Australian History - World Wars Era - Essay Example

Name Course Tutor Date Australian History - World Wars Era Introduction The First World War occurred in 1914 and last for a period of four years. It is remembered for causing a large number of causalities and deaths. Out of a population of less than 5million people, around 416000 people were killed and more than 10000 jailed (Penglase 56). The people of Australia just like those of other continents showed a lot of enthusiasm when World War 1 was ushered to them with majority of the men both young and aged volunteering to take part in the fighting. This called for recruitment as the number of men willing to take part in this war increased. Those who succeeded in joining the army were sent to Egypt in 1914 to help fight the ottomans that had invaded Britain. In Cairo, the groups were trained for a period of four years. After the extensive training, the Australian troop was sent to Gallipoli together with the other troops from France, and Britain. History has it that the Australian troop arrived in 1915 at the ANZAC cove where they settled and initiated campaigns that were aimed at attacking the Turks although this never succeeded as the Turks were more prepared and succeeded in blocking them. In the year 1916, the Australian troops were evacuated and forced to settle in France. They entered into a fight battle with countries from the western part. One thing that offered the Australian troop protection during the war was their ability to manufacture machine and artillery. In the year 1916, the Australian troops were introduced to combat at the city of fromelles from which produced a high number of casualties. This continued for a period of three years with more men from the Australian side being killed and physically wounded. As a result of the First World War, the women who had been left at home became involved in duties like cooking, nursing and farming. Also the women took over the responsibilities of men who had been wounded in the war. The government powers were also affected by the world war 1.The common wealth government increased its revenue and authority in order to facilitate the war. Also, the common wealth government acquired the jurisdiction powers due to the implementation of the war precaution act. On the same note on the impact of the world war 11 on ALP, the economy of the country was affected. The war opened doors for trade and allowed free transportation of wheat to Britain and changed the political status of Australia. In the year 1914, the Australian labour party defeated the liberal’s party hence becoming in charge of the government (Shaw L 32).t. In Addition to the above, the World War 1 caused war weariness among the people of Australia because their people were now perishing in war. Since there were no signs of victory, it was evident that war had come to take away all the strong men in their society. The economy also become worse since most of the resources were now being used to support the war. On the other note, war changed the role of women in the society. Before, women worked at home while men were employed in the white-collar jobs. This changed with the entry of the world war because majority of the men withdrew from their employment to join the army troops forcing the women to fill in the vacant positions in the sectors which were dominated by men although most of the unions appeared reluctant to employ the women in the belief that this would lower wages. Lastly, the World War 1 led to the closure of entertainment games like competitive sport as they were seen to interrupt with the serious business of that moment which was war. The world war 11 occurred in the year 1939 to 1945 and everyone in Australia took part in the campaigns against Italy, Japan, North Africa and Germany. The country for the first time was attacked by the Japanese who bombed the North West parts of Australian 1940. The royal Australian navy took part in the war against Italy as well as that of North Africa and Mediterranean. Although the Australian troops together with the other troops from different continents had succefully defeated the forces belonging to the Italians, they suffered defeat in their attacks that targeted the Germans in Greece, Crete, and North Africa. This followed their success again against the Syria after which majority of the left the Mediterranean and settled in the pacific continent where their fight against the Japanese intensified. Until the end of the world war 11 in Australia, the troops were still fighting in Borneo, a war that aimed to defeat the Japanese (Brown 62). The African labour movement was introduced in 1819 and it is evident that the World War 1 had a negative impact on the party. This is because in 1916, the party split over the issue of conscription where the minister of labour then supported the issue while the other member voted against it. This saw the minister expelled from the party and forced to form the nationalist party of Australia. One thing that is worthy to note is that when the Second World War broke in Australia, the government appeared to be better prepared since they had gone through the First World War and therefore everyone supported the war even the churches and papers. Just like in the First World War, the Second World War gave the common wealth government more powers to set and regulate rules. Among these rules included: one, the reduction of the Christmas, second, the New Year holiday was scheduled for a period of three days. Third, there were blackouts in most of the cities in the beach areas. fourth, everyone was required to produce an identity card and among the long list included the banning of the Communist Party and the Australia First Movement for opposition to the war (Gregory 78). Apart from the government powers, the world war two also united the people of Australia and brought equality of sacrifice since everyone had taken part in this war. Also, this led to great improvement in the economy of the country. World war two opened more trade opportunities which saw the country import and export its products to many countries. Lastly, the indigenous Australian secured employment in most of the companies with both men and women enjoying same employment opportunities. The major importance of the world war 11 on Alp as compared to the First World War is that it gave women the opportunity to contribute in the country’s making and two, it led to a vast improvement and the participation of the government in to the country’s economy and last it led to establishment of foreign policy. When the world war two started in the year 1939, it is said that the Australians were more prepared and willing to take part in the to war too since the Great Britain had confessed war with the German. The world war challenged the political structure of the country between 1939 and 1945 in Australia which was part of the British Commonwealth. The army in charge of enforcing the imperial defence policy could not accommodate the intense threats from the opposite side of the Japanese. The party of conservative was in support of imperia defence in the Second World War and this led to the loss of the powers of UAP. Since the Japanese had posed a great resistance to the Pacific Ocean, Australia was left with no other option than to adopt the foreign of self-reliance (Gregory 112). Given the very small economy of Australia, a prevailing centralised social planning was considered necessary as this was the only way through which ALP would acquire the ability to exercise its powers. Australian small population allowed the entry of servicemen from other continents especially America who got employed in most of the companies. These servicemen who came to Australia participated in recon structuring the economy but in the long run disputes broke out on the ground. Therefore this unrealistic affiliation among the soldiers of both the nation in the world war 2 at some periods, we had also misunderstanding between MacArthur and Blamey, in 1945-45 as the war came to a halt, Macarthur’s self image did want to share the success with anyone which came by an unequal personality with the American – Australian affairs during the war. However, the Australian Second World War came by as a result of the following reasons: one, domestic politics and secondly as a result of international relations. The hard work of Australian residence contributed a lot, therefore similar success were considered substantial in the proportion of the several effects of the world war 11 on ALP. To start with, ALP developed huge reservoirs of ballistics and atomic weapons because each nation feared the other. The world war 11 wars also led to the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by the US and its allies. This was in retaliation to the formation of the Warsaw Pact military bloc by the communists. The other effects of the war were the Vietnam and Korean War, the end of the Warsaw pact, the fall of the Berlin wall, the reunification of Germany and the economic and political collapse of the Soviet Union. The end of the world war 11 war also led to the independence of ALP and the end of communism globally Gilbert 332). America ultimately became the only superpower in the world. The world including Australia learnt the following lessons from the world war11. To start with, the world learnt that a nuclear war does not have any victor and both sides lose. Secondly, war has a great toll on the whole world. The ones involved in the war and the ones who are not involved suffer during a war. The world war 11 had immense economic ramifications on the entire world as nations spent their resources towards armament and security at the expense of other areas of national interest. Thirdly, the fall of the Soviet Union reduced polarization in the world but this proved to be a disadvantage because the world now has just one superpower that has over the years become a bully. Most importantly, the world nations have learnt to live in peace and after the effects of the cold war, it is highly unlikely that such a war will ever grace the face of this world. Conclusion World War 1 and 11 had a great impact on Australia. World War one opened more job opportunities to the women who had been left at home became involved in duties like cooking, nursing and farming. Secondly, the government powers were also affected by the world war 1.The common wealth government increased its revenue and authority in order to facilitate the war. Also, the common wealth government acquired the jurisdiction powers due to the implementation of the war precaution act. Thirdly, the economy of the country was affected. The war opened doors for trade and allowed free transportation of wheat to Britain and changed the political status of Australia. In the year 1914, the Australian labour party defeated the liberal’s party hence becoming in charge of the government. In Addition to the above, the World War 1 caused war weariness among the people of Australia because their people were now perishing in war. Since there were no signs of victory, it was evident that war had come to take away all the strong men in their society. The economy also become worse since most of the resources were now being used to support the war. Lastly, the World War 1 led to the closure of entertainment games like competitive sport as they were seen to interrupt with the serious business of that moment which was war. The Australians during the Second World War appeared to be better prepared and this gave the common wealth government more powers to set and regulate rules. Among these rules included: one, the reduction of the Christmas, second, the New Year holiday was scheduled for a period of three days. Third, there were blackouts in most of the cities in the beach areas. Fourth, everyone was required to produce an identity card and among the long list included the banning of the Communist Party and the Australia First Movement for opposition to the war (Butler 97). A part from the government powers, the world war two also united the people of Australia and brought equality of sacrifice since everyone had taken part in this war. Also, this led to great improvement in the economy of the country. World war two opened more trade opportunities which saw the country import and export its products to many countries. Lastly, the indigenous Australian secured employment in most of the companies with both men and women enjoying same employment opportunities. Works Cited National Book Council, Australia. Australian book review. London: P. Isaacson Publications. 2006. Gregory, A. J. On the home front: Western Australia and World War. Australia: University of Western Australia Press. 1996, p.112. Butler S. Fodor's 2009 Australia. Australia: Fodor's Travel Publications, 2008, p.97. Brown, L. A radar history of World War II: technical and military imperatives. New York: CRC Press, 1999, p. 68. Gilbert, M. The Second World War: A Complete History. London: Henry Holt. 2004, p.334. Shaw, L.G.A. A short history of Australia, Volume 1967, Part 1. Michigan: Praeger, 2009, p. 132. Penglase, J. When the war came to Australia: memories of the Second World War. New York: Allen & Unwin. 1992, p.56. Read More