Difference between revisions 121771870 and 121771872 on dewiki

[[Image:Work fight or perish (RC02370).jpg|thumb|An Australian Government leaflet bearing the likeness and signature of Prime Minister [[John Curtin]], telling Australians that they must make sacrifices for the war effort.]]
(contracted; show full)===Syria and Lebanon===
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The 7th Division and the 17th Brigade from the 6th Division formed part of the Allied force in the successful Allied invasion of [[Vichy French]]-controlled Lebanon and Syria in 1941. [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF) aircraft joined the [[Royal Air Force]] in providing [[close air support]].

===Tobruk and El Alamein===
[[Image:2-8
_  Field_  Regt.jpg|thumb|Guns of the 2/8th Field Regiment at El Alamein in July 1942]]
On [[6 April]], [[1941]], the 9th Division was ordered to enter and defend the important port town of [[Tobruk]] which [[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|General Wavell]], the commander of the [[British Middle East Command]], had ordered be held for at least two months. Reinforced by the 18th Brigade of the 7th Division and British artillery and armoured regiments, the 9th Division [[Siege of Tobruk|successfully defended]] the tow(contracted; show full)]] to defend these strategic locations from Japanese attack. A commando company was also sent to [[Dili]] in [[Portuguese Timor]].<ref>Hasluck (1970). Page 14.</ref> The force at Ambon was defeated in the [[Battle of Ambon]] which was fought between January 30 and 3 February 1942. While the infantry battalion at Koepang was defeated, Australian commandos [[Battle of Timor (1942–43)|waged a guerrilla campaign]] against the Japanese in Portuguese Timor until February 1943.

In the lead-up to the 
the [[Battle of Java (1942)|invasion of Java]] a force of 242 Japanese aircraft [[Air raids on Darwin, February 19, 1942|attacked Darwin on 19 February 1942]]. This attack was undertaken to ensure that Darwin could not be used as a base to counter the conquest of the Netherlands East Indies. The attack was successful, and resulted in the deaths of 251 civilians and military personnel (most of whom were non-Australian Allied seamen) and inflicted heavy damage on [[RAAF Base Darwin]] and the town's port faci(contracted; show full)
[[Image:18 Sqn (AWM P02769-001).jpg|thumb|B-25 Mitchell bombers from [[No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF|No. 18 (NEI) Squadron]] near Darwin in 1943. This was one of three joint Australian-Dutch squadrons formed during the war.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/alliesinadversity/australia/nei.asp |title=No. 18 (NEI) Squadron, RAAF |accessdate=2007-11-04 |format= |work=Allies in adversity }}</ref>]]
The attack on Darwin marked the start of a prolonged aerial campaign over no
rthern Australia and the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies. Following the first attack on Darwin the Allies rapidly deployed fighter squadrons to protect the town from a feared invasion. A large number of airfields were also built south of Darwin to house fighters and bomber aircraft.

(contracted; show full)n Australia at the time, and in subsequent years, as pointless or a "waste" of the lives of soldiers, it did achieve a number of objectives, such as increasing the isolation of significant Japanese forces occupying the main part of the [[Dutch East Indies]], capturing major [[petroleum|oil]] supplies and freeing Allied prisoners of war, who were being held in deteriorating conditions.<ref>Grey (1999). Pages 184-186.</ref>

===The RAAF in the Pacific===
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[[Image:Beaufighter
_  (AWM_  OG0001).jpg|thumb|A [[No. 30 Squadron RAAF|30 Sqn RAAF]] Beaufighter flying over New Guinea in 1942]]
RAAF Kittyhawks and Boomerangs came to play a crucial role in the New Guinea, [[Solomon Islands]] and [[Borneo]] campaigns, especially in operations like the [[Battle of Milne Bay]].

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At the end of the war 1TAF comprised more than 18,000 personnel and 20 squadrons and was scheduled to participate in the invasion of the Japanese mainland, [[Operation Downfall]]. However, the war was brought to a sudden end by the US [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|nuclear attack]]s on Japan. 3,342 RAAF personnel were killed during the Pacific War.<ref>Long (1973). Page 393.</ref>

===Naval war in the Pacific and Indian Ocean===
[[Image:Starr
_  King_  (AWM_  128144).jpg|thumb|The [[United States of America|U.S.]]-registered [[Liberty Ship]] ''[[Starr King]]'' sinking after being attacked near [[Port Macquarie, New South Wales|Port Macquarie]] on [[10 February]] 1943.]]
(contracted; show full)[[Battle of the Bismarck Sea]] in 1943, [[Bristol Beaufighter]]s of [[No. 30 Squadron RAAF]] proved to be highly effective ground attack and maritime strike aircraft, inflicting heavy loses on Japanese troop convoys, along with other RAAF squadrons. The battle was a combined operation with the [[United States Army Air Force]] and resulted in the sinking of 12 Japanese transporters and destroyers and hampered the Japanese forces in New Guinea.

The Royal Australian Navy participated the United States-led [[
Island hopping|island hopping]] campaign in the Pacific, with the surviving cruisers providing fire support and other ships escorting convoys. At the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]], in October 1944, HMAS ''Australia'' became the first Allied ship to be hit by a [[kamikaze]]. The ship survived that and several other suicide attacks, though many crew members were killed.

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In addition to operational deployments, thousands of Australian airmen were trained overseas under the [[Empire Air Training Scheme]]. More than 10,000 were trained in [[Canada]] and 674 in [[Rhodesia]]. While many of these 
these men were posted to Australian [[Article XV squadrons]], the majority served within British and other Dominion squadrons.<ref>Clark (2003)</ref>

==Australian intelligence and special forces==
[[Image:21henryst44.jpg|thumb|Central Bureau's headquarters building at Ascot in Brisbane]]
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* {{cite book |last=Wigmore |first=Lionel |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Japanese Thrust |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/chapter.asp?volume=20 |series=Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army |year=1957 |publisher=Australian War Memorial |location=Canberra |isbn= }}


==External links==
⏎
⏎
* Australian War Memorial [http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww2.htm Second World War 1939–45]
* [http://www.raaf.gov.au/history/airforce_history/WW2.htm RAAF in World War II - RAAF website]
* {{cite web |url=http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/index.html |title=Australia's War 1939—1945 |accessdate= |author= |date= |work= |publisher=[[Department of Veterans' Affairs (Australia)|Department of Veterans' Affairs]] }}

{{Australian Military History}}
{{WWIIHistory}}

[[Category:Military history of Australia during World War II| ]]