Why Did Australia Enter Ww2 Case Study

Source 4 mentions two common sayings to do with Australian realisations entering the war, "here Australia became a nation" and Blightly [Britain] is a failure, take me to Australia" (Stanley, 2011). The service of 320 thousand Australians stimulated the first growth of a self-conscious Australian nationalism. At the landing at Gallipoli Australian troops expected to learn from the British but instead looked down on them as amateurs and were disappointed with their performance, efficiency and supplies. "Real sense of inequality of sacrifice" (Carrodus, Delany, Easton, Howitt and Smith, 2014). Source 5 makes notice of the fact that by the middle of 1915 the reality of war began to dawn. Australians became disillusioned with the news of deaths upon deaths and war waged on with no visible end. Endless, helplessness, unfairly treated feelings. Australia was divided due to the working class feeling exploited and the middle and upper classes being affected less by the war. "It was a hollow mockery for citizens to celebrate the glories of ANZAC Day unless they were prepared to fulfil their promises and do their duty to the men who had fought and suffered through the war." (Brand, 1925). Source 6 is a quote from a recent time after WW1, it shows the pride Australians had in their soldiers, that they thought they were brave and to

Prior to World War 1, Australians on the whole suffered due to their geographical isolation, which technology had yet to defeat. Transport was solely by arduous sea journey, which restricted travel and communication with the rest of the world. The mass transfer of Australian youth to fight in Europe enabled the world to see for the first time the unique culture which was developing in this far away land. Recognition and respect was quickly given for the courage, good humour and strength in adversity displayed by Australian soldiers. The easy going egalitarian troops challenged the military norms of their British counterparts. While this

The Western Front, while the main focus of combat in WW1, many Australians ignore this part of the war, as they focus more on the Gallipoli campaign and its legend. However with the centenary of the First World War here, many people have begun to realise that Australia was involved in other theatres of the war, and not just Gallipoli. The focus of this essay will be on the Events leading up to Australia’s involvement, the weapons of the western front, life in the trenches, trench warfare, The Battle of Fromelles and the End of the war.

The United States of America entered WW2 in 1941, directing their campaign from Australia as it started to perceive threats from Japan (2). By 1942, Brisbane had been set up as the support and training base for the Pacific War (2). Military personal from America started arriving in Brisbane, with the small number of troops requiring accommodation being dealt with by leasing rooms in many of the CBDs hotels, guest houses, or by leasing rooms in private residences (5). This solution was quickly obsolete as troops poured into the city, with approximately 100,000 US troops stationed around the city between 1942 and 1945 (1 & 3). During this period, Australia’s divisions returned to Brisbane from the Middle

World War 2 undoubtedly shook Australia’s ties with international powers. From hostile to hospitable; Australia and Japan forged a strong relationship after being at war with each other. Australia’s previously loyal allegiance to the British Empire was uneasy during the Second World War, but the two countries are still strongly allied. The United States had repeatedly come to Australia’s aid during World War 2 and because of this, a strong allegiance was formed between Australia and the United States.

Australia’s identity was developed because of the qualities the Australian soldiers demonstrated on the Kokoda Track, despite facing major obstacles. According to Macinnis (2007: 49), the Maroubra Force was “The name given to the mixed troops of

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.

There were many negative and positive effects while John Curtin the prime minister of Australia had to go through the struggles of the war. In 1942 he tried to convince the Australian Labour Party to let men overseas that were conscripted. Curtin soon realised that his men would have to fight across the Pacific to protect Australia's mainland. Although Curtin had many difficulties with the Allied forces he never had the same right of bringing a larger armed force in the was, just like England and America. When the prime minister brought the Australian troops back he found that he had to do something to protect Australia's mainland.The prime minister of Britain wanted the Australian troops to fight outside in Burma. Curtin had to get the outside community’s help to support him during the war. Curtin also face the powerful Communist Party of Australia because of the trading issues. During the time of war it was expected that Australia's mainland was under serious threat. There were many practices that the government decided to overcome this issue. After the Japanese attack in 1942, the Australian shores were not protected. Many days later their was another attack in Darwin, also in Sydney in May 1942.

World War I (1914-1918) was considered the 'Great War' and Australia’s Gallipoli campaign has always been considered as the pinnacle of the Australian military feats. This is due to the constant glorification of the event despite the fact it was an unmitigated failure. However, the work of the Australian army force in the most important battleground of WW1 the 'Western Front' is often cast under the shadow of Gallipoli. The battles on the Western Front took place in France, Belgium and parts of Germany and this is where some of the most pivotal battles were fought. The contribution and success of the Australians will be assessed through the analysis of several sources related to four major contributions related to the Western Front. These include the amount of Australians involved, the external opinions of Australia in the Western front, The Battle of

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 Two, Australian involvement in battles such as Milne Bay, in the Pacific theatre during 1942, contributed significantly to the course of the War.

The ANZUS treaty provided Australia with a “protector” especially from communism as it states in article 4 of the ANZUS treaty, “Each Party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific Area on any of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional processes.” This clearly states that if Australia or New Zealand, being in the Pacific were attacked the United States would come to their aid.

The tension between the US military and Australian forces reached a historically climatic high when a brutal brawl broke out on Melbourne streets on the night of November 26, 1942. Increased tension had been mounting between the two nations’ military forces for months prior to the incident, with Australian troops developing a astringent resentment of the American’s higher pay rates, increased access to goods and services, and most significantly, the Aussies’ women. The Australian troops adopted the nickname ‘yankee’ when discussing the Americans, referring in an offensive way to their culture and historical backgrounds. Although the military stress continued throughout the entirety of the Second World War, society and the Government saw that the loss of the alliance with the Americans would be fatal, and result in the inevitable invasion of Axis forces.

The Kokoda campaign is significant to Australia’s war history, since the Australian’s battled on, with the odds against them, and came back and won, saving Australia. The Kokoda campaign is momentous because the soldiers displayed courage, fearlessness and bravery, even when their leader called them ‘scared rabbits’. Despite the odds, the Australian’s ‘soldiered’ on and came back and defeated the Japanese, which was a first. The battle of Gona was suicide for the Australians, yet they showed courage, fearlessness and bravery, and fought on till their last breath. Even though the few men of the 39th and 53rd militia was poorly trained, they beat the odds and ruthlessly held back the brute force of 13,000+ Japanese soldiers, for weeks until reinforcements

On the 9th of February 1942, three divisions of Japanese soldiers landed in Singapore, which was at the time a major British military base and presence in the Pacific. Six days later, over 90 000 British, Australian and Indian troops were forced to surrender. It had been believed that Singapore guaranteed the security of Australia during the war, consequently, the fall of Singapore opened Australia to invasion. The fall of Singapore was significant in causing relations between Australia and the United States to increase as in lieu of Britain’s inability to provide economic and military assistance when it was required most, the United States’ capability to provide what Britain could not was instrumental in strengthening bonds.