December 2017

31 DEC 1967: Viet Nam, and the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment arrives in country. 3RAR sailed to Viet Nam on HMAS Sydney. In 1945 Australia sent three units to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). Originally known as the 65th, 66th and 67th Infantry Battalions, they were raised from […]

31 DEC 1914: World War I and the second convoy of the first AIF departs Albany in Western Australia. Volunteers for the AIF enlisted so readily that a second convoy left within two months of the first. Many of those on board landed on Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Dr David Stevens, director of strategic […]

30 DEC 1944: Australians of the 25th Battalion occupy Pearl Ridge, on Bougainville. The capture of the heavily defended Japanese position on Pearl ridge gave the Australians possession of this important vantage point that provided views over both sides of Bougainville. The Battle of Pearl Ridge was an engagement of the Second World War fought […]

29 DEC 1860: The Maori Wars and Australians are in action at Matarikoriko, New Zealand. Sailors from the Victorian Colonial warship, Victoria, take part in the action at Matarikoriko, New Zealand. The Victoria’s service in New Zealand waters during the second Anglo-Maori war, represents the first overseas military operation by an Australian unit, the beginning […]

28 DEC 1940: Australia’s 6th Division is in their first action near Bardia . In the Second AIF’s first battle, the action on Bardia involved an attack on an Italian frontier fortress. The preliminary operations began several days before the main attack was launched. In the lead up to the Second World War, the small […]

27 DEC 1943: Australia’s 7th Division captures ‘The Pimple’, Shaggy Ridge, New Guinea. The four-month battle for Shaggy Ridge culminated with the capture of this Japanese position on the ridge’s summit. Shaggy Ridge is a six-and-a-half kilometre long razor-backed ridge that is the highest feature in the Finisterre Mountains in north-eastern New Guinea. The ridge […]

26 DEC 1941: Japanese forces officially capture Hong Kong. The tiny British colony on the Chinese coast, withstood a three-week siege by the Japanese. The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong or the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific […]

24 DEC 1941: Today, in World War II, Benghazi is recaptured. Benghazi changed hands five times as the North African campaign ebbed and flowed along the Mediterranean coast.

23 DEC 1916: Following on El Arish a couple of days ago in World War I, today commemorates the Battle of Magdhaba, in northern Sinai. The capture of Magdhaba by Chauvel’s Mounted Brigade and the Imperial Camel Corps helped open the way for the successful Allied campaign in Palestine. This, from Australia’s Light Horse: On […]

22 DEC 1941: The first United States troops arrive in Australia. In World War II as part of the Pacific push, Australia soon became a major base for US forces in the war against Japan. They were warmly welcomed as representing a defence for Australia. At the beginning of World War II, most Australians still […]