Australians in World War II
What we did during the war.
Australias involvment in the war.
Australia entered World War II shortly after the invasion of Poland, declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the Armed Forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European Theatre, North African Campaign , and the South West Pacific Theatre. In addition, Australia came under direct attack for the first time in its post-colonial history. Its casualties from enemy action during the war were 27,073 killed and 23,477 wounded.
Kokoda Track Campaign
The Kokoda Trail Campaign or Kokoda Track Campaign as part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied-primarily Australian-forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua. Following a landing near Gona, on the north coast of New Guinea, on the night of 21/22 July, Japanese forces attempted to advance south overland through the mountains of the Owen Stanly Range to seize Port Moresby as part of a strategy of isolating Australia from the United States.
Thai-Burma Railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, the Burma-Siam Railway, the Thailand-Burma Railway and similar names, was a 415 kilometers (258 mi) railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzyat, Burma, built by the Empire Of Japan in 1943 to support its forces in the Burma Campaign of World War II. This railway completed the railroad link between Bangkok,Thailand and Rangoon,Burma (now Yangon). The line was closed in 1947, but the section between Nong Pla Duk and Nam Tok was reopened ten years later in 1957.
Women In World War II
At first the government politely discouraged those women who wanted to perform some kind of military service. It soon became clear that the war was going to demand much more than the government had expected. Women could do the technical jobs normally performed by men, freeing those men for combat.
Government Control
During World War II, the Australian government would make blackouts/brownouts in coastal areas, would do daylight savings, put restrictions on how much you could spend renovating, reduced Christmas, issued personal identity cards and a few more of similar restrictions.