Media backgrounders

The fall of Singapore occurred on 15 February 1942 when all Allied troops were ordered to lay down their arms at 8.30pm. Some 15,000 Australians became Prisoners of War (POW) on Singapore. Besides Singapore, other Australians were captured in Java, Timor, Ambon and New Britain. Some 8,000 Australians lost their lives while in Japanese captivity. This figure represents nearly a quarter of Australian deaths in the Second World War.

Before December 1941 the Second World War was fought mainly by the great European powers and soldiers from their respective empires. Japan’s entry into the war changed the situation dramatically. The Malayan Campaign, including the fall of Singapore, led to the capture of more Australians than in any campaign before or since.

In December 1941, the Pacific War began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, and the invasion of Malaya. By mid-1942, having conquered most of South-East Asia, Japanese forces were fighting the British in Burma, their aim being an offensive against India. To maintain their armies in Burma, the Japanese needed a more secure supply route than the sea-lanes used between Singapore and Rangoon. They decided to construct a railway, 420km long, through jungles and mountains from Ban Pong in Thailand to Thanbyuzayat in Burma.

In 1945, Australia’s armed forces took part in a series of landings on the island of Borneo, including the largest amphibious landing undertaken by Australian forces in the Second World War.

During the Second World War Australian aircrew with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) were trained in Australia, Canada and Rhodesia under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). This scheme trained Australian aircrew before sending them to the United Kingdom to fly on offensive air operations against the Germans and Italians. The first ground instruction schools and flying courses opened in Australia in 1940 and by March 1941 individual RAAF men were joining Bomber Command squadrons.

On 28 October 1940, Italy invaded Greece marking the beginning of Greece’s involvement in the Second World War. The Greek army proved tougher than expected and the Italians were driven back to Albania. To help its ally, Germany was forced to send in its own forces to overcome Greece.

1942 stands as one of the most significant years in Australia’s wartime history. As Australians fought in defence of our shores, there were major battles in Papua (now a part of Papua New Guinea): along the Kokoda Track, at Milne Bay and at the Beacheads of Buna, Gona and, in early 1943, Sanananda.

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest military campaign of the Second World War, beginning in September 1939 and concluding almost six years later with the surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945.

In July 1942, as fighting in the Second World War neared Australian shores, Japanese troops landed near Gona on the north coast of Papua (now a part of Papua New Guinea). Australian troops were stationed in Port Moresby in the south.

Battle for Australia Day is commemorated every year on the first Wednesday in September, marking the first defeat of Japanese forces in the Battle of Milne Bay. It recognises all those who served on the home front in Australia, and who fought on land, air and sea in battles in the Coral Sea and New Guinea, including Milne Bay and the Kokoda Track, between 1942 and 1945.