Australia's Involvement in WWII

When you think of WWII you probably think of all the big contributors such as, Germany, Russia, and the US. Most people are surprised to find out Australia was involved in WWII, however was it smart of them to side with Britain? Australia entered the war after the invasion of Poland. They allied with the US and Britain in the beginning because Japan was always a threat. They started the war with the thought that Japan wanted Australian land, and the alliance with Britain would secure them from Japanese threats. Most Australians seemed to support the decision to be involved in the war. All major parties, churches and newspapers supported involvement. The only groups not to support the decision were pacifists such as Jehovah's Witnesses, and hardcore socialists who opposed involvement because the Soviet Union opposed it. When the war broke out the Australian troops were less than prepared. The Australian prime minister tried his best to recruit men by creating the AIF or Second Australian Imperial Force. At first a miniscule number of men engaged in the AIF finally they started warming up to it and they completed the AIF with over 20,000 men. The Australians strategy to ally with the British paid off greatly. The first nine months were called the “phony war” because they never actually participated in combat. Life for the Australians was fairly normal at this stage. Then with the entry of Japan into the Pacific War, there was a real fear and threat of invasion. During 1942, civilians were evacuated south in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. And Australians were put under greater government controls than any time since the convict era. There have never been such controls since that time. During the war there were also clashes between the allies. The US and Australians had a number of civil skirmishes named the “Battle of Brisbane.” However in the grand scheme of things these battles were not important and the 'battles' between the troops involved only the tiniest minority of soldiers on each side. Going into war not only affected the men but it also had an impact on the women of Australia. Many became nurses and went overseas with the AIF, labor shortages also forced woman to work for the government. Slowly the fear of attacks wore off and Australia backed out of the war. When you look back there are many positive aspects towards the Australians allying with Britain. They were stuck in between two very powerful countries. Japan was too weak to fully attack Australia without fear of the reverberating action back. For Australia to even get involved seems pointless but when you look deeper they made a smart decision siding with Britain and the US they were offered Security for help in the battlefield. It was also beneficial for Australia because they learned war techniques they never would have in the first place. In Britain’s defense they made a strong pact with Australia and had extra help from across the globe. 503