2The bombings that were undertaken in Australia 200 words

 

The bombings that were undertaken in Australia 200 words

The first attack on mainland Australia since European settlement was on the 19^th of February 1942, in Darwin. An official evacuation order had been issued on the 16^th of December 1941. This only included women and children. The reason why Darwin is regularly referred to when the bombings are mentioned is because a total of 64 raids occurred there. Raids against other cities added up to only 33. The last raid was on 12 November 1943 in which no casualties were recorded and damage was only minor. Civilian casualties as recorded in local sources estimate that overall, between 900 and 1100 people were killed. The exact number was kept secretive and was not covered in the media due to censorship. The first two raids left 243 dead and 400 wounded. The reason behind the attacks was originally thought to be an invasion of Australia. Newer theories show that the primary aim was to attempt to wipe out most of the major defences available to the Allies in Australia. The attacks were carried out in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland, as well as Horn Island.

 

1939	April	Robert Menzies becomes Australia's Prime Minister when Lyons dies. He will eventually become his nation's longest serving Prime minister.
	September 3	When Great Britain declares war on Germany, the Dominions including Australia enter the war, too. PMMenzies words on a national wireless broadcast: "It is my melancholy duty to inform you officially that, in consequences of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain had declared war upon her and that, as a result, Australia is also at war."
1940		Australia sends the second AIF Australian Imperial Force (AIF), and sent the 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions of the AIF overseas to support Britain.  to support British war effort in Europe, especially in the Western Desert of North Africa, Greece & Crete, on Cyprus and the Middle East.also sent Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircrews and a number of Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships to fight for Britain. During the years 1939-1941, Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen fought the Germans, Italians and Vichy French in Europe, Egypt, Libya, Syria, the Lebanon, Greece, Crete and the Mediterranean.
		On 3-5 January 1941, the Italian positions were attacked and Bardia was captured. Over 40,000 Italian prisoners were taken. has the Australian 6th AIF Division assault Bardia.on the coast of Libya.
1941	January 4	Tobruk falls to Australian infantry forces.Advancing west along the Libyan coast, the 6th Australian Division captured Tobruk from the Italians on 21-22 January 1941 and the town became a garrison for the Australian and British forces. The year 1941 was a dark one for the Allies. The Germans conquered all before them but Tobruk held out against Rommel and stood in the way of his advance towards Egypt and the Suez Canal. The defiance of the defenders of Tobruk raised morale in the countries of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Those who served there became known as the 'Rats of Tobruk', so-called because the German radio propaganda broadcaster 'Lord Haw Haw' described them as rats living in the ground. The 6th Division arrived in Greece in early April 1941 and on 6 April the Germans began their invasion of Greece. Despite their efforts, the Allied force, together with Greek units, was unable to halt the rapid German advance down central Greece towards Athens. After a month of intensive fighting, the Allied force was evacuated from the Greek mainland on British and Australian warships and British transports.  Syria and Lebanon June 1941 On 21 June, the Syrian capital of Damascus fell to a combined Indian, British, Australian and Free French force. Fighting, however, continued in Lebanon as the Allies struggled to take the important coastal centre of Damour. With the fall of Damour on 9 July 1941, the Vichy commander, General Dentz, asked for an armistice which was signed at Acre on 13 July 1941.
		Japanese Advance: December 1941 - March 1942 north-east coast of Malaya on 8 December 1941, Japanese troops took just 70 days to crush the British Empire forces in Malaya and Singapore, which was surrendered on 15 February 1942 Australia sends ground forces to Malaya. With the increase in Japanese power and influence in Southeast Asia Australia begins to feel pressured.
	August -  October	In August Prime Minister Robert Menzies relinquished his position to Arthur Fadden, the leader of the Country Party, and in October the leader of the Labor Party, John Curtin, became the new Prime Minister.  A war coalition ‘no confidence’ in R.G.Menzies causes a change of leadership. After a short interlude of Arthur Fadden, John Curtain (Labor Party) eventually is appointed new PM.
	October	HMAS Sydney missing believed sunk.
	December 7/8	Japan enters the war with devastating offensive actions throughout the Pacific Rim.Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941.
	December 10	British battleship "Prince of Wales" and battle cruiser "Repulse" are sank by the Japanese Air Force off the coast of Malaya.
	December 27	PM Curtain appeals to the United States.
1942	January 11	Japanese reconnaissance landings on New Guinea start a bloody campaign that will directly threaten the Australian homeland.
	January 25	In the wake of total mobilization of Australia for the war effort the central government assumes control of all state budgets
	February 7-15	Singapore falls to Japanese troops. General Percival capitulates with 70,000 men, among them the Australian AIF 8th Div. By the end of March 1942, the Japanese had conquered Malaya, the Netherlands East Indies, most of the islands to the north and east of Papua New Guinea, and occupied the main coastal centres of Lae and Madang on the New Guinea mainland.
	May	In early May 1942, an American carrier force intercepted a Japanese carrier force in the Coral Sea and, after a fierce aerial battle - the Battle of the Coral Sea - the Japanese turned back. As a consequence of the battle in the Coral Sea the Japanese give up their plans for conquering the south of New Guinea with a naval landing force.
	July and September	A Japanese land force under Major General Horii tries to reach Port Moresby from Buna via land, using the Kokoda track. In two months of savage fighting the Australian defenders manage to stop him some 48 km short of Port Moresby. Horii falls back to Buna and digs in. 23 October 1942 El Alamein in the western desert of Egypt became the scene of one of the major battles of World War II. The British Eighth Army, which included the 9th Australian Division under Lieutenant-General Sir Leslie Morshead, was pitted against Field Marshal Erwin Rommel with four German and eight Italian divisions. During the next 10 days, aircrews of the Royal Air Force's Desert Air Force, which included men from the Royal Australian Air Force, flew many sorties in support of the ferocious ground battles. Rommel began to withdraw his troops to the Libyan border at dawn on 4 November, ending the Battle of El Alamein, but the Allies pursued their defeated enemies until May 1943 when the Axis forces in North Africa finally surrendered. Japanese beachheads at Buna, Gona and Sanananda in northern Papua. The Allies expected the battle would be easily won but underestimated Japanese strength and resolve and grossly overestimated Allied capabilities. The battle opened on 19-20 November
1943	January	Buna & Gona fall to Australians after heavy fighting.the last Japanese positions fell on 22 January 1943
	April - April New Guinea 44	Australians defeated a Japanese force at Wau in late January and early February 1943. By May 1943, the Allies had captured Japanese positions near Salamaua and on 11 September 1943 they captured Salamaua. Also in September, a joint Australian and American air, land and sea operation with the 7th and 9th Australian Divisions recaptured Lae.  In a series of small, but severe battles combined Australia & US forces manoeuvre by land, sea & air and finally conquer the Japanese strongholds of Lae and Madang.
1944	April - June	In operation "Hollandia" the US with Dutch cooperation capture the airstrips and supply bases of the Japanese army in northern New Guinea & West Irian Jaya, NEI, defeating the bulk of this army without further fighting.
1945		Australian forces inflict defeats on the Japanese cut off from their homeland islands, on Bougainville & New Guinea and in several selected amphibious landings on Borneo.
	9 May May 7	VE Day An Australian contingent marches in the ceremonial Victory Day Parade in London past HRH George VI and the national flags of all Allied nations.
	July	Curtain dies while PM. Joseph Benedict Chifley becomes caretaker PM. He puts up an immigration program to draw immigrants from other European countries beside the traditional Great Britain and Ireland. The intent is to counter the newly independent and populous Asian countries like China, India or Indonesia.
	both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victoryover JapanDay,” or simply “V-J Day.” August 15	VJ Day. Australia has suffered the loss of 30,000 dead in World War Two.27,073 members of the Australian military were either killed, died of wounds or died while prisoners of war.

World War II led to significant changes to Australian society. Economically, the war accelerated the development of Australia's manufacturing industry and led to a large fall in unemployment. The impact of World War II changed Australian society, and contributed to the development of a more cosmopolitan society in which women were able to play a larger role. The war also resulted in a greater maturity in Australia's approach to international affairs, as demonstrated by the development of a more independent foreign policy and the encouragement of mass immigration after the war.