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5 August – The Cowra breakout occurs, with 545 Japanese prisoners of war escaping from the camp. [6] 19 August – A referendum is held, concerning Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights. It proposes to grant the government power to legislate over 14 points of law for a five-year period.
Australia entered World War II on 3 September 1939, following the government's acceptance of the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Nazi Germany. Australia later entered into a state of war with other members of the Axis powers , including the Kingdom of Italy on 11 June 1940, [ 1 ] and the Empire of Japan on 9 December 1941. [ 2 ]
Gavin Long in Lae, New Guinea in July 1944 while attached to the headquarters of New Guinea Force. C.E.W. Bean, the editor and principal author of the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, proposed to the Australian government in late 1941 that preparations begin on an official history of the world war then in progress.
As a result, when Australia entered the war in 1939, a new all-volunteer force was required that could fight in Europe or elsewhere outside of Australia's immediate region. (Similarly, in World War I the all-volunteer First Australian Imperial Force (First AIF) was raised and served with distinction at Gallipoli , in the Middle East and on the ...
In February 1944, the Combined Fleet, the Imperial Japanese Navy's main striking force, withdrew from its base at Truk in the Central Pacific to Palau and Singapore. The appearance of a powerful naval force at Singapore alarmed the Allies, as it was feared that these ships would conduct raids into the Indian Ocean and against Western Australia. [9]
In 1944 Australia's war effort was focused on the Pacific War, and most elements of the country's military were in Australia and the islands to its north. [1] Nevertheless, substantial numbers of RAAF personnel, most of whom had been trained through the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), were stationed in the United Kingdom (UK) and took part in operations against Germany.
The Battle of Pearl Ridge (30–31 December 1944) was an engagement of the Second World War fought between Australian and Japanese forces on Bougainville Island. Part of the wider Bougainville Campaign , the battle took place in the central sector of the island, shortly after the Australians had taken over responsibility from the Americans.
The Battle of Tsimba Ridge was an engagement of the Second World War involving Australian and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Bougainville campaign of the Pacific theatre, the battle occurred in the northern sector of Bougainville Island between 17 January and 9 February 1945, when the lead battalion of the Australian 11th Brigade—the 31st/51st Infantry Battalion—advanced towards the ...