When Japan started to move through Asia conquering many regions and countries, such as China, the British government were quite sure that the Japanese would not keep moving into South-East Asia. In 1941, when Japan did start to move into South-East Asia, Britain reassured the Australian government, by a telegram from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, that Japan would not invade or attack Australia. The telegram stated that “if Japan set about Invading Australia or New Zealand on a large scale, Britain would cut our losses in the Mediterranean and proceed to your aid in sacrificing every interest except only the defence position of this island (Britain) in which all else depends”. Although Britain promised to come to our aid if we were to be attacked by Japan, they broke their promises later on.
The Fall of Singapore on the 15th of February, 1942, and the Darwin bombing attack on the 19th of February, 1942, traumatized Australians because they knew that the Japanese would soon work their way down to Australia. The Australian troops were busy fighting in Europe and Britain was too busy with the war also, trying their best to survive against Nazi Germany. Australia had no protection against the Japanese, who were advancing through South-East Asia, coming towards Australia. Despite, what Churchill had said in the telegram to the Australian government, Britain was too busy defending themselves in Europe, to send troops to South-East Asia to stop the Japanese.
Australia was alone and unprotected, as the Japanese made their way through South-East Asia in 1942. They had no one to turn to for help, because Britain, their mother country, had abandoned them, regarding them only as an expandable part of the empire. Britain didn’t even give a thought about how Australia was linked to Britain by ‘ties of blood, sentiment and allegiance to the crown’. Even attempts for Australia to secure additional British support against Japan, was hopeless. In December 1941, John Curtin’s speech stated that “Australia looks to America”, the Americans alone had the power and capacity to assist Australia. After hearing this speech, the people of Australia realised that Britain had limits to its power and influence. Australia still needed a protector and ally at that time, and the US was the only other power that could give Australia protection and support against the Japanese.
In 1942, General Douglas Macarthur arrived in Australia after agreeing to protect us since Britain had failed and was welcomed by the Australian people. It is almost certain that America would have come to help even if Curtin had not made such a public appeal about it, because Australia was the only one point from where a counter-offensive against the Japanese could have been launched. Their plans were to launch a counter-offensive against the Japanese because of the Pearl Harbor incident on the 7th of December, 1941. Australia could do nothing but follow the plans of the US military force, because Britain was no longer there to help and the US was the only hope they had.
Therefore, we can say that World War II caused Australia’s relationship with both, Britain and the United States to change. Australia’s relationship with Britain used to be quite strong and Australia had thought of Britain as being their most powerful mother country and protector. After the war, Australia’s perception of Britain changed and their links with the US increased, because it was the US who had helped them when they were in need during World War II. Australia, in the past, had fought wars for Britain, but after World War II they fought America’s wars, such as the Vietnam and Korea Wars.
