On the first Wednesday of September, Australians commemorate Battle for Australia Day, honouring the service and sacrifices of those who helped defend our nation in 1942 and early 1943 after the Second World War reached our shores.
The fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 sent shockwaves throughout Australia. The loss of a key Allied stronghold brought the war closer than ever before and raised fears that Australia itself could come under attack. Prime Minister John Curtin declared that the ‘battle for Australia’ had begun.
His warning proved timely. Just four days after the fall of Singapore, Japanese aircraft attacked Darwin in the largest assault ever mounted on Australian soil. Approximately 250 people were killed, including Australian and Allied service personnel, merchant seamen, and civilians troops. Between 1942 and 1943, northern Australia endured 97 air raids, with Darwin alone bombed 64 times. On Australia's east coast, Japanese submarines attacked merchant shipping and infiltrated Sydney Harbour, sinking HMAS Kuttabul and killing 19 Australian and 2 British sailors.
The war was no longer a distant conflict. It had reached Australia's doorstep.
What became known as the Battle for Australia was not a single battle, but a series of land, sea and air operations that helped halt Japan's southward advance, and secure Australia’s northern approaches.
In May 1942, Allied naval forces fought the Battle of the Coral Sea, preventing a seaborne invasion of Port Moresby and denying Japan a strategic foothold closer to Australia. When that route was blocked, Japanese forces attempted to capture Port Moresby overland through Papua. Along the Kokoda Track, Australian soldiers endured rugged terrain, relentless rain, disease and fierce fighting to halt the advance. More than 620 Australians were killed, over 1,600 wounded and more than 4,000 evacuated due to sickness. Their determination helped prevent the capture of Port Moresby and protect Australia's north at a critical point in the war.
At the same time, Australian and US airmen defended northern Australia, protected vital shipping routes and supported forces fighting in Papua and New Guinea. Together, these operations formed a military effort that helped safeguard Australia during one of its darkest chapters.
One of the most significant moments during this period was the battle at Milne Bay between August and September 1942. Milne Bay is often remembered as the first significant defeat of Japanese land forces during the Pacific War. More importantly, it demonstrated that the Japanese advance could be stopped. At a time when Allied victories were rare, it provided a crucial boost to morale and marked a turning point in the campaign to defend Australia.
On 26 August 1942, about 2,000 Japanese troops landed at Milne Bay with the aim of capturing strategically important airfields that would support further operations against Port Moresby. Had they succeeded, Japan would have gained a valuable base from which to consolidate their gains and resist an eventual Allied counter-attack.
Instead, they were met by determined resistance from Australian and US troops, and Royal Australian Air Force squadrons. More than 7,500 Australians were based at Milne Bay. The battle resulted in over 700 Japanese deaths and approximately 400 Allied casualties, including more than 170 Australians killed or missing, as well as some 50 Papuan casualties.
More than 7,500 Australians were based at Milne Bay. Corporal John French VC of the Australian 2/9th Infantry Battalion was among those who fought there. On 4 September 1942, as Australian troops came under intense machine-gun fire, French launched a lone assault on three enemy gun positions that were holding up the advance. One by one, he charged and captured each position, allowing his comrades to continue their attack. In doing so, he sacrificed his own life.
For his bravery and selfless devotion to duty, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
Those who knew French remembered him not as a hero seeking recognition, but a quiet and humble young man. Following his death, his fiancée Dulcie described him as ‘modest and unassuming – the stuff that real heroes are made of.’ She believed that had he lived to receive the honour, he would have simply said, ’It was nothing; any other fellow would have done the same.’
A memorial and plaque were later erected at Milne Bay in tribute to John French and the men of the 18th Australian Infantry Brigade, ensuring their courage and sacrifice would not be forgotten.
French's story reflects the spirit of a generation. While his actions were extraordinary, they formed part of a much larger effort by thousands of Australians and Allies who served across land, sea and air.
Nearly one million Australians served during the Second World War. More than 40,000 lost their lives serving in the armed forces and merchant navy. Some 30,000 became prisoners of war, of whom more than 8,000 died in captivity, most in the Asia-Pacific theatre (prisoner of war deaths are included in the overall number). Countless others returned home wounded, injured or carrying the lasting effects of their service.
Today, as we commemorate Battle for Australia Day, we honour their service and remember the generation that stood together to defend Australia.
Lest we forget.