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Material

Key Dates: Australia and World War II, 1939–45

An animated visual timeline of Australia's involvement in the Second World War, sequencing twelve turning points from the declaration of war in September 1939 to Victory in the Pacific in August 1945 — including the Siege of Tobruk, the entry of Japan into the war, Curtin's turn to the United States, the fall of Singapore, the bombing of Darwin, the Coral Sea, the Kokoda Track and Milne Bay campaigns, and VE and VP Days. Designed as a study and revision aid for the Australia & World War II component of the unit, foregrounding the war's strategic turning point and the pivot from Britain to the United States.

Australia entered the Second World War in September 1939 as part of the British Empire, but the war's centre of gravity shifted decisively to the Pacific after Japan's entry in December 1941. The fall of Singapore and the bombing of Darwin in February 1942 brought the war to Australia's doorstep and confirmed Prime Minister John Curtin's pivot away from reliance on Britain and toward the United States — the single most important strategic realignment in the nation's wartime history.

3 SEP 1939 Australia enters the war Menzies: 'as a result, Australia is also at war' APR–DEC 1941 Siege of Tobruk The 'Rats of Tobruk' hold out for eight months 7 DEC 1941 Pearl Harbor & the Pacific War Japan attacks; Australia declares war on Japan 27 DEC 1941 Curtin Looks to America Curtin turns from Britain to the United States 15 FEB 1942 Fall of Singapore ~15,000 Australians captured; 'fortress' falls 19 FEB 1942 Bombing of Darwin First and heaviest attack on Australian soil 4–8 MAY 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea Japanese push on Port Moresby checked at sea JUL–NOV 1942 Kokoda Track Campaign Militia & AIF halt the advance over the ranges AUG–SEP 1942 Battle of Milne Bay First defeat of Japanese land forces in WWII OCT 1944 Liberal Party Founded Menzies forms the Liberal Party of Australia 8 MAY 1945 Victory in Europe (VE Day) Germany surrenders; the war in Europe ends 15 AUG 1945 Victory in the Pacific (VP Day) Japan surrenders; the Second World War ends Australia and World War II 1939 – 1945 · Key dates and turning points Political Middle East Pacific theatre Home front Victory
Australia and the Second World War, 1939–45: twelve turning points from the declaration of war to Victory in the Pacific. The animation plays on screen; printed copies show the completed timeline.

Recall checklist

Cover the timeline and see whether you can place each event — and explain why it mattered, not just when it happened.

1. Why is 27 December 1941 (Curtin's New Year message) treated as a strategic turning point rather than just a rhetorical one?

2. The fall of Singapore and the bombing of Darwin happened four days apart. Explain the combined effect on Australian public opinion and government policy.

3. Milne Bay (Aug–Sep 1942) is often called the “first defeat of Japanese land forces”. Why was this significant for Allied morale, and how does it connect to the Kokoda campaign running at the same time?