On our doorstep
Subtitle: when Australia faced the threat of invasion by the Japanese
By: Craig Collie
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2020
Place of publication: Crows Nest, NSW
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9781761060144
Copyright date: 2020
Subjects: World War, 1939-1945; Campaigns; Aerial Bombing; Guerre mondiale, 1939-1945; Aspect social; Campagnes et batailles; Bombardement aérien; Social aspects; Military campaigns
Description: "I can't understand the mentality of the Australian people. One day they are in a panic about the war and the next they want more race meetings.' - John Curtin By March 1942, the Japanese had steamrolled through Malaya, laid siege to Singapore, and bombed Darwin with the same ferocity they had dealt Pearl Harbor. Nothing could stop them. Their next step was inevitable, surely: the invasion and occupation of Australia. Meanwhile, as Australian prime minister John Curtin was battling with Winston Churchill to get troops back from overseas to defend their homeland, he was also positioning to ensure the United States would be there with us to fend off the approaching enemy. And at home, people pitched in as best they could and in any way to frustrate the invader. They all played their part, torn between 'she'll be right' and near panic. On Our Doorstep is the story of how Australia and Australians - the government, the military and the people - prepared to face this calamity, and the events that persuaded them of its probability. In the end, Japan found it had stretched itself beyond the reliability of its supply line, but had it ever intended to invade Australia?"--Publisher description
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index
Table of contents: title: Acronyms; title: Maps; title: Grazing gazelles; title: Unstoppable; title: Gibraltar of the East; title: Frontier town; title: Great and powerful friends; title: Home fires burning; title: Expendable; title: Watchers of the north; title: Night of the midgets; title: The turning tide; title: The invasion of Australia; title: Acknowledgements; title: Notes; title: Bibliography; title: Index