That was not known at the time, but it did not stop your socialist union mates from stabbing Australia in the back at a time when everybody believed that we would get invaded. My own grandfather told my mother and her sister that he was going to shoot both of them when the Japs came. Everybody knew what happened to young women if they fell into the hands of the Japanese.Briney wrote
Australia was never under direct threat.
What complete and utter malarky. The Japanese aim was to take Port Moresby and Milne Bay, which would allow them to dominate the entire north of Australia with their air force. The Japanese Navy moved into the Solomons to establish air bases which would have cut Australia completely off from the USA. Port Moresby was saved by the Australians on the Kokoda Track and the US Navy in the battle of the Coral Sea. Thank you USA, we are your friends forever. The Japanese Milne Bay invasion force was beaten back by Australian and US troops fighting together. But as Cal Holbecht noted in his book, the whole Milne Bay battle might have been avoided had the Australian wharfies loaded the 155mm "Long Tom" artillery which Macarthur had given to the Australian Army artillerymen bound for Milne Bay. These guns could have made it impossible for the Japanese to land, and may even have sunk the invasion force transports and damaged their escorts.Briney wrote
The Japanese made no move towards Australia.
That battle was a costly one in terms of Australian lives lost, and it might have been completely avoided if the wharfies had loaded the guns. It is as close to outright treason during wartime that I have ever read about. But I can understand how you would defend those traitors as your own sympathies seem to point that way.
They almost took Milne Bay because of the treason committed by your union mates, which you are trying to find excuses for. Shame on you.Briney wrote
The closest they came was East Timor, a Portuguese colony which we invaded first, illegally.
As for refusing to own up that the Australian 'Army" is bankrupt, I'll treat that opinion with the contempt it deserves. An 'Army consists of two or more corps. A corps consists of two or more divisions. Australia's division sized infantry force is not an "Army" at all. Calling the Australian Army an 'Army" is a complete misnomer.Briney wrote
As for the Australian Army being bankrupt, I'll treat that comment with the contempt it deserves.