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 […]
Military History
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 […]
Australia Raises 2nd AIF
15 SEP 1939: World War II and the Australian Government announces mobilisation of the militia and the establishment of the second AIF for service abroad. Australia needed to raise a volunteer force for overseas service in the Second World War while the militia were initially only allowed to serve in Australian territories. Australia had a dilemma […]
First Submarine Lost
14 SEP 1914: World War I and HMA Submarine AE1 is lost off New Guinea. The AE1 and AE2 were the first submarines to serve with the Royal Australian Navy. The AE1 disappeared without trace during operations for the capture of German New Guinea. In 1914 the Australian government took possession of two new submarines, […]
Richard Kelliher, VC
13 SEP 1943: World War II and Private Richard Kelliher, 2/25th Battalion, originally from County Kerry, Ireland, earns the Victoria Cross at Nadzab, New Guinea. Kelliher was born in Ballybeggan, Tralee, County Kerry in Ireland, then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. and emigrated to Queensland, Australia in 1929 with his […]
2RAR Arrives in Malaya
12 SEP 1955: The Malayan Emergency and the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, advance party arrives in Penang, Malaya. Australian forces served in Malaya as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve. Their primary role was to deter external communist aggression against south-east Asia and their secondary role was to assist in the suppression […]
