El Alamein: The 9th Division Story
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- This is one of a large number of documentaries produced by ATN 7 with the co-operation of the Australian War Memorial in 1961, under the series name 'ANZAC', about the history of Australia's war effort during the Second World War. In this episode the operational history of the 9th Division of the 2nd AIF during the Battles of El Alamein is examined.
My grandfather fought with the 9th Division from its formation to its end. I grew up with the stories of the siege in North Africa and the Western Desert. He had nothing but respect for the Afirka Corps. He would speak about surving on 1 cup of water per day, which was also used for shaving. He then went on to fight the Japanese in New Guinea. I remember him telling me about the parade depicted in this clip. RIP to the men and women on both sides of the war and let's hope we never have to experience war again.
The parade was held on the Gaza Aerodrome. After the speeches , the noise from the men slapping their rifle butts, could be heard for miles
My Dad was at El Alamein. 2/32nd AIF. He left us in 1985. We will always be proud of what he and his comrades did for us.
My grandfather fought in El Alamein in the 21 Panzerdivision des Afrika Korps !
Rest in Peace solideres of both Sides!
No More War again!!!
Have you seen the German war memorial at Tobruk? Very moving and quite unlike the Commonwealth War Graves.
As a Brit, may I pay great homage and admiration for the magnificent ANZACS, incredibly brave soldiers. Thank you to each and every one.
My Father was in the 9th Division with 2/7th Australian field regiment and was a rat of Tobruk, makes me proud when I SEE HIS OLD MEDALS...Vale. Maxwell Charles Kennedy SX4029.
My great grandfather was in the 9th division, he was also a Rat of Tobruk. His name was Robert Gardiner. I don't have his medals but I do have his Morse code book (he was the communication officer, I believe.) I wonder if Maxwell and Robert ever shared a drink together.
Legend
My Uncle Norm (Cuttriss) was also in the 9th and a Rat of Tobruk. My Dad "Burt" was in Signal Corp in PNG & Molokai.
Albert V Temple was a gunner in the 2/12th of the 9th Division, likely a pal of your Dad's (Albert was my uncle).
Aussies were some really fine men. As an American I take pride in our Grant and Sherman tanks that fought German armor. But the Battle was won by the men on the ground. The English and Commonwealth contributions to the winning of the war is under estimated in the United States, but I for one appreciate British intelligence and courage. I hope that the Anglo-Americans can fashion an alliance for the coming struggles with China and Russia.
Just waiting for other wars for Hollywood to feed on are you?
Solid aussie heroes. I Thank your grandads for their service. Respect from New Zealand.
We have a suburb in Melbourne named Alamein. Most of the streets around there are named after aircraft or places that we fought through WW2 around the world. Originally it was conceived as a housing project to ensure all the diggers had housing after the war. Benghazi Avenue, Morotai Avenue, Tobruk Road, Bardia Avenue, Anson Court, Wirraway Court, Lancaster, Mitchell and Liberator streets are just some of the street names there.
my grandad was there a 6ft 4 16 stone hard English man his very words you dont mess with the aussies . god bless
My great Grandfather was in the 9th division, but sadly he died even before Tobruk in the first battle Australian troops had with German forces.
RIP James Willis
We'll never see the likes of those men again. They risked all for country, family and mate's, my dad served in the Solomon's, he was 17yrs old. I will honour them all for as long as I live. Not only did they go through WW2, they endured the great depression as well.
24 members of my family took part in this battle and parade. Just so proud of them all. Queenslanders,
Why is it we Aussies have to qualify ourselves by the State we come from. To my mind we are ALL Aussies, regardless of the State of our birth or residence. And I'm sure they didn't ask the Germans what State they came from.
A novel by Australian digger, Eric Lambert, called
'Glory Thrown In' is an excellent book on the 9th Division's role at el Alamein.. Highly recommend it.
Lest we forget.
Bernie Delaney grateful to all your brave family
@@bushranger51 because we are proud QUEENSLANDERS
Thanks for your Family!!!
My uncle was a Rat of Tobruk and in the 2/17th Battalion of the 9th Division at El Alamein where he was shot, but survived . He told us the light from the guns was so bright you could read a paper by it. He went on with the Division to New Guinea after this. I miss him. He died in 1974 of lung cancer and like most soldiers smoked. I have several letters and other bits and pieces and his medals, he had no children of his own.
My father was a Rat of Tobruk, enlisted very early in the piece. He was in signals H.L.Renouf VX1617. His birthday 26 October,said the Alamein artillery barrage was the best 21st birthday he could possibly have. He put his age up by 3years to enlist. He came home,retrained for jungle warfare on Atherton Tablelands and was sent to Borneo to fight the Japanese. He died of lung cancer too, in 1975. Am very proud of my father,he was a bit of a larrikin too. The only sour note to my dad’s war service was the government not allowing my mother a war service pension. It took quite a few years of fighting before they relented. I think my father did enough for his country, do you agree?
@@douglasrenouf9929
My mother was denied a War Widows Pension, too. My father died in 1962 and it wasn't till the Labor Govt. got in in 1973 that she received one, with some back pay. One of the reasons why I have never have voted for those so called Liberals.
It was the Italian Army in North Africa,the Germans were a Corps, 20,000 men.Don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings.Many men in The Africa Corps disliked their commander Rommel. They felt he was glory hunting and they were pawns.
Circa 1969, I went into a German pub (Gastshaus) near Hamburg. While I was looking for the toilet I walked into a large room. The walls were covered in Afrika Corps photographs of German soldiers, tanks, guns and individual unit flags and badges; it was quite eerie. At the time I felt a great feeling of compassion for all those brave men who fought and died but lost the battle. They returned home defeated, however, their camaraderie rose above it all and they obviously supported each other via such gatherings as took place in that room. War is a terrible thing, there are no real winners, just tears on both sides.
The German Corps/Rommel & The Aussies actually liked and respected each other. This was a war without hate. Unusual.
@@chookvalve Yes unusual and wrong. Don’t idealise the Germans the AfrikaKorps was part of a brutal regime that was bent on enslaving as many parts of the world as possible. War is not a sport.
@@anthonyeaton5153 but there was LESS brutality in North Africa it appears
@@paulinecabbed1271 nazis persecuted jews in Libya and Tunisia
My late Dad was in 2/23rd and took part in these battles, saw his best mate killed alongside him. Dad was wounded twice but sent back into battle.
These guys really deserve a series of the quality of band of brothers, or the pacific, amazing story the Australians fighting here and then going on to PNG and the New Zealanders going on to Italy
Respect for the Australian 9th Division from California!!!!!!! Heroes the lot of you.
Thank you :)
My grandad was a sergeant in the 2nd 24th battalion 9th division 2nd AIF and a rat of Tobruk. It's hard to believe he survived all of this. His little brother wasn't so lucky, captured by the japanese on java island and sent to sandakan pow camp in borneo with 2500 other australians. Only 6 survived..... Little did grandad know when his unit was invading borneo his brother was on a death march away from the aussie forces. To this day we dont know his final resting place, maybe one day him and his comrades will have a proper burial. Thank you for your respect from a proud Australian
Respect to the Australian 9th Div from New Zealand
There is important stuff missing from this documentary.
In the first of the Australian 9th Division's battles at El Alamein, when the division charged the Tel el Eisa salient overlooking the sea, the defending Italian Sabratha Division was seriously mauled, and then Rommel's 621st Signal Battalion’s tents, radio vans and antennas were overrun.
The code books and papers in the Signal Battalion's camp told the Allies just how much tactical information they had lost due to poor radio security since early 1941. Rommel was able to get decoded Allied messages before the Allied commanders received the messages.
With this, the greatest intelligence coup in battle in WW2, Rommel lost his eyes and ears.
A very interesting insight into the power of military intelligence gathering, thank you.
My father was a machine gunner 2/2 machine gun battalion he survived 1003 days under fire over 7 years at war he was at Tobruk and El Alamein ,he won an award in Australia before leaving for war against 2000 men for marksmanship,, I've still got the solid silver badge of the crossed 303's
My step father was with the 2/2 machine gunners.
Its called 'crossed rifles' in the army, and he would have earnt them!
@Erich Von Manstein How come you put an apostrophe in 'Aussies' and missed the apostrophe in 'weren't?'
@Erich Von Manstein Actually the Aussies were fighting from day one, all the way to the surrender of Japan, about 6 years rather than 7 as John Harrop states. One of the first shots taken in the war was from Port Philip Heads in Melbourne, when the old forts there fired across the bows of a German ship trying to leave port. A copy of the German naval code books were taken at that time and subsequently sent to Britain for use at Bletchley Park. If you look at the surrender of Japan on the battleship Missouri, you will see General Thomas Blamey of the 2nd AIF right there behind McArthur, together with the allied nations' represenatatives.
My Granddad was in the 2/2 as well! Unfortunately I never met him as he died before i was born but I've always wished i'd had a chance to talk to him about his experiences. William Davies was his name.
Very impressive. My father (a Pom) was there with the Aussies, keeping the planes flying.
My grandfather served with the 2/43 battalion - 9th div for 5 yrs, Tobruk , El Alamein ,Borneo.
RIP Cpl Rex Allen.
My Uncle Jock (Saffa Tanks) fought at El Alamein. RIP Jock Falconer. 🇿🇦
My ancestor fought at Mohenjo-Daro. RIP Devadip (Grog the Brute) Patel.
I miss those old diggers.
Australia is so much the poorer without them.
Lest we forget.
They were an incredible generation
Wallaby track I know this lovely digger, Gerry Stretch, he is amazing, he turned 100 in 2019 and he was in this 2/24 infantry 9th Division. He won the Military Cross. www.rslwa.org.au/100-year-stretch-a-courageous-anzac-worth-celebrating/
My grandfather was 9th Div. I still miss him.
Australians made an enormous contribution to the war effort.
Both white Australia and the 3000 aboriginals and the 900 Maoris from New Zealand contributed a lot. But there story is often overlooked in post war histories. And many of there successes are often claimed by the British or the Americans. It is truly tragic.
And white New Zealanders. Don't forget them
Thank you to all of you. From a Pom Infantry soldier .
Hello great doco my uncle was there with the 9th division 2nd28thbattlion Western Australia MIA POWand escapee very brave man miss him
my grand father was 2/28th brings alot of pride watching this.
Mine as well.
My 3 Great uncles were in the 2/28th as well. 2 were captured at Ruin Ridge
My Great uncle Douglas Leslie , QLD, fought and was wounded here.... Lest we Forget
My Dad was there from 39’ until the invasion of Italy, captured and escaped, wounded twice, so many funny stories and a few not so nice. RIP Dad
Another excellent video. Forever ANZACS From this Canadian......................
A little known fact. A very small group of Canadian officers and ncos were sent to North Africa early in 1943 and were attached to the First British Army, 78th Infantry Division and 6th Armoured Division. My father was a tanker there.
Lest we forget. Thank you for posting this.
I've been to El Alamein and out into the desert where the Australians fought. The railway station is now disused but it's still there.
We visited the battlefield the day before the Arab Spring broke out in Egypt!
By the way, for those who have seen "Lawrence of Arabia", or at least know the story of Lawrence riding in with the Arabs to take Aqaba, the reason they met with no resistance was that the Australian Light Horse Brigade had already been there to expel the Turks. When the job was done, the Aussies were told by British High Command: "Thanks chaps, jolly good, and you can quietly slip away now. Don't leave any Australian flags or other evidence there. We need to show that T.E.Lawrence and his Arabs have done the job. Cheerio! and thanks again."
It was not mentioned in the film but is documented in the Australian and British War Records. There is also a documentary on UA-cam somewhere. I've seen it.
That explains why (and many more reasons) Gen. Harry Chauvel and Lawrence don't like each other.
They also took Jerusalem (albeit with little resistance) but were told to leave before units of the main column arrived and made a triumphant entrance. Must have been weird for the locals to be ‘liberated’ twice in 24 hours by the same side.
The Australians took the surrender of Damascus. Then it was stage managed for Lawerence and the cameras later that day or the next.
The Australian 10th Light Horse accidentally captured Jerusalem when they took a wrong turn and rode into the city centre and did not keep to the outskirts as ordered. My great uncle was an officer in the ALH during WW1 and told me this personally in 1978.
The Battle of Aqaba (6 July 1917) was fought for the Red Sea port of Aqaba (now in Jordan) during the Arab Revolt of World War I.The attacking forces, led by Auda ibu Tayi and advised by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), were victorious over the Ottoman Empire defenders. The battle of Beersheba took place on 31 October 1917 as part of the wider British offensive collectively known as the third Battle of Gaza. The final phase of this all day battle was the famous mounted charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade. Commencing at dusk, members of the brigade stormed through the Turkish defences and seized the strategic town of Beersheba.
Nice tribute at the end by Alexander but especially the playing of the Last Post for their fallen comrades.
Sidi Rezegh, Sidi Barrani, Mersa Metruh, names I had heard from my father. He told me stories from WW2 when in front of a warm fire with a bottle of sherry. He was in the Tank Corp (also RTR, also 7th Armoured Division) from 1938 to 1946. I used to ask him about El Alamein. His few comments were that the artillery bombardment went on day and night for many days. All the tank crews opened their medical kits and used the morphine to help sleep. He said the battlefield was strewn with the dead and as well as equipment (of both sides).
Australian Defence personnel have always executed their duty no matter where they are sent or who their allies are. God best them all.
God best them??
I’m from Russia well my family is but I was born in Australia but my dad and grandpa and most of my family has gone to war but I respect The Australian army!
85% of Germans died in Eastern Europe 1939-1945
@@arkopolo4308 Very true and well said.The Russians won the 2nd world war. The price paid was terrifying.35,000,000.dead..
My uncle fought for Russia, Bilchevics
Well mate...bonza
Well done the Aussies, i love the way Churchill walks up the line as if he means business, which he did of course. I was on the Guard of Honour at Montgomerys Funeral in Windsor. Any my buddies carried his Coffin.
My great uncle was there
Arthur Bauer
2/15 battalion, 20th brigade, 9th division, 2nd AIF.
Service number: QX574
Notable battles: Siege of Tobruk
First Battle of El Alamein
11/8/1942 dead/ PoW.
My Dad was a Royal Engineer attached to the Indian Div at Alamein, in first clearing mines for the tanks! He always gave much credit to Gen Auckinleck 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿🇮🇳
My Grandfather was in the 2/17th of the 9th division. He was Killed in the Easter battle of Tobruk 1941.
Sorry that you never would have known your granddad, a true Australian hero no doubt.
Lest we forget
The 2/17 let the tanks go over them, and then took on the enemy following on the ground. They did a lot of damage to the Germans, killed many and took a lot of prisoners. The 2/13 th helped as well, and the 2/15 th was held in reserve. The 15th was my dad's Btn. My respect to your Grandmother having lost her husband that day.It would have been very tough on her, and her children.He was a brave man, amongst many. They were all volunteers. A fact that the Axis forces could never get their head around. They are quoted asking why was Aust. there ? They had to be , but the Aussies didn't!
1916 - Battle of Romani.
1942 - Battles of El Alamein.
Australian soldiers help stopping German-led invasions.
Awesome Aussies! Salute your boys forever!
Saffa Uncle Jock was there were there but I guess we are the forgotten.
Good on you and your uncle Jock mate.
legendary 9th. God bless those men! And Morshead the genius who inspired his men and gave rommel a lesson on how to run a battle or two.
A BIG hip-hip HORRAY and a righty-o too all the AUSSIE ALLIES.They may be"down below" but they are always up front when you need them.👍👍👍👍👍👍
My grand father would be in there somewhere :D
. AA Gunner (ACK ACK) - TX3231 Sidney Lloyd Maxwell.
Australian are heros in my book, Quan Loi Vietnam 1969-70
I was in DanNang those years, Marines
I know its been 8months since you wrote that but many thanks mate.
Anything about the Royal Engineers ? been wanting to search for some footage of them in actio my great uncle was a Major in the 8th Army :)
Simon breckon, my uncle was killed in Tobruk, he was royal engeneers. Sgt G Hazard.
Proud of all these ANZACS never forgotten fellas , for your bravery and heroics .
Also the dignity shown towards the wounded , Nazis I wonder if the Germans would have done the same?
Under Rommel, all respect was given to captured opposing troops. This is well documented. At one time in the middle east Rommel's men captured a body of Jewish fighters . Hitler ordered them shot at once. Rommel said they were not doing this and handed them to the Italians, who had no hatred of the Jews. Rommel was a stickler for the Geneva Convention. My father , 2/15 th Battalion , 9th Division told me that the Germans were "an honourable enemy". I have no doubt that that had a lot to do with Mr Rommel.
Wish I still had my grandfather's medals but my ex wife stole them and pawned them along with a silver fob watch he carried in Europe in the first world war.
No wonder she's your bloody ex-wife.
Mate . you may be able to find them. The medals will have his name imprinted on the outside edge. Collectors of medals may help you too. Tough assignment, but you never know.
First in, last out, we are '15'.
2/15 of the 9th. My Papa, Dick Shepard (Cooley).
I was proud to go through kapooka in 1986 in 15pl Bravo Co.
This video is great ... thanks for the viewing!
When Churchill asked Montgomery if he could beat the USA to Berlin he said he could if Churchill would give him Aussie Troups.
TROOPS
Please provide your source record for this. I am Australian but I deplore this type of baseless braggadocio. The 9th Div left North Africa for the South-west Pacific theatre in January 1943, so what Australian troops was Montgomery referring to post D-Day, June'44 ? By that stage only Air Force & a few Navy personnel were in the European theatre of war.
I could be wrong, but like the Rommel quote "Give me Australians to attack and the New Zealanders to defend, I could take Hell" It's probably a myth. I hope I'm wrong.
General Erwin Rommel was quoted as saying, "Those damned Australians".
aaahh that convict blood !! That north african sun must have been like australia, too harsh for the britons north atlantic islanders. hahaha
Brave men. They made sure France and Britain did not lose the oilfields and the Suez Canal. Wars are fought over resources.
I've seen a couple of adverts on TV recently for shows based in Australia and someone has opened the window blinds in the
morning and just burst into flames. This is a bit of an exaggeration but it's close lol.
I think this is why the 2nd A.I.F. did so well in the middle east and the 1st A.I.F. on Gallipoli and the
Australian Light Horse in Palestine during the first world war. Because they where used to the heat and very little water but could still fight effectively.
Although I do remember one veteran from Tobruk saying that he used to dream of a tap running!
On to Milne Bay and the Japanese.
drumdust Milne Bay was before the Second Battle of El Alamein
Typical Aussie history all over the place.
My uncle (Victor Wakeham - aged 27) died at El Alamein on Oct 31 1942) would love to know what happened to him and to see a photo of him.
I think a lot of this film is Tobruk, not El Alamein
Fighting a war wold be difficult enough let alone in 45 degree odd heat with no shade whatsoever
The thing which people forget, is that after the sun went down in the Desert , that temperature fell dramatically
Sir Alexander was a brigadier during 1936 at our nowshera district and had a good relationship with my grandfather colonel Abdul Karim Khan British time
The British 8th Army defeated and pushing the combined German, Italian from Egypt, Libya into Tunisia where more Axis military personnel we're captured than Stalingrad.
+Marty Robinson : Just blame hitler which not support rommel and wrong strategy (attacking rusia ). At last more better capture by british than rusia
@Alexander Challis germany put all there money into u boats... faster and cheaper to build than battle ships..
@@peterbrittain6501 but no good supporting and protecting supplier ships
@@peterbrittain6501 Not entirely correct. The Kriegsmarine had some fearsome surface ships, like the Tirpitz, Scharnhörst, Bismarck, and numerous modern cruisers and destroyers available to them. Not to mention that after the Battle of Crete, the entire British Mediterranean naval forces amounted to 2 Battleships and 3 Cruisers, against 4 Battleships and 11 Cruisers of the Italian Navy, not even counting the Vichy French navy. The Axis enjoyed naval superiority in the Mediterranean for a long time.
@@danwhite2139 Bismarks and Tirpitz were virtually 1918 ships with ymore power, copying the Baden class with all their deficiencies. The Scharnhorst etc were of very dubious firepower and nearly half the destroyers were (pardon the word) destroyed at the two battles at Narvik. The Kriegsmarine surface ships were generally a waste of time and resources. U-boats were the only effective naval vessels available to Germany - and they didn't work in the long run.
Lest we forget
Watching this makes me proud to have been an Aussie soldier. No yanks , only Aussies , Kiwis and Pommies. Yanks only complicate things. Don't be drawn into their corporate wars again. Our young lives are more important than US imperialistic, corporate wars.
Gordon Thomson Indeed
I agree #lestweforget
Yep.
My dad was in this theatre of war. Poor bloke. A 6'3 Irishman with bright red hair in the desert? Must of been permently sun burnt. El Alamein the first victory
I've trained with Aussie sailors, great bunch of men. Think when 3000 lives were snuffed out in NY in a couple of hours and your talking corporate wars. Me I want payback anyway I can get it.
my uncles bill an phil were there, they did pretty good! they didn't talk about it. buried in the uniforms when they died within a cupla months of each other in the late 60s an early 70s
Moreshead was a great officer, a WW2 version of Monash. Now compare those two with Blamey. Bloody piece of rubbish. He had to be buried up behind Duntroon so the rest of Australia didn't come along and use the grave as an outside dunny. That would have been absolutely appropriate. An annual holiday stop.
Give me two Australian divisions and I will conquer the world
@Brett Mitchell "Give me two Australian divisions and I will conquer the world for you." ~ Erwin Rommel - German Field Marshall in Command of the Afrika Korps during the Siege of Tobruk 1941
@@rodwilliams5074 What Rommel really said was … "Give me 2 million New Zealand fighting men and I'll take the world " your comment is what the Aussies told him to say.
Rod Williams That isn’t a source either.
Montgomery’s Chief of Staff apparently said to Monty on the eve of D Day landings, ‘My God , I wish we had 9th Australian Division with us this morning, don’t you?’. They’re nice sentiments but I suspect they’re myths propagated by Australian authors trying to sell books to patriotic Aussies.
@@rodwilliams5074 Rommel was not that stupid. Conquer the world with 30,000 troops ? Absurd. Rommel never said anything like it. He did write in a letter or diary, after seeing some Australians captured in the siege of Tobruk, " big fellows, clearly elite troops"
I keep seeing on threads that the Brits used them as cannon fodder at Tobruk??,why is this? and how is it possible..
Am glad that the Nazis didn't pour the resources of Barbarossa into the desert to obtain the Canal. Would have been a much different story.
8:02 Churchill gives the Aussies the “up yours” gesture instead of V for victory. Don’t worry, he gave that gesture to many and often.
Hard fought campaign with many screw-ups from high command on both sides, but the ground pounders did their duty. Not as romantic an idea, but logistics had as much to do with this victory as the bravery of the individual ANZACS. Still, there would've been no victory over the Axis without the hard-fighting of the Aussie troops. Also, gotta love them Aussie uniforms!
The British peo
ple followed Churchill in 1940; without that, the Nazis would have won.
Morse is a legend!
Hold on, my grandad was English, he fought at El Alamein. I thought the Brits were there too!?!
WELL AUSTRALIANS ARE THE BEST
Just make sure you nail everything down..
That comment just isn't cricket old bean!
Brave warriors of the 9D, we salute you.
My Fathers sqn 458 flew in support of 9th div
The air support is almost always neglected when talking about the desert war, it was crucial to victory.
Are those high speed tanks at 16.20 really WWII vintage?
Crusader tanks, high speed, 57mm guns, liberty aero engines.
@Mike A that specific model of the Crusader was under-gunned, but the later Crusader III was fitted with the 6pdr which was a match for any German tank (including the Tiger I , as was shown in Tunisia when they encountered them, but luckily it was a squad using the Churchill, not Crusaders!!!)
@Leonard Carr that was the German name for the M4.
Australian imperial Force 👍
Amazing, civilians' make the best soldiers, Navy and Air-force.
Nothing like a pack of flies all over a sauerkraut
Respect.......
Valorosos homens que merecem nosso respeito!!!
Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur.
It must have been hot in those tanks. Heroes.
I am only just realising how decisive the Australian 9th was in the key battles of El Alamein. It is unfortunate this reality has been lost in the historiography and English propaganda that followed the war and the historians who only highlighted Monty and his English eighth army led by the Highlanders lol.
Any 51st highland division here ...
My father was in the Argyles
🧑🏻🎨
Im from tobruk
salaam aliakum sadeek
The Aussie army could fight .
So could the English, Irish and Scottish, Canadians, New Zealander’s South Africans Poles , it’s not all about Aussies, Alamein was a British led battle and a victory.
@@anthonyeaton5153No the Australians won it. Look at the video "Monty talks to the Diggers". The man himself tells them to their faces that Elamein could not have been won without the Australians".
Was Australian PM Curtin's decision to pull the 8th Division out of North Africa and deploy it to the Far East where it was eventually destroyed a smart move? Be interested to hear a Mark Felton Productions view on this point.
Sorry Ganni, 8th Division was never sent to the Middle East, it was sent directly to Malaya immediately after formation. Curtin was a true patriot and interested in Australia's welfare. Australian troops needed to be in a theatre relevent to Australia's defence, especially once the Japanese entered the war. It had been long standing Imperial defence policy that Singapore had top priority for defence expenditure outside of Britain but Churchill couldn't care less about anything east of Suez. He didn't even care about the fate of Australia, agreeing with Roosevelt to retake Australia if it fell to the Japanese, rather than trying to defend it in the first instance - most Australians aren't aware of this as governments there tend to hide information that might make Australian's see themselves as the 'great powers' see them, that is, as lickspittles. Unlike conservative governments in Australia, Curtin's Labor Government ensured that Australian defence was not a side line in imperial priorities but central. Bringing the men back from the Middle East should have happened much earlier.
It was Churchill's decision because he had promised the Australians Singapore would be defended or else the AIF would have stayed home. Curtin was not PM at the time Menzies was. The 8th never reached North Africa. Two brigades went to Singapore, the other brigade was lost in Rabaul and Timor.
No, he pulled them out to return to defend Australia. Despite Churchill counter manding Curtin's orders, the troops returned in an unprotected convoy across enemy held Indian Ocean. They fought in New Guinea and the islands.The 8th were in Malaya and were captured after disastorous British leadership in the fall of Singapore
It was the Australian "chocolate soldier" volunteer militias who stopped the Japanese advance fir the first time at Kokoda. Google it, amazing victory in New Guinea.
My father was 2/28th
No more brothers wars!
Rommel come at the end pf the battle.
TIm tams and milo kept the diggers going
Grandson of a sapper from the 2/8
10 to 1, battle.
Was just watching another video on Nth Africa , not a mention of Australians .. WTF?
Well , I suppose it depends on who makes the video , but from my point of view , Australians were commanded by the the British and used as fodder in both wars.
When ever America make a movie they always make out they are the hero's... But the true hero's are here and Australia was the first country to stop the Germans
@@aaronkelly5103 First to stop both Axis powers
it certainly wasn't this video, maybe you should comment at the appropriate place?
@morton christie With Kenyans too I think, otherwise well said.
@@aaronkelly5103 as (a ex british squadie prince of wales Reg ) totally respect
DEPOIS DESSA VITÓRIA INGLESA, ROMEL CAIU EM DESGRAÇA.
MAKES A CHANGE TO SEE A VIDEO MENTION Aussies, You watch some
Heroes
Soto Hermie naka Shillong may ube Maghalaya(Mercury) Anthony robledo DILG tiger campus 333(Hudson)L50 science (jinggoy Estrada)+63557939309
And nobody respect Rommel for fighting with his 16 tanks that he had.