Australia 's Involvement During World War I

In Australia, during World War One, conscription was one of the most divisive and bitter arguments of the time, however, it can be argued that conscription had a huger impact on Australia in World War Two than in World War One due to its implementation. By 1916, two years after World War One had begun, most of

World War I and World War II had many cause, and although the assassination of the Franz Ferdinand was a direct kick off of the war there are many other causes that lead to the Start of World War I that eventually lead to World War II. The chain of events that triggered World War I was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed. The assassination was planned by a Serbian terrorist group also known as The Black Hand. The individual that assassinated Franz Ferdinand was a Bosnian revolutionary named Gavrilo Princip.

Australia was not one of the main countries involved in WW1, however one cannot say they did not contribute largely. From The Western front to The Middle East, Australian troops fought bravely on what appeared to be “The war to end all wars”. Of course one would say that Gallipoli was the most known campaign but it was in The Western Front where the Australian troops fought it what was regarded to be the most important theatre of war.

The Australian national identity was affected by the foreign policy and changing of alliances in World War Two, which is seen by, Australia’s alliance with America and their detachment from the mother country, their increase in victories on the battlefield as well as their economic progress post-war, which made Australia more independent and therefore shaped how it was viewed as a country. Throughout the war Australia was left vulnerable by Britain so America was called upon to help in defense. Australia fought many crucial battles with America and their victories paved the way for national success. After the war Australia had many great achievements economically which created their national identity.

Australia entered World War II (WW2) on the 3rd September 1939, following the United Kingdom’s declaration of war (551). During this period, The Australian Government sent almost half of the Royal Australia Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships to fight alongside Britain in the European war (anzacportal).

Australia joined World War 1 when Britain and Germany joined it on the 4th August 1914. During this Joseph Cook (the current Prime Minister) and his opposition, Andrew Fisher (the Labour Leader) both agreed to support Great Britain in her time of need, Britain then accepted Australia with open arms (https://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww1/). There are three main reasons why Australia was included in World War 1. Firstly, Joseph Cook said that Australia would follow Britain into war and support them with loyalty. Secondly, Australia was still a small, young, developing country and fighting in a World War would give the country a great deal of appreciation amongst other countries. And lastly, the Australian citizens didn’t just think of themselves as ‘Australians’ they felt like they were still part of Britain, the term they used were ‘Australasian Britons’ and they volunteered to fight for Britain whether Australia as a country was going to war or not (https://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww1/).

Many people remained in Australia during the First World War; they faced challenges but also came across new experiences. People of all ages were contributing in their own way to help the troops and other people still living in the country, the cost of living rose, and the Australian home front seemed to be supportive of the war that was taking place. The First World War had resulted in many Australian men going to war to fight on behalf of Australia. This took a toll on the Australian economy.

World War 1 was caused by long term tensions between European nations. This followed the unsuccessful attempt of France trying to achieve dominance in Europe. However on the 28th June 1914 there was an assassination of the Austrian heir- Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s, in his visit in Sara Jevo, Serbia. (Dugan 2000) Figure 2 shows an artist’s illustration of the Heir, his wife and the assassin during the attack. This resulted in Austria declaring war on Serbia. Russia soon pledged an alliance with Serbia, this was not long after Germany declared war on Russia. (Dugan 2000)

During the Second World War over a seven month period between July 1942 and January 1943, the events of the Kokoda Trail Campaign and the Battle of the Beachheads took place on what was once the Australian territories of Papua and New Guinea. Good morning, I am Lee Varnes, and I am representing the Australian War Memorial to inform you of the significance of Australia’s involvement in the Papua Campaign. I will be discussing the reasons behind Japan’s invasion of Papua, the course of the campaign, the outcome of the campaign and the significance it had on the Australian people and the soldiers involved.

World War 1, or the “Great War” as many referred to it, is considered to be one of the worst and deadliest conflicts in history of earth. During a stretch of four long years, more than 9 million soldiers and 7 million civilians were killed, as well as resulting in crippling war debts that reached 6.6 billion. France, Germany, Britain and Italy were considered the Central Powers of the war, despite multiple other countries participating. This report will cover the main aspects of Australia’s involvement in the war, as well as how it affected Australia as a nation.

When the announcement came that Australia would be involved in the First World War the public and the government didn’t know what to expect and they were not prepared as much as WWII. As for enlistment, there was no rush to enlist in WWII much like WWI, thus having to create two AIF’s to fight. In WWI there was that stimulus of having to prove themselves to the mother country. Although, in WWII they still had to prove themselves to Britain but it was not as important as it was in the First World War. Therefore, the differences between WWI and WWII were not much different, and the Australian public and government had learned from WWI to better their preparations for

Australia was first established as a Federation in 1910 while World War 1 started in 1914, so Australia was still an undeveloped and new nation. Geographically speaking Australia is located far away from other European countries meaning it was remote from the continuing conflicts in European countries long before the world war. Even though Australia wasn’t directly tangled in the encounters in Europe before the World War, they found themselves playing an important role. Australia was a nation of around four million people, which meant that there was around 820,000 men between 19 and 38 that had the potential to fight. They first aided England in the 1860s for New Zealand, in the Sudan 1885 during the Boer War. Since they have aided England before it was likely that it wouldn’t be a problem helping again.

On June 28, 1914, a young Serbian nationalist that was for the revolution in his country named Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Tensions were high between these two countries at the time, and started to escalate dramatically till this event happened. This set off a chain of events that helped to developed into allies, revolutions, and led to a declaration of war. World War I started barely one month later [history.com].

Australia's involvement in WW1 began with when the British and German went to war on 4 August 1914, both the prime minister's Joseph Cook and opposition leader Andrew Fisher, who were in the middle of an election campaign, promised full support of Britain. The outbreak war greeted in Australia, as many other places, with great enthusiasm.

World War 1 started in 1914. It was a time of political unrest, when nobody was certain what would become of their nations. This sprouted a number of radical movements, all looking to comprehend and untangle the disorder that invaded the society they knew.