U4 AOS1 -> WW2/ch3 Flashcards
what was the public response to the declaration of war?
Initially, there were no demonstrations of patriotic loyalty and no great move to enlist. Many who joined were called ‘economic recruits’, unemployed men who just wanted an income.
Most people, however, remembered the carnage and loss of life of WW1, and they were also embittered by the poverty and suffering of the Great Depression.
They were not, however, indifferent as large crowds in Melbourne farewelled Victoria’s departing AIF troops in January 1940.
Historian Kate Darian-Smith notes: “There was […] a general sense of foreboding amongst civilians. Despite Australia’s geographical isolation, recent technological advances gave warning of bombardment from the sky”
how was WW2 announced?
The Australian Government immediately declared its support for Britain. On 3 September 1939, by radio broadcast, Prime Minister Menzies had committed Australia to another world war by declaring: “fellow Australians, it is my melancholy duty to inform you officially that, in consequence of the persistence of Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her, and that, as a result, Australia is also at war.”
why did Australia fear Japan’s power?
Traditionally, Ausrtalians feared Japan’s growing military power. As early as 1904/1905, Japan’s victory over the Russian Empire, which was much greater in size than Japan, caused fears that Japan would also attack AUS. In the 1920s, Britain tried to restrain Japan’s military growth by negotiating a limit on its armaments and by developing Singapore as a major naval base to protect the Pacific region
why was AUS unprepared for WW2?
From 1920 to 1937, AUS spent little on defence. It was only in 1937 (when a 2nd global conflict appeared imminent) that the government increased spending but by then it was too late. The Australian Army, Navy and Air Force were too small and lacking in equipment to defend AUS.
In 1939, AUS was seriously underprepared in terms of troops and equipment. Overall, the average of the readiness of Australian forces for war was 40% which had serious implications for the home front as well. All wars demand increased production with a reduced workforce but this one would require AUS to make a massive effort to produce food, uniforms and weapons hence the home front was involved in mobilising an entire nation to respond to an overwhelming challenge for which it was unready.
what was the significance of Australia’s unprepared nature?
It was clear that Australian forces alone could not defend the Pacific region, they needed massive reinforcements from a more powerful ally like Britain or the US. The seriousness of Australia’s weak position became clear when japan entered the war in DEC 1941, sparking war in the Pacific region. The nation faced a militarily superior enemy whilst being seriously unprepared. More grave was that the Japanese had captured the British stronghold of Singapore, including thousands of Australians. Since the fortress was believed to be impenetrable, the Fall of Singapore left Australians feeling that Britain was incapable of protecting AUS
In contrast to WW1, WW2 involved a serious physical threat to AUS. At the outbreak of war in 1939, Australians wanted to assist Britain, but there was still no precedent to make them fear that they themselves would be attacked
how many raids did AUS suffer from in WW2?
AUS suffered a total of 97 Japanese raids in 1942/43 of which the devastating bombing of Dawin is now the best known
why was there a change in military alliances?
The direct threat to AUS had another serious implication: now that our troops were required for national defence, AUS could not send troops to assist Britain and Britain similarly stated that it could not afford to send troops to help AUS.
The ‘Telegram War’ between Australian PM John Curtin and British PM Winston Churchill in 1942 reveals the tensions caused by this issue. Curtin argued that Australian troops serving abroad must be sent home, while Chruchill argued that he needed Australian troops to defend Burma from the Japanese. The same year, Curtin signed the Statute of Westminster (1931) which empower AUS to make independent foreign policy decisions . Knowing that the US wanted AUS as a base from which to repel Japanese advances in the Pacific, Curtin hastened to enlist its military power for the defence of AUS. This did not involve a complete rejection of Britain as even after the strategic ANZUS treaty with America (1951), Australia would still cooperate with Britain, for example by allowing it to detonate atomic test bombs on Australian soil.
what did the Menzies government do in preparation for war?
Under the Menzies government, the Australian Federal Parliament has passed the National Security Regulations at a very early stage of the war (9 september 1939), empowering AUS to make exceptional measures for its own defence and the Labor Opposition Leader, John Curtin, voted against this as he believed that the nature of the legislation undermined the democratic nature of Australian society whilst, Menzies assured the government that the legislation would only be used in dire situations.
what were the measures taken by the Curtin government in WW2?
with the declaration of war against Japan (9 DEC 1941) and the subsequent potential threat of Japanese invasion, the Curtin government increased emergency measures, primarily by regulating economic production and the private lives of citizens.
Curtin swiftly introduced rationing of food/clothing, limiting how much of an item a person could buy in a year. Curtin also created the Manpower Directorate, so that the government assumed complete control of available labour with priority given to the war industries. even people’s private lives, social activities and conversations were subjected to new restrictions. People were urged to accept old clothing, to make a virtue of cheerfully going without some things and to be careful not to disclose information that might help the enemy. As early as June 1941, federal legislation established the Department of Home Security to increase the number of personnel and to regularise the different systems of defence devised by the various states.
what was the voluntary civil defence force?
it involved the extensive use of unpaid civilian volunteers to defend communities from enemy attack. the main home for the defence unit in AUS was the Citizen Military Force, which by mid 1941 expanded by call-up to 173,000 men in 4 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry divisions. Only 45,000 of them were on duty. Most had basic, even inadequate, military training. There was the Permanent Military Force of some 5,000 Australian men. AUS had a ‘Dad’s Army’ of around 13,000 veterans from WW1 who were responsible for defending coastal military fortifications from sabotage. The Returned Soldiers and Sailors’ Imperial League of Australia (RSSILA), later known as the Returned Services League (RSL), formed a Volunteer Defence Corps consisting of 44,000 men exempted from military service but who wanted to help which was formed in July 1940, it was taken over by the Australian Army in May 1941
what was the Fall of Singapore
what was the manpower directorate?
Curtin created the Manpower Directorate, so that the government assumed complete control of available labour, with priority given to the war industries.
