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Australia in World War 2

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 11mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

On the 3rd September 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced ...

a)

That Australia would be joining the United States to fight in the Pacific

b)

That Australia would be fighting Italy in North Africa

c)

That Australia would be sending troops to Singapore and Malaya

d)

That because Britain was at war, Australia too was at war with Germany

2.

Four days after Allied troops surrendered at Singapore, what significant event occurred?

a)

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour

b)

The Japanese attack on Darwin

c)

The Battle of the Coral Sea

d)

The Battle of Kokoda

3.

Which places did Australian troops fight in during WW2? [Can be more than one]

a)

Greece

b)

Italy

c)

Libya

d)

Palestine

4.

After the fall of Singapore, Prime Minister John Curtin made what dramatic change in Australian foreign policy?

a)

He decided to invade New Zealand

b)

That Australia should pull out of fighting and become neutral.

c)

That Australia would align itself to the United States to fight the Japanese in the Pacific

d)

That Australian troops should fight to defend British colonies like Burma and India.

5.

When Allied troops surrendered to the Japanese at Singapore, how many Australian soldiers became prisoners of war?

a)

7,500

b)

15,000

c)

30,000

d)

60,000

6.

The Battle of Kokoda occurred in which Australian territory?

a)

Timor

b)

Malaya

c)

Christmas Island

d)

New Guinea

7.

Australian troops stopped the Japanese advance along the Kokoda track before which city?

a)

Cairns

b)

Jakarta

c)

Port Moresby

d)

Gona

8.

Which Asian nations did Australian troops fight in? [Can choose more than one]

a)

Malaya

b)

Japan

c)

Philippines

d)

New Guinea

9.

Which Royal Australian Navy ship was sunk off the coast of Geraldton with the loss of all crew on board by the German raider Kormoran?

a)

HMAS Sydney

b)

HMAS Perth

c)

HMAS Canberra

d)

HMAS Wangaratta

10.

Australian troops fighting in the Pacific were under the overall command of which American military commander?

a)

Admiral Chester Nimitz

b)

General Ulysses S. Grant

c)

General Douglas MacArthur

d)

General Dwight Eisenhower

11.

What happened to German, Italian and Japanese migrants in Australia during WW2?

a)

They were deported immediately

b)

They were detained in internment camps

c)

They were recruited to spy on Axis countries

d)

Nothing

12.

Why was the issue of conscription so difficult for Curtin's Labor government during WW2? [can choose more than one]

a)

Because Curtin himself had been imprisoned during WW1 for opposing conscription

b)

Because they already had too many men volunteering to join the armed forces

c)

Because the Labor party had torn itself apart over the issue of conscription in WW1

d)

Because Australian were so divided over the issue of conscription during WW2

13.

Which of the Curtin government's wartime controls would have helped ensure that hardships caused by the war were equally shared?

a)

censorship of the news

b)

requiring factories to manufacture war materials

c)

control of banks and shipping

d)

rationing of food and essential goods

14.

How did the Curtin government seek to thwart foreign spies and boost morale at home?

a)

censorship of the news

b)

requiring factories to manufacture war materials

c)

controls of banks and shipping

d)

rationing of food and essential goods

15.

By 1942, how many Australian women were working in industries such as munitions, ship building and aircraft manufacture?

a)

125,000

b)

250,000

c)

500,000

d)

1,000,000

16.

What was the main role of the Australian Women's Land Army?

a)

To guard Japanese prisoners of war

b)

To monitor the coasts for signs of enemy activity

c)

To fill the shortfall in rural labour due to the war

d)

To fight the enemy if they invaded Australian territory

17.

Which of the following was NOT a military service which Australian women served in?

a)

Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force

b)

Australian Women's Land Army

c)

Women's Royal Australian Naval Service

d)

Australian Women's Army Service

18.

Which of the following conditions did Australian nurses serving in New Guinea NOT have to deal with?

a)

being close to the front line of fighting

b)

primitive medicines

c)

poisonous gas attacks

d)

having up to 2500 patients per month

19.

Apart from bombing of northern towns, what Japanese initiative caused fear in Australia?

a)

the fall of Port Moresby

b)

Japanese attacks on Australian coastal islands

c)

air raids on Brisbane

d)

submarine attacks on Sydney and Newcastle

20.

Which Axis nation were Australian troops fighting in Crete and Egypt?

a)

Italian

b)

Japanese

c)

German

d)

Russian