1915 — Allied warships attempted to force a passage through the Dardanelles, (Turkey). The failure of this attempt led to the disastrous GALLIPOLI campaign

1942 — 188 Japanese aircraft attacked DARWIN. There was second attack later this day, the first two of 64 attacks on Darwin over the next 20 months. At least 243 people were killed in the attacks, including WG CDR A. Tindal, who became the first Royal Australian Air Force member to die on active service on Australian soil

1943 — Parliament approved the Defence (Citizens Military Forces) Bill, introducing conscription for service in the south west Pacific war zone