[36], The 7th Division, under Major General Arthur Allen and other Australian units formed the body of the Allied invasion of Lebanon and Syria in 1941.
[61] They fired on German aircraft which came within range of their guns, though as little training in aircraft recognition had been provided some Royal Air Force machines were mistakenly attacked. Where such a unit did not exist in the First AIF or the Militia, the '2/' was not initially used, but later it was adopted as identifying a unit of the Second AIF.
In November 1942 several such men were attached to the Forestry Group to recuperate. In Dennis, Peter; Grey, Jeffrey. [16], Unlike in 1914, Australia did not possess a stock of modern weapons and equipment. The public was torn between the dangers presented by Germany and Japan. This proposal was rejected. [62] The 18th Brigade was assigned the role of countering a German paratrooper landing on Salisbury Plain throughout the crisis period in September.
The Second AIF fought against Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy, Vichy France and the Empire of Japan. [31][38] Convoy US 2 arrived in Egypt on 18 May. Meanwhile, the 9th Division, now under Major General George Wootten fought at Red Beach and then in the Huon Peninsula campaign. [8], A controversial decision of the Menzies government was that senior commands in Blamey's 6th Division would be restricted to Militia officers. [23], The 6th Division, under Major General Iven Mackay fought in the Western Desert Campaign at Bardia, Tobruk and Benghazi. Most elements of the BEF were being evacuated from Dunkirk at this time, but the British Government intended to reconstitute it in France. [29] It experienced many casualties in the Greek Campaign, where 3,000 Australian soldiers were taken prisoner. This was less than the 8s 6d per day dole, not to mention the average basic wage of £2 16s. [40], Most of the 8th Division' was sent to Malaya to strengthen the garrison prior to war with Japan, while the remaining battalions were deployed in the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea. Under the Defence Act (1903), neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force (PMF) could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to do so. [101] From 4 April, the AIF Reception Group generally received 30 released POWs per day.
The Axis leader in North Africa, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, described the 9th Division at Tobruk as: "immensely big and powerful men, who without question represented an elite formation of the British Empire, a fact that was also evident in battle." Prime Minister Robert Menziesdecided to do both, although the experience of the Great War indicated that Australia did not have the resources to do either. Similar parades were held in the Australian state and territory capital cities on 10 June. [11][12], 1st Armoured Division M3 Grant tanks in June 1942.
Because of this, the AIF could not accept personnel who were in reserved occupations. It returned to Australia in early 1943 in a convoy operation designated Operation Pamphlet. However, the Japanese surrendered before the invasion took place.
Equipment was slow to arrive, as Britain had used most of its stocks to equip the BEF and now needed to re-equip its surviving formations. [82], To maximise the Australian foresters' productivity, less skilled forestry workers from Honduras and Italian prisoners of war (POWs) were placed under their control to undertake unskilled work. Instead, the War Cabinet asked whether the troops could be sent to either South Africa or North-West India to complete their training before joining the 6th Division in Egypt. While it had been feared that the former POWs would have to remain in the UK for up to six months due to a shortage of shipping, it proved possible to dispatch them to Australia at regular intervals. The last AIF units, three forestry companies, returned via the United States in late 1943. In early 1941, it took part in the fighting at Tobruk, defending the port until relieved. The soldiers then received support from the Australian High Commission until they departed for Australia. When the Forestry Group was preparing to leave the UK, volunteers were called for to establish a POW reception team. This was less than the 8s 6d per day dole, not to mention the average basic wage of £2 16s. [34] The 16th Infantry Brigade participated in the fighting on the Kokoda Track and at Buna. It took time for the Army to overcome its objections, and modern weapons, such as the 25 pounder, were soon coming off the assembly lines in Australia. After the war, Australia's wartime military structures were demobilised and the 2nd AIF was subsequently disbanded, although a small cadre of its personnel became part of the Interim Army that was established in 1947, and from which the Australian Regular Army was eventually formed in 1948. [23], Personnel were required to be between 20 and 35 years old on enlistment, although there were many cases of this being evaded.
They spent the remainder of the war as prisoners of war, with many dying in captivity.
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