20 SEP 1917: World War I and 2nd Lieutenant Frederick Birks MM, 6th Battalion, originally from Flintshire, United Kingdom, earns the Victoria Cross at Glencorse Woods, near Ypres. It was a posthumous award. Birks enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on 18 August 1914, a few weeks after the war started. He trained at a […]
September 2017
Central Flying School Gets Nod
20 SEP 1912: Official approval is given for the establishment of a military Central Flying School. Official formation of the Australian Flying Corps. The AFC went on to serve in Mesopotamia, the Middle East, and the Western Front and was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the […]
2/6th Independent Coy captures Kaiapit
19 SEP 1943: World War II and the 2/6th Independent Company captures Kaiapit, New Guinea. Kaiapit was needed for the airstrip that was to be constructed there once the Japanese had been driven from the area. Kaiapit became a base for the 7th Division’s advance up the Markham Valley. The Battle of Kaiapit was an […]
5th Light Horse Battle of Nablus
19 SEP 1918: World War I and the 5th Light Horse Brigade captures Nablus in Palestine some fifty kilometres north of Jerusalem. Nablus fell to the Australians during the final period of the war against Turkey. British Empire troops also made impressive advances and destroyed several Turkish armies between the Mediterranean coast and the Jordan […]
James Woods, VC
18 SEP 1918: World War I and Private James Park Woods, 48th Battalion, originally from Gawler, South Australia, earns the Victoria Cross at Le Viguier. James Woods, the son of a blacksmith, was born at Two Wells, South Australia on 4 January 1886. He was raised by a stepsister after the death of his parents […]
Maurice Buckley, DCM, VC
18 SEP 1918: World War I and Sergeant Maurice Vincent Buckley, DCM, 13th Battalion, originally from Hawthorn, Victoria, earns the Victoria Cross at Le Verguier. Buckley was born at Upper Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia, to Timothy Buckley, brickmaker, and his wife Agnes, née Sexton. His father was a native of Cork, Ireland; his mother was Victorian-born. […]
Australians Attack Hindenburg Line
18 SEP 1918: World War I and the Australians attack the Hindenburg Line. The 1st and 4th Australian divisions were successful in breaching the forward edge of the main German defensive line across the Picardy region of France. The Hindenburg Line was a formidable series of defences constructed by the German Army in northern France […]
Damien Parer Killed
17 SEP 1944: World War II and cameraman Damien Parer is killed. Academy award-winning, Australian cameraman Damien Parer killed while filming American troops on Peleliu in the Pacific. Parer’s documentary, Front line Kokoda, won an Oscar for best documentary in 1943. Having filmed Australians in action during the early years of the war, Parer accepted […]
Japanese Abandon Lae
16 SEP 1943: World War II and the Japanese abandon Lae after heavy fighting. Lae was the focus of a major land, sea, and air operation by Australian and American forces. Fighting lasted until 16 September when the encircled Japanese garrison were either killed, captured, or escaped. The Wau–Salamaua campaign involved Militia, AIF and American […]
Japanese Stopped at Ioribaiwa
16 SEP 1942: The Japanese advance in Owen Stanley Ranges is stopped at Ioribaiwa. The Japanese were too ill-equipped and their supply lines too extended over forbidding terrain to enable them to reach their objective – Port Moresby. After the disaster at Brigade Hill, the Australian forces on the track once again undertook tactics of […]
