Military history of Australia
Template:History of Australia/Chronological
Military history of Australia refers to the long history of Australia's involvement in war. Australian troops were involved in many of Britain's wars from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, including World War I and World War II. Australians later supported American troops in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and other places. Australian troops have also served on peace keeping missions.
The New Zealand Wars 1861-1864
In 1861 the Victorian Colonial ship the HMVS Victoria went to help the New Zealand Colonial government against another Maori rebellion. After it finished its work there one sailor was killed.
In Late 1863 the Australian Colonial governments requested troops to quell a Maori rebellion in the Waikato province in New Zealand (Waikato war). They recruited about 2500 men in the Colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria & Tasmania over half of them from Victoria. Many Australians striked about recruitment in Australia and in 1864 recruitment was down to almost nothing. During the war about 31 Australians were killed.
Sudan March-June 1885
During the early years of the 1880s, an Egyptian regime in the Sudan, backed by the British, came under threat from rebellion under the leadership of native Muhammad Ahmad (or Ahmed), known as Mahdi to his followers. In 1883, the Egyptans sent an army to deal with the revolt. However, the Egyptans were defeated and faced a difficult campaign of extracting their forces. The British sent General Charles Gordon to take care of the problem, but he was killed in January of 1885. When news of his death arrived in New South Wales in February 1885, its government offered to send forces and meet the contingent's expenses. The battle group consisted of an infantry battalion of 522 men and 24 officers as well as an artillery battery of 212 men. It set sail from Sydney on March 3, 1885. They arrived in Suakin, Sudan on March 29, 1885 and were attached to a brigade that consisted of Scots, Grenadiers, and Coldstream Guards. They marched, in a large "square" formation made up of 10,000 men, for Tamai. They reached the village, burned huts that were standing and returned to Suakin, the Australians taking 3 casualties, none fatal. After this, most of the NSW contingent worked on a railway line that was being laid across the desert towards Berber, a town on the Nile. The Australians had been assigned to guard duties, but soon a camel corps was raised and 50 men volunteered. They rode on a reconnaissance to Takdul on May 6. On May 15 they made one last sortie to bury the dead that were killed from the fighting of the previous March. The artillery were posted at Handoub and drilled for a month, but on May 15 they rejoined the camp at Suakin. The only casualties were from disease. By May 1885 the British government decided that the campaign in Sudan was not worth the trouble and left a garrison in Suakin, while the Australian contingent sailed for home on May 17. They arrived in Sydney on June 19, 1885.
Boer War 1899-1902
The Second Boer War resulted from the history of British encroachment into or involvement in areas already settled by Afrikaaners — who were known colloquially as Boers ("farmers") — the descendants of the original Dutch settlers. This was exacerbated by the discovery of gold and diamonds in the South African Republic, after which many miners from British Empire countries migrated there (including many Australians).
Before Federation and the forming of the national army, the six Australian colonial governments sent separate contingents to South Africa to serve in the Second Boer War. These soldiers were paid by the British government and as such were technically part of the British Army.
In July 1899, during the long lead up to war, Queensland offered troops. However, the first detachment, sent in October 1899, was known as The Australian Regiment and was an infantry unit, made up mainly of volunteers from the Colonies of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, who left on one ship for Cape Town. Due to the way the war developed, these troops were converted from infantry to mounted infantry. They were not involved in the British defeats of Black Week (December 10-17) when 2,300 men were killed or wounded in three different battles.
About 500 member of the Queensland Mounted Infantry and the New South Wales Lancers took part in the relief of Kimberley in February 1900, and men of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles played a minor role at Paardeburg.
After the Afrikaaner republics were defeated, Afrikaaners formed kommandos, which disrupted British Empire troop movements and lines of supply. The Afrikaaners used the latest rifles with smokeless powder and were able to snipe at Imperial infantry, who had a tough time adapting to this style of warfare.
The new phase of resistance from the Afrikaner forces led to further recruiting in the Australian colonies. Known as Bushmen's Contingents, these soldiers were usually volunteers with horse-riding and shooting skills but no military experience. After Federation in 1901, eight Australian Commonwealth Horse battalions were sent.
Many of the Australian units were short-lived and subject to frequent restructuring. Some Australians were also transferred to multinational units, such as the Bushveldt Carbineers, famed as the last unit in which Harry "Breaker" Morant and Peter Hancock served, before their court martial and execution for alleged war crimes.
By mid-1901, British Empire mounted units would ride at night to attack Boer farmhouses or encampments, overwhelming the smaller number of Afrikaners with superior numbers. In the last few months of 1901, the NSW Mounted Rifles traveled 1,814 miles and were involved in 13 skirmishes at the loss of 5 dead and 19 wounded. They killed 27 Boers, wounded 15, and captured 196.
Other notable actions at which Australian units served included Sunnyside, Slingersfontein, Pink Hill, the Siege of Eland's River, Rhenosterkop and Haartebeestefontein.
In all, 16,175 Australians, with 16,314 horses, served in the Boer War; 251 were killed in action, 267 died of other causes and 43 went missing in action. Five Victoria Crosses were awarded to members of the Australian contingents.
Boxer Uprising 1900-1901
The Boxer Uprising began in 1900 and the western powers soon sent forces to the area. Because most of their troops were engaged in South Africa in the Boer War, the Australians looked to the navy to provide manpower. The reservists were organized into naval brigades in which the training was oriented for coastal defense by sailors who would be capable of ship handling and fighting as soldiers. On August 8, 1900 the first Australian contingents from New South Wales and Victoria sailed for China. When they arrived in Tientsin, they provided 300 men to an 8,000-strong multinational force (made up of Russian, German, Austrian, British Indian, and Chinese troops) to take Chinese forts at Pei Tang which overlooked a rail route. However, the Australian contingent arrived at Pei Tang when the battle was already won. The next action they took part in was against the Boxer fortress at Pao-ting Fu, where the Chinese government was believed to have found asylum after Peking was taken by western forces. The Victorians joined a force of 7,500 on a 10 day march to the fort to find that it had already surrendered. During this time the New South Wales contigent had undertaken garrison duties in Peking when they arrived on October 22 after a 12 day march. Remaining in Tientsin and Peking over the winter, they performed police and guard duties, sometimes working as railwaymen and fire-fighters. Although the Australians played a small role in combat, they did play a role in the restoration of civil order. The entire naval brigade left China in March 1901. Six Australians died from sickness and injury, but none were killed as a result of enemy action.
First World War 1914-1918
When the United Kingdom declared war on Germany at the start of World War I, the Australian government followed without hesitation. It was believed at the time that any declaration of war by Britain automatically included Australia, in part because of the very large number of British-born citizens and first generation Anglo-Australians at the time. By the end of the war, almost 20% of those who served in the Australian forces had been born in the United Kingdom, even though nearly all enlistments had occurred in Australia.
Because existing militia forces were unable to serve overseas, an all-volunteer expeditionary force, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was formed from August 15, 1914. The Australian government had pledged to supply 20,000 men, organised as one infantry division and one light horse brigade plus supporting units. The first commander of the AIF was General William Bridges, who also assumed direct command of the infantry division.
However, the first targets for Australian action was close to home. The battlecruiser HMAS Australia led the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF), including a 2,000-strong land force, which had been assembled to seize German colonial outposts in the south-west Pacific and New Guinea. The force landed near Rabaul on September 11, 1914 and after some fighting, the German garrison surrendered on September 21. HMAS Australia then attempted to hunt down the German East Asia Squadron.
The AIF departed in a single convoy from Albany, Western Australia on November 1, 1914. During the journey, HMAS Sydney destroyed the German cruiser SMS Emden, at the Battle of Cocos, the first ship to ship action for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The AIF was sent initially to British-controlled Egypt, to pre-empt any attack by the Ottoman Empire, and with a view to opening another front against the Central Powers. The AIF had four infantry brigades with the first three making up the 1st Division. The 4th Brigade was joined with the sole New Zealand infantry brigade to form the New Zealand and Australian Division.
In the meantime smaller RAN ships saw action against enemy forces in German East Africa. HMAS Australia, along with Sydney and HMAS Melbourne eventually took up patrol and fleet duties with British fleets in the Atlantic.
The combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), commanded by British general William Birdwood, went into action when Allied forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula on April 25, 1915 (now commemorated as Anzac Day). The Battle of Gallipoli would last for eight months of bloody stalemate. By the end of the campaign, Australian casualties were 8,700 killed and 19,000 wounded or sick. The original AIF contingent had continued to grow with the arrival of the 2nd Division which was formed in Egypt and went to Gallipoli in August.
Australia's first air unit was formed, the Mesopotamian Half Flight. It saw extensive action against Turkish forces in the Middle East and was also the basis for the first Australian Flying Corps (AFC) squadron to see action on the Western Front. By the end of the war, there would be four AFC squadrons in France or Belgium.
After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the infantry underwent a major expansion with the two veteran divisions (1st and 2nd) being split to create an additional two divisions (4th and 5th). The 3rd Division was formed in Australia and sent to the Western Front, in France. The light horse brigades had served as infantry at Gallipoli. In 1916, they were reunited with their horses and formed into cavalry divisions in Egypt to campaign against Turkish forces in the Sinai and Palestine. Australia also supplied the majority of troops for the newly formed Imperial Camel Corps Brigade.
The first Australian infantry division to see action on the Western Front was the 5th Division, which was thrown unprepared into the futile Battle of Fromelles, a "diversion" to the Battle of the Somme that cost the division 5,500 casualties for no gain. The 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions, combined as I Anzac Corps, fought the Battle of Pozières and subsequent Battle of Mouquet Farm, part of the Battle of the Somme. In Egypt, the light horse had helped repulse the Turkish attempt capture the Suez Canal in the Battle of Romani.
During 1917, the five divisions in France fought in three Allied offensives: the Battle of Bullecourt (part of the Battle of Arras), the Battle of Messines and the Third Battle of Ypres. Meanwhile the light horse had entered southern Palestine. After two attempts to break through the Turkish defences at Gaza, the decisive victory was achieved in the Third Battle of Gaza in which the Australians captured Beersheba in a dramatic cavalry charge. By the end of the year, Allied forces had also captured Jerusalem.
The German Spring Offensive of early 1918 broke through British lines south of the Somme. The Australians were called on to halt the German advance east of Amiens at the town of Villers-Bretonneux. In preparation for the British counter-offensive, the newly formed Australian Corps commanded by General John Monash, fought the Battle of Hamel, widely regarded as the finest set-piece strategy of the war on the Western Front. The final Allied offensive began with the Battle of Amiens on August 8, and the Australian divisions, along with the Canadian Corps, spearheaded the advance south of the Somme. By the end of September, the Australian divisions were severely depleted, with only the 3rd and the (rebuilt) 5th deemed to be fit for action. On October 5 the Australian Corps was withdrawn to rest and saw no more fighting before the war ended.
In the Middle East, the light horse had endured summer in the Jordan Valley before leading the British offensive in the final Battle of Megiddo. The 10th Light Horse Regiment was the first Allied unit to reach Damascus.
A total of 331,814 Australians were sent overseas to serve: 53,993 died from battle related causes; 7,727 died from other causes; 137,013 were wounded in action and; 16,496 suffered the effects of chemical weapons (gas). A total of 3,647 became prisoners of war, of whom 109 died in captivity. The financial cost of the war to the Australian government was £188,480,000.
Of those who served in the AIF, 18% (61,859) were killed. The casualty rate (killed or wounded) was 64%, reportedly the highest of any country which took part in World War I. This casualty rate was exacerbated by a perpetual manpower shortage in the AIF due to the fact that it remained a volunteer force for the duration of the war—the only British or Dominion force to do so. Two referendums on conscription had been defeated, preserving the volunteer status, but stretching the reserves towards the end of the war. The AIF also had a desertion rate larger than Britain, mainly because the death penalty was not in force. It is also important to remember with regards to this statistic that the vast majority of deserters returned voluntarily to their units, unlike those of the other armies in the war.
Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
Australian volunteers participated in the armed forces supporting both sides of the Spanish Civil War, though predominantly supporting the Spanish Republic through the International Brigades. While the Spanish Civil War was a celebrated cause for Australian revolutionaries, particularly the Communist Party of Australia, the war did not spark particular public interest. While individual right wing Australians served on the side of the Nationalist rebels, they did not receive any public support from within Australia. Australian opposition to the Republican cause was martialed by B.A. Santamaria on an anti-communist basis, rather than a pro-Nationalist basis. Returned veterans from either side were not subsequently recognised by either the government or the RSL.
Second World War 1939-1945
When the Second World War began it was decided to send the majority of Australian forces off to Europe, and leave only the 8th Division in the Asia-Pacific region. There was no front in Europe itself which the troops could be sent to after the Germans occupied France, so they were sent to the Middle East. Australian forces are most known in this theatre for their role in the defence of Tobruk, which was besieged by the Germans.
Following the Japanese attacks on South east asia in late 1941, Australia was attacked itself during the Air raids on Darwin, February 19, 1942. Australian troops were then sent home from the Middle East to defend the country from the Japanese. There was possibly a Japanese plan to invade Australia. Australian forces in New Guinea fought the Japanese along the Kakoda Track. During the Borneo campaign the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island.
Units
The 8th Division was raised from regular army units and new, all-volunteer infantry brigades, from July 1940 onwards. As war with Japan loomed in 1941, the division was divided into four separate forces, which were deployed in different parts of the Asia-Pacific region. All of these formations were destroyed as fighting forces by the end of February, 1942.
The 7th Division left Australia for the Middle East in October 1940. It was then sent to North Africa and the 18th Brigade played a successful defensive role in the Siege of Tobruk, from May 1941. Meanwhile, the rest of the 7th Division formed the backbone of the Allied invasion of Lebanon and Syria; with British, Indian and Free French forces, the 7th defeated Vichy French land forces in the Middle East. The 6th Division served in the North African campaign, the Greek campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track, among others. In common with other Australian divisions, the 9th Division was one of only a few Allied army units to serve with distinction against both Nazi Germany (in North Africa) and the Empire of Japan (in New Guinea and Borneo).
Campaigns
- Battle of Crete
- Greece
- Syria
- Battle of the Mediterranean
- North Africa
- Air combat in Europe
- Malaya and Singapore
- New Guinea
- Attacks on Australia
- Pacific naval combat
- Borneo campaign (1945)
- British Commonwealth Occupation Force 1946 - 1951
Korean War 1950-1953
On June 25, 1950, a North Korean army crossed into South Korea and advanced for the capital Seoul, which fell in less than a week. North Korea's forces continued toward the port of Pusan, a strategic goal. In two days, the United States offered assistance and the United Nations Security Council asked its members to help repel the North Korean attack. Australia contributed No. 77 Squadron RAAF and the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR), both of which were stationed in Japan under the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). In addition to combat personnel, the Australian military provided the majority of supply and support personnel to BCOF, which was superseded in 1952 by British Commonwealth Forces Korea.
By the time 3 RAR arrived in Pusan on September 28, the North Korean army was in retreat. As a part of the invasion force under the UN Supreme Commander, General Douglas MacArthur, 3 RAR moved north and was involved in its first major action near Pyongyang.
After the Chinese government moved 18 divisions into North Korea, the UN forces were defeated in successive battles and they retreated to the 38th parallel. However, Australian troops participated in two major battles in 1951. The first was the Battle of Kapyong: on April 22, Chinese forces attacked the Kapyong Valley and forced South Korean and New Zealand troops to retreat. Australian and Canadian troops were ordered to halt this Chinese advance. After a night of fighting, the Australians recaptured their positions, at the cost of 32 men killed and 53 wounded. For this contribution of stalling the Chinese advance, 3 RAR received a United States Distinguished Unit Citation.
The second major battle they fought in was Operation Commando. It was an attack on a Chinese salient in a bend of the Imjin River. Objectives of the 1st Commonwealth Division, including the Australians, included Hill 355 and Hill 317. The attack commenced on October 3, and after five days the Chinese retreated. Casualties include 20 dead and 89 wounded for the Australians.
After 1951, both sides were in a type of combat comparable to the Western Front in World War I in which men lived in tunnels, redoubts, and sandbagged forts behind barbed wire defenses. From 1951 to the end of the war, 3 RAR held trenches on the eastern side of the Commonwealth Division's positions in the hills northeast of the Imjin River. Across from them were heavily fortified Chinese positions. Australia decided to increase its commitment by sending 1 RAR as well. This battalion remained in Australia for 12 months, leaving in March 1953, being replaced by 2 RAR in April.
The UN and North Korea agreed suspended hostilities on July 27, 1953. All in all, Australian casualties numbered more than 1,500, of whom 339 were killed.
Malayan Emergency 1950-1960
The Malayan Emergency was declared on June 18, 1948 after three estate managers were murdered by the MCP (Malayan Communist Party). Australian involvement in the emergency began in 1950, with the arrival of RAAF 1 and 38 Squadrons to Singapore. Dakotas from 38 Squadron carried out cargo runs, troop movement, and paratrooper and leaflet drops, whilst Lincoln bombers of 1 Squadron carried out bombing raids. The RAAF in Malaysia were particullarly successful, using 5 Lincoln bombers, in Operation Termite, a joint operation with the RAF and ground troops. Operation Termite destroyed 181 communist camps, killed 13 communists and forced 1 into surrender. In January, 1956, the first Australian ground forces were deployed on Malaysian penninsulla, the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR). 2 RAR mainly participated in "mopping up" over the next 20 months, as part of 28 Commonwealth Brigade. 2 RAR left Malaysia October 1957 to be replaced by 3 RAR. 3 RAR underwent 6 weeks of jungle training and began driving MCP insurgents back into the jungle of Perak and Kedah. By late 1959 operations against the MCP were in their final phase, and most communists had been pushed back and across the Thai borer. 3 RAR left Malaysia October 1959 to be replaced by 1 RAR. Though patrolling the border 1 RAR did not make contact with the insurgents, and in October 1960 were replaced by 2 RAR, who stayed in Malaysia until August 1963. The Malayan Emergency was officially over by 31 July, 1960. Australia also provided artillery and engineer support, along with an air-field construction squadron. The Royal Australian Navy also served in Malayan waters, firing on suspected communist positions between 1956 and 1957. By the end of the Malayan Emergency Australian forces had suffered 66 casualties, 39 of which were fatal. The Emergency was the longest continued military commitment in Australian military history.
Indonesia 1964-1966
In 1961, the island of Borneo (off the coast of Malaysia) was divided into four different states, including Indonesia and Malaysia (mostly because of the backing of the UK). This angered Indonesian President Sukarno as he thought that this would increase British control in the region and in 1963, Indonesia announced that they would pursue a policy of Konfrontasi (confrontation) with Malaysia. After two years of Indonesian confrontation in Borneo, through many British and Malaysian requests, Australia deployed a battalion in Borneo in January 1965. Most Australian troops were stationed in Sarawak. The main situation of the British battalion and Malaysian troops was to control the Malaysian/Indonesian border to protect the centres of population from enemy attacks. But by the time Australia had been deployed, the British agreed to take more aggressive action, crossing borders to obtain information and forcing Indonesia to remain on the defensive on their side of the border. The situation was resolved from a military coup in 1966 bring General Suharto into power, who had little interest in obtaining Borneo. Throughout the military intervention, 23 Australian were killed and eight were wounded.
Vietnam War 1962-1972
Australia, as well as the United States, supported South Vietnam throughout the early 1960s. In 1961 and 1962, the leader of the South Vietnamese government, Ngo Dinh Diem asked for assistance from the US and its allies to improve security. Australia offered 30 military advisors, sent as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam which was often known simply as "The Team". They arrived in July and August 1962, which started Australia's involvement in the war. In August 1964, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) sent a flight of Caribou transport planes to Vung Tau, a port town.
In early 1965 the US increased involvement in the war with 200,000 troops, and Australia dispatched the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) to serve with the US 173rd Airborne Brigade in Bien Hoa province in June 1965.
In March 1966, the government announced that they were sending a brigade-sized unit, the 1st Australian Task Force, to replace 1 RAR, initally with two battalions and support services, to be based at Nui Dat, in Phouc Tuy province. 1 ATF included the Iroquois helicopters of No. 9 Squadron RAAF squadion. The task force was assigned primary responsibility for its own area and included conscripts who had been raised into an army under the National Service Scheme, passed in 1964. At the Battle of Long Tan, on August 18-19, 1966, D Company, 6 RAR and other units held off a Viet Cong force which was at least six times bigger.
At the height of Australian commitment, the taskforce numbered 8,500 troops. A third RAAF unit, No. 2 Squadron, flying Canberra bombers, was sent in 1967, and destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy joined US patrols in the waters off North Vietnam.
Iraq
The Australian task force sent to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq is said to have been the first component of the coalition forces to attack. There are at least 1200 troops serving in Iraq, as of August 2005. They are participating in Operation: Catalyst, the rehabiilitation of Iraq.
Peacekeeping
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- Indonesia 1947-1951
- East Timor
- Solomon Islands
- Western Sahara
External links
- Australian Military History: An Overview from the Australian War