Adelaide River War Cemetery
18 October 2019
Overview
The defence of Northern Australia
By late 1941, Darwin and the Northern Territory were assuming a role as a strategic base for defence forces and this role increased with the entry of Japan into the Second World War on 7 December 1941. By early 1942 the Territory was used for deploying American and Allied forces to the Dutch East Indies (now known as Indonesia).
American bombers operated from Batchelor and US artillery units were bolstered by various units of the Australian Army. The Royal Australian Navy increased its presence and was instrumental in sinking a Japanese submarine north of Darwin on 20 December 1941.
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