page_title: Military history of Australia during World War II
section_title: Britain and Western Europe
hierarchical_section_title: Military history of Australia during World War II / Britain and Western Europe
caption_attribution_description: English: AWM Caption: Pembroke Dock, Wales. A short Sunderland flying-boat of Coastal Command sets out on patrol. This particular aircraft is flown by No. 10 Squadron, RAAF, operating with the coastal command. The squadron is on the 9,000 flying mark during its sixteen months operational duty in the United Kingdom.
context_page_description: Australia entered World War II on 3 September 1939, following the government's acceptance of the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Nazi Germany. Australia later entered into a state of war with other members of the Axis powers, including the Kingdom of Italy on 11 June 1940, and the Empire of Japan on 9 December 1941. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and the South West Pacific theatre. In addition, Australia came under direct attack for the first time in its post-colonial history. Its casualties from enemy action during the war were 27,073 killed and 23,477 wounded.
  Australian Army units were gradually withdrawn from the Mediterranean and Europe following the outbreak of war with Japan. However, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy units and personnel continued to take part in the war against Germany and Italy. From 1942 until early 1944, Australian forces played a key role in the Pacific War, making up the majority of Allied strength throughout much of the fighting in the South West Pacific theatre.
context_section_description: While the majority of the Australian military fought on the Western Front in France during World War I, relatively few Australians fought in Europe during World War II. The RAAF, including thousands of Australians posted to British units, made a significant contribution to the strategic bombing of Germany and efforts to safeguard Allied shipping in the Atlantic. The other services made smaller contributions, with two Army brigades being briefly based in Britain in late 1940, and several of the RAN's warships serving in the Atlantic.
caption: A No. 10 Squadron Sunderland departing for a patrol over the Atlantic in 1941
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