The Fall Of Singapore was a devastating loss for the British Empire in WWII. As a result of this battle repercussions were felt by Australia. The Fall Of Singapore occurred on the 15th of February 1942, it was the end of the Malayan Campaign, which started on the 8th of December 1941. This campaign lasted for 68 days and left a significant legacy for everyone involved and many others. (Daily Mercury, 2012) In order to fully understand the fall of Singapore and how it affected Australia we must first look at what the Fall Of Singapore was. Then look at how Australia was involved and as a result of this look at how the Fall Of Singapore impacted Australia. Singapore was a sign of British Power in East Asia. (Ww2australia.gov.au, n.d.) This gave …show more content…
Australia felt as though they had no security due to the surrendering of the British in 1942. This loss to the Japanese meant that Australia had no protective barrier against the Japs and felt as though there was nothing stopping them from invading Australia. (Mcarthur, 2011) Many Australian soldiers were involved in WWII especially in the Malayan Campaign. More than 20,000 Australian soldiers fought and of these 20,000, 15,000 were taken prisoners of war after the final surrender. (Daily Mercury, 2012) 14 per cent of troops defending Singapore were Australians. Australians suffered 73% of the battle deaths. (Murdoch, 2012) This goes to show that Australia was greatly impacted losing many brave soldiers in battle. The speed and ferocity in which Japan attacked Singapore was very unsettling for Britain and Australia worrying both parties, as there was a fear that they could strike again. The fall of Singapore was not the extent of how the Japanese affected the Australians, within four days of the surrender to the Japanese, 90 Japanese aircraft bombed the north part of Darwin. (Mcarthur, 2011) This was devastating to Australians affected because they realised that the war could come to Australia and they were not safe anymore. After this tragedy Australia could no longer rely on Britain and turned to America, which was stated by John Curtin the Prime Minister at the time. (Mcarthur, 2011) The Fall Of Singapore
The Fall of Singapore is considered one of the greatest defeats in British History. For it to be overtaken and then occupied by the Japanese posed a massive threat and shock to Australia, which then caused Australia to withdraw troops introduce conscription and also the USA came in to help Australia against the threatening Japanese.
Source 4 mentions two common sayings to do with Australian realisations entering the war, "here Australia became a nation" and Blightly [Britain] is a failure, take me to Australia" (Stanley, 2011). The service of 320 thousand Australians stimulated the first growth of a self-conscious Australian nationalism. At the landing at Gallipoli Australian troops expected to learn from the British but instead looked down on them as amateurs and were disappointed with their performance, efficiency and supplies. "Real sense of inequality of sacrifice" (Carrodus, Delany, Easton, Howitt and Smith, 2014). Source 5 makes notice of the fact that by the middle of 1915 the reality of war began to dawn. Australians became disillusioned with the news of deaths upon deaths and war waged on with no visible end. Endless, helplessness, unfairly treated feelings. Australia was divided due to the working class feeling exploited and the middle and upper classes being affected less by the war. "It was a hollow mockery for citizens to celebrate the glories of ANZAC Day unless they were prepared to fulfil their promises and do their duty to the men who had fought and suffered through the war." (Brand, 1925). Source 6 is a quote from a recent time after WW1, it shows the pride Australians had in their soldiers, that they thought they were brave and to
The Second World War was a massive event that left the whole world shocked and saddened of the outcomes. World War 2 was known mostly because of who ruled, Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazis. The Nazis where a German army who terrorized Europe and the world with the in humane treatment of people and mostly the treatment of the Jews. Australia’s involvement in ww2 will be the main focus of this essay. Australia lost over 30 000 people who became in prisoned by the Nazis. To follow on with the hypothesis of Australia’s involvement and contributions to WW2 was significant due to their alliances with Great Britain and the USA largely affect Australia even to this day, I will be discussing this through the rest of the essay.
It is well recognised that World War 1 was a traumatic experience for the Australian nation. It claimed 60,000 young lives and another 156,000 men were wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner. But when the trauma abated, it became apparent that Australian society had been changed permanently and positively. Some of the gains realised by Australia as a result of her involvement in WWI included a newfound maturity as a nation, the respect and recognition of other nations, new opportunities for trade and industry, a greater recognition of women’s rights and a massive economic and population boost due to post war immigration programs. This web-site has been created to show you some of the benefits of World War One on Australia.
During the years from 1914 - 1918 Australia was at constant battle all over the world fighting for the british. With battles deaths always follow. So many people say, “what did we ever gain from WW1 we lost so many people as a country”. Although we lost almost 60,000 men and 150,000 wounded or taken prisoner. After the war the British Government offered ex-servicemen free transportation to some of the colonies, 17,000 migrants arrived in Australia between 1919 and 1922. Community organisations paid for migrants to come over to Australia. Small numbers also arrived independently. It was also said that up to 300,000 men came over from britain post war to live. The British government gave an incentive to migrate over because so many people
Although both the World Wars had significant impacts on Australians, the statement that wartime controls in World War One had a greater impact on Australians than they did in World War Two is fairly inaccurate. There are a number of reasons as to why this was the case, as demonstrated through the government 's wartime controls. One of the wartime controls that was utilised by the government in both World Wars but had greater impact on Australians in World War Two was conscription. Another wartime control that had a higher degree of impact on Australians in World War Two than in World War One was the detainment and isolation of ‘enemy aliens’ when the government again took steps to protect their national security. With such a large number of servicemen deployed overseas, the role of women in Australia also changed drastically to meet the needs of the armed forces, the government and the economy and this influenced Australian life more in World War Two. Therefore, although both wars affected the lives of many Australians in mental, physical, social and economic aspects, the wartime controls of World War Two had a much greater impact on Australians than in World War One.
While the initial sparks of Singaporean nationalism may have stemmed from being under the British colonial rule or arose due to the brutality that the people were put through during the Japanese Occupation between 1942 to 1945, it is difficult to ascertain exactly when the start of Singapore’s nation building efforts began. Characterized by the process where a large body of people associated with a territory commits to its own government, I would define the start of Singapore’s nation building process from the time its people started to strive for their independence. In this essay, I would argue about how the Japanese Occupation was indeed, a significant turning point that led to cultivation of Singapore as a nation.
Singapore is located at the centre of a crucial sea route in the far east. The sea route is controlled by the Japanese and attempting to prevent from the British claiming the control of the route.
In 1945, after World War II had finished, Australia finally felt at peace – that was until Communism began to have an effect on the entire world. Australia had a lot to fear, with the threat likely to infiltrate the country both domestically (an established Communist Party) and internationally (a geographical location close to countries that had already fallen victim to communism, such as China and Korea). Australia responded to both of these threats in a way that caused a lot of political controversy and has created bonds with other parts of the world that are still activated today.
In August 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, an immense wave of support flooded Britain from her ally, Australia. All Australian political parties, community leaders, newspapers and churches were on-board with this major movement to help the mother country. All believed it was a morally right and necessary commitment . World War I, 1914 – 1918 had a significant and long lasting impact on the Australian home front. ‘The civilian population ’ had to undergo many changes to cater for the war. At this time women’s push for a larger role in the war effort caused a significant and long lasting impact on the Australian home front, which has helped shape workplace gender equality today. Conscription also impacted the Australian home front, meaning, compulsory enlistment of people in military service. As well as the massive impact on Australia’s economy from the many trading cancellations through abandoned or cut off allies, which has helped build Australia’s economy to what it is today.
Asian migration wave has had a significant impact on the Australian Political Policies as Asian it is a significant issue because it helped to make Australia richer and more culturally diverse today. It has also helped to change Political Policies to benefit other migrants positively. The slides hat follow allow you to observe present discussions and will also include an insight into the Asian Migration Wave, Impacts relating to Australia’s political policies as well as whether these impacts were continuous or changed.
Australia and China adopt very different economic systems in order to cater the best for their society. However, Australia's economic system is more successful than China's and, due to the writer's right-wing value system, will be measured in terms of environmental efficiency, labour and entrepreneurial resource efficiency and the standard of living.
‘We’re all Australians now’ draws the reader to see the war from a positive Australia home front perspective. Texts from
Although military history has always been associated with the chronicle of Australia and its European inhabitants, the Boer War had been the first full commitment of troops by all the Australian Colonies to a foreign war. With the establishment of the Australian Commonwealth on 1st January 1901, it became our country’s first military contribution as a Nation (RSL NSW, 2014). Australians served in contingents raised by the six colonies (the Australian Commonwealth) and took the form of waves. First, there were the contingents raised by the Australian colonies in response to the outbreak of war in 1899 (Australian War Memorial, n.d) but soon after, the Boers inflicted three defeats on the British army during what was called ‘Black Week’. This
The Fall of Singapore was considered one of the greatest defeats in the history of the British Army. It was also considered Britain 's worst defeat in World War Two. The Japanese had already taken many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region during the war but Singapore was one of the worse. This report will explain the reasons and events that led to the fall of Singapore and how it affected people around the world.