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The military history of Australia spans the nation's 230-year modern history, from the early Australian frontier wars between Aboriginal people 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...)
Leak was evacuated to the United Kingdom, and did not return to his unit until October 1917. Suffering from the effects of his service, Leak was convicted of desertion by a court-martial in November, but his sentence was ultimately suspended, and he returned to the 9th Battalion. In early March 1918 he was gassed, and did not rejoin to his unit until the Armistice of 11 November 1918. He returned to Australia and was discharged in 1919. (Full article...)
Sent to Singapore with the rest of the 8th Division, Matthews served as the brigade signals officer of the 27th Brigade during the Malayan campaign and the Battle of Singapore, and at the surrender of Singapore he became a prisoner of war (POW). While in captivity he was awarded the Military Cross for displaying a high standard of courage, energy and ability while maintaining communications under fire in the earlier fighting. In July 1942, he was a member of a group of POWs sent to the Sandakan POW camp in British North Borneo. There, Matthews established an intelligence network, collecting information, weapons, medical supplies and radio parts, and made contact with organisations outside the camp, including Filipino guerrillas who assisted POWs to escape. (Full article...)
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The Avro Ansons after landing safely, having collided in mid-air and locked together, 29 September 1940
On 29 September 1940, a mid-air collision occurred over Brocklesby, New South Wales, Australia. The accident was unusual in that the aircraft involved, two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Avro Ansons of No. 2 Service Flying Training School, remained locked together after colliding, and then landed safely. The collision stopped the engines of the upper Anson, but those of the one underneath continued to run, allowing the aircraft to keep flying. The navigators of both aircraft and the pilot of the lower Anson bailed out. The pilot of the upper Anson found that he was able to control the interlocked aircraft with his ailerons and flaps, and made an emergency landing in a nearby paddock. All four crewmen survived the incident. The upper Anson was repaired and returned to flight service; the lower Anson was used as an instructional airframe. (Full article...)
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Sergeant Tom Derrick in June 1944
Thomas Currie "Diver" Derrick, VC, DCM (20 March 1914 – 24 May 1945) was an Australian soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. In November 1943, during the Second World War, Derrick was awarded the Victoria Cross for his assault on a heavily defended Japanese position at Sattelberg, New Guinea. During the engagement, he scaled a cliff face while under heavy fire and silenced seven machine gun posts, before leading his platoon in a charge that destroyed a further three.
Born in the Adelaide suburb of Medindie, South Australia, Derrick left school at the age of fourteen and found work in a bakery. As the Great Depression grew worse he lost his job and moved to Berri, working on a fruit farm before marrying in 1939. In July 1941, Derrick enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force, joining the 2/48th Battalion. He was posted to the Middle East, where he took part in the siege of Tobruk, was recommended for the Military Medal and promoted to corporal. Later, at El Alamein, Derrick was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for knocking out three German machine gun posts, destroying two tanks, and capturing one hundred prisoners. (Full article...)
Information is scarce about the basic facts of the massacre, including the exact date and number of victims. A contemporary account of the massacre listed nine victims – three women, two teenage girls, three infants, and an "old man blind and infirm". Another account published by Christina Smith in 1880 gave the number of victims as eleven, and specified that they belonged to the Tanganekald people. Pastoralist James Brown and his overseer, a man named Eastwood, were suspected of committing the murders in retaliation for attacks on Brown's sheep. (Full article...)
Officer Commanding No. 91 Wing, Group Captain Charlton (left), Commanding Officer No. 77 Squadron, Squadron Leader Cresswell (right), and members of No. 30 Communications Unit with Lieutenant General Robertson in South Korea, December 1950
No. 30 Communications Flight was re-designated No. 30 Communications Unit in November 1950, and No. 30 Transport Unit a year later, before re-forming as No. 36 (Transport) Squadron in March 1953. It undertook medical evacuation, cargo and troop transport, and courier flights. No. 77 Squadron converted to Gloster Meteor jets between April and July 1951, and operated primarily in the ground attack role from December that year. It remained in Korea on garrison duty following the July 1953 armistice, and returned to Australia in November 1954; No. 491 Squadron disbanded the same month. No. 36 Squadron returned to Australia in March 1955, leaving four aircraft to equip the newly formed RAAF Transport Flight (Japan), which briefly came under No. 91 Wing's control. The following month, No. 391 Squadron and No. 91 Wing headquarters were disbanded. (Full article...)
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Wing Commander Peter Jeffrey, c. 1942–43
Peter Jeffrey, DSO, DFC (6 July 1913 – 6 April 1997) was a senior officer and fighter ace in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Tenterfield, New South Wales, he joined the RAAF active reserve in 1934, and transferred to the Permanent Air Force (PAF) shortly before World War II. Posted to the Middle East in July 1940, Jeffrey saw action with No. 3 Squadron and took command of the unit the following year, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for his energy and fighting skills. He was appointed wing leader of No. 234 Wing RAF in November 1941, and became an ace the same month with his fifth solo victory. The next month he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his achievements, which included rescuing a fellow pilot who had crash landed in the desert.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operates eight Boeing C-17 Globemaster III large transport aircraft. Four C-17s were ordered in mid-2006 to improve the ability of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to operate outside Australia and its region. The aircraft entered service between November 2006 and January 2008, the second pair being delivered ahead of schedule. Two more Globemasters were ordered in 2011, the sixth being delivered to the RAAF in November 2012. Another two C-17s were ordered in October 2014, with the final aircraft being delivered in November 2015. The Globemasters are built to the same specifications as those operated by the United States Air Force (USAF), and the Australian aircraft are maintained through an international contract with Boeing.
All of the RAAF's Globemasters are assigned to No. 36 Squadron and are based at RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland. The aircraft have supported ADF operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations in the Middle East, as well as training exercises in Australia and the United States. They have also transported supplies and personnel as part of relief efforts following natural disasters in Australia, Japan, New Zealand and several other countries. The C-17s are highly regarded throughout the Australian military for their ability to carry large amounts of cargo across long distances, and the process through which they were acquired has been identified as an example of good practice in defence procurement. (Full article...)
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Woods c. 1918–1919
James Park WoodsVC (4 January 1886 – 18 January 1963) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War I; the Victoria Cross was the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that could be awarded to members of the Australian armed forces at the time. Woods enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in September 1916 and, after training in Australia and the United Kingdom, joined his unit, the 48th Battalion, in France in September 1917. Along with the rest of his battalion, he participated in the First Battle of Passchendaele the following month. In early 1918, Woods was hospitalised for several months before rejoining his unit in May. He again reported sick in July, and did not return to the 48th Battalion until mid-August.
On 18 September 1918, the 48th Battalion was involved in the attack on the Hindenburg Outpost Line during the Hundred Days Offensive. After the first phase of the attack, some elements of Woods' unit were tasked to support another battalion as it conducted a further assault. When it was suspected that flanking British troops had not gone forward to their objective as reported, a four-man patrol including Woods attempted to make contact with them. Instead of finding British troops, they encountered a strong German post and, after calling for reinforcements, attacked it, driving more than thirty Germans from the position. Woods' actions during this assault and subsequent defence of the captured post resulted in him being awarded the Victoria Cross. Woods survived the war, returned to Australia and operated a vineyard and orchard in Western Australia. He retired early due to ill health and died in 1963. His medals are displayed in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial. (Full article...)
Over a 41-year career, Sinclair saw active service in Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, and in relief operations following Cyclone Tracy, and commanded the naval base HMAS Penguin. He later rose to high command, serving as Director of Naval Plans and as chief project officer during the establishment of the tri-service Australian Defence Force Academy, and then serving as its first commandant. In 1987, he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet, which was redesignated as Maritime Commander Australia the following year. In 1989, he was appointed as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff but served only briefly until his retirement later that year. (Full article...)
The above map shows how the network of fortresses defended the approaches to Hobart. The shaded white areas show the effective range of the fort's gun positions.
The Hobart coastal defences are a network of now defunct coastal batteries, some of which are inter-linked with tunnels, that were designed and built by British colonial authorities in the nineteenth century to protect the city of Hobart, Tasmania, from attack by enemy warships. During the nineteenth century, the port of Hobart Town was a vital re-supply stop for international shipping and trade, and therefore a major freight hub for the British Empire. As such, it was considered vital that the colony be protected. In all, between 1804 and 1942 there were 12 permanent defensive positions constructed in the Hobart region.
Prior to Australian Federation, the island of Tasmania was a colony of the British Empire, and as such was often at war with Britain's enemies and European rivals, such as France and later Russia. The British had already established the colony of Sydney at Port Jackson in New South Wales in 1788, but soon began to consider the island of Tasmania as the potential site of a useful second colony. It was an island, cut off from the mainland of Australia and isolated geographically, making it ideal for a penal colony, and was rich in timber, a resource useful to the Royal Navy. In 1803, the British authorities decided to colonise Tasmania, and to establish a permanent settlement on the island that was at the time known as Van Diemen's Land, primarily to prevent the French from doing so. During this period tensions between Great Britain and France remained high. The two nations had been fighting the French Revolutionary Wars with each other through much of the 1790s, and would soon be engaging each other again in the Napoleonic Wars. (Full article...)
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A British marine officer c. 1780
The New South Wales Marine Corps was a battalion-sized unit of the British Marine Forces created to guard convicts aboard the First Fleet to Australia, and to preserve "subordination and regularity" in the colony of New South Wales. Established in 1786, the unit served in New South Wales from 1788 to 1792, and was instrumental in establishing the colony's rule of law. Study of the complete New South Wales Marine complement indicates they were chosen from the Plymouth and Portsmouth Divisions, with only one exception. Beginning with guards arriving with the 2nd and 3rd fleets but officially with the arrival of HMS Gorgon on 22 September 1791, the New South Wales Marines were relieved by a newly formed British Army regiment of foot, the New South Wales Corps. (Full article...)
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Australian and American troops dug in together during the Battle of Hamel
Australian and American troops dug in together during the Battle of Hamel
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...)
The first conflict took place several months after the landing of the First Fleet in January 1788, and the last conflicts occurred in the early 20th century following the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, with some occurring as late as 1934. Conflicts occurred in a number of locations across Australia. (Full article...)
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The CAC Wirraway is a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) between 1939 and 1946. It was an Australian development of the North American NA-16 training aircraft. The Wirraway has been credited as being the foundation of Australian aircraft manufacturing.
When the name was announced on 6 April 1938, it was said to be "an Aboriginal word meaning challenge". The word presumably comes from Daniel Bunce's compilation Language of the Aborigines of the colony of Victoria, where Wirraway is glossed 'challenge; dare, to defy; incite, to stir up; menace, to threaten'. (Full article...)
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Australian peacekeeping deployments since 1945 Australian military involvement in peacekeeping operations has been diverse, and included participation in both United Nations sponsored missions, as well as those as part of ad hoc coalitions. Indeed, Australians have been involved in more conflicts as peacekeepers than as belligerents; however, according to Peter Londey "in comparative international terms, Australia has only been a moderately energetic peacekeeper." Although Australia has had peacekeepers in the field continuously for 60 years – the first occasion being in Indonesia in 1947, when Australians were among the first group of UN military observers – its commitments have generally been limited, consisting of small numbers of high-level and technical support troops (e.g. signals, engineers or medical units) or observers and police. David Horner has noted that the pattern changed with the deployment of 600 engineers to Namibia in 1989–90 as the Australian contribution to UNTAG. From the mid-1990s, Australia has been involved in a series of high-profile operations, deploying significantly large units of combat troops in support of a number of missions including those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Somalia and later in East Timor. Australia has been involved in close to 100 separate missions, involving more than 30,000 personnel and 11 Australians have died during these operations. (Full article...)
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A No. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron bulldozer working in a coral quarry at Noemfoor Island during December 1944
A No. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron bulldozer working in a coral quarry at Noemfoor Island during December 1944
No. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron (5ACS) was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) construction squadron. The unit was first formed in July 1942 and served in the New Guinea Campaign and Borneo Campaign during World War II. The squadron was one of only a few RAAF airfield construction units to be retained at the end of the war, and formed part of Australia's contribution to the occupation of Japan from 1945 until it was disbanded in June 1949. 5ACS was re-raised in August 1951 and worked on several RAAF airfields in Australia. It also provided small detachments of engineers to support RAAF deployments to South Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam War. The squadron was the RAAF's only airfield construction unit from 1961 onward, and was disbanded in December 1974. (Full article...)
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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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3rd Division troops around Lena Wood, 8 August 1918
The division was demobilised in 1919 before being re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizen Forces, based in central Victoria. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the division's establishment fluctuated due to the effects of the Great Depression and a general apathy towards military matters. (Full article...)
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Troops from 'C' Company, 2/48th Battalion advance alongside Matilda tanks from the 2/9th Armoured Regiment during the attack on the "Sykes" feature on Tarakan in April 1945
During the campaign in New Guinea, the battalion took part in the advance on Lae during the Salamaua–Lae campaign and the fighting around Finschhafen and Sattelberg, during the Huon Peninsula campaign. Following this it was withdrawn to Australia, where it remained for over a year. In mid-1945, the 2/48th Battalion took part in the landing on Tarakan, which was its final involvement in the war. It was disbanded in October 1945 and is considered to be Australia's most highly decorated unit of the war, with four members receiving the Victoria Cross, the nation's highest decoration for gallantry, while over 90 other decorations were also made to its members. (Full article...)
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Flight Lieutenant Isaacson with Lancaster Q-for-Queenie, 1943
Isaacson grew up in Melbourne and started working for a newspaper when he was sixteen. He joined the RAAF in 1940. Following his stint in Bomber Command, he became well known in Australia for his tours in the Avro LancasterQ-for-Queenie to promote the sale of war loans and, in particular, for flying his plane under the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1943. He transferred to the RAAF Reserve after the war, retiring as a wing commander in 1969. From 1956 he served as a Trustee, Chairman, and finally Life Governor of the Victorian Shrine of Remembrance. In 1991 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his publishing and community work. (Full article...)
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Second Lieutenant Fredericks Birks VC, MM c.1916
Frederick Birks, VC, MM (16 August 1894 – 21 September 1917) was a Welsh-born Australian First World War soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth forces.
Born in Buckley, Flintshire, Birks served in the Royal Artillery for three years before emigrating to Australia in 1913. After serving as a non-commissioned officer during the landing at Gallipoli and the Battle of the Somme, Birks was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 4 May 1917. On 20 September, during the Battle of Passchendaele, while advancing in Glencorse Wood, Ypres, Birks, alongside a corporal, forced a garrison to surrender and captured sixteen men in another attack. His actions were later recognised with the Victoria Cross. The following day, Birks was killed by a shell while attempting to save some of his men. (Full article...)
The Battle of France (French: bataille de France; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (German: Westfeldzug), the French Campaign (Frankreichfeldzug, campagne de France) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and France. The plan for the invasion of the Low Countries and France was called Fall Gelb (Case Yellow or the Manstein plan). Fall Rot (Case Red) was planned to finish off the French and British after the evacuation at Dunkirk. The Low Countries and France were defeated and occupied by Axis troops down to the Demarcation line.
The General Dynamics F-111C (nicknamed the "Pig") is a variant of the F-111 Aardvark medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft, developed by General Dynamics to meet Australian requirements. The design was based on the F-111A model but included longer wings and strengthened undercarriage. The Australian government ordered 24 F-111Cs to equip the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1963, but the aircraft were not delivered until 1973 because of long-running technical problems. During 1979 and 1980 four of these aircraft were converted to the RF-111C reconnaissance variant. Four ex–United States Air Force (USAF) F-111As were purchased by Australia and converted to F-111C standard in 1982 to replace F-111Cs destroyed during accidents. Australia also operated 15 F-111Gs between 1993 and 2007, mainly for conversion training. The RAAF retired its remaining F-111Cs in December 2010. In Australian military and aviation circles, the F-111 Aardvark was affectionately known as the "Pig", due to its long snout and terrain-following ability.
The F-111Cs gave the RAAF a powerful strike capability but were never used in combat. The aircraft went through modernization programs in the 1980s and 1990s, and the RAAF acquired improved weapons to maintain their ability to penetrate hostile airspace. Despite this, by the 2000s the F-111Cs were becoming outdated and expensive to maintain, leading to a decision to retire them in 2010 rather than 2020 as originally planned. The F-111s were replaced by 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets pending delivery of F-35 Lightning IIs in development. (Full article...)
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Members of the 7th Battalion in a trench at Lone Pine, 6 August 1915
Although disbanded in 1919 following the end of hostilities, it was re-raised in 1921 in the Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) as a part-time infantry battalion based in Victoria. However, due to lack of funding following the Great Depression and a shortage of manpower following the suspension of the compulsory training scheme in 1929, the battalion was amalgamated with the 38th Battalion as the 7th/38th Battalion, although it was delinked again in 1936 when the Army was expanded due to rising tensions in Europe. (Full article...)
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Flight Lieutenant Shannon shortly before taking part in the "Dambusters" raid with No. 617 Squadron RAF, May 1943
Image 7Australian soldiers and local civilians on Labuan Island. The soldier on the left is armed with an Australian-designed Owen gun. (from Australia in World War II)
Image 9Australian 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 39The 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)
Image 40A No. 10 Squadron Sunderland departing for a patrol over the Atlantic in 1941 (from Australia in World War II)
Image 41General Blamey signing the Japanese instrument of surrender on behalf of Australia (from Australia in World War II)
Image 42Women, 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 Australia in World War II)
Image 69The Japanese advance through the Malay Barrier in 1941–1942 and feared offensive operations against Australia. (from Australia in World War II)
Image 80"He's coming south — It's fight, work or perish", a propaganda poster warning of the danger of Japanese invasion. (from Australia in World War II)
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