Welcome to the Military history of Australia portal!
The military history of Australia spans the nation's 230-year modern history, from the early Australian frontier wars between Aboriginals and Europeans to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 21st century. Although this history is short when compared to that of many other nations, Australia has been involved in numerous conflicts and wars, and war and military service have been significant influences on Australian society and national identity, including the Anzac spirit. The relationship between war and Australian society has also been shaped by the enduring themes of Australian strategic culture and the unique security challenges it faces.
The six British colonies in Australia participated in some of Britain's wars of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, as a federated dominion and later as an independent nation, Australia fought in the First World War and Second World War, as well as in the wars in Korea, Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam during the Cold War. In the Post-Vietnam era Australian forces have been involved in numerous international peacekeeping missions, through the United Nations and other agencies, including in the Sinai, Persian Gulf, Rwanda, Somalia, East Timor and the Solomon Islands, as well as many overseas humanitarian relief operations, while more recently they have also fought as part of multi-lateral forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, nearly 103,000 Australians died during these conflicts. (Full article...)
The heavily damaged Japanese cruiser Aoba disembarks dead and wounded crew members near Buin, Bougainville and the Shortland Islands a few hours after the battle on 12 October 1942
On the night of 11 October, Japanese naval forces in the Solomon Islands area—under the command of Vice AdmiralGunichi Mikawa—sent a major supply and reinforcement convoy to their forces on Guadalcanal. The convoy consisted of two seaplane tenders and six destroyers and was commanded by Rear AdmiralTakatsugu Jojima. At the same time but in a separate operation, three heavy cruisers and two destroyers—under the command of Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō—were to bombard the Alliedairfield on Guadalcanal (called Henderson Field by the Allies) with the object of destroying Allied aircraft and the airfield's facilities. (Full article...)
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Shrine of Remembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to as The Shrine) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but now functions as a memorial to all Australians who have served in any war. It is a site of annual observances for Anzac Day (25 April) and Remembrance Day (11 November), and is one of the largest war memorials in Australia.
Designed by architects Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop, both World War I veterans, the Shrine is in classical style, based on the Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus and the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. The crowning element at the top of the ziggurat roof references the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. Built from Tynonggranite, the Shrine originally consisted only of the central sanctuary surrounded by the ambulatory. The sanctuary contains the marble Stone of Remembrance, upon which is engraved the words "Greater love hath no man" (John 15:13); once per year, on 11 November at 11 a.m. (Remembrance Day), a ray of sunlight shines through an aperture in the roof to light up the word "Love" in the inscription. Beneath the sanctuary lies the crypt, which contains a bronze statue of a soldier father and son, and panels listing every unit of the Australian Imperial Force. (Full article...)
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Lieutenant General Sir Harry Chauvel 1919 portrait by James Peter Quinn (1870–1951)
The son of a grazier, Chauvel was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Upper Clarence Light Horse, a unit organised by his father, in 1886. After the family moved to Queensland he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Queensland Mounted Infantry in 1890, and saw service during the 1891 Australian shearers' strike. He became a regular officer in 1896, and went to the United Kingdom as part of the Queensland contingent for the 1897 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. In 1899 he commanded one of two companies of Queensland Mounted Infantry that were Queensland's initial contribution to the Boer War. After the war, he was closely involved with the training of the Australian Light Horse. (Full article...)
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The Singapore strategy was a naval defence policy of the United Kingdom that evolved in a series of war plans from 1919 to 1941. It aimed to deter aggression by Japan by providing a base for a fleet of the Royal Navy in the Far East, able to intercept and defeat a Japanese force heading south towards India or Australia. To be effective it required a well-equipped base. Singapore, at the eastern end of the Strait of Malacca, was chosen in 1919 as the location of this base; work continued on this naval base and its defences over the next two decades.
The planners envisaged that a war with Japan would have three phases: while the garrison of Singapore defended the fortress, the fleet would make its way from home waters to Singapore, sally to relieve or recapture Hong Kong, and blockade the Japanese home islands to force Japan to accept terms. The idea of invading Japan was rejected as impractical, but British planners did not expect that the Japanese would willingly fight a decisive naval battle against the odds. Aware of the impact of a blockade on an island nation at the heart of a maritime empire, they felt that economic pressure would suffice. (Full article...)
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John Treloar in 1922
John Linton Treloar, OBE (10 December 1894 – 28 January 1952), commonly referred to during his life as J. L. Treloar, was an Australian archivist and the second director of the Australian War Memorial (AWM). During World War I he served in several staff roles and later headed the First Australian Imperial Force's (AIF) record-keeping unit. From 1920 Treloar played an important role in establishing the AWM as its director. He headed an Australian Government department during the first years of World War II, and spent the remainder of the war in charge of the Australian military's history section. Treloar returned to the AWM in 1946, and continued as its director until his death.
Treloar's career was focussed on the Australian military and its history. Prior to World War I he worked as a clerk in the Department of Defence and, after volunteering for the AIF in 1914, formed part of the Australian Army officer Brudenell White's staff for most of the war's first years. He was appointed commander of the Australian War Records Section (AWRS) in 1917. In this position, he improved the AIF's records and collected a large number of artefacts for later display in Australia. Treloar was appointed the director of what eventually became the AWM in 1920, and was a key figure in establishing the Memorial and raising funds for its permanent building in Canberra. He left the AWM at the outbreak of World War II to lead the Australian Government's Department of Information, but was effectively sidelined for much of 1940. In early 1941 he was appointed to command the Australian military's Military History and Information Section with similar responsibilities to those he had held during World War I. He attempted to intervene in the management of the AWM during his absence, however, to the increasing frustration of its acting director. Treloar worked intensely in all his roles and suffered periods of ill-health as a result. Following the war, he returned to the Memorial in 1946 but his performance deteriorated over time, possibly due to exhaustion. He died in January 1952. (Full article...)
Following the Italian invasion on 28 October 1940, Greece, with British air and material support, repelled the initial Italian attack and a counter-attack in March 1941. When the German invasion, known as Operation Marita, began on 6 April, the bulk of the Greek Army was on the Greek border with Albania, then a vassal of Italy, from which the Italian troops had attacked. German troops invaded from Bulgaria, creating a second front. Greece received a small reinforcement from British, Australian and New Zealand forces in anticipation of the German attack. The Greek army found itself outnumbered in its effort to defend against both Italian and German troops. As a result, the Metaxas defensive line did not receive adequate troop reinforcements and was quickly overrun by the Germans, who then outflanked the Greek forces at the Albanian border, forcing their surrender. British, Australian and New Zealand forces were overwhelmed and forced to retreat, with the ultimate goal of evacuation. For several days, Allied troops played an important part in containing the German advance on the Thermopylae position, allowing ships to be prepared to evacuate the units defending Greece. The German Army reached the capital, Athens, on 27 April and Greece's southern shore on 30 April, capturing 7,000 British, Australian and New Zealand personnel and ending the battle with a decisive victory. The conquest of Greece was completed with the capture of Crete a month later. Following its fall, Greece was occupied by the military forces of Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. (Full article...)
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The Australian Air Corps (AAC) was a temporary formation of the Australian military that existed in the period between the disbandment of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) of World War I and the establishment of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in March 1921. Raised in January 1920, the AAC was commanded by Major William Anderson, a former AFC pilot. Many of the AAC's members were also from the AFC and would go on to join the RAAF. Although part of the Australian Army, for most of its existence the AAC was overseen by a board of senior officers that included members of the Royal Australian Navy.
Following the disbandment of the AFC, the AAC was a stop-gap measure intended to remain in place until the formation of a permanent and independent Australian air force. The corps' primary purpose was to maintain assets of the Central Flying School at Point Cook, Victoria, but several pioneering activities also took place under its auspices: AAC personnel set an Australian altitude record that stood for a decade, made the first non-stop flight between Sydney and Melbourne, and undertook the country's initial steps in the field of aviation medicine. The AAC operated fighters, bombers and training aircraft, including some of the first examples of Britain's Imperial Gift to arrive in Australia. As well as personnel, the RAAF inherited Point Cook and most of its initial equipment from the AAC. (Full article...)
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Group Captain Ian McLachlan as Officer Commanding No. 73 Wing at Goodenough Island, New Guinea, preparing to vote in the Australian federal election, c. August 1943
The son of a Scottish-Australian merchant and politician, Watt was born in England and moved to Sydney when he was one year old, returning to Britain at the age of eleven for education at Bristol and Cambridge. In 1900 he returned to Australia, and enlisted in the Militia, before acquiring cattle stations in New South Wales and Queensland. He was also a partner in the family shipping firm. (Full article...)
Sybil Howy IrvingMBE (25 February 1897 – 28 March 1973) was an Australian military officer who was the founder and controller of the Australian Women's Army Service during World War II. She served in this position from 1941 to 1946, and was active in charity and social organisations until she was aged 74. (Full article...)
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began with a small commitment of 30 military advisors in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australian personnel following the Menzies Government's April 1965 decision to upgrade its military commitment to South Vietnam's security. By the time the last Australian personnel were withdrawn in 1972, the Vietnam War had become Australia's longest war, eventually being surpassed by Australia's long-term commitment to the War in Afghanistan. It remains Australia's largest force contribution to a foreign conflict since the Second World War, and was also the most controversial military action in Australia since the conscription controversy during World War I. Although initially enjoying broad support due to concerns about the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, an increasingly influential anti-war movement developed, particularly in response to the government's imposition of conscription.
The withdrawal of Australia's forces from South Vietnam began in November 1970, under the Gorton Government, when 8 RAR completed its tour of duty and was not replaced. A phased withdrawal followed and, by 11 January 1973, Australian involvement in hostilities in Vietnam had ceased. Nevertheless, Australian troops from the Australian Embassy Platoon remained deployed in the country until 1 July 1973, and Australian forces were deployed briefly in April 1975, during the fall of Saigon, to evacuate personnel from the Australian embassy. Approximately 60,000 Australians served in the war: 521 were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded. (Full article...)
After the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, Simpson used donkeys to provide first aid and carry wounded soldiers to the beach, from where they could be evacuated. He continued this work for three and a half weeks – often under fire – until he was killed by machine-gun fire during the third attack on Anzac Cove. Simpson and his donkey have become part of the Anzac legend. (Full article...)
Many of the tactics employed, such as the use of combined arms, illustrated the evolution of military tactics, from the massed attacks mounted earlier in the war. All of the Allies' objectives were achieved within 93 minutes, just three minutes longer than Monash's calculated battle time. (Full article...)
Later, in early 1942, in response to Japan's entry to the war, the battalion was transferred back to Australia and after a period of re-organisation and training it was sent to New Guinea where it took part in the Kokoda Track campaign. Arriving at the height of the fighting, after the Japanese advance stalled it took part in the pursuit of Japanese forces to the northern coast, fighting around the beachheads at Buna–Gona. In 1943, after returning to Australia for six months to refit, the battalion was committed to the Salamaua–Lae campaign, and then the Ramu Valley–Finisterre Range campaign. Returning to Australia in early 1944, a long period of inactivity followed before the 2/33rd undertook its last campaign in Borneo in the final months of the war. The battalion was disbanded in Brisbane in March 1946. (Full article...)
An Australian soldier from 3RAR with an L4A4 Bren light machine-gun, on patrol near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, 1965.
The Battle of Sungei Koemba (27 May – 12 June 1965) took place during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. Involving Australian and Indonesian troops, the battle consisted of a series of ambushes launched by the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR), along the Sungei Koemba river in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). The ambushes were part of the wider Operation Claret which involved cross-border operations by British-Commonwealth units from bases in Sarawak, penetrating up to 10,000 yards (9,100 m) into Indonesian territory with the aim of disrupting the movement and resupply of Indonesian forces and to keep them off balance.
The first ambush was conducted by two platoons from B Company on 27 May 1965 and resulted in significant Indonesian casualties, for no loss to the Australians. The second ambush was conducted a fortnight later and was set a little further downstream from the last one, this time by a platoon from C Company, occurring on 12 June 1965 and again resulting in heavy Indonesian casualties for no loss to the Australians. (Full article...)
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The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the Australian Military Forces. In 1980, however, the current name—Australian Army Reserve—was officially adopted, and it now consists of a number of components based around the level of commitment and training obligation that its members are required to meet. (Full article...)
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Australian soldiers defending FSB Coral, May 1968
The Battle of Coral–Balmoral (12 May – 6 June 1968) was a series of actions fought during the Vietnam War between the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) and the North VietnamesePeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 7th Division and Viet Cong (VC) Main Force units, 40 kilometres (25 mi) north-east of Saigon. Following the defeat of the PAVN/VC Tet offensive in January and February, in late April two Australian infantry battalions—the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR)—with supporting arms, were again deployed from their base at Nui Dat in Phước Tuy Province to positions astride infiltration routes leading to Saigon to interdict renewed movement against the capital. Part of the wider allied Operation Toan Thang I, it was launched in response to intelligence reports of another impending PAVN/VC offensive, yet the Australians experienced little fighting during this period. Meanwhile, the PAVN/VC successfully penetrated the capital on 5 May, plunging Saigon into chaos during the May Offensive in an attempt to influence the upcoming Paris peace talks scheduled to begin on the 13th. During three days of intense fighting the attacks were repelled by US and South Vietnamese forces, and although another attack was launched by the PAVN/VC several days later, the offensive was again defeated with significant losses on both sides, causing extensive damage to Saigon and many civilian casualties. By 12 May the fighting was over, and the PAVN/VC were forced to withdraw having suffered heavy casualties. US casualties were also heavy and it proved to be their most costly week of the war.
1 ATF was redeployed on 12 May to obstruct the withdrawal of forces from the capital, with two battalions establishing a fire support base named FSB Coral, just east of Lai Khê in Bình Dương Province, in an area of operations known as AO Surfers. However, poor reconnaissance and inadequate operational planning led to delays and confusion during the fly-in, and the Australians had only partially completed FSB Coral by the evening. The PAVN mounted a number of battalion-sized assaults on the night of 12/13 May, with a heavy bombardment from 03:30 signalling the start. Exploiting the disorganised defence to penetrate the Australian perimeter, the PAVN 141st Regiment temporarily captured a forward gun position during close-quarters fighting, before being repulsed by superior firepower that morning. Casualties were heavy on both sides, but the Australians had won a convincing victory. The following day 1 RAR was deployed to defend FSB Coral, while 3 RAR established FSB Coogee to the west to ambush staging areas and infiltration routes. Coral was again assaulted in the early hours of 16 May, coming under a heavy barrage followed by another regimental-sized attack. Again the base was penetrated, but after a six-hour battle the PAVN were forced to withdraw after suffering heavy losses. Expecting further fighting, the Australians were subsequently reinforced with Centurion tanks and additional artillery. On 22 May, FSB Coral was again attacked overnight, coming under a short but accurate mortar bombardment which was broken up by Australian artillery and mortars. (Full article...)
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Australian troops withdraw from Ratsua on to the Soraken Peninsula following the end of hostilities, August 1945
The fighting occurred following a failed landing by Australian forces at Porton Plantation in early June, which was part of an attempt to outflank a series of strong points that the Japanese had built across the base of the Bonis Peninsula. After this, the fighting in the northern sector around Ratsua essentially became a containment action for the Australians as they concentrated their efforts and resources upon driving south towards Buin, which was the main centre of Japanese resistance on the island at the time. As a result, the situation around Ratsua remained largely static until the end of hostilities in mid-August 1945. (Full article...)
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Second Lieutenant Clive Williams during orders with his section commanders.
The Battle of Gang Toi (8 November 1965) was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. The battle was one of the first engagements between the two forces during the war and occurred when A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) struck a Viet Cong bunker system defended by Company 238 in the Gang Toi Hills, in northern Bien Hoa Province. It occurred during a major joint US-Australian operation codenamed Operation Hump, involving the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, to which 1 RAR was attached. During the latter part of the operation an Australian rifle company clashed with an entrenched company-sized Viet Cong force in well-prepared defensive positions. Meanwhile, an American paratroop battalion was also heavily engaged in fighting on the other side of the Song Dong Nai.
The Australians were unable to concentrate sufficient combat power to launch an assault on the position and consequently they were forced to withdraw after a fierce engagement during which both sides suffered a number of casualties, reluctantly leaving behind two men who had been shot and could not be recovered due to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire. Although they were most likely dead, a battalion-attack to recover the missing soldiers was planned by the Australians for the next day, but this was cancelled by the American brigade commander due to rising casualties and the need to utilise all available helicopters for casualty evacuation. The bodies of the two missing Australian soldiers were subsequently recovered more than 40 years later, and were finally returned to Australia for burial. (Full article...)
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25 pounder guns from the Australian 4th Field Regiment fire upon Japanese positions near Porton Plantation, June 1945
The Battle of Porton Plantation (8–10 June 1945) took place near the village of Soraken on Bougainville Island, in the Solomon Islands archipelago during World War II. Involving forces from Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the battle was part of the wider Bougainville campaign, which had begun in late 1943 and lasted until the end of the war in August 1945. The battle formed part of Australian efforts to liberate the northern part of Bougainville.
The fighting occurred after a company-sized Australian force from the 31st/51st Infantry Battalion made an amphibious landing north of the Porton Plantation jetties in an attempt to outflank the Japanese positions on the Ratsua front, which were holding up the advance of the 26th and the 31st/51st Infantry Battalions from the 11th Brigade. The Australians landed unopposed and established a small perimeter, but some of their landing craft ran aground and they were unable to bring their heavy weapons and support elements ashore. Troops from the Japanese 87th Naval Garrison Force quickly surrounded the beachhead and, as their supply situation grew desperate, the Australians were forced to withdraw. In the course of their evacuation by sea another landing craft ran aground. Over the next two days several unsuccessful rescue attempts were made until eventually, in the early morning of 11 June, the last Australian survivors were picked up. (Full article...)
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The RAAF's wartime area commands: originally to have been called Northern Area, Northern Command was formed in April 1944, re-designated Northern Area in December 1945, and disbanded in February 1947.
Image 32Women friends and family on the wharf waving farewell to the departing troop ship RMS Strathallan carrying the Advance Party of the 6th Division to service overseas. They include George Alan Vasey's wife Jessie Vasey (second from the left). The photograph is especially poignant because Vasey did not survive the war. (from Military history of Australia during World War II)
Image 80Australian sailors take possession of a midget submarine at a Japanese naval base near Tokyo in September 1945. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 86The light cruiser HMAS Hobart showing torpedo damage inflicted by a Japanese submarine on 20 July 1943. Hobart did not return to service until December 1944. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Without any inhibitions of any kind I make it quite clear that Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom