 war .   The war had a profound effect on Australian society in other ways also . Indeed , for many Australians the nation 's involvement is seen as a symbol of its emergence as an international actor , while many of the notions of Australian character and nationhood that exist today have their origins in the war . 64 Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War .   = = Inter @-@ war years = =   = = = Russian Civil War , 1918 – 19 = = =   The Russian Civil War began after the Russian provisional government collapsed and the Bolshevik party assumed power in October 1917 . Following the end of the First World War , the western powers — including Britain — intervened , giving half @-@ hearted support to the pro @-@ tsarist , anti @-@ Bolshevik White Russian forces . Although the Australian government refused to commit forces , many Australians serving with the British Army became involved in the fighting . A small number served as advisors to White Russian units with the North Russian Expeditionary Force ( NREF ) . Awaiting repatriation in England , about 150 Australians subsequently enlisted in the British North Russia Relief Force ( NRRF ) , where they were involved in a number of sharp battles and several were killed .   The Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Swan was also briefly engaged , carrying out an intelligence gathering mission in the Black Sea in late 1918 . Other Australians served as advisers with the British Military Mission to the White Russian General , Anton Denikin in South Russia , while several more advised Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak in Siberia . Later , they also served in Mesopotamia as part of Dunsterforce and the Malleson Mission , although these missions were aimed at preventing Turkish access to the Middle East and India , and did little fighting .   Although the motivations of those Australian 's that volunteered to fight in Russia can only be guessed at , it seems unlikely to have been political . Regardless , they confirmed a reputation for audacity and courage , winning the only two Victoria Crosses of the land campaign , despite their small numbers . Yet Australian involvement was barely noticed at home at the time and made little difference to the outcome of the war . Total casualties included 10 killed and 40 wounded , with most deaths being from disease during operations in Mesopotamia .   = = = Malaita , 1927 = = =   In October 1927 , HMAS Adelaide was called to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate as part of a punitive expedition in response to the killing of a district officer and sixteen others by Kwaio natives at Sinalagu on the island of Malaita on 3 October , known as the Malaita massacre . Arriving at Tulagi on 14 October , the ship proceeded to Malaita to protect the landing of three platoons of troops , then remained in the area to provide personnel support for the soldiers as they searched for the killers . The ship 's personnel took no part in operations ashore , providing only logistic and communications support . Adelaide returned to Australia on 23 November .   = = = Spanish Civil War , 1936 – 39 = = =   A small number of Australian volunteers fought on both sides of the Spanish Civil War , although they predominantly supported the Spanish Republic through the International Brigades . The Australians were subsequently allocated to the battalions of other nationalities , such as the British Battalion and the Lincoln Battalion , rather than forming their own units . Most were radicals motivated by ideological reasons , while a number were Spanish @-@ born migrants who returned to fight in their country of origin . At least 66 Australians volunteered , with only one — Nugent Bull , a conservative catholic who was later killed serving in the RAF during the Second World War — known to have fought for General Francisco Franco 's Nationalist forces .   While a celebrated cause for the Australian left — particularly the Communist Party of Australia and the trade union movement — the war failed to spark particular public interest and the government maintained its neutrality . Australian opposition to the Republican cause was marshalled by B.A. Santamaria on an anti @-@ communist basis , rather than a pro @-@ Nationalist basis . Equally , although individual right wing Australians may have served with the Nationalist rebels , they received no public support . Service in a foreign armed force was illegal at the time , however as the government received no reports of Australians travelling to Spain to enlist , no action was taken . Consequently , returned veterans were neither recognised by the government or the Returned and Services League of Australia ( RSL ) . Although the number of Australian volunteers was relatively small compared to those from other countries , at least 14 were killed .   = = Second World War , 1939 – 45 = =   = = = Europe and the Middle East = = =   Australia entered the Second World War on 3 September 1939 . At the time of the declaration of war against Germany the Australian military was small and unready for war . Recruiting for a Second Australian Imperial Force ( 2nd AIF ) began in mid @
Ġwar Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġwar Ġhad Ġa Ġprofound Ġeffect Ġon ĠAustralian Ġsociety Ġin Ġother Ġways Ġalso Ġ. ĠIndeed Ġ, Ġfor Ġmany ĠAustralians Ġthe Ġnation Ġ' s Ġinvolvement Ġis Ġseen Ġas Ġa Ġsymbol Ġof Ġits Ġemergence Ġas Ġan Ġinternational Ġactor Ġ, Ġwhile Ġmany Ġof Ġthe Ġnotions Ġof ĠAustralian Ġcharacter Ġand Ġnation hood Ġthat Ġexist Ġtoday Ġhave Ġtheir Ġorigins Ġin Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. Ġ64 ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġawarded Ġthe ĠVictoria ĠCross Ġduring Ġthe ĠFirst ĠWorld ĠWar Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠInter Ġ@ - @ Ġwar Ġyears Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠRussian ĠCivil ĠWar Ġ, Ġ1918 ĠâĢĵ Ġ19 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠRussian ĠCivil ĠWar Ġbegan Ġafter Ġthe ĠRussian Ġprovisional Ġgovernment Ġcollapsed Ġand Ġthe ĠBolshevik Ġparty Ġassumed Ġpower Ġin ĠOctober Ġ1917 Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe ĠFirst ĠWorld ĠWar Ġ, Ġthe Ġwestern Ġpowers ĠâĢĶ Ġincluding ĠBritain ĠâĢĶ Ġintervened Ġ, Ġgiving Ġhalf Ġ@ - @ Ġheart ed Ġsupport Ġto Ġthe Ġpro Ġ@ - @ Ġts arist Ġ, Ġanti Ġ@ - @ ĠBolshevik ĠWhite ĠRussian Ġforces Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġgovernment Ġrefused Ġto Ġcommit Ġforces Ġ, Ġmany ĠAustralians Ġserving Ġwith Ġthe ĠBritish ĠArmy Ġbecame Ġinvolved Ġin Ġthe Ġfighting Ġ. ĠA Ġsmall Ġnumber Ġserved Ġas Ġadvisors Ġto ĠWhite ĠRussian Ġunits Ġwith Ġthe ĠNorth ĠRussian ĠExpedition ary ĠForce Ġ( ĠN REF Ġ) Ġ. ĠAw a iting Ġrepatri ation Ġin ĠEngland Ġ, Ġabout Ġ150 ĠAustralians Ġsubsequently Ġenlisted Ġin Ġthe ĠBritish ĠNorth ĠRussia ĠRelief ĠForce Ġ( ĠN RR F Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthey Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġin Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġsharp Ġbattles Ġand Ġseveral Ġwere Ġkilled Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠRoyal ĠAustralian ĠNavy Ġdestroyer ĠHM AS ĠSwan Ġwas Ġalso Ġbriefly Ġengaged Ġ, Ġcarrying Ġout Ġan Ġintelligence Ġgathering Ġmission Ġin Ġthe ĠBlack ĠSea Ġin Ġlate Ġ1918 Ġ. ĠOther ĠAustralians Ġserved Ġas Ġadvisers Ġwith Ġthe ĠBritish ĠMilitary ĠMission Ġto Ġthe ĠWhite ĠRussian ĠGeneral Ġ, ĠAnton ĠDen ik in Ġin ĠSouth ĠRussia Ġ, Ġwhile Ġseveral Ġmore Ġadvised ĠAdmiral ĠAle ks andr ĠKol ch ak Ġin ĠSiberia Ġ. ĠLater Ġ, Ġthey Ġalso Ġserved Ġin ĠMes opot amia Ġas Ġpart Ġof ĠDun ster force Ġand Ġthe ĠMall eson ĠMission Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthese Ġmissions Ġwere Ġaimed Ġat Ġpreventing ĠTurkish Ġaccess Ġto Ġthe ĠMiddle ĠEast Ġand ĠIndia Ġ, Ġand Ġdid Ġlittle Ġfighting Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġmotivations Ġof Ġthose ĠAustralian Ġ' s Ġthat Ġvolunteered Ġto Ġfight Ġin ĠRussia Ġcan Ġonly Ġbe Ġguessed Ġat Ġ, Ġit Ġseems Ġunlikely Ġto Ġhave Ġbeen Ġpolitical Ġ. ĠRegardless Ġ, Ġthey Ġconfirmed Ġa Ġreputation Ġfor Ġaud acity Ġand Ġcourage Ġ, Ġwinning Ġthe Ġonly Ġtwo ĠVictoria ĠCross es Ġof Ġthe Ġland Ġcampaign Ġ, Ġdespite Ġtheir Ġsmall Ġnumbers Ġ. ĠYet ĠAustralian Ġinvolvement Ġwas Ġbarely Ġnoticed Ġat Ġhome Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġand Ġmade Ġlittle Ġdifference Ġto Ġthe Ġoutcome Ġof Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. ĠTotal Ġcasualties Ġincluded Ġ10 Ġkilled Ġand Ġ40 Ġwounded Ġ, Ġwith Ġmost Ġdeaths Ġbeing Ġfrom Ġdisease Ġduring Ġoperations Ġin ĠMes opot amia Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠMal ait a Ġ, Ġ1927 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠOctober Ġ1927 Ġ, ĠHM AS ĠAdelaide Ġwas Ġcalled Ġto Ġthe ĠBritish ĠSolomon ĠIslands ĠProtector ate Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġa Ġpunitive Ġexpedition Ġin Ġresponse Ġto Ġthe Ġkilling Ġof Ġa Ġdistrict Ġofficer Ġand Ġsixteen Ġothers Ġby ĠK wa io Ġnatives Ġat ĠS inal agu Ġon Ġthe Ġisland Ġof ĠMal ait a Ġon Ġ3 ĠOctober Ġ, Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠMal ait a Ġmassacre Ġ. ĠArri ving Ġat ĠTul agi Ġon Ġ14 ĠOctober Ġ, Ġthe Ġship Ġproceeded Ġto ĠMal ait a Ġto Ġprotect Ġthe Ġlanding Ġof Ġthree Ġpl ato ons Ġof Ġtroops Ġ, Ġthen Ġremained Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġto Ġprovide Ġpersonnel Ġsupport Ġfor Ġthe Ġsoldiers Ġas Ġthey Ġsearched Ġfor Ġthe Ġkillers Ġ. ĠThe Ġship Ġ' s Ġpersonnel Ġtook Ġno Ġpart Ġin Ġoperations Ġashore Ġ, Ġproviding Ġonly Ġlog istic Ġand Ġcommunications Ġsupport Ġ. ĠAdelaide Ġreturned Ġto ĠAustralia Ġon Ġ23 ĠNovember Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠSpanish ĠCivil ĠWar Ġ, Ġ1936 ĠâĢĵ Ġ39 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġsmall Ġnumber Ġof ĠAustralian Ġvolunteers Ġfought Ġon Ġboth Ġsides Ġof Ġthe ĠSpanish ĠCivil ĠWar Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthey Ġpredominantly Ġsupported Ġthe ĠSpanish ĠRepublic Ġthrough Ġthe ĠInternational ĠBrig ades Ġ. ĠThe ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġsubsequently Ġallocated Ġto Ġthe Ġbatt alions Ġof Ġother Ġnational ities Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas Ġthe ĠBritish ĠBattalion Ġand Ġthe ĠLincoln ĠBattalion Ġ, Ġrather Ġthan Ġforming Ġtheir Ġown Ġunits Ġ. ĠMost Ġwere Ġradicals Ġmotivated Ġby Ġideological Ġreasons Ġ, Ġwhile Ġa Ġnumber Ġwere ĠSpanish Ġ@ - @ Ġborn Ġmigrants Ġwho Ġreturned Ġto Ġfight Ġin Ġtheir Ġcountry Ġof Ġorigin Ġ. ĠAt Ġleast Ġ66 ĠAustralians Ġvolunteered Ġ, Ġwith Ġonly Ġone ĠâĢĶ ĠNug ent ĠBull Ġ, Ġa Ġconservative Ġcath olic Ġwho Ġwas Ġlater Ġkilled Ġserving Ġin Ġthe ĠRAF Ġduring Ġthe ĠSecond ĠWorld ĠWar ĠâĢĶ Ġknown Ġto Ġhave Ġfought Ġfor ĠGeneral ĠFrancisco ĠFranco Ġ' s ĠNational ist Ġforces Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWhile Ġa Ġcelebrated Ġcause Ġfor Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġleft ĠâĢĶ Ġparticularly Ġthe ĠCommunist ĠParty Ġof ĠAustralia Ġand Ġthe Ġtrade Ġunion Ġmovement ĠâĢĶ Ġthe Ġwar Ġfailed Ġto Ġspark Ġparticular Ġpublic Ġinterest Ġand Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġmaintained Ġits Ġneutrality Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġopposition Ġto Ġthe ĠRepublican Ġcause Ġwas Ġmarsh alled Ġby ĠB . A . ĠSant am aria Ġon Ġan Ġanti Ġ@ - @ Ġcommunist Ġbasis Ġ, Ġrather Ġthan Ġa Ġpro Ġ@ - @ ĠNational ist Ġbasis Ġ. ĠEqu ally Ġ, Ġalthough Ġindividual Ġright Ġwing ĠAustralians Ġmay Ġhave Ġserved Ġwith Ġthe ĠNational ist Ġrebels Ġ, Ġthey Ġreceived Ġno Ġpublic Ġsupport Ġ. ĠService Ġin Ġa Ġforeign Ġarmed Ġforce Ġwas Ġillegal Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġ, Ġhowever Ġas Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġreceived Ġno Ġreports Ġof ĠAustralians Ġtravelling Ġto ĠSpain Ġto Ġenlist Ġ, Ġno Ġaction Ġwas Ġtaken Ġ. ĠConsequently Ġ, Ġreturned Ġveterans Ġwere Ġneither Ġrecognised Ġby Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġor Ġthe ĠReturn ed Ġand ĠServices ĠLeague Ġof ĠAustralia Ġ( ĠR SL Ġ) Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġnumber Ġof ĠAustralian Ġvolunteers Ġwas Ġrelatively Ġsmall Ġcompared Ġto Ġthose Ġfrom Ġother Ġcountries Ġ, Ġat Ġleast Ġ14 Ġwere Ġkilled Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠSecond ĠWorld ĠWar Ġ, Ġ1939 ĠâĢĵ Ġ45 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠEurope Ġand Ġthe ĠMiddle ĠEast Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAustralia Ġentered Ġthe ĠSecond ĠWorld ĠWar Ġon Ġ3 ĠSeptember Ġ1939 Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġtime Ġof Ġthe Ġdeclaration Ġof Ġwar Ġagainst ĠGermany Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġwas Ġsmall Ġand Ġun ready Ġfor Ġwar Ġ. ĠRec ru iting Ġfor Ġa ĠSecond ĠAustralian ĠImperial ĠForce Ġ( Ġ2 nd ĠA IF Ġ) Ġbegan Ġin Ġmid Ġ@