still supporting British and American

Although both the World Wars had significant impacts on Australians, the statement that wartime controls in World War One had a greater impact on Australians than they did in World War Two is fairly inaccurate. There are a number of reasons as to why this was the case, as demonstrated through the government 's wartime controls. One of the wartime controls that was utilised by the government in both World Wars but had greater impact on Australians in World War Two was conscription. Another wartime control that had a higher degree of impact on Australians in World War Two than in World War One was the detainment and isolation of ‘enemy aliens’ when the government again took steps to protect their national security. With such a large number of servicemen deployed overseas, the role of women in Australia also changed drastically to meet the needs of the armed forces, the government and the economy and this influenced Australian life more in World War Two. Therefore, although both wars affected the lives of many Australians in mental, physical, social and economic aspects, the wartime controls of World War Two had a much greater impact on Australians than in World War One.

During World War 1, July 28th 1914 – November 11 1918, Australians were divided over the dispute of conscription: should people be forced to fight in the war? Conscription is the mandatory enrolment of a person for military service. It was a very contentious issue in Australia during 1916, as casualty rates in the war increased and the number of volunteers decreased. Prime Minister Billy Hughes decided to take the issue to the public in a referendum, Australian’s were given the option to vote either yes or no on the matter. There were two strong perspectives on the subject. Many people were against conscription, as they thought it was unethical and created employment issues. However, numerous people were for the idea of conscription as they

The events of World War 1 helped to create an identity for Australia as a young independent country, however World War Two, from 1939 to 1945, shaped the modern day Australian nation. The war in the Pacific created a very real threat of Australia being invaded as the Japanese were moving rapidly south and nothing was stopping them (Wikipedia, 2012). The roles of many women also changed during world war two and this impacted on their rights in the Australian nation and how they were perceived by the men in the workforce (women in the workforce, 2015). The forming of the ANZUS, The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty, also played a significant role in shaping modern day Australia as it created a closer link between Australia

Britain was unable to come to our aid to fight in the Asia-Pacific against mainly Japan in WWII. The United States were the nation that got us out of trouble so we must come to their aid in Vietnam, and commit to the war effort like they previously did to us. In response to the building threat of communism, the U.S aligned itself with many nations to form treaties including NATO, although Australia had membership in SEATO and ANZUS only. This responded with the Warsaw Pact being signed in Poland by communist countries led by the U.S.S.R. The Australian Government were feeling the pressure to take action as the 'all the way with LBJ' campaign was symbolised greatly by Harold Holt. According to reliable secondary source 6, after Robert Menzies succeeded Holt, the only option was to go to Vietnam. "The takeover of South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia". To defeat communism in Vietnam, the U.S needed more than supplies, they need man power to outnumber the North. The South Vietnam government supposedly requested for assistance, although later proven incorrect according to reliable source 7. Australia's involvement in Vietnam was to make the United States proud and reassured them, that we are with you until the end, it was this relationship that peer-pressured us into our

Australia wanted to stop communism and stop the communism ripple effect occurring, with the forward defence policy Australia could ensure its safety. Forward defence is meeting any threats to Australia as far away from the mainland as possible. Menzies was having troubles getting the public to agree on his anti communism views so he created the fear of 'reds under the bed' which got him enough support from the public to support his campaign. Australia first started it’s campaign in 1962 when it sent 30 advisers called ‘the team’ into Vietnam, Australia later sent land and air fighters. Australian troops in Vietnam reached the largest in 1964 with 8,000 troops