During World War II in the South-West Pacific, the United States evolved to be Australia's largest ally.
In the view of Paul Hasluck, Australia fought two wars between 1939 and 1945: one against Germany and Italy as part of the British Commonwealth and Empire and the other against Japan in alliance with the United States and Britain.
Since that time, United States has been the most important security ally. The close security relationship with the United States was formalized in 1951 by the Australia, New Zealand, United States Security (ANZUS) Treaty which remains the cornerstone of Australian security arrangements.
As part of the British Empire, Australia was among the first nations to declare war on Nazi Germany and between 1939 and 1945 nearly one million Australian men and women served in what was going to be the Second World War.
Australia moved quickly to support Great Britain and also declared war. This time, there was none of the enthusiasm and joy that had greeted the news of the outbreak of the First World War. One million Australians, both men and women, served in the Second World War – 500,000 overseas.
Following early successes against Italian forces, the Australians suffered defeat with the Allies at the hands of the Germans in Greece, Crete, and North Africa. In June and July 1941 Australians participated in the successful Allied invasion of Syria, a mandate of France and the Vichy government.
Australian personnel also took part in the invasion of Southern France in August 1944, and RAAF airmen continued to operate against German forces until the end of the war in May 1945.
The US naval victory at the battle of Midway, in early June 1942, removed the Japan's capability to invade Australia by destroying its main aircraft carriers. This made it safe for Australia to begin to transfer military power to fight the Japanese in Australian Papua and New Guinea.
And the German learned to fear Australians, because they were reckless, ruthless - and revengeful. During the Third Battle of Ypres, autumn 1917, the ANZAC's (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) met the Germans on high ground, in front of Polygon Wood.
Japanese plans
The Navy wanted to invade Australia and deny the country as a base to either America or Britain. The Army felt it did not have the strength to invade and fully occupy so vast a continent. The Army won this argument.
When thinking about Australia's best friend in the world, the majority of Australians (57%) agree that it is New Zealand — a view that has been held firmly since 2017, but that represents an increase of 25 points since the question was first posed in 2014.
Global security relationships – Australia's relationship with NATO. Though Australia is not a NATO member, its ties to the organisation have grown as a result of ADF deployments to Afghanistan under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
U.S. and Australian forces have fought together in every significant conflict since World War I. The Australia, New Zealand, and United States (ANZUS) Security Treaty, concluded in 1951, is Australia's pre-eminent security treaty alliance and enjoys broad bipartisan support.
Several thousand Australians served in locations remote from the main areas of Australian operations during World War II. They served in places like China, Russia, the Faroe Islands, Madagascar, Burma, the West Indies, Iraq, Kenya, the Azores and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).
Australia: A key partner in the Indo-Pacific region
Australia is an important ally for Germany in efforts to uphold a rules-based international order, democracy and human rights. This also makes it a key partner in the implementation of the German Government's policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific.
Australia is proud to be one of the largest non-NATO contributors in support of Ukraine, and will continue to support Ukraine to end the war on its own terms. "Ukraine has highlighted the utility of Australian vehicles on the battlefield.
SERGEANT Paul Cale is one of Australia's toughest soldiers. His Special Forces Commando regiment has seen more violence and casualties than any other Australian military outfit, with the sergeant now developing combat strategies for special forces units around the world.
“There certainly was some cross-pollination of ideas among all soldiers, and many units wished to publish their own humouristic journal.” Slang to emerge from the journals include the term 'Fritz', which evolved from the common German name Friedrich and was often used to name the Germans as an individual.
We never had enough troops to [invade Australia]. We had already far out-stretched our lines of communication. We did not have the armed strength or the supply facilities to mount such a terrific extension of our already over-strained and too thinly spread forces.
Often called 'Australia's Pearl Harbour', the bombing of Darwin by aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy began on 19 February 1942, killing more than 230 people and destroying ships, buildings and infrastructure.
In February 1942, an invasion of the Australian continent appeared imminent. Just ten weeks after Japan's whirlwind invasion of South-East Asia, Australia itself became the target of air and sea attacks.
More than555,000 Australians served overseas in the Second World War. More than 3,000 Australians were involved in the D-Day landings.
The French who came to Australia after 1788, generally came in search of opportunity or new horizons. The State Library of New South Wales' collections are rich in the records of early French explorers of Australia and the Pacific region.
Australia at War (3 September 1939)
Fellow Australians, it is my melancholy duty to inform you officially, that in consequence of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her and that, as a result, Australia is also at war.