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[[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.]]
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In March 1942 the Japanese military adopted a strategy of isolating Australia from the [[United States]] by capturing [[Port Moresby]] in New Guinea, the [[Solomon Islands]], [[Fiji]], [[Samoa]] and [[New Caledonia]].<ref>Horner (1993). Pages 4–5.</ref> This plan was frustrated by the Japanese defeat in the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] and was postponed indefinitely after the [[Battle of Midway]].<ref>Horner (1993). Page 10.</ref>
 Following the defeat of the Japanese surface fleet the IJN submarines were deployed to disrupt Allied supply lines by attacking shipping off the Australian east coast.

The [[Axis naval activity in Australian waters|Japanese submarine offensive against Australia]] commenced in May 1942. The offensive began with an unsuccessful [[Attack on Sydney Harbour|midget submarine raid on Sydney Harbour]] on the night of 31 May which was followed by attacks on merchant shipping. These attacks continued until August 1943 and led to the loss of 28 ships, including the [[AHS Centaur|hospital ship ''Centaur'']], and damage to many others. While these losses caused some disruption to Australian coastal shipping and forced the Allies to devote considerable resources to protecting shipping in Australian waters, they did not seriously affect the Australian economy or Allied war effort.<ref>Stevens (2005). Pages 330-334.</ref>

===The defence of New Guinea===
[[Image:Australian troops at Milne Bay.jpg|thumb|Australian troops at Milne Bay]]
Japanese forces first landed on the mainland of New Guinea on 8 March. On this day Japanese forces staged unopposed landings at [[Salamaua]] and [[Lae]]. Australian guerrillas from the [[New Guinea Volunteer Rifles]] established observation posts around the Japanese beachheads and the [[2/5th Cavalry Commando Squadron (Australia)|2/5th Independent Company]] successfully raided Salamaua on 29 J(contracted; show full)The town was reinforced by air and the Japanese were defeated in the outskirts of the town following heavy fighting. The Japanese force began to withdraw towards the coast on 4 February. Following the defeat at Wau the Japanese attempted to reinforce Lae in preparation for an expected Allied offensive in the area. This attempt ended in disaster when a Japanese troop convoy was destroyed by USAAF and RAAF aircraft during the [[Battle of the Bismarck Sea]].<ref>Long (1973). Pages 251-256.</ref>


===Attacks on Australian shipping===
[[Image:Starr King (AWM 128144).jpg|thumb|The US-registered [[Liberty Ship]] ''Starr King'' sinking after being attacked by [[Japanese submarine I-21|'I-21'']] near [[Port Macquarie, New South Wales|Port Macquarie]] in February 1943]]
{{main|Axis naval activity in Australian waters}}

The Japanese efforts to secure New Guinea also included a prolonged submarine offensive against the Allied lines of communication between the United States and Australia and Australia and New Guinea. These were not the first Axis naval attacks on Australia; during 1940 and 1941 five German [[Armed merchantmen|surface raiders]] operated in Australian waters at various times. The German attacks were not successful in disrupting Australian merchant shipping, though HMAS ''Sydney'' was sunk with the loss her entire crew of 641 men in November 1941 in a [[battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran|battle with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran]], off the coast of Western Australia.<ref>Cooper (2001)</ref>

Following the defeat of the Japanese surface fleet the IJN deployed submarines to disrupt Allied supply lines by attacking shipping off the Australian east coast. This campaign began with an unsuccessful [[Attack on Sydney Harbour|midget submarine raid on Sydney Harbour]] on the night of [[31 May]]. Following this attack Japanese submarines operated along the Australian east coast until August 1942, sinking eight merchant ships.<ref>Stevens (2005). Pages 192-201.</ref> The submarine offensive resumed in January 1943 and continued until June during which time a further 15 ships were sunk off the east coast. The 1943 sinkings included the [[AHS Centaur|hospital ship ''Centaur'']], which was sunk off Queensland on [[14 May]] with the loss of 268 lives.<ref>Stevens (2005). Pages 218-248.</ref> A single German submarine, [[Unterseeboot 862|''U-862'']], operated in the Pacific Ocean during the war, patrolling off the Australian east coast and New Zealand in December 1944 and January 1945. It sank one ship in the Pacific before it was recalled to [[Jakarta|Batavia]].<ref>Uboat.net [http://www.uboat.net/ops/monsun3.htm ''The Monsun boats'']. Accessed 18 June 2007.</ref>
While these losses caused some disruption to Australian coastal shipping and forced the Allies to devote considerable resources to protecting shipping in Australian waters, they did not seriously affect the Australian economy or Allied war effort.<ref>Stevens (2005). Pages 330-334.</ref>⏎
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===New Guinea offensives===
[[Image:Shaggy Ridge2 (AWM 064258).jpg|thumb|An Australian officer and a signaler on Shaggy Ridge]]
After halting the Japanese advance, Allied forces went on the offensive across the SWPA from mid 1943. Australian forces played a key role throughout this offensive, which was designated [[Operation Cartwheel]]. In particular, General Blamey oversaw a highly successful series of operations around the north-east tip of New Guinea which "was the high point of Australia’s experie(contracted; show full)e web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq69-2.htm |title=Allied Ships Present in Tokyo Bay During the Surrender Ceremony, [[2 September]] [[1945]] |accessdate=2007-01-13 |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=[[27 May]] [[2005]]|publisher=Naval Historical Center - U.S. Navy|quote=Taken from ''Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPAC/CINCPOA) A16-3/FF12 Serial 0395, 11 February 1946: Report of Surrender and Occupation of Japan''}}</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.]]
There was [[Axis naval activity in Australian waters]] throughout the war. In November 1941, the HMAS ''Sydney'' was sunk with the loss of all hands (645 officers and men) after a [[battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran|battle with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran]], off the coast of Western Australia.

Following the Japanese attacks in December 1941 the RAN redeployed its larger ships to home waters to protect the Australian mainland from Japanese attack. At the [[Battle of Java Sea|Battle of Sunda Strait]], in March 1942, the RAN suffered the loss of another Leander class vessel, [[HMAS Perth (1934)|HMAS ''Perth'']].

The RAN took part in the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] in May 1942, where HMAS ''Australia'' survived a brief but intense attack from Japanese torpedo bombers. The battle averted a Japanese attack on [[Port Moresby]]. [[HMAS Hobart (1939)|HMAS ''Hobart'']] also participated in the battle and would latter participate in the amphibious assaults on the Philippines and Borneo. She was in [[Tokyo]] for the Japanese surrender in 1945.

The most significant Japanese naval attacks in Australian waters occurred in May and June 1942, when [[attack on Sydney Harbour|Japanese submarines attacked Sydney and Newcastle]]. Three Japanese midget submarines were launched but only one actually attacked allied shipping in [[Sydney harbour]], sinking the depot ship [[HMAS Kuttabul (ship)|HMAS ''Kuttabul'']] and damaging a Dutch submarine. On June 8, a Japanese submarine surfaced about 10 km (6 miles) off Sydney. For a four minute period, the submarine's deck gun was fired at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Every shot landed well short of its target, all but one of the shells failed to explode and there were no fatalities or serious injuries. The RAN's biggest single ship loss of the war was the sinking of the heavy cruiser [[HMAS Canberra (1927)|HMAS ''Canberra'']] at the [[Battle of Savo Island]] in August 1942.
[[Image:HMAS Swan guns (079323).jpg|thumb|left|[[HMAS Swan (U 74)|HMAS ''Swan'']] firing on Japanese positions in New Guinea in February 1945]]

The Royal Australian Navy participated the United States-led [[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.

At its peak strength on 30 June 1945 the RAN comprised 39,650 personnel and 337 ships in commission, making it the fourth largest navy in the world at that time. A total of 1911 naval personnel died as a result of hostilities and more than 30 Australian warships were lost in the war, making it by far the costliest in the RAN's history.<ref>Frame (2004). Page 196.</ref>⏎
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==Australians in other theatres==
[[Image:Mission 204 (P00763001).jpg|thumb|Four members of the Australian contingent to Mission 204 in [[Yunnan Province]], China, during 1942]]
In addition to the major deployments, Australian military units and individual Australian service personnel served in other theatres of the war.

(contracted; show full) | booktitle =Foundations of Victory. The Pacific War 1943-1944: The Chief of Army's History Conference 2003
 | editor =Peter Dennis and Jeffrey Grey
 | publisher =Army History Unit
 | location =Canberra
 | pages =44-75
 | isbn =0646435906
}}

* * {{cite conference
 | first =Alastair
 | last =Cooper
 | authorlink =
 | coauthors =
 | title =Raiders and the Defence of Trade: The Royal Australian Navy in 1941
 | booktitle =Conference papers
 | conference =Remembering 1941
 | pages =
 | publisher =Australian War Memorial
 | date =2001
 | location =
 | url = http://www.awm.gov.au/events/conference/2001/cooper.htm
 | accessdate =
 | issn =
}}⏎
* {{cite conference
 | first =David
 | last =Horner
 | authorlink =David Horner
 | coauthors =
 | title =Defending Australia in 1942
 | booktitle =The Pacific War 1942
 | pages =1-20
 | publisher =Department of History, Australian Defence Force Academy
 | date =1993
 | location =Canberra
 | url =
 | accessdate =
 | issn = 07292473
}}
* {{Cite web|last=Horner| first=David| year=2002| title=The Evolution of Australian Higher Command Arrangements| url=http://www.defence.gov.au/adc/cdclms/Command%20evolution.doc| work=Command Papers| format = doc | publisher=Centre for Defence Leadership Studies, Australian Defence College}}
* {{cite conference
 | first =Peter
 | last =Stanley
 | authorlink =
 | coauthors =
 | date =
 | year =2002
 | month =
 | title ="He’s (not) Coming South": the invasion that wasn’t
 | conference =Remembering 1942
 | conferenceurl =http://www.awm.gov.au/events/conference/2002/
 | booktitle =Conference Papers
 | editor =
 | others =
 | volume =
 | edition =
 | publisher =
 | location =
 | pages =
 | url =http://www.awm.gov.au/events/conference/2002/stanley_paper.pdf
 | format = PDF
 | accessdate =2007-10-05
 | doi =
 | id =
}}
* {{cite journal |last=Stanley |first=Peter |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2007 |month= |title=What is the Battle for Australia? |journal=Australian Army Journal |volume=4 |issue=2, Winter 2007 |pages=17-34 | format = PDF |url=http://www.army.gov.au/lwsc/Publications/journal/AAJ_Winter2007/AAJ_Winter07_Stanley.pdf |accessdate= 2007-09-16 |quote= }}

===External links===
* {{cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/index/ww2.asp |title=Second World War |accessdate= |author= |date= |work= |publisher=[[Australian War Memorial]] }}
* {{cite web |url=http://ajrp.awm.gov.au/ajrp/remember.nsf/ |title=Remembering the War in New Guinea |accessdate= |last= |first= |coauthors= |date=2003 |work=[http://ajrp.awm.gov.au/ajrp/ajrp2.nsf/ Australia-Japan Research Project] |publisher=[[Australian War Memorial]] }}
* {{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| ]]