Australians at War 1901-2000
1943–1944
16 March 1943
Flight Lieutenant W E Newton awarded posthumously the Victoria Cross. Newton was the only member of the RAAF awarded the Victoria Cross in the Pacific war.
April – May 1943
Australians took part in the Greece and Crete campaigns.
14 May 1943
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- The Australian Hospital Ship Centaur leaving Sydney Harbour, c.1943. [AWM negative 302800]
Australian Hospital Ship, Centaur, sunk by a Japanese submarine off the south Queensland coast. The ship was crewed by members of the Australian Merchant Marine and only 64 of the 333 people on board survived.
August 1943
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- Australian airmen of 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, (RAAF) returning from a raid over Germany, 18 August 1943. [AWM negative UK000402]
August 1943 – March 1944
RAAF aircrew in RAF Bomber Command took part in Battle of Berlin.
4 September 1943
Australians landed near Lae, New Guinea. Lae was captured on 16 September.
September – November 1943
Australians defeated Japanese forces on Huon Peninsula, New Guinea.
26 September 1943
Operation Jaywick – an Australian SOA (Special Operations Australia) unit, operating from the fishing vessel Krait, mined Japanese ships in Singapore harbour. 37,000 tons of enemy shipping was sunk.
October 1943 – January 1944
Australian campaign defeated Japanese forces in Markham and Ramu Valley, and along the Kankiryo Saddle (Shaggy Ridge), New Guinea.
27 March 1944
Australian Government launched First Victory Loan aimed at raising £150 million ($300 million) for the war effort. Twelve major Government war loans were offered to the Australian public during World War II.
24 April 1944
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- HMAS Australia, bombarding Mokmer, Biak Island, 27 May 1944. [AWM negative 106690]
Capture of Madang, New Guinea.
April 1944 – January 1945
Ships of the Royal Australian Navy supported American landings along the north coast of New Guinea, at Morotai, and naval actions involved in the American invasion of the Philippines.
6 June 1944
D Day: the Allied invasion of the European mainland – RAAF aircrew of Bomber Command and Fighter Command participated in many pre-invasion air operations.
20 September 1944
Death in action, while filming American troops on Peleliu, of Australian cameraman Damien Parer. Parer shot what has been considered Australia's most famous war film: "Kokoda Front Line". The film won an Academy Award and brought the experiences of Australian soldiers on the Kokoda Track in 1942 to an international public.
15 November 1944
The Government approved sending members of the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) to New Guinea to replace men for service in forward areas. Members of the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) and the Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS) were already serving in New Guinea.
November 1944 – August 1945
Australian forces advanced on the island of New Britain and contained Japanese forces in Rabaul.
December 1944
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- Lieutenant R W Saunders, the first Aboriginal to obtain a commission in the Australian Army, is congratulated by Lieutenant T C Derrick, VC, 2/48th Battalion, 25 November 1944. [AWM negative 083166]
December 1944 – August 1945
Australians conducted operations against the Japanese on Bougainville Island and advanced along the north coast and inland of New Guinea from Aitape to Wewak.