 in Australia . The RAAF was equipped with 373 aircraft , most of which were obsolete trainers , and the RAN had three cruisers and two destroyers in Australian waters .   The Australian military suffered a series of defeats during the early months of the Pacific War . The 8th Division and RAAF squadrons in Malaya formed a part of the British Commonwealth forces which were unable to stop a smaller Japanese invasion force which landed on 7 December . The British Commonwealth force withdrew to Singapore at the end of January , but was forced to surrender on 15 February after the Japanese captured much of the island . Smaller Australian forces were also overwhelmed and defeated during early 1942 at Rabaul , and in Ambon , Timor , and Java . The Australian town of Darwin was heavily bombed by the Japanese on 19 February , to prevent it from being used as an Allied base . Over 22 @,@ 000 Australians were taken prisoner in early 1942 and endured harsh conditions in Japanese captivity . The prisoners were subjected to malnutrition , denied medical treatment and frequently beaten and killed by their guards . As a result , 8 @,@ 296 Australian prisoners died in captivity .   The rapid Allied defeat in the Pacific caused many Australians to fear that the Japanese would invade the Australian mainland . While elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy proposed this in early 1942 , it was judged to be impossible by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters , which instead adopted a strategy of isolating Australia from the United States by capturing New Guinea , the Solomon Islands , Fiji , Samoa , and New Caledonia . This fact was not known by the Allies at the time , and the Australian military was greatly expanded to meet the threat of invasion . Large numbers of United States Army and Army Air Forces units arrived in Australia in early 1942 , and the Australian military was placed under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur in March .   Australians played a central role in the New Guinea campaign during 1942 and 1943 . After an attempt to land troops at Port Moresby was defeated in the Battle of the Coral Sea , the Japanese attempted to capture the strategically important town by advancing overland across the Owen Stanley Ranges and Milne Bay . Australian Army units defeated these offensives in the Kokoda Track campaign and Battle of Milne Bay with the support of the RAAF and USAAF . Australian and US Army units subsequently assaulted and captured the Japanese bases on the north coast of Papua in the hard @-@ fought Battle of Buna @-@ Gona . The Australian Army also defeated a Japanese attempt to capture the town of Wau in January 1943 and went onto the offensive in the Salamaua @-@ Lae campaign in April . In late 1943 , the 7th and 9th Divisions played an important role in Operation Cartwheel , when they landed to the east and west of Lae and secured the Huon Peninsula during the Huon Peninsula campaign and Finisterre Range campaign .   The Australian mainland came under attack during 1942 and 1943 . Japanese submarines operated off Australia from May to August 1942 and January to June 1943 . These attacks sought to cut the Allied supply lines between Australia and the US and Australia and New Guinea , but were unsuccessful . Japanese aircraft also conducted air raids against Allied bases in northern Australia which were being used to mount the North Western Area Campaign against Japanese positions in the Netherlands East Indies ( NEI ) .   Australia 's role in the Pacific War declined from 1944 . The increasing size of the US forces in the Pacific rendered the Australian military superfluous and labour shortages forced the Government to reduce the size of the armed forces to boost war production . Nevertheless , the Government wanted the Australian military to remain active , and agreed to MacArthur 's proposals that it be used in relatively unimportant campaigns . In late 1944 , Australian troops and RAAF squadrons replaced US garrisons in eastern New Guinea , New Britain , and Bougainville , and launched offensives aimed at destroying or containing the remaining Japanese forces there . In May 1945 , I Corps , the Australian First Tactical Air Force and USAAF and USN units began the Borneo Campaign , which continued until the end of the war . These campaigns contributed little to Japan 's defeat and remain controversial .   Following Japan 's surrender on 15 August 1945 Australia assumed responsibility for occupying much of Borneo and the eastern Netherlands East Indies until British and Dutch colonial rule was restored . Australian authorities also conducted a number of war crimes trials of Japanese personnel . 993 @,@ 000 Australians enlisted during the war , while 557 @,@ 000 served overseas . Casualties included 39 @,@ 767 killed and another 66 @,@ 553 were wounded . 20 Victoria Crosses were awarded to Australians .   = = Post @-@ war period = =   = = = Demobilisation and peace @-@ time defence arrangements = = =   The demobilisation of the Australian military following the end of the Second World War was completed in 1947 . Plans for post @-@ war defence arrangements were predicated on maintaining a relatively strong peacetime force .
Ġin ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠThe ĠR AAF Ġwas Ġequipped Ġwith Ġ373 Ġaircraft Ġ, Ġmost Ġof Ġwhich Ġwere Ġobsolete Ġtrainers Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠR AN Ġhad Ġthree Ġcru isers Ġand Ġtwo Ġdestroy ers Ġin ĠAustralian Ġwaters Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġsuffered Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġdefeats Ġduring Ġthe Ġearly Ġmonths Ġof Ġthe ĠPacific ĠWar Ġ. ĠThe Ġ8 th ĠDivision Ġand ĠR AAF Ġsquad rons Ġin ĠMal aya Ġformed Ġa Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠBritish ĠCommonwealth Ġforces Ġwhich Ġwere Ġunable Ġto Ġstop Ġa Ġsmaller ĠJapanese Ġinvasion Ġforce Ġwhich Ġlanded Ġon Ġ7 ĠDecember Ġ. ĠThe ĠBritish ĠCommonwealth Ġforce Ġwithdrew Ġto ĠSingapore Ġat Ġthe Ġend Ġof ĠJanuary Ġ, Ġbut Ġwas Ġforced Ġto Ġsurrender Ġon Ġ15 ĠFebruary Ġafter Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġcaptured Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġisland Ġ. ĠSmall er ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġwere Ġalso Ġoverwhelmed Ġand Ġdefeated Ġduring Ġearly Ġ1942 Ġat ĠRab aul Ġ, Ġand Ġin ĠAm bon Ġ, ĠTim or Ġ, Ġand ĠJava Ġ. ĠThe ĠAustralian Ġtown Ġof ĠDarwin Ġwas Ġheavily Ġbombed Ġby Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġon Ġ19 ĠFebruary Ġ, Ġto Ġprevent Ġit Ġfrom Ġbeing Ġused Ġas Ġan ĠAllied Ġbase Ġ. ĠOver Ġ22 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġtaken Ġprisoner Ġin Ġearly Ġ1942 Ġand Ġendured Ġharsh Ġconditions Ġin ĠJapanese Ġcaptivity Ġ. ĠThe Ġprisoners Ġwere Ġsubjected Ġto Ġmalnutrition Ġ, Ġdenied Ġmedical Ġtreatment Ġand Ġfrequently Ġbeaten Ġand Ġkilled Ġby Ġtheir Ġguards Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġ8 Ġ@ , @ Ġ296 ĠAustralian Ġprisoners Ġdied Ġin Ġcaptivity Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġrapid ĠAllied Ġdefeat Ġin Ġthe ĠPacific Ġcaused Ġmany ĠAustralians Ġto Ġfear Ġthat Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġwould Ġinvade Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmainland Ġ. ĠWhile Ġelements Ġof Ġthe ĠImperial ĠJapanese ĠNavy Ġproposed Ġthis Ġin Ġearly Ġ1942 Ġ, Ġit Ġwas Ġjudged Ġto Ġbe Ġimpossible Ġby Ġthe ĠJapanese ĠImperial ĠGeneral ĠHeadquarters Ġ, Ġwhich Ġinstead Ġadopted Ġa Ġstrategy Ġof Ġisol ating ĠAustralia Ġfrom Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġby Ġcapturing ĠNew ĠGuinea Ġ, Ġthe ĠSolomon ĠIslands Ġ, ĠFiji Ġ, ĠSamoa Ġ, Ġand ĠNew ĠCal ed onia Ġ. ĠThis Ġfact Ġwas Ġnot Ġknown Ġby Ġthe ĠAllies Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġwas Ġgreatly Ġexpanded Ġto Ġmeet Ġthe Ġthreat Ġof Ġinvasion Ġ. ĠLarge Ġnumbers Ġof ĠUnited ĠStates ĠArmy Ġand ĠArmy ĠAir ĠForces Ġunits Ġarrived Ġin ĠAustralia Ġin Ġearly Ġ1942 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġwas Ġplaced Ġunder Ġthe Ġoverall Ġcommand Ġof ĠGeneral ĠDouglas ĠMacArthur Ġin ĠMarch Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAustralians Ġplayed Ġa Ġcentral Ġrole Ġin Ġthe ĠNew ĠGuinea Ġcampaign Ġduring Ġ1942 Ġand Ġ1943 Ġ. ĠAfter Ġan Ġattempt Ġto Ġland Ġtroops Ġat ĠPort ĠM ores by Ġwas Ġdefeated Ġin Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof Ġthe ĠCoral ĠSea Ġ, Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġattempted Ġto Ġcapture Ġthe Ġstrategically Ġimportant Ġtown Ġby Ġadvancing Ġover land Ġacross Ġthe ĠOwen ĠStanley ĠR anges Ġand ĠMil ne ĠBay Ġ. ĠAustralian ĠArmy Ġunits Ġdefeated Ġthese Ġoff ens ives Ġin Ġthe ĠKok oda ĠTrack Ġcampaign Ġand ĠBattle Ġof ĠMil ne ĠBay Ġwith Ġthe Ġsupport Ġof Ġthe ĠR AAF Ġand ĠUS AAF Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġand ĠUS ĠArmy Ġunits Ġsubsequently Ġassaulted Ġand Ġcaptured Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġbases Ġon Ġthe Ġnorth Ġcoast Ġof ĠPapua Ġin Ġthe Ġhard Ġ@ - @ Ġfought ĠBattle Ġof ĠB una Ġ@ - @ ĠG ona Ġ. ĠThe ĠAustralian ĠArmy Ġalso Ġdefeated Ġa ĠJapanese Ġattempt Ġto Ġcapture Ġthe Ġtown Ġof ĠW au Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ1943 Ġand Ġwent Ġonto Ġthe Ġoffensive Ġin Ġthe ĠSalam au a Ġ@ - @ ĠL ae Ġcampaign Ġin ĠApril Ġ. ĠIn Ġlate Ġ1943 Ġ, Ġthe Ġ7 th Ġand Ġ9 th ĠDiv isions Ġplayed Ġan Ġimportant Ġrole Ġin ĠOperation ĠCart wheel Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthey Ġlanded Ġto Ġthe Ġeast Ġand Ġwest Ġof ĠL ae Ġand Ġsecured Ġthe ĠHu on ĠPeninsula Ġduring Ġthe ĠHu on ĠPeninsula Ġcampaign Ġand ĠFin ister re ĠRange Ġcampaign Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠAustralian Ġmainland Ġcame Ġunder Ġattack Ġduring Ġ1942 Ġand Ġ1943 Ġ. ĠJapanese Ġsubmarines Ġoperated Ġoff ĠAustralia Ġfrom ĠMay Ġto ĠAugust Ġ1942 Ġand ĠJanuary Ġto ĠJune Ġ1943 Ġ. ĠThese Ġattacks Ġsought Ġto Ġcut Ġthe ĠAllied Ġsupply Ġlines Ġbetween ĠAustralia Ġand Ġthe ĠUS Ġand ĠAustralia Ġand ĠNew ĠGuinea Ġ, Ġbut Ġwere Ġunsuccessful Ġ. ĠJapanese Ġaircraft Ġalso Ġconducted Ġair Ġraids Ġagainst ĠAllied Ġbases Ġin Ġnorthern ĠAustralia Ġwhich Ġwere Ġbeing Ġused Ġto Ġmount Ġthe ĠNorth ĠWestern ĠArea ĠCampaign Ġagainst ĠJapanese Ġpositions Ġin Ġthe ĠNetherlands ĠEast ĠIndies Ġ( ĠNE I Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġrole Ġin Ġthe ĠPacific ĠWar Ġdeclined Ġfrom Ġ1944 Ġ. ĠThe Ġincreasing Ġsize Ġof Ġthe ĠUS Ġforces Ġin Ġthe ĠPacific Ġrendered Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġsuperflu ous Ġand Ġlabour Ġshortages Ġforced Ġthe ĠGovernment Ġto Ġreduce Ġthe Ġsize Ġof Ġthe Ġarmed Ġforces Ġto Ġboost Ġwar Ġproduction Ġ. ĠNevertheless Ġ, Ġthe ĠGovernment Ġwanted Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġto Ġremain Ġactive Ġ, Ġand Ġagreed Ġto ĠMacArthur Ġ' s Ġproposals Ġthat Ġit Ġbe Ġused Ġin Ġrelatively Ġun important Ġcampaigns Ġ. ĠIn Ġlate Ġ1944 Ġ, ĠAustralian Ġtroops Ġand ĠR AAF Ġsquad rons Ġreplaced ĠUS Ġgar ris ons Ġin Ġeastern ĠNew ĠGuinea Ġ, ĠNew ĠBritain Ġ, Ġand ĠBou gain ville Ġ, Ġand Ġlaunched Ġoff ens ives Ġaimed Ġat Ġdestroying Ġor Ġcontaining Ġthe Ġremaining ĠJapanese Ġforces Ġthere Ġ. ĠIn ĠMay Ġ1945 Ġ, ĠI ĠCorps Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠFirst ĠTactical ĠAir ĠForce Ġand ĠUS AAF Ġand ĠUS N Ġunits Ġbegan Ġthe ĠB orne o ĠCampaign Ġ, Ġwhich Ġcontinued Ġuntil Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. ĠThese Ġcampaigns Ġcontributed Ġlittle Ġto ĠJapan Ġ' s Ġdefeat Ġand Ġremain Ġcontroversial Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFollowing ĠJapan Ġ' s Ġsurrender Ġon Ġ15 ĠAugust Ġ1945 ĠAustralia Ġassumed Ġresponsibility Ġfor Ġoccupying Ġmuch Ġof ĠB orne o Ġand Ġthe Ġeastern ĠNetherlands ĠEast ĠIndies Ġuntil ĠBritish Ġand ĠDutch Ġcolonial Ġrule Ġwas Ġrestored Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġauthorities Ġalso Ġconducted Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġwar Ġcrimes Ġtrials Ġof ĠJapanese Ġpersonnel Ġ. Ġ9 93 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAustralians Ġenlisted Ġduring Ġthe Ġwar Ġ, Ġwhile Ġ5 57 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġserved Ġoverseas Ġ. ĠCasual ties Ġincluded Ġ39 Ġ@ , @ Ġ7 67 Ġkilled Ġand Ġanother Ġ66 Ġ@ , @ Ġ5 53 Ġwere Ġwounded Ġ. Ġ20 ĠVictoria ĠCross es Ġwere Ġawarded Ġto ĠAustralians Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠPost Ġ@ - @ Ġwar Ġperiod Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠDem obil isation Ġand Ġpeace Ġ@ - @ Ġtime Ġdefence Ġarrangements Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġdem obil isation Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġfollowing Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe ĠSecond ĠWorld ĠWar Ġwas Ġcompleted Ġin Ġ1947 Ġ. ĠPlans Ġfor Ġpost Ġ@ - @ Ġwar Ġdefence Ġarrangements Ġwere Ġpred icated Ġon Ġmaintaining Ġa Ġrelatively Ġstrong Ġpeac etime Ġforce Ġ.