Conscription in World War 2
The Militia
Analyse the effectiveness of conscription in World War 2.
During World War 2, the right of free speech and the right not to serve outside the country that was present during World War 1 was removed. At the outbreak of World War 2, the Australian Government had the power to conscript men for defense purposes, forming the militia.
The militia is a group of civilians (conscripts) that are enrolled and trained for military purposes. During non-emergency times, they undertake drills and exercise/training and in times of emergency, they are called in to fight and defend.
Under Prime Minister Menzies, the federal government had the power to conscript men into the Citizens Military Force (CMF), but could not force them to serve overseas - Papua New Guinea, however, was an exception. When John Curtin had come into power in 1941, Japan was preparing to advance in the Pacific.
During World War 2, the right of free speech and the right not to serve outside the country that was present during World War 1 was removed. At the outbreak of World War 2, the Australian Government had the power to conscript men for defense purposes, forming the militia.
The militia is a group of civilians (conscripts) that are enrolled and trained for military purposes. During non-emergency times, they undertake drills and exercise/training and in times of emergency, they are called in to fight and defend.
Under Prime Minister Menzies, the federal government had the power to conscript men into the Citizens Military Force (CMF), but could not force them to serve overseas - Papua New Guinea, however, was an exception. When John Curtin had come into power in 1941, Japan was preparing to advance in the Pacific.
Australianea
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On the 19th of February, the Japanese landed on New Guinea. During this time, the bombings on Darwin also occured and the invasion and attack of Sydney Harbour and Sydney's eastern suburbs by Japanese midget submarines followed.
Due to this events, the Australian Government strategically decided to send the militia to New Guinea to defend Australia before the Japanese were able to reach Australia.The government was able to send the conscripts to fight in New Guinea was the eastern part of New Guinea during World War 2 was a mandate of Australia and therefore considered Australia soil. This decision to send Australian troops to fight the Japanese at New Guinea proved to be effective as the Australian troops succeeded in their aim, Although Australia was ill equipped - its trained soldiers fighting in Africa or the Middle East or captured as prisoners of war - they managed to recapture Kokoda after various battles with the help of some experienced officers joining the inexperienced troops. |
Conscription - The compulsory enrollment of civilians for service in the armed forces.
Evaluate the need for conscription.
During World War 2, the issue concerning conscription had arisen once again cause public debate. In November of 1942, the Prime Minister at the time, John Curtin, argued at a special Federal Conference of the labor party that conscription was necessary for the war effort to compel service in the South-West Pacific Area - this area was comprised of Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines and the Netherlands West Indies. The bill, this time, was passed on the 19th of February 1943 despite opposition and the government to send conexperiences of World War 1, script troops serve in Australia, all of the island in New Guinea and adjacent island - the South-West Pacific Zone.
Conscription may be of great use when in times of emergency and in this case proven to be effective, however, soldiers that are forced to fight or sacrifice their life against their own will against voluntary troops - who would have received more training and were eager to fight in the war - would result in a loss. Luckily for the CMF, some experienced soldiers were able to assist them during the defense of New Guinea and that the Japanese soldiers that they were fighting were also conscripted and forced to fight for the beliefs of their government and country.
Due to recounts of the experiences of soldiers during and after World War 1, more and more Australians were reluctant to join the army to fight overseas during World War 2, meaning that whilst the voluntary troops were fighting overseas, there were no trained troops back at home to protect Australia. Conscription may be necessary to train civilians in the case that the voluntary force - which would be willing to fight - is unable to protect Australia when it is under threat as seen in World War 2.
Conscription may be of great use when in times of emergency and in this case proven to be effective, however, soldiers that are forced to fight or sacrifice their life against their own will against voluntary troops - who would have received more training and were eager to fight in the war - would result in a loss. Luckily for the CMF, some experienced soldiers were able to assist them during the defense of New Guinea and that the Japanese soldiers that they were fighting were also conscripted and forced to fight for the beliefs of their government and country.
Due to recounts of the experiences of soldiers during and after World War 1, more and more Australians were reluctant to join the army to fight overseas during World War 2, meaning that whilst the voluntary troops were fighting overseas, there were no trained troops back at home to protect Australia. Conscription may be necessary to train civilians in the case that the voluntary force - which would be willing to fight - is unable to protect Australia when it is under threat as seen in World War 2.