WORLD WAR 1 & 2

The history of Australian troops in action is well told in a myriad of history books dedicated to that topic. We would need to devote an entire DVD just to the subject of Australian troops in battle if we were to properly tackle the subject but this page is more about what happened in W.A. during the wars and a brief overview of the major events during World War One and Two.

World War One 1914-1918

Both World Wars had a huge impact on Australia. A proud member of the British Empire in 1914, Australians still saw England as the 'mother country'. When she went to war (14/August 1914), Australia was with her all the way. At the time most people in Australia were either British immigrants or first generation Australians whose parents had come from Britain so the prevailing sentiment is easy to understand.

With a small population, Australia, never-the-less, made a significant contribution to troop numbers. Western Australia alone sent 32,231 volunteers into battle during WWI. This was 33% of all men aged 18 to 41. It exceeded the expected number by 400%. The rate of Australian deaths in combat was 145 per 1000 troops deployed. New Zealand was next highest with 124 per 1000.

Australia's total commitment of troops to WWI was 416,819 enlistments with 60,284 killed and 152,171 wounded. Many more non-combat deaths that were not included in the official statistics occurred once the war ended. The wartime figures mean that over 50% of Australians who enlisted were either killed or wounded.

Despite failed attempts by the Government to bring in conscription, Australian troops all remained volunteers.

With so many men away fighting, the local economy stagnated and with the numbers killed and wounded it was a very long time before things at home got back to normal.

After the war there were a number of re-settlement schemes for returned soldiers. In general they were not successful because they were under-resourced and poorly managed. They did, however, have the impact of opening up a lot of land in the state's south west.

By the end of World War 1 the allies had suffered 3,049,972 casualties but in 4 long years of war the front line had shifted just 100 yards. (Total casualties for all the allied nations involved in World War 1 was 22,104,209 - about the same as the total population of Australia in 2008. The Germans and their allies recorded 15,404,477 but these figures are estimates at best.)

A brief time-table of WWI

1914
July 28	Austria declares war on Serbia.
August 14	Britain declares war on Germany.
September 11	Australian Naval and Military forces capture German New Guinea.
November 1	First Australian soldiers leave for the conflict in Egypt. (Arrives December 3rd).
November 9	HMAS Sydney (1) engages and destroys the German light cruiser Emden.
1915
April 25	First landings at Gallipoli.
May 7	Passenger linger Lusitania sunk by German submarine.
July 14	Gold exports prohobited.
December 19	Gallipoli is abandoned.
1916
February 21	Verdun
March 14	First Australian flying Corps dispatched.
May 30-31	Jutland
July 1	The Somme
July 23	Pozieres
September 15	Tanks used in action for the first time
October 28	First referendum on conscription rejects the idea.
1917
March 16	Russian Czar abdicates.
April 6	USA (finally) declares war on Germany after profiteering from arms sales to Britain.
April 9	Arras
April 11	Bullecourt
May 4	French army mutiny.
June 7	Messines
July 31	Ypres
September 20	Menin Road
September 26	Polygon Wood
October 4	Broodseinde Ridge
October 12	Passchendaele
October 31	Australian Light Horse charge at Beersheba.
December 9	Jerusalem captured.
December 20	Second referendum on conscription rejects the idea.
1918
March 3	Russia withdraws from the war.
March 21	German attack at Arras.
July 4	Australian troops take Hamel.
August 8	Amiens
September 18	Assault on the Hindenburg line.
October 30	Turkey withdraws from the war.
November 3	Austria withdraws from the war.
November 11	Armistice signed and hostilities cease.

World War Two 1939-1945

By the time World War Two broke out Australians saw themselves in a different light. Home was no longer England, it was Australia and the people saw themselves very much as an independent nation. Even so when Britain declared war on Germany, Australia was again standing by her side (something Britain should have remembered when she entered the Common Market and abandoned Australia!)

Western Australia had the highest enlistment rate of any state in the country with 280 men per 1000 joining up.

The Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) was formed in 1940 and by July of that year there were 132 units with a total of 4167 men scattered across the state. Also in 1940 an R.A.A.F. regional Headquarters was set up at Fremantle.

Australia was at no great risk of attack until the Japanese entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th 1941.

In April of 1942 the 3rd Corps was formed with the specific job of defending W.A. in case of an attack by the Japanese. The Corps consisted of an armoured division based at Mingenew and two supporting infantry divisions (2nd and 4th) with a total of between 50-60,000 men. During the same year an American submarine base was developed at Fremantle with others later starting up at Albany and Exmouth. By July of 1942 a total of 19 American submarines were operating out of Fremantle alone.

A Catalina air reconnaissance squadron was based at Matilda Bay and although Perth was a long way beyond the range of any enemy bomber blackouts were instituted (with typical official stupidity.)

The fear of attacks by Japanese planes was realised when Darwin was attacked but towns in northern W.A. were also at risk. Most women and children were evacuated to the south and in the end most main tows suffered air raids. Places bombed included Wyndham, Derby, Port Hedland, Carnot Bay, Broome, Kalumburu, Onslow and Exmouth.

A training camp was established at Northam and after 7 months instruction troops were sent off to their assigned destinations overseas.

Eastern States politicians decided that in the event of a Japanese invasion only an area from Brisbane to Adelaide would be defended (this was known as the Brisbane line.) Prime Minister John Curtin (a West Australian) lobbied hard for Perth to be included in the defense strategy and eventually his proposal was accepted.

When American troops arrived in Australia there was a great deal of resentment created over the different level of pay and the favoured treatment offered to the Americans - especially by local businesses! The infamous 'Battle of Brisbane' had its own sequel in Fremantle when a wild brawl erupted between American and Australian soldiers.

During World War Two, 993,000 Australians served in the armed forces with 27,073 being killed and 22,747 wounded. 22,376 were taken prisoner by the Japanese and of these 8,031 died in captivity. This compares to 8,184 taken prosier by Germany with only 265 deaths while in captivity. (83,000 West Australian men and 5,000 women enlisted for service during the war.)

Australian troops served in the following places during World War Two: United Kingdom, North Africa, Greece, Crete, Syria, Palestine, Eritrea, Trans-Jordan, Malaya, Ceylon, Burma, China, Java, Timor, Ambon, Papua New Guinea, Dutch New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Nauru-Ocean Island, USSR.

After World War Two there was a wave of immigration from all over Europe with people seeking a better life under the sunny Australian skies.

A brief time-table of WWII

1939
September 1	Poland is attacked by Germany
September 3	Australia declares war on Germany
November 30	Finnish campaign begins
1940
April 9	Invasion of Norway
May 10	German assault on France
May 31	Dunkirk
October 28	Italian attack on Greece
December 9	Wavell's opening offensive in North Africa
1941
January 19	Ethiopian campaign
January 29	The Finnish attacks
February 14	Rommel's first offensive in North Africa
April 6	Invasion of Yugoslavia / German attack on Greece
May 15	Operation Brevity
May 20	Attack on Crete
June 15	Operation Battleaxe
June 22	Barbarossa begins
September 1	Lenningrad
September 30	Moscow 1st battle
November 11	HMAS Sydney (2) sinks the German raider Kormoran but is also lost with all hands.
November 18	Crusader battles
December 5	Moscow 2nd battle
December 7	Japan attacks Pearl harbour.
December 8	Invasion of Malaya
December 25	Fall of Hong Kong
1942
January 21	Rommel's drive to Gazala
January 31	End in Stalingrad
February 15	Singapore falls and 15,000 Australians are taken prisoner by the Japanese. 5,000 die in captivity.
February 19	Darwin is bombed with a reported 243 killed and 350 wounded.
March 8	Fall of the Dutch East Indies.
May 6	Fall of the Philippines.
May 15	Fall of Burma
June 21	Fall of Tobruk
June 26	German advance to El Alemein
July 5	Kursk
July 22	Defence of New Guinea begins
August 7	Guadalcanal
September 1	Alam Halfa
October 24	El Alemein 2nd battle
November 8	Operation Torch
December 12	8th army advance in North Africa.
1943
February 8	Chindit operations begin
February 14	Kasserine
February 24	Arakan
March 6	Breaking the Mareth line
May 12	End in Africa
June 10	Allied invasion of Sicily
July 2	Solomon Islands
July 9	Marianas
September 3	First allied landings in Italy
October 12	Gustav line
November 20	Marshall Islands
1944
January 19	End in Lenningrad
January 22	Ensue
March 7	Imphal
June 6	D Day
September 17	Arnhem
October 20	Leyte gulf / Gothic line
December 16	Battle of the Bulge
1945
January 9	Clearing the Philippines
February 19	Iwo Jima
April 1	Okinawa
April 16	Fall of Berlin
May 2	End in Italy
May 3	Rangoon falls
May 7	End in Europe
November 1	End in the Pacific

One almost forgotten naval action took place in November 1942 when the Dutch Shell tanker Ondina left for the middle east (via India) with her escort the minesweeper Bengal.

On route the lightly armed ships were confronted by two heavily armed Japanese merchant cruisers (Aikoku Maru and Hiakoka Maru). For some reason the Japanese ships got far too close and the Hiakoka was sunk and the Aikoku damaged. The tanker was badly hit and the crew took to the lifeboats but after being machine gunned by the remaining Japanese ship the survivors got back on board the tanker, got the fires under control and eventually brought the ship back to Fremantle.

This rather unusual victory has been largely ignored by most history books.