Australia’s role in milestone June WW2 events deserve deliberation: D-Day and South Pacific RAAF finale

June 2019 marks the 75th anniversary of major World War II events: the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy (6 June), and the last major WW2 air combat by the Royal Australian Air Force (3 June). Australian war historian and founder of Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours (battlefields.com.au), Mat McLachlan, provides insights.

 

“From a nation of around 7 million people, almost 1 million Australians - men and women - served in the Second World War, with the Australian Army, Navy and RAAF fighting as part of the Allied forces in both the Pacific against the Empire of Japan, and in Europe against Nazi Germany and the Axis Powers, ” said Mat McLachlan. “Over 39,000 Australian soldiers lost their lives during World War II, over 23,000 were wounded and around 30,000 were taken Prisoner of War.”

 

“Alongside young men, over 66,000 women enlisted to serve Australia, and over 3,000 Indigenous Australians. Thousands more worked in industries to drive forward the war effort,” Mat McLachlan added.

 

6 June 1944: around 3,300 Australians took part in the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy, France, in a successful bid by the Allied troops to create a new front to fight Nazi Germany and begin a drive that would end World War II in Europe.

“Australian airmen played a significant role in the D-Day landings with around 2,500 aircrew involved in fighter-bomb squadrons operating over the beaches to support the landings, and glider-towing squadrons delivering airborne troops. On the water, 500 Australian sailors served on Royal Navy vessels including battleships, torpedo boats and landing craft,” said Mat McLachlan.

 

“While the number of Australians involved in the D-Day landings appears a minor contribution to the 170,000 soldiers and 190,000 naval personnel mobilised for this action, the sacrifice of those who fought - particularly, the fourteen Australians who lost their lives on D-Day - deserves to be remembered,” Mat McLachlan added.

 

3 June 1944: around 1,400 kilometres north of Darwin off Biak Island in New Guinea, fifteen ‘Kittyhawk’ fighter aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Forces’ No 78 Squadron (formed at Camden, Sydney) ran into a force of Japanese aircraft, succeeding in shooting down ten enemy planes with the loss of one Australian plane and pilot. This was the final major conflict for the RAAF in the South Pacific during World War II.

 

“This finale for the RAAF in the Second World War was one of Australia’s greatest air-attack successes, taking down the highest number of enemy aircraft in one encounter in the South Pacific,” said Mat McLachlan.

 

“The anniversary of this action serves as an example of the major role Australia played in the Pacific during the Second World War, and a reminder of how close to home the war came - taking place less than two hours commercial jet flight time from the Australian mainland,” said Mat McLachlan. “What with the Second World War also seeing attacks on our mainland, including the Bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942, and the attack on Sydney Harbour by three midget submarines on 31 May 1942, this war truly affected all Australians,” he added.

 

“The Second World War is often recognised as the war that shaped modern Australia. It brought with it greater equality for women and Indigenous Australians, engineering and technical advancement, the strengthening of relationships with Britain and the United States, and post-war migration which enriched the multicultural society we enjoy today,” Mat McLachlan explained.  

 

Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours leads tours to all theatres of World War II, including Normandy, the South Pacific, and Darwin, Australia:

 

D-Day Landings in Normandy: 3 or 4 night tour from $734* per person twin share, 58 tours available with regular departures from September 2019 to October 2020

 

Visit all the D-Day landing beaches along the Normandy coastline as well as some of the most iconic D-Day locations, such as the site of the Pegasus Bridge glider landing, the bunkers at Juno Beach, and where the ‘Band of Brothers’ fought near St. Mère Eglise. 

 

Trek Kokoda: 10 night tour from $3850* per person twin share, 26 tours available with regular departure dates from June 2019 to October 2020

 

A pilgrimage that will immerse you in Australia’s South Pacific wartime history against the backdrop of the beautiful, rugged and at times harsh terrain of the Papua New Guinea jungle.

 

The Bombing of Darwin Anniversary Tour 5 day tour from $2099* per person twin share. One special anniversary tour: 16 to 20 February 2020

 

On 19 February 1942, World War II was brought to the shores of Australia when the Japanese dropped bombs over Darwin killing 235 people. Over the next 21 months, Darwin, Adelaide River, Katherine and Milingimbi in Arnhem Land were bombed 77 times. Take in key WW2 sites in Darwin while enjoying this tropical Australian city magnificently situated on the Arafura Sea.

 

*Refer to battlefields.com.au for full details of tour inclusions and exclusions.

 

ABOUT MAT MCLACHLAN

Mat McLachlan is a leading battlefield historian, author and guide who has spent more than two decades following in the footsteps of Australian troops around the world. He is considered a leading authority on the battlefields of the Western Front, Gallipoli, the Pacific battlefields of World War Two, the Vietnam War and the Normandy landing beaches.

 

His 2007 book, Walking with the Anzacs, is the definitive guide to Australian battlefields on the Western Front and has been reprinted seven times. Mat’s second book, Gallipoli: The Battlefield Guide, is the most comprehensive guide to the Australian battlefields of Gallipoli yet published.

 

Mat regularly appears in historical documentaries (Tony Robinson’s World War 1, Australia: Life on the Edge, Lost in Flanders), as well as on television and radio programs to discuss Australia’s wartime history, commemorative days (ANZAC DAY, Remembrance Day) and key battle anniversaries.

 

ABOUT MAT MCLACHLAN BATTLEFIELD TOURS

Australia’s leading specialist provider of battlefield tours, sending thousands of Australian travellers to battlefields all over the world each year. The company runs battlefield tours to France, Belgium, the UK, Gallipoli, Germany, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and more. All the company’s tours are personally designed by Mat McLachlan, and the company employs a team of more than 30 historians to escort them.

 

Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours is part of the touring division of McLachlan Travel Group, a family company that has been prominent in the Australian travel industry for more than 40 years.