The Reasons Why Australia Entered the Vietnam War

World war 2 started when Great Britain declared war on Germany In 1939. It ended in 1945. Almost one million Australians both men and women were involved in world war 2. On September 3rd 1939, Prime minister Robert Gordon Menzies announced that Australia will now be involved in world war 2. This was done after Australian land came under attack for the first time. Japanese aircrafts bombed towns North West Australia and Japanese submarines attacked Sydney Harbour. Australians fought in campaigns against Germany, Italy, The Mediterranean, North Africa, and Japan.

In the twentieth century after World War 2 the world was threatened by the takeover of communist that had begun to consume the globe. The Australian government identified that the fear ideology communism will take over the country if no actions were taken to stand against and stop it. The Australian government provided support and participated in several military conflicts during the Cold War to reduce the threat of communist around the world. However, the longest of Australia’s military engagement was the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975. Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War was mainly centred on its fear of the ‘Domino Theory’, and its relations with the U.S through the Foreign policy which involved the ‘Forward Defence’ policy. The

The US-Australian alliance requires some explanation. At its basis, it pertains to the ANZUS treaty signed between Australia, New Zealand, and the

In 1945, after World War II had finished, Australia finally felt at peace – that was until Communism began to have an effect on the entire world. Australia had a lot to fear, with the threat likely to infiltrate the country both domestically (an established Communist Party) and internationally (a geographical location close to countries that had already fallen victim to communism, such as China and Korea). Australia responded to both of these threats in a way that caused a lot of political controversy and has created bonds with other parts of the world that are still activated today.

World War Two saw many successful battles for Australia. In 1942, Australia’s foreign policy was changed so that Australian soldiers were only sent between the 110th and 159th meridians (Britannica, 2015). This restricted them to only battles against the Japanese, fighting for their nation’s wellbeing. These battles played a huge role in the destruction of the Japanese forces. Australia played a secondary role in the battle of Kokoda Trail, after America (Britannica, 2015). Conflicts such as this impacted Australia’s national identity

It is important to remember that for most of the period before full-scale war erupted in Vietnam, it was Australia who was pushing America into further involvement in the region. SEATO was eventually used by the Americans to justify their presence in Vietnam, but it was the Australians who actually tried to invoke SEATO first. In 1962 when they wanted to stop Indonesian aggression in western New Guinea, they asked America to become involved, but the US had diplomatic commitments with Indonesia as well as Australia and said no. This does not mean that the American alliances were not an important factor in Australia going to war. Australia had made itself essentially dependent on American help in the event of external aggression and that dependence had a price tag of involvement in American foreign policy. The plain and simple fact was that if Australia did not help America now, then America might not come to Australia in her hour of need, if it ever arose. So yes, Australia's relationship with America was an important factor in Australian

The Cold War era (1945-1989) was conflicted with the dominance of, overall, the two superpowers, the U.S.S.R and the U.S, with political and social ideology taking centre stage. Australia's involvement during this time, was paramount and reinstated its long term allegiance with the United States when entering South Vietnam. After WWII had finished, the Soviet Union showed aggression towards the U.S as the competition for world superiority began, and led to the capitalist/democratic nations particularly aligned with the United States fearing the spread of communism. Countries including Australia signed treaties and agreements to stop this regime and the only resolution, in the end, was war.Q

Defense is an ongoing major issue within Australia and our economic status. The government is committed to an equipped,

Australia first came involved in the Vietnam conflict in 1962 when the Australian Government sent a team of thirty army advisers to help train the South Vietnamese Army for its fight against the NLF guerrillas. At the same time a squadron of Royal Australian Air Force fighters were sent to nearby Thailand. While the alliance with the USA was becoming increasingly important, Australia still had strong ties with Britian. In January 1965, Australia sent an army of battalion to help Britain denfend newly independent Malaysia against border raids by Indonesia. Only three months later the Australian Prime Minister Menzies announced the commitment of another battalion to help the USA in

The Vietnam War occurred during 1962-1975, it was one of the longest war during the twentieth century which Australia had participated in. There were 60,000 personnel and that number grew from limited initial commitment of thirty advisors in 1962. In 1965 there was a battalion and a task force in 1966. There was an estimated of 3,269 casualties and 500 deaths. During that period of time, men from Australia that had turned twenty were required to register with the Department of Labour and National Services. If their name was drawn out of the ballot they were sent to two full years in continuous service for the army and three years of part-time duty.

As part of the build-up, the United States government requested further support from friendly countries in the region, including Australia. (The Australian War Memorial). This proves that the communist countries and the Viet Cong were too powerful for the US army and they needed help from neighbouring countries. The Australian War Memorial also states that in 1968, it began with a major offensive by the Viet Cong and North

During the Cold War Australia’s culture had been renewed by the many American troops that came to Australia. This factor influenced and strengthened Australia’s bond with the US. Similarly, during the Cold War Australia and New Zealand were geographically isolated meaning both countries were in need of support, at the same time the US needed help with the financial burden of the war. This meant both nations would benefit each other during this certain period. Also Australia as a whole wanted to guarantee the Americans support in the future. The Prime Minister at the time thought that by supporting the Americans, Australia would have stronger ties with the US, on the economic, political and military fronts. This played a vital role in impacting Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam

The answer can not be addressed simply. The ANZUS and SEATO treaty obligations were just two of the main reasons for Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Australians at the time saw communism as a huge threat, and had seen the domino effect it had had on other countries in the South East of Asia, and quickly came to the realisation that it would arrive at our doorstep in no time if we didn’t stop it before it came knocking. Australia also saw an opportunity to help the US, and thought that if we helped them now, then they would help us later, a type of “insurance policy” if you like. And lastly, the South Vietnamese Government (the capitalist part of the country) requested for Australia’s military assistance in its endeavours to fight communism (the USSR) in the northern half of the country. It was because of these main reasons that Robert Menzies decided to take action on behalf of Australia, saying; “…it is our judgment that the decision to commit a battalion in South Vietnam represents the most useful additional contribution which we can make to the defence of the region at this time. The

The main cause of the Vietnam War revolved around the simple belief held by America that communism was threatening to expand all over south-east Asia. Neither the Soviet Union or the United States could risk an all-out War against each other. Even though the Soviet Union and the USA could not risk an all-out War, they still fought against each other in the Vietnam War.

This article indicates Britain couldn’t provide assistance for Australia which was under threat by the Japanese despite Australia supplying its available resources to Britain which was in a desperate struggle to win against Nazi Germany (Mason, 2014 pg. 200). This was a significant issue for Australia as they saw Britain as their protector within Asia and counted on their strong military force which was weak in the Pacific due to the fall of Singapore as they were no longer able to use Singapore as a place for communication and supplies. This cartoon from the Daily Telegraph created towards the end of the fall of Singapore, corroborates with the newspaper quote above: