USA help's Australia ?

I was wondering what you all thought if japan had not attacked USA but did invade Australia do you think the usa would come to the assitance of Australia ?

As it was during the war the british pulled back towards inda and the usa put a battle fleet in the coral sea(THANK GOD).

 

I think that yes the US would have come to the assistance of Australia.
I would think that Japan would have invaded the Philippines on it's way to invading Australia in this what-if since they greatly desired that chuck of land. Since they were still going to attack the Philippines they still needed to hit Pearl Harbor.
But after capturing the dutch east indies, bottling up the British and hitting the US i think that if Japan had launched a concerted attack to invade Australia the US would have launched some sort of relief units to help as soon as they could.

However realistically i don't think Japan had much desire to invade australia being that their motivation to go to war was simply the raw materials of the east indies area, china and india.

 

History pretty much shows that the Japanese-Sino war that started in the early 1930s saved Australia's bacon. The Japanese had drawn up plans to invade Australia but their continued war with China ate up their resources. Thus they did not have the capacity to continue their push south.

 

This is really a "what-if" question and belongs in that forum.

However, it seems very likely that the US would have stepped up to the defense of Australia even if Japan had not attacked the US directly. There were already US armed forces units in Australia before the outbreak of the Pacific war, as a result of US efforts to reinforce the Philippines. Further, the US had undertaken the defense of Australia when it became obvious that Britain was stretched too thin in Europe and North Africa to guarantee that defense.

I think it is beyond question that the US would have viewed a Japanese invasion of Australia as an intolerable intervention in the European war. Since the US was already committed to ensuring the survival of an independent Britain (of which Australia was viewed as a crucial factor), the US would have no choice but to come to the aid of Australia.

In the event, The US 41st. ID arrived in Australia in early April, 1942, and the US 32nd. ID arrived in May. During the early part of 1942, while Japanese forces edged closer and closer to Australia, numerous American combat and support units were sent to Australia, in a build-up that eventually precluded any Japanese move against the Australian mainland.

 

Hello,

The United States had no explicit, binding commitments in the Pacific to help Great Britain, the Dutch, or Australia prior to the war's outbreak. One of the chief causes for the chaos & failures of Allied leadership early on was directly due to these non-agreements...Even as late as December 5th 1941, the U.S. was waffling on commitments to the British at Singapore. The British in turn were waffling on commitments to the Dutch in the NEI, and the Australians--who had been worried since spring 1940 about a possible Japanese invasion of the continent--were quite understandably uncomfortable in every regard. But they had undertaken to supply troops for some East Indies posts; the various bird units (Gull, Sparrow, & Lark Forces) at Ambon, Timor, & Rabaul...

The first U.S. combat units to reach Northern Australia were merely passing through Darwin en route the NEI: the 2nd BN/131st Field Artillery Reg. TX National Guard, AKA "The Lost Battalion"--a very small force indeed--sent there as part of the so-called "Pensacola Convoy", and after Pearl Harbor, but the truth is N.A.T. was extremely vulnerable at the time, and for several months thereafter...Darwin being effectively destroyed as forward base on Feb. 19, 1942.

The fact of the matter is that the British, Dutch, and Australians all looked to the U.S. Pacific Fleet for support/deterrence before the war actually started, and the Pearl Harbor attacks altered that calculus dramatically.
The "short, unhappy life" of ABDA then resulted, with disastrous results, as we all know.

 

America would have been some assistance in this battle,so i would say yes America would come to aisd Austraila.
Briton had her hands tied up with the germans at this point,so would have liminted of aid to assist Australia with.

Anyways,if not America did not help,this could spell danger to America herself! Japan coques Australia,this would create airspace for Japan army and aircrafts and ships,plus the Japanese will have to countries to attack America from.

And i would think America would have figuerd this out and would not let this happend.

 

I seriously doubt that America would come to our aid, we had no treaty for such action if it did occur.

America had made the decision when she ruled out Military action on behalf of Britain had the Germans invaded them so why would they do it on behalf of Australia if in it's the Japanese bypass American territory.

v R

 

America would definately join the war had Australia been attacked. The Australians and the US people have always gotten along well and Australia has kind of always seen Britain has the parent country controlling and strict while the US has always kind of been the cooler and more freedom bound big brother. Australia has often tried to please both sides.

From a war point of view, If Australia was to fall, the US would have no where to spearhead there invasions in the pacifc since sooner or later the US was going to war eventually. They were already supplying the allies with materials and in some cases even men and equipment, and for Japan to declare war on the only Western Nation home country in the Pacific (Australia) US would have fought.

 

Slipdigit, To be honest i had totaly forgot i had made this thread, as it was made in November 11th, 2003, at 07:49 AM before the new rules

Since making this thread i think i would have to agree with everyone here that America in all likely hood would of come to the assistance of Australia.

I also think that an actual invasion would not of been as iminante as previously thought, And if it there was going to be any sort of landing i think it may have been just some raids trying to neutralize the port of Darwin, as the bulk of Australian and population and Industry was far to the south.

 

Hmmm - first of all a Japanese attack on Australia without attacks on the Philippines and/or East Indies is logistically impossible. Japan did not have the shipping capacity to lift and supply an army that far for its bases.
Even if they did, they would have to pass through Dutch or Phillippine waters who would hardly let them pass without interference.
And anyway Australia was not a worthwhile target unless you like lamb chops. In those days it was a vast empty land of a few million sun-burned people and zillions of sheep. The really big discoveries of gas and minerals did not occur until the 1950s/60s.
In the 1940s Australia was also a lot closer to Britain politically, legally and culturally. The UK Government would put huge pressure on the US to intervene, if only to keep the Australian and New Zealand divisions in North Africa a little longer.

 

yes, as Camz says, this thread was made 6 years ago! I am not sure why people revive such old threads!

 

What are the time limits on responding to old threads anyway? I've heard old crusty Rogues saying the same thing from time to time when an old thread is revived, but can't find where the rules for the use-by date listed anywhere. Seems to me, as long as the thread is relevent enough to generate genuine interest, it's fair game....

 

Assuming that the Japanese attacked Pearl harbour or any US force/Territory, Then Yes for sure, Thoe limited at first, If the By passed all US forces and Territorys then a ..Maybe... However i can almost garuntee the Yanks sending over ships loaded with supplies/equiptment to aid us

On the over hand, Japanese invading Australia, Ignoring the face that thy have no where near enought troops to occupy us, Seeing as were so bloody huge, There troops have no experiance with a climate like ours, Big a$$ hot sandy deserts, Rocky freezy cold snow covered mountains, Lot of bush land, And people that now it inside and out, Every Bushie/Aboroginal would become an overnight rebel, Plus the diggers just kick a$$

Would rather help by US then the UK, Stupid Churchill, Supposed to have been oh so great.. Look at Gallipoli in WW1 and Italy in WW2, Both his ideas and views, Both failed, Miserably.

 

Usually if a Thread has been dormant for 6 years, there is nothing more to contribute to it, and in a lot of cases, the OP has come and gone.

 

From my knowledge of Australia, isn't the vast majoirty of it empty? At least the whole Western half is a giant desert/Outback...and the majority of the population is on the East/North East Coast.

So, the theoretical Japanese Invasion would really only need to secure the few major Cities (5 major population centers at max) and up and down the coast. The 'interior' would be very hostile for anyone trying to live there - part of the reason there were never large numbers of Aborigines living in the Outback. You could basically ignore the Western Half of Australia for that matter too.

 

Slipdigit, Was talking about the Japanese forces, Not US, Sorry for not making that apperant. And Mussolini, Your understanding of Australia could use a little more work, There where lots of aboriginals in the 'middle of no where', They live off the land, And there where just as many bush men, Also able to live off the land, As with alot ofcountrys you have you main Urban centres, But there can be similar number of people in a city lliving spread out outside of it, Sure millions in the citys, But there hundreds of thousands outside in small communitys, armed and capable, I would be suprised if half the japanese vehicles made it into battle considering the wheather conditions in Australia.

 

Correct!
The whole of the Australian coast line is full of people,while the inner land is empty apart from Aborgines.
White man skin was not made for this heat.