1918— At 11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns fell silent in Europe, marking the end of the Great War. 417,000 Australians volunteered for service during the War. 62,000 were killed, 155,000 wounded and 4044 were taken as Prisoners of War.
1934— Victoria’s Shrine of Remembrance is opened in Melbourne by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.
1941— The Australian War Memorial, Australia’s national war memorial, is opened in Canberra.
1964 — The Australian Government introduced selective conscription of 20-year-old males under the National Service Act. More than 63,000 men were conscripted into the Australian Army and 15,300 served in Vietnam
1914 — The first sea battle for the new Royal Australian Navy, with HMAS Sydney destroying the German cruiser SMS Emden off the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. Four of Sydney’s crew were killed and twelve were wounded.
1940 — American freighter MS City of Rayville becomes the first US merchant ship sunk in the Second World War after hitting a mine laid by the German Raider Pinguin, off Cape Otway, Victoria.
1917—Capture of Gaza by British forces which included troops of the Australian Light Horse.
1940—SS Cambridge sinks off Wilsons Promontory, Victoria, after striking a mine laid by the German Raider Pinguin. This was the first wartime loss off the Australian coast during the Second World War.
1900 — 1st NSW Mounted Rifles engaged in the Battle of Bothaville, during the Boer War in South Africa.
1951 — Private Horace “Slim” Madden is posthumously awarded a George Cross for outstanding heroism while a Prisoner of War of the Chinese Communist forces in Korea.
1914— Britain and France declare war on the Ottoman Empire.
1942— Battle of Gorari, New Guinea, began. This was the last major engagement on the Kokoda Trail.
1950— Battle of Pakchon, Korea. 3RAR attacked and defended crucial positions in the face of heavy North Korean and Chinese resistance.
1950— No 77 Squadron RAAF flies in support of the 3RAR for the first time in the Korean War during the Battle of Pakchon.
1944— HMA Ships Vendetta, Swan and Barcoo provided gun support for the Australian landing at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain.
1991— HMAS Sydney, HMAS Brisbane, and Navy Clearance Diving Team 3 were awarded Meritorious Unit Citations for their service in the Gulf War.