3.+The+places+Australians+fought+in+WWII

=The Places Australia fought during WWII= During the first years of World War II, Australia's military strategy was closely aligned with that of the United Kingdom. In line with this, most Australian military units deployed overseas in 1940 and 1941 were sent to the Mediterranean and the Middle East where formed a key part of the Commonwealth forces in the area. The RAN (Royal Australian Navy) was the first of the Australian services to see action in the Mediterranean. The Australian Army first saw action in Operation Compass, the successful Commonwealth offensive in North Africa which was conducted between December 1940 and February 1941. The 6th Division went into action at Bardia, Libya on 3 January 1941. Although the fortress was manned by a larger Italian force, the Australian infantry quickly penetrated the defensive lines with the support of British tanks and artillery. The majority of the Italian force surrendered on 5 January and the Australians took 40,000 prisoners. The 6th Division followed up this success by assaulting the fortress of Tobruk, Libya on 21 January. Tobruk was secured the next day with 25,000 Italian prisoners taken. __**Greece and Crete**__ In early 1941 the 6th Division and I Corps headquarters took part in the ill-fated Allied expedition to defend Greece from a German invasion. Australian troops arrived in Greece during March and manned defensive positions in the north of the country alongside British, New Zealand and Greek units. //Perth//also formed part of the naval force which protected the Allied troop convoys travelling to Greece and participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan in late March. The outnumbered Allied force was not able to halt the Germans when they invaded on 6 April and was forced to retreat. The Australians and other Allied units conducted a fighting withdrawal from their initial positions and were evacuated from southern Greece between 24 April and 1 May. Australian warships also formed part of the force which protected the evacuation and embarked hundreds of soldiers from Greek ports. The 6th Division suffered heavy casualties in this campaign, with 320 men killed and 2,030 captured. While most of the 6th Division returned to Egypt, the 19th Brigade Group and two provisional infantry battalions landed at Crete where they formed a key part of the islands defence. The 19th Brigade was initially successful in holding its positions when German paratroopers landed on 20 May, but was gradually forced to retreat. After several key air fields were lost the Allies evacuated the island's garrison. Approximately 3,000 Australians, including the entire 2/7th Infantry Battalion, could not be evacuated, and were taken prisoner. __**Syria and Lebanon**__ __**Resource**__ == The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon, in June–July 1941, duringWorld War II. Vichy France was a government of France that collaborated with the axis powers (german alliances). The British saw these colonies as a threat to their interests in the Middle East and as p ossible areas from which the Germans might attack Egypt and threaten oil supplies from Iraq. On 7-8 June 1941, Australians of the 7th Division, along with British and Free French forces, striking north from Palestine, invaded Syria and Lebanon. The operation was supported by RAAF and RAF units and by British and Australian warships off the coast of Lebanon.
 * __North Africa__**

__**The Asia- Pacific**__ Malaya, Rabaul, Singapore, Ambon, Timor, Java, Port Moresby Japanese expansion in East Asia began in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria and continued in 1937 with a brutal attack on China. They signed an agreement with Germany in 1940 that entered them into the Axis alliance. The United States imposed economical sanctions on Japan to try and slow down their aggression and withdraw their troops from China and Manchuria. Japan became very angry with the US as they were now faced with low oil and natural resources. They decided to advance into South East Asia to grab natural resources and try and displace the US as a dominant power in the pacific region. Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. The attack severely damaged the American fleet and prevented, at least for the short term, serious American interference with Japanese military operations. In response, the United States declared war on Japan. Following Germany's declaration of war on the United States, the United States also declared war on Germany. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan achieved a long series of military successes. Australians fought back the Japanese at the above locations.