-@ September . While there was no rush of volunteers like the First World War , a high proportion of Australian men of military age had enlisted by mid @-@ 1940 . Four infantry divisions were formed during 1939 and 1940 , three of which were dispatched to the Middle East . The RAAF 's resources were initially mainly devoted to training airmen for service with the Commonwealth air forces through the Empire Air Training Scheme ( EATS ) , through which almost 28 @,@ 000 Australians were trained during the war .   The Australian military 's first major engagements of the war were against Italian forces in the Mediterranean and North Africa . During 1940 the light cruiser HMAS Sydney and five elderly destroyers ( dubbed the " Scrap Iron Flotilla " by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels — a title proudly accepted by the ships ) took part in a series of operations as part of the British Mediterranean Fleet , and sank several Italian warships . The Army first saw action in January 1941 , when the 6th Division formed part of the Commonwealth forces during Operation Compass . The division assaulted and captured Bardia on 5 January and Tobruk on 22 January , with tens of thousands of Italian troops surrendering at both towns . The 6th Division took part in the pursuit of the Italian Army and captured Benghazi on 4 February . In late February it was withdrawn for service in Greece , and was replaced by the 9th Division .   The Australian forces in the Mediterranean endured a number of campaigns during 1941 . During April , the 6th Division , other elements of I Corps and several Australian warships formed part of the Allied force which unsuccessfully attempted to defend Greece from German invasion during the Battle of Greece . At the end of this campaign , the 6th Division was evacuated to Egypt and Crete . The force at Crete subsequently fought in the Battle of Crete during May , which also ended in defeat for the Allies . Over 5 @,@ 000 Australians were captured in these campaigns , and the 6th Division required a long period of rebuilding before it was again ready for combat . The Germans and Italians also went on the offensive in North Africa at the end of March and drove the Commonwealth force there back to near the border with Egypt . The 9th Division and a brigade of the 7th Division were besieged at Tobruk ; successfully defending the key port town until they were replaced by British units in October . During June , the main body of the 7th Division , a brigade of the 6th Division and the I Corps headquarters took part in the Syria @-@ Lebanon Campaign against the Vichy French . Resistance was stronger than expected ; Australians were involved in most of the fighting and sustained most of the casualties before the French capitulated in early July .   The majority of Australian units in the Mediterranean returned to Australia in early 1942 , after the outbreak of the Pacific War . The 9th Division was the largest unit to remain in the Middle East , and played a key role in the First Battle of El Alamein during June and the Second Battle of El Alamein in October . The division returned to Australia in early 1943 , but several RAAF squadrons and RAN warships took part in the subsequent Tunisia Campaign and the Italian Campaign from 1943 until the end of the war .   The RAAF 's role in the strategic air offensive in Europe formed Australia 's main contribution to the defeat of Germany . Approximately 13 @,@ 000 Australian airmen served in dozens of British and five Australian squadrons in RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and the end of the war . Australians took part in all of Bomber Command 's major offensives and suffered heavy losses during raids on German cities and targets in France . Australian aircrew in Bomber Command had one of the highest casualty rates of any part of the Australian military during the Second World War and sustained almost 20 percent of all Australian deaths in combat ; 3 @,@ 486 were killed and hundreds more were taken prisoner . Australian airmen in light bomber and fighter squadrons also participated in the liberation of Western Europe during 1944 and 1945 and two RAAF maritime patrol squadrons served in the Battle of the Atlantic .   = = = Asia and the Pacific = = =   From the 1920s Australia 's defence thinking was dominated by British Imperial defence policy , which was embodied by the " Singapore strategy " . This strategy involved the construction and defence of a major naval base at Singapore from which a large British fleet would respond to Japanese aggression in the region . To this end , a high proportion of Australian forces in Asia were concentrated in Malaya during 1940 and 1941 as the threat from Japan increased . However , as a result of the emphasis on co @-@ operation with Britain , relatively few Australian military units had been retained in Australia and the Asia @-@ Pacific region . Measures were taken to improve Australia 's defences as war with Japan loomed in 1941 , but these proved inadequate . In December 1941 , the Australian Army in the Pacific comprised the 8th Division , most of which was stationed in Malaya , and eight partially trained and equipped divisions
- @ ĠSeptember Ġ. ĠWhile Ġthere Ġwas Ġno Ġrush Ġof Ġvolunteers Ġlike Ġthe ĠFirst ĠWorld ĠWar Ġ, Ġa Ġhigh Ġproportion Ġof ĠAustralian Ġmen Ġof Ġmilitary Ġage Ġhad Ġenlisted Ġby Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ1940 Ġ. ĠFour Ġinfantry Ġdivisions Ġwere Ġformed Ġduring Ġ1939 Ġand Ġ1940 Ġ, Ġthree Ġof Ġwhich Ġwere Ġdispatched Ġto Ġthe ĠMiddle ĠEast Ġ. ĠThe ĠR AAF Ġ' s Ġresources Ġwere Ġinitially Ġmainly Ġdevoted Ġto Ġtraining Ġair men Ġfor Ġservice Ġwith Ġthe ĠCommonwealth Ġair Ġforces Ġthrough Ġthe ĠEmpire ĠAir ĠTraining ĠScheme Ġ( ĠE ATS Ġ) Ġ, Ġthrough Ġwhich Ġalmost Ġ28 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġtrained Ġduring Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġmajor Ġengagements Ġof Ġthe Ġwar Ġwere Ġagainst ĠItalian Ġforces Ġin Ġthe ĠMediterranean Ġand ĠNorth ĠAfrica Ġ. ĠDuring Ġ1940 Ġthe Ġlight Ġcruiser ĠHM AS ĠSydney Ġand Ġfive Ġelderly Ġdestroy ers Ġ( Ġdubbed Ġthe Ġ" ĠSc rap ĠIron ĠFl ot illa Ġ" Ġby ĠNazi ĠProp aganda ĠMinister ĠJoseph ĠGo eb b els ĠâĢĶ Ġa Ġtitle Ġproudly Ġaccepted Ġby Ġthe Ġships Ġ) Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġoperations Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠBritish ĠMediterranean ĠFleet Ġ, Ġand Ġsank Ġseveral ĠItalian Ġwarships Ġ. ĠThe ĠArmy Ġfirst Ġsaw Ġaction Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ1941 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthe Ġ6 th ĠDivision Ġformed Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠCommonwealth Ġforces Ġduring ĠOperation ĠCompass Ġ. ĠThe Ġdivision Ġassaulted Ġand Ġcaptured ĠBard ia Ġon Ġ5 ĠJanuary Ġand ĠTob ru k Ġon Ġ22 ĠJanuary Ġ, Ġwith Ġtens Ġof Ġthousands Ġof ĠItalian Ġtroops Ġsurrender ing Ġat Ġboth Ġtowns Ġ. ĠThe Ġ6 th ĠDivision Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġthe Ġpursuit Ġof Ġthe ĠItalian ĠArmy Ġand Ġcaptured ĠBenghazi Ġon Ġ4 ĠFebruary Ġ. ĠIn Ġlate ĠFebruary Ġit Ġwas Ġwithdrawn Ġfor Ġservice Ġin ĠGreece Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġreplaced Ġby Ġthe Ġ9 th ĠDivision Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġin Ġthe ĠMediterranean Ġendured Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġcampaigns Ġduring Ġ1941 Ġ. ĠDuring ĠApril Ġ, Ġthe Ġ6 th ĠDivision Ġ, Ġother Ġelements Ġof ĠI ĠCorps Ġand Ġseveral ĠAustralian Ġwarships Ġformed Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠAllied Ġforce Ġwhich Ġunsuccessfully Ġattempted Ġto Ġdefend ĠGreece Ġfrom ĠGerman Ġinvasion Ġduring Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠGreece Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthis Ġcampaign Ġ, Ġthe Ġ6 th ĠDivision Ġwas Ġevacuated Ġto ĠEgypt Ġand ĠCre te Ġ. ĠThe Ġforce Ġat ĠCre te Ġsubsequently Ġfought Ġin Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠCre te Ġduring ĠMay Ġ, Ġwhich Ġalso Ġended Ġin Ġdefeat Ġfor Ġthe ĠAllies Ġ. ĠOver Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġcaptured Ġin Ġthese Ġcampaigns Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġ6 th ĠDivision Ġrequired Ġa Ġlong Ġperiod Ġof Ġrebuilding Ġbefore Ġit Ġwas Ġagain Ġready Ġfor Ġcombat Ġ. ĠThe ĠGermans Ġand ĠItalians Ġalso Ġwent Ġon Ġthe Ġoffensive Ġin ĠNorth ĠAfrica Ġat Ġthe Ġend Ġof ĠMarch Ġand Ġdrove Ġthe ĠCommonwealth Ġforce Ġthere Ġback Ġto Ġnear Ġthe Ġborder Ġwith ĠEgypt Ġ. ĠThe Ġ9 th ĠDivision Ġand Ġa Ġbrigade Ġof Ġthe Ġ7 th ĠDivision Ġwere Ġbesieged Ġat ĠTob ru k Ġ; Ġsuccessfully Ġdefending Ġthe Ġkey Ġport Ġtown Ġuntil Ġthey Ġwere Ġreplaced Ġby ĠBritish Ġunits Ġin ĠOctober Ġ. ĠDuring ĠJune Ġ, Ġthe Ġmain Ġbody Ġof Ġthe Ġ7 th ĠDivision Ġ, Ġa Ġbrigade Ġof Ġthe Ġ6 th ĠDivision Ġand Ġthe ĠI ĠCorps Ġheadquarters Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġthe ĠSyria Ġ@ - @ ĠLebanon ĠCampaign Ġagainst Ġthe ĠV ich y ĠFrench Ġ. ĠResistance Ġwas Ġstronger Ġthan Ġexpected Ġ; ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġin Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġfighting Ġand Ġsustained Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġcasualties Ġbefore Ġthe ĠFrench Ġcapit ulated Ġin Ġearly ĠJuly Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmajority Ġof ĠAustralian Ġunits Ġin Ġthe ĠMediterranean Ġreturned Ġto ĠAustralia Ġin Ġearly Ġ1942 Ġ, Ġafter Ġthe Ġoutbreak Ġof Ġthe ĠPacific ĠWar Ġ. ĠThe Ġ9 th ĠDivision Ġwas Ġthe Ġlargest Ġunit Ġto Ġremain Ġin Ġthe ĠMiddle ĠEast Ġ, Ġand Ġplayed Ġa Ġkey Ġrole Ġin Ġthe ĠFirst ĠBattle Ġof ĠEl ĠAl ame in Ġduring ĠJune Ġand Ġthe ĠSecond ĠBattle Ġof ĠEl ĠAl ame in Ġin ĠOctober Ġ. ĠThe Ġdivision Ġreturned Ġto ĠAustralia Ġin Ġearly Ġ1943 Ġ, Ġbut Ġseveral ĠR AAF Ġsquad rons Ġand ĠR AN Ġwarships Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġthe Ġsubsequent ĠTunisia ĠCampaign Ġand Ġthe ĠItalian ĠCampaign Ġfrom Ġ1943 Ġuntil Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠR AAF Ġ' s Ġrole Ġin Ġthe Ġstrategic Ġair Ġoffensive Ġin ĠEurope Ġformed ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġmain Ġcontribution Ġto Ġthe Ġdefeat Ġof ĠGermany Ġ. ĠApproximately Ġ13 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAustralian Ġair men Ġserved Ġin Ġdozens Ġof ĠBritish Ġand Ġfive ĠAustralian Ġsquad rons Ġin ĠRAF ĠBomber ĠCommand Ġbetween Ġ1940 Ġand Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. ĠAustralians Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġall Ġof ĠBomber ĠCommand Ġ' s Ġmajor Ġoff ens ives Ġand Ġsuffered Ġheavy Ġlosses Ġduring Ġraids Ġon ĠGerman Ġcities Ġand Ġtargets Ġin ĠFrance Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġair crew Ġin ĠBomber ĠCommand Ġhad Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġhighest Ġcasualty Ġrates Ġof Ġany Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġduring Ġthe ĠSecond ĠWorld ĠWar Ġand Ġsustained Ġalmost Ġ20 Ġpercent Ġof Ġall ĠAustralian Ġdeaths Ġin Ġcombat Ġ; Ġ3 Ġ@ , @ Ġ4 86 Ġwere Ġkilled Ġand Ġhundreds Ġmore Ġwere Ġtaken Ġprisoner Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġair men Ġin Ġlight Ġbomber Ġand Ġfighter Ġsquad rons Ġalso Ġparticipated Ġin Ġthe Ġliberation Ġof ĠWestern ĠEurope Ġduring Ġ1944 Ġand Ġ1945 Ġand Ġtwo ĠR AAF Ġmaritime Ġpatrol Ġsquad rons Ġserved Ġin Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof Ġthe ĠAtlantic Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠAsia Ġand Ġthe ĠPacific Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠFrom Ġthe Ġ1920 s ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġdefence Ġthinking Ġwas Ġdominated Ġby ĠBritish ĠImperial Ġdefence Ġpolicy Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġembodied Ġby Ġthe Ġ" ĠSingapore Ġstrategy Ġ" Ġ. ĠThis Ġstrategy Ġinvolved Ġthe Ġconstruction Ġand Ġdefence Ġof Ġa Ġmajor Ġnaval Ġbase Ġat ĠSingapore Ġfrom Ġwhich Ġa Ġlarge ĠBritish Ġfleet Ġwould Ġrespond Ġto ĠJapanese Ġaggression Ġin Ġthe Ġregion Ġ. ĠTo Ġthis Ġend Ġ, Ġa Ġhigh Ġproportion Ġof ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġin ĠAsia Ġwere Ġconcentrated Ġin ĠMal aya Ġduring Ġ1940 Ġand Ġ1941 Ġas Ġthe Ġthreat Ġfrom ĠJapan Ġincreased Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġas Ġa Ġresult Ġof Ġthe Ġemphasis Ġon Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġoperation Ġwith ĠBritain Ġ, Ġrelatively Ġfew ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġunits Ġhad Ġbeen Ġretained Ġin ĠAustralia Ġand Ġthe ĠAsia Ġ@ - @ ĠPacific Ġregion Ġ. ĠMeasures Ġwere Ġtaken Ġto Ġimprove ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġdefences Ġas Ġwar Ġwith ĠJapan Ġlo omed Ġin Ġ1941 Ġ, Ġbut Ġthese Ġproved Ġinadequate Ġ. ĠIn ĠDecember Ġ1941 Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠArmy Ġin Ġthe ĠPacific Ġcomprised Ġthe Ġ8 th ĠDivision Ġ, Ġmost Ġof Ġwhich Ġwas Ġstationed Ġin ĠMal aya Ġ, Ġand Ġeight Ġpartially Ġtrained Ġand Ġequipped Ġdivisions