herakles
14-02-2008, 22:57
Australia responded immediately to the support of the Empire when WW2 broke out. In a short time we had the 6th and 9th Divisions in North Africa and the 8th in Singapore.
All we had left were the part-time soldiers and these were not allowed to serve outside the country. They were very poorly equipped and largely untrained for war.
The 6th was withdrawn at Churchill's demand to wreck themselves in Greece.
The 8th was forced to surrender at Singapore and spent the rest of the war making a railway.
The 9th covered themselves in glory - Tobruk, Alemein etc.
At the end of hostilities there, Churchill decided they would be moved to Rangoon for the defence of India. They were placed on troop ships and moved to Colombo with the intention of them moving them to Rangoon.
At this time, Japan had enjoyed great success and was threatening Australia. They successfully bombed Darwin and managed to wipe out every warship there. This wasn't hard. The Americans liked parking their ships next to one another so their complete destruction was guaranteed.
When news reached Australia that Churchill had ordered the 9th to Burma, it was greeted with consternation. Australia had not been involved in any discussion of this.
John Curtin, Australia's wartime Prime Minister, immediately cabled Churchill stating that the 9th was required back in Australia for its defence. This request was ignored and the troop ships set sail for Rangoon. Again Curtin demanded the ships proceed to Australia. Churchill replied stating they were needed for "the defence of the Empire".
Curtin had much dissent in Cabinet. Few wanted to challenge the great man or possibly harm relations with Britain.
But Curtain was un-moved and issued a direct order to the troop ships to stop and commence the voyage to Australia. Churchill was unable to countermine this order.
The troop ships had to make this long and very dangerous voyage without any escort. At a time when the seas were alive with Japanese warships. A complete blackout was used. No-one in Australia knew where they were at any time and our warships, wanting to supply appropriate protection, searched in vain for them.
They did eventually arrive safely and the troops soon moved to New Guinea to relieve the part-time soldiers there who had been fighting a desperate action trying to contain the Japs. The Japs had landed in the north and were working their way south in order to capture Port Moresby. Top fighting men, mostly the elite Marines.
The rest is history and names like Kokoda, Milne Bay and Sanananda were added to the honour roll. The Japs were completely defeated.
It's another one of those "what ifs" situations. What would have happened had the troop ships been found and the 9th Div lost at sea? It was a huge risk to travel unescorted. There was no choice.
Curtain was killed by the war. It wore him out and he died not seeing our victory.
One final story. The part-timers were slowly withdrawing down the Kokoda track, fighting every inch of the way and in appalling jungle conditions. A track where you took one step up and then made two down. They shouldn't have even been there. One soldier later described how they fell back and found themselves in a clearing. And in the middle of it was a group from the Salvation Army. They had set up trestle tables, had brewed a cuppa and had a supply of Capstans available. God bless the Salvos.
All we had left were the part-time soldiers and these were not allowed to serve outside the country. They were very poorly equipped and largely untrained for war.
The 6th was withdrawn at Churchill's demand to wreck themselves in Greece.
The 8th was forced to surrender at Singapore and spent the rest of the war making a railway.
The 9th covered themselves in glory - Tobruk, Alemein etc.
At the end of hostilities there, Churchill decided they would be moved to Rangoon for the defence of India. They were placed on troop ships and moved to Colombo with the intention of them moving them to Rangoon.
At this time, Japan had enjoyed great success and was threatening Australia. They successfully bombed Darwin and managed to wipe out every warship there. This wasn't hard. The Americans liked parking their ships next to one another so their complete destruction was guaranteed.
When news reached Australia that Churchill had ordered the 9th to Burma, it was greeted with consternation. Australia had not been involved in any discussion of this.
John Curtin, Australia's wartime Prime Minister, immediately cabled Churchill stating that the 9th was required back in Australia for its defence. This request was ignored and the troop ships set sail for Rangoon. Again Curtin demanded the ships proceed to Australia. Churchill replied stating they were needed for "the defence of the Empire".
Curtin had much dissent in Cabinet. Few wanted to challenge the great man or possibly harm relations with Britain.
But Curtain was un-moved and issued a direct order to the troop ships to stop and commence the voyage to Australia. Churchill was unable to countermine this order.
The troop ships had to make this long and very dangerous voyage without any escort. At a time when the seas were alive with Japanese warships. A complete blackout was used. No-one in Australia knew where they were at any time and our warships, wanting to supply appropriate protection, searched in vain for them.
They did eventually arrive safely and the troops soon moved to New Guinea to relieve the part-time soldiers there who had been fighting a desperate action trying to contain the Japs. The Japs had landed in the north and were working their way south in order to capture Port Moresby. Top fighting men, mostly the elite Marines.
The rest is history and names like Kokoda, Milne Bay and Sanananda were added to the honour roll. The Japs were completely defeated.
It's another one of those "what ifs" situations. What would have happened had the troop ships been found and the 9th Div lost at sea? It was a huge risk to travel unescorted. There was no choice.
Curtain was killed by the war. It wore him out and he died not seeing our victory.
One final story. The part-timers were slowly withdrawing down the Kokoda track, fighting every inch of the way and in appalling jungle conditions. A track where you took one step up and then made two down. They shouldn't have even been there. One soldier later described how they fell back and found themselves in a clearing. And in the middle of it was a group from the Salvation Army. They had set up trestle tables, had brewed a cuppa and had a supply of Capstans available. God bless the Salvos.