Military History

Close to 3,000 Australians were involved in the Normandy landings in 1944. Australia’s main contribution to D‐Day was in the air. Some 2,000 to 2,500 Australian airmen serving in Royal air Force and Royal Australian air Force Squadrons took part in operations associated with the invasion. Australian aircrew served in transport and glider‐towing squadrons which […]

With ANZAC Day looming, time to reflect on a key piece of every dawn and ANZAC service with a little history. Moved by the opening of what was then called the Great War and the already high number of casualties of the British Expeditionary Force, in 1914 Laurence Binyon wrote his poem “For the Fallen”, […]

Overshadowed by ANZAC Day, just a day later, Kapyong Day commemorates the day Kapyong came to be the most significant and important battle for Australian troops in Korea. In April 1951 the Chinese launched their spring offensive with the aim of retaking the city of Seoul. They quickly overran South Korean forces defending one of the major […]

11 DEC 1941: World War II and both Germany and Italy declare war on the United State. Though they had no need to do so, the declaration of waragainst the United States aligned the world’s greatest economic andmilitary power against them and virtually ensured their eventual defeat. Three days ago, US President Franklin Roosevelt announced […]

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 […]