16 DEC 1944: World War II and the Germans launch their final offensive of the Second World War in the west in the Ardennes Forest, in Belgium. The offensive, known as the battle of the Bulge, was defeated by British and American ground and air forces. The Battle of the Bulge, fought over the winter […]
Military History
First G-G Arrives
15 DEC 1900: Australia’s first Governor General arrives. HMS Royal Arthur, bringing the first Governor General of Australia, the Earl of Hopetoun, arrives in Sydney. John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC, also known as Viscount Aithrie before 1873 and as The 7th Earl of Hopetoun between 1873 and 1902, […]
Japan Invades Malaya
14 DEC 1941: Japanese forces land at Penang, Malaya. Penang’s military importance lay in the island’s port facilities and its stocks of ammunition and stores. When the allies were unable to stop the Japanese advance on the mainland it became clear that the island would have to be evacuated. Penang is now a state in […]
ALH at Umm el Rakam
13 DEC 1915: World War I and the Australian Light Horse fights at Umm el Rakam. The Light Horse was deployed against the Senussi, in Egypt’s western desert. In response to the growing threat from a pro-Turkish Islamic Arab sect known as the Senussi, a composite British force — the “Western Frontier Force” — under […]
HMAS Australia Damaged
12 DEC 1917: Today, the battle cruiser HMAS Australia was damaged in a collision with the British battle cruiser HMS Repulse. On 22 April 1916 Australia collided with New Zealand in heavy fog and the damage kept her in dockyard hands until 9 June 1916. She thus missed the Battle of Jutland, her place as […]
OP Fauna, Korea
11 DEC 1952: The Korean War and the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment begins Operation Fauna, its objective is to capture prisoners and destroy enemy defences. Operation Fauna was a major trench raid on Chinese positions near Hill 355 to snatch a prisoner. Although no prisoners were taken, Chinese dispositions near Hill 355 were […]
Repulse and Prince of Wales Sunk
10 DEC 1941: World War II and HM Ships Repulse and Prince of Wales are sunk. The sinking of these powerful warships by Japanese torpedo bombers off Malaya came as a shock to those who had under-estimated Japan’s military ability and had relied on the imagined impregnable Singapore naval base. The sinkings heralded the significance […]
Australians at Gona
9 DEC 1942: World War II and Australians occupy Gona, New Guinea. The Japanese withdrawal from the Kokoda Trail enabled the allies to plan the encirclement of important Japanese positions in the Buna, Sanananda and Gona beachhead. Gona was the first of the three to fall to the allies after weeks of heavy fighting. On […]
DMC Occupies Jerusalem
9 DEC 1917: World War I and Jerusalem is occupied by the Desert Mounted Corps. The capture of Jerusalem, a city significant for Christians, Jews and Muslems, was one of the triumphs for British empire forces in the Middle East in 1917. In the first Battle of Gaza, 26/27 March 1917, Sir Harry Chauvel was […]
Australia Declares War
8 DEC 1941: Australia is at war with Japan. Australia announces that it is at war with Japan. Some 17,000 Australians would die in the three-and-a-half-year war against Japan, 8,000 as prisoners of war. Just one hour after Japanese bombers struck at Hawaii on the morning of December 7, 1941, Prime Minister John Curtin of […]
