LibGuides: World War 2 : Australia's involvement: Battles

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Books in our library

Great Battles in Australian History by Jonathan King; Steve Gower (Foreword by)
Call Number: 355.00994 KIN
Publication Date: 2012
The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles by Chris Clark
Call Number: 355.4794 CLA
Publication Date: 2011
Australians at War by A.K. MacDougall
Call Number: 355.00994 MAC
Publication Date: 2012
Burma and India 1941-1945 by John Moremon
Call Number: 940.5425 MOR
Publication Date: 2006
Royal Australian Air Force 1941-1945 by John Moremon
Call Number: 940.544994 MOR
Publication Date: 2005
Victory in Europe, 1939-1945 : Australians at war in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe by Richard Reid
Call Number: 940.53 REI
Publication Date: 2005
Australian Soldiers in Asia-Pacific in World War II by Lachlan Grant
Call Number: 940.5426 GRA
Publication Date: 2014
Darwin and the Northern Territory 1942-1945.
Call Number: 940.5426 DAR
Publication Date: 2002
No cause for alarm : submarine attacks on Sydney and Newcastle, May-June 1942.
Call Number: 940.5426 NO
Publication Date: 2002
Battles and Campaigns : the atlas of the Second World War
Call Number: 940.54 BAT (STACK)
Publication Date: 1973
Includes the Battle of El Alamein.
100 Battles :decisive conflicts that shaped the world
Call Number: 355.409 ONE
Publication Date: 2013

Australian War Memorial encyclopedia

Search the encyclopedia for further information
about your WWII topic.

TROVE

Look up Australian Digitalised Newspapers for Primary Information

Battle of Britain 1940

Battle of Britain This link opens in a new window
Twenty-five Australians were considered eligible for the Battle of Britain clasp to the 1939–45 Star. Others flew during the battle with RAF Bomber Command and Coastal Command but the total number involved in the battle did not exceed 35. Information from the Australian War Memorial encyclopedia.

Australia's few and the Battle of Britain by Kirsten Alexander
Call Number: 940.544941. ALE
Publication Date: 2014
Library book available on the shelves for borrowing.

Greece/Crete 1941 (Mediterranean)

Greece and Crete April - May 1941 This link opens in a new window
About 39 per cent of the Australia troops in Greece on 6 April 1941 were either killed, wounded or became prisoners of war. This website includes primary source information.
Looking back Australians on Crete This link opens in a new window
In May 1941 Australian, New Zealand and British troops were involved in ten days of desperate fighting against German forces on the strategically important island of Crete.
Battle of Crete This link opens in a new window
Includes additional websites on the right hand side of the website.
Australians in World War II: Greece and Crete This link opens in a new window
17,000 Australians and 16,700 New Zealanders fought in Greece between November 1940 and May 1941.

Greece and Crete by Richard Reid
Call Number: 940.53495 REI
Publication Date: 2011
Library book available on the shelves for borrowing.
Creforce : the ANZACS and the Battle of Crete by Stella Tzobanakis
Call Number: 940.54124959 TZO
Publication Date: 2010
Library book available on the shelves for borrowing.
Greece : February to Apri 1941 by Michael Tyquin
Call Number: 940.542195 TYQ
Publication Date: 2014
Library book available on the shelves for borrowing.

Syria 1941 (Mediterranean)

Syria and Lebanon June 1941 This link opens in a new window
On 7-8 June 1941, Australians of the 7th Division, along with British and Free French forces, striking north from Palestine, invaded Syria and Lebanon. Includes primary source information.
Australians in World War II: North Africa and Syria This link opens in a new window
At 5.30 am on 3 January 1941, the first major attack by an Australian division in World War II was launched at Bardia in Italian Libya.

North Africa and Syria : Australians in World War II by Anthony Stauton
Call Number: 940.5423 STA
Publication Date: 2012
Library book available for borrowing from the library shelves.

New Guinea offensive 1943-44 (Pacific)

The Japanese retreat 1943-1944 This link opens in a new window
By early 1943, Japanese forces still held most of New Guinea, including the main coastal settlements of Lae and Salamaua. Australians defeated a Japanese force at Wau in late January and early February 1943.

The Markham and Ramu Valleys 1943-1944 by Mark Johnston
Call Number: 940.542657 JOH
Publication Date: 2005
Library book on shelves available for borrowing.
Wau-Salamaua 1942-1943, Papua New Guinea : March 1942-September 1943 by John Moremon
Call Number: 940.5426571 MOR
Publication Date: 2003
Library book on shelves available for borrowing.
Battle of the beachheads 1942-43 : Buna, Gona and Sanananda, Papua New Guinea November 1942-January 1943 by John Moremon
Call Number: 940.5426 BAT
Publication Date: 2002
Library book on shelves available for borrowing.
Borneo 1942-1945 by Peter Stanley
Call Number: 940.5426 STA
Publication Date: 2005
Library book on shelves available for borrowing.
The Huon Peninsula 1943-1944 by Mark Johnston
Call Number: 940.542657 JOH
Publication Date: 2005
Library book on shelves available for borrowing.
New Britain 1941-1945 by John Moremon
Call Number: 940.542658 MOR
Publication Date: 2005
Library book on shelves available for borrowing

General sites

The Pacific War This link opens in a new window
Outlines the battles that Australia and America were closely involved with.
Australian involvement in the Second World War This link opens in a new window
A million Australians, both men and women, served in the Second World War – 500,000 overseas. They fought in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as against Japan in south-east Asia and the Pacific. The Australian mainland came under direct attack for the first time, with Japanese aircraft bombing towns in north-west Australia and Japanese midget submarines attacking Sydney Harbour.
Australians at War : WW2 This link opens in a new window
A summary of statistics of Australia's involvement in WWII from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Scroll down the page to the information on WWII.

Milne Bay 1942 (Pacific)

Milne Bay This link opens in a new window
Although the battle was relatively minor in scale, it was a significant morale booster as the first real land defeat suffered by the Japanese. The Allied victory at Milne Bay showed that the Japanese soldier was not invincible.

Milne Bay 1942 : Papua New Guinea August-September 1942 by Richard Reid
Call Number: 940.5426541 REI
Publication Date: 2002
Library book on shelves available for borrowing.

Fall of Singapore 1942 (Pacific)

No prisoners This link opens in a new window
With vivid accounts from combatants, eyewitnesses and historians, reporter Chris Masters searches for the truth behind the Singapore debacle.
Fall of Singapore This link opens in a new window
Includes information on the Fall of Singapore, Ambon, Timor, Java and the the defence of Moresby.
On this day: Singapore fell This link opens in a new window
n 1942, 130,000 British, Indian and Australian troops surrendered in one of the most stinging defeats of World War II.

The Japanese advance 1941-1942 by Mark Johnston
Call Number: 940.5426 JOH
Publication Date: 2007
Library book on shelves available for borrowing.

El Alamein 1942 (North Africa)

El Alamein: July battles 1942 This link opens in a new window
The Australians joined the British XXX Corps at El Alamein on 4 July and mounted four attacks along the coast on 10, 17, 22 and 26–27 July.
El Alamein October-November 1942 This link opens in a new window
Between 1940 and late 1942 the British Empire and Dominion forces struggled against the German and Italian 'Axis' forces in North Africa as the Axis forces tried to capture the Suez Canal and take control of the Middle East oilfields.

El Alamein, Egypt : October - November 1942 by Richard Reid
Call Number: 940.5423 REI
Publication Date: 2002
Library book on shelves available for borrowing.

The Battle of the Coral Sea 1942 (Pacific)

Coral Sea This link opens in a new window
The Battle of the Coral Sea was a series of naval engagements off the north-east coast of Australia between 4 and 8 May 1942. It was fought by Allied (United States and Australian) and Japanese aircraft against four different major groups of warships.

Relevant Clickview videos

The following clickview videos may be worth watching :

Bombing of Darwin
Sydney at War : the untold story of the midget submarines
Tobruk (Desert War)
Kokoda Part One and Two
Conflict in the Pacific Part One and Two

To view them click on the clickview player icon on your school computer desktop.
Click on the Clickview Digital Video Library, click on History and click on World War 2.
Scroll down the videos to find the title you are looking for.

If you wish to view them out of school, then click here. You will need a username and password which you must get from the Library Staff.

World War 2 : Australia's involvement: Battles

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