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 website 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.)
WORLD WAR I
1914
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July 28
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Austria declares war on Serbia.
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August 14
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Britain declares war on Germany.
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September 11
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Australian Naval and Military forces capture German New Guinea.
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November 1
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First Australian soldiers leave for the conflict in Egypt. (Arrives December 3rd).
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November 9
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HMAS Sydney (1) engages and destroys the German light cruiser Emden.
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1915
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April 25
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First landings at Gallipoli.
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May 7
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Passenger linger Lusitania sunk by German submarine.
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July 14
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Gold exports prohibited.
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December 19
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Gallipoli is abandoned.
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1916
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February 21
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Verdun
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March 14
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First Australian flying Corps dispatched.
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May 30-31
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Jutland
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July 1
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The Somme
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July 23
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Pozieres
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September 15
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Tanks used in action for the first time
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October 28
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First referendum on conscription rejects the idea.
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1917
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March 16
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Russian Czar abdicates.
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April 6
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USA (finally) declares war on Germany after profiteering from arms sales to Britain.
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April 9
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Arras
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April 11
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Bullecourt
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May 4
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French army mutiny.
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June 7
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Messines
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July 31
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Ypres
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September 20
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Menin Road
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September 26
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Polygon Wood
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October 4
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Broodseinde Ridge
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October 12
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Passchendaele
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October 31
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Australian Light Horse charge at Beersheba.
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December 9
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Jerusalem captured.
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December 20
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Second referendum on conscription rejects the idea.
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1918
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March 3
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Russia withdraws from the war.
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March 21
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German attack at Arras.
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July 4
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Australian troops take Hamel.
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August 8
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Amiens
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September 18
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Assault on the Hindenburg line.
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October 30
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Turkey withdraws from the war.
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November 3
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Austria withdraws from the war.
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November 11
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Armistice signed and hostilities cease.
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WORLD WAR II
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 Perth Heritage Aviation Museum houses a wonderful specimen of a Catalina and many other warplanes.)
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 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.
WORLD WAR II
1939
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September 1
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Poland is attacked by Germany
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September 3
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Australia declares war on Germany
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November 30
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Finnish campaign begins
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1940
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April 9
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Invasion of Norway
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May 10
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German assault on France
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May 31
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Dunkirk
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October 28
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Italian attack on Greece
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December 9
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Wavell's opening offensive in North Africa
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1941
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January 19
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Ethiopian campaign
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January 29
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The Finnish attacks
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February 14
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Rommel's first offensive in North Africa
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April 6
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Invasion of Yugoslavia / German attack on Greece
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May 15
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Operation Brevity
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May 20
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Attack on Crete
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June 15
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Operation Battleaxe
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June 22
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Barbarossa begins
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September 1
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Lenningrad
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September 30
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Moscow 1st battle
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November 11
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HMAS Sydney (2) sinks the German raider Kormoran but is also lost with all hands.
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November 18
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Crusader battles
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December 5
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Moscow 2nd battle
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December 7
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Japan attacks Pearl Harbour.
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December 8
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Invasion of Malaya
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December 25
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Fall of Hong Kong
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1942
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January 21
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Rommel's drive to Gazala
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January 31
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End in Stalingrad (Germany's fate is sealed).
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February 15
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Singapore falls and 15,000 Australians are taken prisoner by the Japanese. 5,000 die in captivity.
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February 19
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Darwin is bombed with a reported 243 killed and 350 wounded.
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March 8
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Fall of the Dutch East Indies.
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May 6
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Fall of the Philippines.
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May 15
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Fall of Burma
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June 21
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Fall of Tobruk
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June 26
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German advance to El Alemein
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July 5
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Kursk. From this point on Germany is on the defensive in Russia.
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July 22
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Defence of New Guinea begins
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August 7
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Guadalcanal
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September 1
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Alam Halfa
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October 24
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El Alemein 2nd battle
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November 8
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Operation Torch
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December 12
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8th army advance in North Africa.
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1943
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February 8
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Chindit operations begin
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February 14
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Kasserine
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February 24
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Arakan
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March 6
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Breaking the Mareth line
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May 12
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End in Africa
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June 10
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Allied invasion of Sicily
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July 2
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Solomon Islands
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July 9
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Marianas
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September 3
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First allied landings in Italy
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October 12
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Gustav line
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November 20
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Marshall Islands
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1944
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January 19
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End in Lenningrad
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January 22
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Ensue
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March 7
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Imphal
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June 6
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D Day
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September 17
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Arnhem
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October 20
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Leyte gulf / Gothic line
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December 16
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Battle of the Bulge. Germany's last offensive.
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1944
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January 9
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Clearing the Philippines
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February 19
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Iwo Jima
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April 1
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Okinawa
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April 16
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Fall of Berlin
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May 2
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End in Italy
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May 3
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Rangoon falls
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May 7
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End in Europe
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November 1
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End in the Pacific
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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.
Another mostly untold story involves a Japanese recon party first landing on Browse Island (14 06 38.69 S 123 32 42.60 E) and then landing on the mainland of Western
Australia. The story is told on Peter Dunn's website 'Australia at war' as follows :
"On the evening of the 14 January 1944 a special Japanese Army Reconnaissance party left Koepang, in Timor on board a 25 ton fishing vessel called "Hiyoshi Maru".
The party included:-
Lieutenant Susuhiko Mizuno
Sergeant Morita
Sergeant Furuhashi
Lance Corporal Kazuo Ito (radio operator)
6 sailors
15 Timorese (used as decoys)
Their orders from the 19th Army Headquarters on Ambon Island were to land on the north west shores of Western Australia. They were from the special "Matsu Kikan"
(Pine-tree) secret agency which was commanded by Captain Masayoshi Yamamoto. They were all graduates of the Nakano Intelligence School. Their mission was
undertaken at the request of the Japanese Navy to verify intelligence received from Navy sources that the United States Navy was building a Naval base at Admiralty Gulf.
Lieutenant Susuhiko Mizuno's role was to:-
- look at the possibility of landing in Australia
- Investigate the location for a landing place
- look for the existence of an military establishments
They encountered a large storm and heavy seas and had to turn back to Koepang on the morning of the 15 January 1944. They departed again on the evening of 16 January
1944.
The "Hiyoshi Maru" was given air cover for part of the voyage by a single Type 99 light bomber from the 7th Air Division based at Kendari. It was piloted by Staff Sergeant H.
Aonuma with Hachiro Akai as Co-pilot. On 16 January 1944, the aircraft was heading directly for Cartier Islet when it saw an Allied submarine heading in the direction of the
"Hiyoshi Maru". The submarine saw the Japanese aircraft approaching and immediately began to dive. The Japanese aircraft only managed to fire two bursts of its machine
guns at the submarine as it submerged. The tracer bullets could be seen hitting the submarine. The Japs then dropped their six 50 kg bombs on the submarine. They then
circled around the area three or four times to determine if they had hit it with one of their bombs. They suspected the submarine may have sustained some damage.
The aircraft continued south flying low to avoid the Allied radar sites situated along this remote coastline. They sighted the "Hiyoshi Maru" and continued south to try to locate
Cartier Islet. When they could not find it they headed to the west. They then eventually located Cartier Islet.
At 9 am on 17 January 1944 the "Hiyoshi Maru" reached East Island which is actually a coral reef which is only visible at low tide. They reached Browse Island at about 10 am
on 18 January 1944. They landed on the island where they found the ruins of a watch house.
They stayed on Browse Island for about 3 hours. This was to time their arrival on the nearby Australian mainland. The left the island at 1 pm on 18 January and the next morning
through a morning mist they entered an inlet on the West Australian coast. They spotted some white smoke rising from a mountain on the mainland east of their location. They
anchored by the shore at about 10 am on 19 January 1944. The landscape in that area consisted of many red coloured rocks. They camouflaged the ship with tree branches and
ate dried biscuits for lunch.
Three landing parties led by Lieutenant Susuhiko Mizuno, Sergeant Morita and Sergeant Furuhashi, went ashore and explored different areas of the Australian coast in that
area for about two hours. They even took some 8 mm movie footage of what they saw. As it turned out they had landed only 25 kms from where the RAAF were several weeks
later to start building their secret airfield at Truscott.
It was a very hot humid day. They all returned to the ship and reported to Lieutenant Susuhiko Mizuno on what they had seen. Besides some old campfires all they saw was lots
of red rocks and lots of small trees. They slept on the ship that night and on 20 January 1944 they went ashore again and patrolled the area until about 2 pm. After finding
nothing they decided to return to Timor."
Did America win WWII?
The simple answer is, 'no'. America's late entry into the war undoubtedly helped to shorten it, and the arms and ammunition it provided kept allied nations going, but the end result
would have still been the same if America had remained out of the actual fighting.
The one nation that contributed most to the defeat of Nazi Germany was Russia. Once Hitler made the mistake of involve Russia in the conflict, the result was a foregone conclusion.
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