World War 2: Outbreak and Australia's Involvement

Study Notes

On 3 September 1939, Great Britain declared war on Germany, and as a loyal member of the British Empire, Australia raised a volunteer force for overseas service.

From the beginning of the war, Australia was concerned that Japan might become involved in the conflict, leading to the deployment of Australian soldiers to Malaya in February 1941 to strengthen the Empire's defences in Asia.

On 8 December 1941, Japan declared an end to European domination of Asia and its resources, and Japanese troops landed on the north coast of Malaya.
Japan also launched a surprise attack on the United States' Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, destroying six US battleships, 120 aircraft, and killing 2,403 men.

The Japanese Army aimed to crush the British Empire forces in Malaya and Singapore within 100 days, but they achieved it in just 70 days.
On 10 December 1941, Japanese planes sank two British battleships, the Prince of Wales and the Repulse.
Despite some successful ambushes by Australian troops, the Japanese advanced rapidly towards Singapore, and by 31 January 1942, all Empire forces had withdrawn to Singapore Island.
On 8 February 1942, the Japanese landed in Singapore, and on 15 February, General Percival surrendered, resulting in over 140,000 prisoners, including approximately 15,000 Australians.

On 23 January 1942, Rabaul in New Britain fell to the Japanese.
On 30 January, the Australian defenders of Ambon Island surrendered.
On 19 February, the first ever air raid on the Australian mainland occurred, with Darwin being bombed, resulting in 243 deaths.
Further disasters followed, including the invasion of Timor on 19-20 February, where Australian commandos conducted guerrilla warfare against Japanese forces.