1942— British forces withdrew from the Malayan Peninsula and retreated to what was believed to be the impregnable fortress of Singapore.

1941— Australian forces capture Derna as the Italians begin to withdraw towards Benghazi.

1942— Japanese forces attack Ambon, Netherlands East Indies. Dutch soldiers and the Australians of “Gull Force” defending the island are defeated.

1951— Women’s Royal Australian Air Force was formed.

1968— The Tet Offensive began in Vietnam. Australian troops of 2, 3, and 7RAR were involved in the Offensive.

1941— Italian soldiers evacuate Derna, Libya, after being defeated by Australian 6th Division troops.

1944— Battle of Wau, New Guinea, began. The Japanese recognised that Allied possession of Wau posed a significant threat to their important bases at Lae and Salamaua and sought to take the town. The Japanese were defeated after weeks of heavy fighting.

1944— HMAS Westralia was attacked by a Japanese bomber while landing troops at Milne Bay, Papua. The ship was damaged, and one crew member was wounded. 

1991— A Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diving Team departed for Kuwait to begin explosive ordnance demolition duties, as part of Australia’s commitment to the Gulf War.   

1918— Dunsterforce, comprising of 48 Australian Officers and NCOs, left Baghdad to fight in northwest Persia, to keep the Turks and Bolsheviks out of Persia. This was part of an Allied support of Russian Imperial forces following the Russian Revolution in 1917. 

1945— The evacuation of Sandakan POW camp begins. Japanese troops marched the prisoners 260 km inland to Ranau. Many of the prisoners died of disease, malnutrition, exhaustion, and ill-treatment, and the survivors were shot when they reached their destination. Only 6 of 2,500 Australians survived the Sandakan Death March, the greatest single atrocity committed against Australians in war.

1942— Japanese forces landed at Lae, New Guinea. The capture of Lae allowed for the defence of Rabaul and attacks on northern Australia.

1942— The Government ordered full mobilisation in Australia in response to the threat posed by the proximity of Japanese forces.

1944— Battle of Sio-Sepik River began with troops advancing from Sio on the Huon Peninsula to the Sepik River on New Guinea’s north coast.

1952— HMAS Sydney completed her service in Korean waters where she had been on operations since August 1951.

1945— Three battalions from the Australian 7th Brigade began patrolling operations as part of the advance on the Puriata River in southern Bougainville.

1968— Soldiers from 2RAR, including a company of Royal New Zealand Infantry soldiers, (carrying on the ANZAC tradition), make contact with communist forces around Bien Hoa, Vietnam. 

1942— Japanese forces capture Rabaul, New Britain. Rabaul’s airfields, and one of the best natural harbours in the Pacific, provide an ideal base for launching strikes against New Guinea and Australia.

1943— Soldiers of the Australian 7th Division defeated the Japanese at Shaggy Ridge, New Guinea. 

1941— The port city of Tobruk, Libya, defended by an Italian force of 25,000, surrendered to soldiers of the Australian 6th Division. 

1943— The stores ship HMAS Patricia Cam sinks after being dive bombed by a Japanese seaplane.