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The North African campaign of the Second World War took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria, as well as Tunisia.
The military history of New Zealand during World War II began when New Zealand entered the Second World War by declaring war on Nazi Germany with Great Britain. The state of war with Germany was officially held to have existed since 9:30 pm on 3 September 1939, simultaneous with that of Britain, but in fact the declaration of war was not made until confirmation had been received from Britain that their ultimatum to Germany had expired. The group listened to the shortwave radio in Carl Berendsen's room in Parliament Buildings but were not certain what Neville Chamberlain had said because of static on the short-wave radio, and a coded telegraph message from London did not arrive until just before midnight as the messenger boy with the telegram in London took shelter because of a (false) air-raid warning. The Cabinet acted after hearing the Admiralty's notification to the fleet that war had broken out. The next day Cabinet approved nearly 30 war regulations as laid down in the War Book, and after completing the formalities with the Executive Council the Governor-General, Lord Galway, issued the Proclamation of War, backdated to 9.30 pm on 3 September.
The Battle of Rabaul, also known by the Japanese as Operation R, was fought on the island of New Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, in January and February 1942. It was a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan in the Pacific campaign of World War II, with the Japanese invasion force quickly overwhelming the small Australian garrison, the majority of which was either killed or captured. Hostilities on the neighbouring island of New Ireland are also usually considered to be part of the same battle. Rabaul was significant because of its proximity to the Japanese territory of the Caroline Islands, site of a major Imperial Japanese Navy base on Truk.
In early 1942 elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) proposed an invasion of Australia. This proposal was opposed by the Imperial Japanese Army and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who regarded it as being unfeasible given Australia's geography and the strength of the Allied defences. Instead, the Japanese military adopted a strategy of isolating Australia from the United States by advancing through the South Pacific. This offensive was abandoned following the Battle of the Coral Sea and Battle of Midway in May and June 1942, and all subsequent Japanese operations in the vicinity of Australia were undertaken to slow the advance of Allied forces.
The GilbertandMarshall Islands Campaign were a series of battles fought from November 1943 through February 1944, in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the United States and Japan. They were the first steps of the drive across the central Pacific by the United States Pacific Fleet and Marine Corps. The purpose was to establish airfields and naval bases that would allow air and naval support for upcoming operations across the Central Pacific. Operations Galvanic and Kourbash were the code names for the Gilberts campaign that included the seizures of Tarawa and Makin. Operations Flintlock and Catchpole were aimed at capturing Japanese bases at Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and Majuro in the Marshall Islands.
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea and the Australian Territory of Papua and overran western New Guinea, which was a part of the Netherlands East Indies. During the second phase, lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender, the Allies—consisting primarily of Australian and US forces—cleared the Japanese first from Papua, then the Mandate and finally from the Dutch colony.
No. 119 Squadron was a joint Dutch and Australian squadron of World War II which formed part of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The squadron was formed in September 1943 but could not be made operational due to a shortage of Dutch personnel. As a result, it was disbanded in December 1943.
No. 18 Squadron was a joint Dutch and Australian bomber squadron of World War II. Formed in April 1942, the squadron was staffed by a mixture of Dutch and Australian personnel and placed under Royal Australian Air Force operational command. Initially it undertook anti-submarine patrols on the east coast of Australia, before moving to northern Australia and taking part in operations against the Japanese in the islands of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). At the conclusion of hostilities, the squadron came under Dutch control and Australian personnel were transferred out. The squadron then undertook operations during the Indonesian National Revolution, before eventually being disbanded in July 1950 after being transferred to Indonesia.
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, and the Empire of Japan on 9 December 1941. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and the South West Pacific theatre. In addition, Australia came under direct attack for the first time in its post-colonial history. Its casualties from enemy action during the war were 27,073 killed and 23,477 wounded.
The Australian Army was the largest service in the Australian military during World War II. Prior to the outbreak of war the Australian Army was split into the small full-time Permanent Military Forces (PMF) and the larger part-time Militia. Following the outbreak of war, on 14 September 1939 Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced that 40,000 members of the Militia would be called up for training and a 20,000-strong expeditionary force, designated the Second Australian Imperial Force, would be formed for overseas service. Meanwhile, conscription was introduced in October 1939 to keep the Militia at strength as its members volunteered for the AIF. The Australian Army subsequently made an important contribution to the Allied campaigns in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa fighting the Germans, Italians and Vichy French during 1940 and 1941, and later in the jungles of the South West Pacific Area fighting the Japanese between late 1941 and 1945. Following the Japanese surrender Australian Army units were deployed as occupation forces across the South West Pacific. Meanwhile, the Army contributed troops to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in Japan from 1946.
In March 1944, a force of three Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) heavy cruisers raided Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean. The cruisers departed Japanese-held territory on 1 March with the support of other IJN vessels and aircraft. On 9 March, they encountered and sank the British steamer Behar, with the heavy cruiser Tone picking up over 100 survivors. Fearing detection, the Japanese force subsequently returned to the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), arriving on 16 March. Two days later, most of Behar's crew and passengers were murdered on board Tone. Following the war the commander of the raid, Rear Admiral Naomasa Sakonju, was executed for this war crime and Tone's captain Haruo Mayuzumi (ja:黛治夫) was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
The Battle of Goodenough Island, also known as Operation Drake, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. The Allies attacked the Kaigun Rikusentai to deny the Japanese the ability to use the island prior to the Buna campaign. The Japanese troops had been stranded on Goodenough Island, Papua, during the Battle of Milne Bay. "Drake Force", consisting of the Australian 2/12th Battalion and attachments, landed on the southern tip of Goodenough Island at Mud Bay and Taleba Bay on 22 October and, following a short but heavy fight, the Japanese forces withdrew to Fergusson Island on 27 October. After the battle, Goodenough Island was developed by the Allies and became a major base for operations later in the war.
The Invasion of Buna–Gona, called Operation RI by the Japanese, was a military operation by Imperial Japanese forces to occupy the Buna–Gona area in the Territory of Papua during the Pacific campaign of the Second World War. The initial landings and advance on Kokoda occurred between 21 and 27 July 1942. The Japanese invaded and occupied the location in preparation for an overland attack on Port Moresby along the Kokoda Track. The landing marked the start of the Kokoda Track campaign. The landings were not directly opposed by land forces but were engaged by elements of Maroubra Force as they advanced on Kokoda. This initially included B Company of the 39th Battalion, patrols of the Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) operating in the area and a small number of the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) that became attached to the force. The Australians were initially repulsed near Oivi but subsequently regrouped to defend Kokoda in an initial battle there from 28–29 July.
The Landing at Jacquinot Bay was an Allied amphibious operation undertaken on 4 November 1944 during the New Britain Campaign of World War II. The landing was conducted as part of a change in responsibility for Allied operations on New Britain. The Australian 5th Division, under Major General Alan Ramsay, took over from the US 40th Infantry Division, which was needed for operations in the Philippines. The purpose of the operation was to establish a logistics base at Jacquinot Bay on the south coast of New Britain to support the 5th Division's planned operations near the major Japanese garrison at Rabaul.
Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS) was a Dutch World War II-era intelligence and special operations unit operating mainly in the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies.
No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando was a commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War, recruited largely from non-British personnel from German-occupied Europe. This unit was used to help co-ordinate attacks with other allied forces.
No. 61 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airfield construction wing of World War II. The wing was formed in January 1943 and was disbanded in November 1945. During the war, No. 61 Wing and the units under its command served in the North Western Area and South West Pacific Area (SWPA) and played a significant role in supporting RAAF and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) operations.
Operation Lizard was the name given to a series of operations undertaken in Portuguese Timor by Australian troops in World War Two using Hoehn military folboats to get from the vessel to the island and return.
Operation Walnut was a military operation conducted by the Allies, notably the Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service, on the Aroe Islands during World War Two. It took place in three phases:
Operation Lion was formed to establish an intelligence centre on central Sulawesi. First Lieutenant I.H.T. Hees, 1st Cl. B. Belloni, a telegraphist and Sailor J.L. Brandon comprised the party which left Darwin by the prahu Somoa on 24 June 1942, to land near Wotoe, 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Malili, on Celebes. Lieutenant Hees had previously worked as an engineer for the department of public works and it was hoped he could contact one of his "mandoers" (overseers). The party was contacted by radio on 7 November 1942, however their signals were too weak to be received. On 14 December 1942, two Dutch NCO's were in Darwin awaiting movement to LION party, but it was suspected that LION had come under Japanese control they were not dispatched.
References
- ↑ "NEFIS". Allies in Adversity: Australia and the Dutch in the Pacific War. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ↑ "The Official History of the Operations and Administration of Special Operations - Australia [(SOA), also known as the Inter-Allied Services Department (ISD) and Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD)] Volume 2 Part 1 p 3-6". National Archives of Australia. pp. 26–32.