Australia in WWII?

>Was it Phil Martin, by any chance...?

Could be Martin, but memory is failing me. Can't recall, won't likely till I'm in Lismore NSW.

Phil Martin is not on my list of post 1943 617 Wing Commanders.
Mine includes: "Willie" Tait, Cheshire, Fauquier, none of whom resided in Australia as far as I know, plus McLean.

 

I've just waded through my copy of Ward/Lee/Wachtel's 'Dambusters' tome and confusingly, have come up with the following...

I can't find a 'W/C McLean'....( there was a F/Sgt D A MacLean in McCarthy's crew on the Raid ...? )

W/C Cheshire is the famous Leonard Cheshire.

Also can't find a 'W/C Gordon Price'...although there is a Flt. Lt. Price shown operating with 617 from January/April 1945.

However, two Wing Commanders who did serve with 617 at the end of the War were 'Jock' Calder ( promoted from S/L while with 617 ) and W/C John Grindon, who joined 617 from 630 Squadron on April 28th, 1945 to replace G/C 'Johnny' Fauquier.....

 

The "617 The Operations Record Book 1943 - 1945" by Tobin Jones at
Dambusters has 755 pages of info!
Every ops detail, supposedly a complete list of all 617 Sqdn members, pages of articles and letters once stamped "Most Secret" and so forth and so on, ending with a series of letters from the King, Eisenhower etc.

PS:
Just got an email:
==> Tobin Jones is the webmaster for Dambusters.org !!! <==
"Dambusters.org site is (finally) seeing some improvements."
<== (-: (A Smiley that has Tied One On! )

 

Oct 15th 2007 Update:
Email from Tobin Jones, webmaster for Dambusters

Message reads:
"I took over the site a couple of years or so ago but have a lot of (ed: other time consuming) work still to do. <SNIP> Thanks for your good wishes, nice to know it is appreciated. The site is due for another upgrade soon as I have received quite a lot of additional information from various sources so do keep an eye on developments."

 

Question to "No 9" or whoever might know...
Is it possible to find and post the statistics for the percentage of men committed from the Russian eligible combatant pool?

Considering their horrific losses... it might help paint yet another portrait of their committment and contribution to the war effort.

 

the 'diggers' did a lot in ww1 remember Paschendaele and Gallipoli. My avatar is from a thumbstone of an aussie who lays in buttes cemetery and he was a casualty of paschendaele 1917.

but about the ww2-part there is just lit known.

This site is a nice tribute to the war efforts of the Aussies : Peter Dunn

 

Australian soldiers did lots of things during WWII. As previously mentioned, they took part in the famous Dambusters Raid (AKA Operation Chastise), they were present in the Pacific Theater, European Theater and on the high seas.

Apart from that - Japanese midget submarines attacked Sydney Harbour, Darwin was the subject of at least two air-raids and the Australian government commandeered schools for use as training-camps and headquarters for the army.

My own old high school (Scotch College, founded 1851) had to share it's campus with students from...I think it was Melbourne Grammar School, because their campus was being used by the military. Students spent the days studying in shifts. Some studied, others spent the days digging out trenches and bomb-shelters.

In fact at Scotch, even to this day, over 60 years after the war ended, some students still believe that there's an old WWII bomb-shelter somewhere on the school grounds (the school historian has since debunked this myth, but some still believe).

 

I know this is an old thread and all butI was reading th posts about the RAN but it seems a few were missed sunch as the HMAS Sydney sinking the German Crusier Emden of the west side of Australia, the HMAS Pioneer hunted the German Cruiser Konigisberg, oh and the HMAS Sydney also disabled the Italian bruiser Colleoni.

 

This is an old post indeed, but i found it appropriated for this information :

The Australian War Memorial have on their website the complete official history of Australia’s involvement in the Second World War.
It represents one of the longest and largest historical endeavours that Australia has ever seen. The enterprise began in January 1943 with the appointment of Gavin Long as General Editor. The 22 volumes, written by 14 authors, were published by the Memorial over a 25-year period between 1952 and 1977.

• Introduction by Anne-Marie Condé, Historian
• Copyright statement

Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army

• Volume I – To Benghazi (1961 reprint)
• Volume II – Greece, Crete and Syria (1st edition, 1953)
• Volume III – Tobruk and El Alamein (1st edition, 1966)
• Volume IV – The Japanese Thrust (1st edition, 1957)
• Volume V – South–West Pacific Area – First Year: Kokoda to Wau (1st edition, 1959)
• Volume VI – The New Guinea Offensives (1st edition, 1961)
• Volume VII – The Final Campaigns (1st edition, 1963)

Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy

• Volume I – Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942 (1st edition, 1957)
• Volume II – Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945 (1st edition, 1968)

Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 – Air

• Volume I – Royal Australian Air Force, 1939–1942 (1st edition, 1962)
• Volume II – Air War Against Japan, 1943–1945 (1968 reprint)
• Volume III – Air War Against Germany and Italy, 1939–1943 (1st edition, 1954)
• Volume IV – Air Power Over Europe, 1944–1945 (1st edition, 1963)

Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 4 – Civil

• Volume I – The Government and the People, 1939–1941 (1965 reprint)
• Volume II – The Government and the People, 1942–1945 (1st edition, 1970)
• Volume III – War Economy, 1939–1942 (1st edition, 1955)
• Volume IV – War Economy, 1942–1945 (1st edition, 1977)
• Volume V – The Role of Science and Industry (1st edition, 1958)

Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 5 – Medical

• Volume I – Clinical Problems of War (1962 reprint)
• Volume II – Middle East and Far East (1962 reprint)
• Volume III – The Island Campaigns (1st edition, 1957)
• Volume IV – Medical Services of the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force with a section on women in the Army Medical Services (1st edition, 1961)

 

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and all the commonwealth nations fought well in WW2. I know the New Zealanders were particularly respected by the Germans in Africa.

Three countries without particularly large populations that hit well above their weight. I belive Canada had the 3rd largest navy in the world by the end of the war.

 

Good to see this thread. Lots more reading for me now at all the websites!

 

Australians and New Zealanders were hated but respected by General Rommel during the North Africans campaign for there great fighting spirits and there ablitity to hold the hold their lines.

The New Zealanders were considered Elite troops when deployed in the Invasion of Italy.

The Canadians performed very well and were, I believe Britians closest commonwealth nation during the war, with both the use of their ships and armies and of course their great work by their Airforce during the BoB.

 

Not to mention that Australia had a spitfire pilot who went on to become a Prime Minister, John Gray Gordon.

Also not mentioned, but very essential in the Pacific campaign, were those brave men, the spotters, who sat on hills on remote islands and observed enemy movements and radioed their positions.

The Australian plantation owners and workers from the many islands of the south Pacific who provided specialist knowledge of the islands and waterways which gave strategic and tactical advantage.

The Australian nurses who served in many theatres.

Then of course the Aussies were there at the fall of Singapore, the worst military defeat ever suffered by the British Empire.

The 56 Bathurst Class corvettes/minesweepers who detected and cleared mines, ferried troops and wounded, conducted anti submarine warfare (we sunk at least two U boats btw), convoy protection and participated in shore batteries during beach landings. This was done by these ships in the south Pacific as well as in the Med.

 

Something not mentioned so far is the following,

The FIRST land defeat on the Italians was by the 6th Div, 2nd AIF at Bardia in North Africa.

The FIRST land defeat against the Germans was by the 9th Div 2nd AIF at Tobruk, North Africa.

The FIRST land defeat against the Japanese was at Milne Bay by the 18th Brigade+, 2nd AIF in New Guinea.

 

Maybe you should add "Australian" after "first" since the Belgians , French and BEF achieved earlier victories as early as 1940.


First land defeat against the Germans = Gembloux May 1940

First land defeat against the Italians = Alps offensive June 1940

What about Dunkirk?

 

I don't believe Australia had significant land forces on d day.Bit of trivia....The first shots fired in anger in both world wars were fired from a battery at portsea near Melbourne in Victoria Australia. One was a warning shot over the bw of a German merchant ship as it tried to leave port Phillip bay in 1914, and a similar event at the start of WW2..., coincidently the same guns were used on both occasions. The barrels of these guns are on display at the portsea national park, at the old artillery barracks on the point.

 

Interesting facts, I didn't know about that. Thanks for adding those interesting details to the thread.

 

Skipper,

Could I have some links to those battles please.

 

Here are links for Gembloux (in English) and the Battle of the Alps (in English and in French ) . There are many more available , incluidng on this forum. I also have the Gembloux medal posted in the militaria section.

Enjoy:


http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=89148&hilit=hannut






http://web.me.com/leendertriemersma/Axis_and_Allies_Custom_Scenarios/Battle_of_Gembloux.html]Error


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_invasion_of_France

La campagne italienne de juin*1940 dans les Alpes occidentales










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Enough for now, I don't want to sidetrack this thread.

 

Friedrich is very correct. My oldest cousin (now deceased) fought from New Guinea to the Philippines with the US Army and he often mentioned that there were plenty of Aussies there. (New Guinea) And if I'm not mistaken weren't there some HMAS in the small allied fleet lost in the opening days of WW2 at the Battle of the Java Sea.