Australian history essay - onlineassi

Australian History Essay – Contributions in World War 2 How significant a contribution did Australian troops make to the course and outcome of World War II? During World War II, of the 7 million people who lived in Australia, 550 000 served overseas in the armed forces. While this was a high proportion of the population and they all fought bravely in battle, it still can not be said that their efforts made a significant contribution to the course and outcome of the war. In campaigns such as Tobruk and El Alamein in North Africa and, primarily, Papua New Guinea, the Australian troops gave a good account of themselves and made significant contributions to the battles in each of these areas. However, in comparison to battles in the European theatre of war such as Leningrad and Stalingrad where the German progression was halted, the Australian troop’s contribution can not be considered a vital part in the course or outcome of the war. As Joan Beaumont, lead historian at Monash University assessed, “Only in stemming the Japanese advance across Papua in 1942 can Australia claim to have made a decisive contribution to the war”.

Firstly, the Australian troops played a significant part in the Tobruk campaign in North Africa. Tobruk is a small port on the coast of Libya and at the time its importance lay in the fact that its harbour was the only safe and accessible port for over 1600km.

The Allied forces knew that if they were able to occupy this area, it would threaten the German advance into Cyrenaica.

The fighting began on the 21st and 22nd of January 1941, when Australian troops from the 6th division, along with other members of the allied forces defeated a defending force of approximately 30 000 Italians. German forces landed in Tobruk just 2 weeks after this, commanded by General Erwin Rommel, and prepared to launch a siege on the port.