South-West Pacific area

Colonial interests in the Asia–Pacific region

Many countries had a stake in the Asia–Pacific region during the war.

Japan had been fighting for control of the region for many years before World War II. Its aggressive expansion was motivated by a need for primary resources. The Japanese offensive started in 1931 in north-east China, with the invasion of Manchuria. Japan took control of China's northern region in 1937. Then in 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina.

The United States (US) responded with oil and economic embargoes against Japan in 1941. Then, in December 1941, Japanese forces bombed 2 Allied areas on the same day. Japanese planes attacked Australian and British air bases in northern Malaya. Then, a few hours later, Japanese planes attacked a US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The 2 attacks began a large-scale offensive that lasted throughout most of 1942. Japan wanted to create a buffer against the Allies. Japanese forces turned towards the countries of mainland South-East Asia and the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia).

Australia, Britain and the Netherlands controlled island territories that were targets of the Japanese expansion. Japanese forces quickly overwhelmed villages and colonial outposts across a large area of South-East Asia and the Pacific.

Battles in the region included:

• invasion of Malaya on 8 December 1941
• fall of the Australian base at Rabaul, New Britain on 23 January 1942
• retreat of Allied forces from Malaya to Singapore on 31 January 1942
• fall of Ambon on 3 February 1942
• fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942
• fall of Timor on 23 February 1942
• fall of Java on 11 March 1942.

It would take the Allies more than 3 years to liberate what had been lost.

Australians in the region

When war broke out in the Pacific, many Australians already lived and worked in the region. The region included the Australian-administered:

• Territory of New Guinea
• Territory of Papua.

As the threat from Japan grew during the war, the Australian Government organised the evacuation of many people to Australia. For some evacuees who had been born overseas, it was the first time they had been to Australia.

Many Australians who stayed on the Pacific islands were caught in the war that swept through the region.

Challenges of the Pacific War

The Pacific War posed unique geographic challenges. It was fought through:

• island-hopping air raids that relied on control of airstrips
• sea battles between ships and their air support
• jungle warfare and battles fought over difficult terrain.

Success in fighting under these conditions involved many Allied forces. This included Australian women and men serving in the:

• Royal Australian Navy (RAN)
• Australian Army, including the Australian Infantry Force (AIF) and the Citizen Military Forces (CMF, or Militia)
• Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)

In Papua, there were armed forces of Papuans. Papuans and many indigenous peoples in the Pacific risked their lives assisting the Allies in many different ways.

Australia suffered heavy losses in the early part of the war. Thousands of troops became prisoners of war (POWs). When Singapore fell, some 130,000 Allied troops, including around 15,000 Australians, became POWs. When Java fell, nearly 2,700 Australian troops were captured and the HMAS Perth was sunk. POWs in Japanese camps lived through terrible conditions, including those made to work on the infamous Burma-Thailand Railway.

Civilian Australians also contributed to the Pacific War effort. Qantas crews flew under risky conditions to supply bases and transport evacuees. Island residents reported locations of enemy ships and aircraft to the Allies, despite the risk of capture, as Coastwatchers.