28 September 1939 The first Australian to be killed in action was probably Wing Commander Ivan McLeod Cameron, who was serving with Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of war.
Franciszek Honiok (1896 – 31 August 1939) was a Polish man who is famous for having been the first victim of World War II, on the evening of 31 August 1939.
The first air raid on Australia occurred on 19 February 1942 when Darwin was attacked by 242 Japanese aircraft. At least 235 people were killed in the raid. Occasional attacks on northern Australian towns and airfields continued until November 1943.
This is Captain Alfred John Shout VC MC MID, 1st Battalion AIF. He was Australia's most decorated soldier of the Gallipoli Campaign.
James Charles Martin (3 January 1901 – 25 October 1915) was the youngest Australian known to have died in World War I. He was only 14 years and nine months old when he succumbed to typhoid during the Gallipoli campaign.
Alexander William Campbell (26 February 1899 – 16 May 2002) was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War. Campbell joined the Australian Army at the age of 16 in 1915, and served as a stores carrier for two months during the fighting at Gallipoli.
Tom 'Diver' Derrick VC DCM was Australia's most famous fighting soldier of World War II. Derrick fought in five campaigns, won the highest medals for bravery, and died of wounds sustained while leading his men in the war's last stages.
The first major campaign for Australian troops during World War I was also the most famous in which they took part. The Gallipoli Campaign was an Allied attempt to capture the Dardanelles, a strategically located strait that separates the Gallipoli Peninsula of Europe from Asia Minor.
Julia Catherine Stimson (1881 - 1948) American nurse Julia Catherine Stimson devoted her military service to saving as many lives as she could — and she became the first woman to achieve the rank of major in the U.S. Army. Stimson wanted to be a doctor, but her parents encouraged her to consider nursing instead.
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.
Closely followed by aircraft, their goal was to destroy the Allies' military base in Darwin. From Darwin, the Allies could contest the Japanese invasion of nearby islands, Timor and Java. The Japanese mounted 2 air attacks that day. The first attack focused on the town centre and the harbour.
Between February 1942 and November 1943, during the Pacific War of World War II, the Australian mainland, domestic airspace, offshore islands, and coastal shipping were attacked at least 111 times by aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.
The Soviet Union suffered the highest number of fatalities of any single nation, with estimates mostly falling between 22 and 27 million deaths. China then suffered the second greatest, at around 20 million, although these figures are less certain and often overlap with the Chinese Civil War.
The first German soldier killed in the war was a Lieutenant von Schmeling, a military advisor to the Nationalist Chinese (China had been at war with Japan since 1931). He died while leading a Chinese infantry battalion in 1937.
"The first German serviceman killed in WW II was killed by the Japanese (China, 1937), the first American serviceman killed was killed by the Russians (Finland 1940); the highest ranking American killed was Lt Gen Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps.
Over 5,500 Australians became casualties. Almost 2,000 of them were killed in action or died of wounds and some 400 were captured. This is believed to be the greatest loss by a single division in 24 hours during the entire First World War. Some consider Fromelles the most tragic event in Australia's history.
From 1942 until early 1944, Australian forces played a key role in the Pacific War, making up the majority of Allied strength throughout much of the fighting in the South West Pacific theatre.
The German soldiers feared and respected the skills of the Australians. In a letter captured and translated by the 7th Australian Infantry Brigade in May 1918, a German soldier wrote to his mother: We are here near ALBERT, I am in the foremost line, about 200 metres opposite the British.
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.
On 28 June 1915, young James Martin sailed from Melbourne aboard the troopship Berrima - bound, ultimately, for Gallipoli. He was just fourteen years old. "Soldier Boy" is Jim's extraordinary true story, the story of a young and enthusiastic school boy who became Australia's youngest known Anzac.
James (Jim) Martin was 14 years old when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He served as a private in World War I. Arriving at Gallipoli in early September 1915, he served in Wire Gully and Courtney's Post among other places.
The last entry in the roll of honour for Gallipoli was finally made on Thursday, 16th May 2002, when Alec Campbell, the last Anzac and last surviving participant of the Gallipoli campaign, died of pneumonia, aged 103.
Private James Charles ('Jim') Martin is the best known boy soldier. He is believed to be the youngest soldier on the Roll of Honour. Jim was 14 years 9 months old when he died at Gallipoli.