The fall of Singapore had 3 impacts on the state of Australia’s immediate security: Firstly, the fall of Singapore created a lack of immediate military security in Australia, leaving it mostly defenseless from the Japanese Imperial Army that conquered Malaya and Singapore, as Australia was still reliant on Great Britain for defenses. Secondly, the Fall of Singapore facilitated the movement from reliance on Britain to reliance on America. Finally, the Fall of Singapore created a climate of fear within Australia that destroyed the Australian People’s psychological security. Before covering these topics in more detail, however, some background information must be supplied:
The Fall of Singapore was the loss of control over the island of Singapore …show more content…
When the European conflict first erupted, Australia was the first country to declare war on Germany alongside Britain (Returned Services Leauge Australia, The Second World War, 2014): Australia sent it’s troops to the Middle East and to Europe itself, believing that due to Singapore’s location and defenses that blocked the Japanese from expanded towards Australia, it was safe, and could therefore expend troops to aid Britain. This meant that when Singapore fell to the Japanese, there was no line of defense before Australia, leaving it extremely vulnerable, to such an extent that the Japanese bombed Darwin and a Japanese Submarine wreaked havoc in Sydney Harbor (WW2 Australia, Sydney Harbor, 2001). Due to this, Australia retreated nearly entirely from the European campaign and stationed the majority of it’s forces within Australia itself, expecting some form of aid from Britain. However, due to Britain’s entanglements in Europe, it could not expend the forces needed to repel the Japanese, and thus Australia instead became allies with America, as it had the Pacific power needed to combat the Japanese. This alliance continues to this …show more content…
After the Fall of Singapore, Australia realized that Britain was too caught up in the war in Europe to defend the pacific, and thus Australia must find an Ally in the pacific: The logical choice was America. From this point onwards, Australia changed it’s primary trading partner and military ally to America. For example, trade imports and exports between Australia and Britain decreased more than 10% in the 1940’s (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Trade since 1900, 2001) whereas American imports and export rose exponentially. America did not wish to help Australia for any emotional or loyalty related reasons, America simply needed a military powerhouse with easy access to the pacific. Thus the symbiotic relationship between America and Australia began. Australia and America henceforth combined their forces in an attempt to win the battle for South East Asia, such as the Battle of the Coral Sea, wherin Australian and America troops attempted to stop the Japanese Imperial Army from establishing a naval base at Port Moresby (Encyclopedia Britannica, Battle of the Coral Sea, 1975). The attempt was successful, and America and Australia continued to pressure the Japanese
The Fall of Singapore was the loss of control over the island of Singapore …show more content…
When the European conflict first erupted, Australia was the first country to declare war on Germany alongside Britain (Returned Services Leauge Australia, The Second World War, 2014): Australia sent it’s troops to the Middle East and to Europe itself, believing that due to Singapore’s location and defenses that blocked the Japanese from expanded towards Australia, it was safe, and could therefore expend troops to aid Britain. This meant that when Singapore fell to the Japanese, there was no line of defense before Australia, leaving it extremely vulnerable, to such an extent that the Japanese bombed Darwin and a Japanese Submarine wreaked havoc in Sydney Harbor (WW2 Australia, Sydney Harbor, 2001). Due to this, Australia retreated nearly entirely from the European campaign and stationed the majority of it’s forces within Australia itself, expecting some form of aid from Britain. However, due to Britain’s entanglements in Europe, it could not expend the forces needed to repel the Japanese, and thus Australia instead became allies with America, as it had the Pacific power needed to combat the Japanese. This alliance continues to this …show more content…
After the Fall of Singapore, Australia realized that Britain was too caught up in the war in Europe to defend the pacific, and thus Australia must find an Ally in the pacific: The logical choice was America. From this point onwards, Australia changed it’s primary trading partner and military ally to America. For example, trade imports and exports between Australia and Britain decreased more than 10% in the 1940’s (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Trade since 1900, 2001) whereas American imports and export rose exponentially. America did not wish to help Australia for any emotional or loyalty related reasons, America simply needed a military powerhouse with easy access to the pacific. Thus the symbiotic relationship between America and Australia began. Australia and America henceforth combined their forces in an attempt to win the battle for South East Asia, such as the Battle of the Coral Sea, wherin Australian and America troops attempted to stop the Japanese Imperial Army from establishing a naval base at Port Moresby (Encyclopedia Britannica, Battle of the Coral Sea, 1975). The attempt was successful, and America and Australia continued to pressure the Japanese