[ Home | FAQ-Related Q&As | General Q&As | Answered Questions ]

Search the Q&A Archives

why did Australia join the world war 2?

<< Back to: soc.history.war.vietnam FAQ: Australian Involvement (1/3)

Answer by you intenet idiots
Submitted on 3/30/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
Australia joined both World Wars for the same reason. Because Britain were in them. Australia had strong ties with the Mother Country and joined out of a sense of duty. On a side note Australia believed that if they were ever in trouble, Britain would come to help, just as Australia had done in all wars until WW2. Britain promised this to. However when Australia was in direct threat by Japan, Britain refused to give back Australian troops let alone help them. Australia then turned to America for help, who did help them. Though this was more out of self-interest, seeing as they wanted revenge on Japan after Pearl Harbour. So they used Australia to hold all sorts of planes and ships. Ever since, Australia has always had America's back, Korean war, Vietnam war, Iraq, etc.

Answer by The Chief
Submitted on 5/6/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
We joined WWII because Australia had a constiutional obligation to do so. As our Constitution is an Act of the British Imperial Parliament (1900). In 1939, Australia was governed by the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 (Imp), and was obliged to follow English law. When England had declared war, Australia, as part of the Commonwealth, was also presumed to be at War. In 1942, the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act was passed to remove the UK'spower to legislate on our behalf, unless Australia Consents. All of UK'spower to legislate for Australia was finally removed by the Australia Act 1986(Cth) and (UK). In summation, Australia was bound to follow England to war in WWII. However, since 1942 that has no longer been the case as we are an Autonomous Nation-State with soveriegn rights.

Answer by Rae
Submitted on 11/15/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
Australians joined WW2 in September 1939. approx. two days after Germany invaded Poland. Australia mainly joined the British and hence the war, was because the majority of Australias were pro-British, and the population believed it correct to aid the 'mother country'. As in the 'Advertiser, Adelaide, 4 September 1939 it quoted Menzies in one of his speeches. It outlined Menzie's reasons for going. These were to do with Hitler's ruthless values "It may be taken that Hitler's ambition is not to unite all the German people under one rule, but to bring under that rule as many countries as can be subdued by force". Hence Menzies explains that Australians need to stand up and put down the oppressive dictator (like Bush and Sadam). Secondly Menzies adds that "the right of the independent people to live their own lives...are at stake" refering to the countries Germany and 'aquired' (Czechs and soon to be Poland), and thus these coutnries needed to be defended and protected. Lastly, was his mention that "..where Britain stands, there stands the people of the entire British world. Joining the war was not related to the Japanese, we had decided to enter the war 2yrs after it started, when the Japanese launched the attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 December. John Curtin (Australia's New PM) decided that Australia woudl join the US in declaring war on Japan. Curtin was much more pro-US than Menzies who was more pro-British, till the fall of Singapore and thus shown in the Vietnam war. Hope this holds more valid information than information 'laid' bare to you by some other 'analy' retentive hornbags

Answer by devil humper
Submitted on 3/19/2005
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
Why was Australia involved in World War 2 well i'lltell u Australia was involved in W.W.2 because it was part of the British empire so if any nation that declares war on Britain they declare war on Australia. Until december 1941 the Japanese leadership pursued 2 courses: they tried to get the oil embargo lifted on terms that would still let them take the territory they wanted, and they prepared for war. The U.S. demanded that japan withdraw from china and indochina, but would very little have settled for a token withdrawal and a promis not to take more territory. After he became japan premier in mid-October, General Tojo hideki set November 29 as the last day on which japan would accept a settlement without a war.