Timeline

The Battle for Australia refers to a series of conflicts fought between Australian and Allied forces and advancing Japanese forces in the Pacific theatre during World War II.

The campaign began with dire threats to Australian security, including Japanese aircraft bombing the northern city of Darwin in February 1942, in what was the first and largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. This attack was followed by several air raids on northern Australian towns. Moreover, the rapid advance of Japanese forces through Southeast Asia and the Pacific heightened the sense of vulnerability. In response, Australia became a significant base for Allied operations, with thousands of American troops stationed there as part of a broader strategy to counter and push back Japanese advances.

The Battle for Australia collectively refers to several key military engagements including the bombing of DarwinBombing of Darwin, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Kokoda Track campaign and the Battle of Milne Bay, among others.

On 15 February, the day that Singapore fell to the Japanese, that Prime Minister John Curtin announced the Battle for Australia had begun. He said:

"Just as Dunkirk began the Battle for Britain, so does Singapore open the Battle for Australia. It is now work or fight as we have never worked or fought before. On what we do now depends everything we hope to do when this bloody test has been survived."

— John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia, 1941-1945

John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia, 1941-1945 (image source: National Archives of Australia)

The Battle for Australia

7th December 1941

Pearl Harbour Attacked by Japanese Forces

The attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii just before 8.00am was a surprise military strike by Japan the in Honolulu. Japan simultaneously attacked without warning other bases in the Philippines and the Pacific, as well as invading Malaya at Kota Bahru.

Imperial Japanese Navy - Official U.S. Navy photograph NH 50930.

8th December 1941

Australia at war with Japan

In a speech on 8th December, 1941, the Australian Prime Minister John Curtin declared “Men and women of Australia, we are at war with Japan.” This succinct yet impactful statement marked a pivotal moment in Australian history, signalling the beginning of a challenging and tumultuous period of conflict in the Pacific theatre.

John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia, 1941-1945 (image source: National Archives of Australia)

15th February 1942

Fall of Singapore

Landing first on the north-east coast of Malaya on 8 December 1941, Japanese troops took just 70 days to crush the British Empire forces in Malaya and Singapore, which was surrendered on 15 February 1942.

Fall of Singapore (Source: Australian War Memorial)

19th February 1942

Bombing of Darwin

On this day in 1942, just 10 weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan launched its first attack on Australian soil, targeting Darwin in an attempt to prevent Allied military forces from using it as a base to contest Japan’s southward expansion. The initial attack involved 242 aircraft and resulted in significant destruction and loss of life, with more than 240 people killed and hundreds wounded. The attacks destroyed vital military and civilian infrastructure, including ships, buildings, and aircraft, creating a heightened sense of vulnerability across Australia.

The bombing of Darwin (source: Australian War Memorial)

4th – 8th May 1942

Battle of the Coral Sea

Fought between combined United States and Royal Australian naval and air forces and the Imperial Japanese navy, the Battle of the Coral Sea marked a pivotal moment in the  war in the Pacific theatre and was the world’s first sea battle between aircraft carriers. Literally ‘fought in the air’, it was also the first naval battle in which opposing ships neither saw nor fired on each other.

While tactically inconclusive, the battle effectively halted the Japanese strategic advance southwards, preventing the capture of Port Moresby from the sea and thus preserving a vital Allied base.

HMAS Australia (II)

July 1942

Australian Women’s Land Army Established

Ensuring food security for Australia in World War II

Established in July 1942, the Australian Women’s Land Army (AWLA) was formed during the Second World War to combat rising labour shortages in the farming sector left by men who had enlisted in the military.

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21st July – 2nd November 1942

Kokoda Track Campaign

Kokoda has been called Australia’s most significant campaign of the Battle for Australia, bringing Japan closer to an actual invasion of Australia than in any other phase of the war.

A critical series of engagements along the rugged and precipitous Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea fought between Australians and Japanese soldiers. The outcome changed the Japanese plans for the conquest of New Guinea.

The Kokoda Track

7th August 1942 – 9th Feb 1943

The Solomon Islands Campaign

The Solomon Islands campaign initiated by Allied and Australian forces, aimed at halting and eventually reversing the expansion of the Japanese Empire across the Pacific. The campaign saw a series of fierce land, sea, and air engagements commencing with US landings on Guadalcanal and nearby islands in August 1942, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942, the Battle of Cape Esperance and key aerial conflicts.

The strategically important Solomon Islands provided control over vital sea routes between the United States and Australia, with victory essential for securing supply lines and preparing for further Allied offensives into Japanese-held territories. By February 1943, the Allies had successfully secured Guadalcanal, marking a turning point in the Pacific War with the  Japanese forced into a defensive posture.

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25th August – 7th September 1942

Battle of Milne Bay

A Decisive Victory

The Battle of Milne Bay, fought between 25 August and 7 September 1942, marked the first decisive defeat of Japanese ground forces during World War II.

The Battle for Milne Bay

2nd – 4th March 1943

1943 Battle of the Bismarck Sea

The Battle of the Bismarck Sea took place on Australia’s doorstep when the Allies intercepted a large Japanese convoy carrying reinforcements and supplies to their forces on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was a defining air/sea battle that thwarted Japan’s attempt to secure a permanent foothold in Australia’s nearest neighbour, which was then the Australian territory of Papua and territory protectorate of New Guinea.

Flight lieutenant R.F. (Torchey) Uren, No. 30 Squadron RAAF, in the cockpit of his Beaufighter aircraft. (Source: Australian War Memorial)

26th July 1945

The Potsdam Declaration

An Ultimatum to Japan

The Potsdam Declaration was a 13-point ultimatum issued by the United States, Great Britain, and China , calling for the unconditional surrender of Japan. The declaration was made at the Potsdam Conference following the surrender of Germany on 7 May 1945.

Source: Imperial War Museums, London

15 August 1945

“A rain of ruin from the air“

Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshoma and Nagasaki

Japan made no further statements following the Potsdam ultimatum on 26 July, and on  6 August 1945, at 8:15am local time, the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Calling again for Japan’s surrender, US President Harry Truman warned of ‘a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth.” Three days later on the 9th August the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. During this time Russia also declared war on Japan.

Source: Imperial War Museums, London

15 August 1945

The Radio Broadcast That Ended The War

On 15 August 1945, Japan accepted the Allied Nations’ terms of surrender under the Potsdam Declaration. On that day, Emperor Hirohito of Japan announced his country’s unconditional surrender via a historic radio broadcast later known as the known as the Jewel Voice Broadcast, marking the first time the Japanese public had ever heard their emperor’s voice. He called on the Japanese people to “endure the unendurable” in the interests of peace.

Emperor Hirohito of Japan

15 August 1945

“Fellow citizens, the war is over.”

Victory in the Pacific

Following the unconditional surrender of Japan, on the same day Australia’s Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, announced that the war was over, asking that the fallen be remembered and thanks those who contributed to winning the war.

The 15th August was subsequently named ‘Victory in the Pacific Day’ and commemorated across Australia and the world (as VJ Day in Europe/US), as the anniversary of the day World War II ended.

Victory in the Pacific Day, Victoria, 15 August 1945

2nd September 1945

The Formal End to a Brutal War

The formal surrender of Japan took place aboard the USS Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay, where representatives from all the Allied powers and Imperial Japan gathered to conclude the conflict legally and officially. General Sir Thomas Blamey signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on behalf of Australia.

Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the Second World War