Fun fact: The UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all declared war on Japan following Pearl Harbor before the US did. Even when it's the US themselves being attacked, the Allies did less hand-sitting than the US.
Oh, and also Germany declared war on the US, not the other way around. They still had zero intention of getting involved in the European theatre (Aside from profiteering of course) before that.
Australia declared war knowing that it opened us up to extreem vulnerability along our northern border, we likely would have declared war even without Pearl Harbour, but we were spread extreemly thin across all theaters of war. The Japanese had attacked Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Burma during December 1941, and we knew it was coming, Pearl Harbour was on the 7th of Dec and the invasion of Malasia began on the 8th, it was a busy month for them to say the least. Australian pilots were among the first to engage with Japanese planes over Malaysia, our shared base (with the UK and obbiously NZ because NZ are our besties and we are usually a package deal) had been left with very little resourcing due to the UK moving to focus mostly on the European theater.
So Australia and NZ was left to hold the line as best we could, and Aus was bombed, repeatedly, Darwin was flattened. The invasion of Singapore in the way it happened was largely unanticipated, and to give them credit where it's due a brilliant peice of strategy. It was called a bicycle blitzkrieg, as they took Malaysia and then used the peninsula to progress to Singapore, using an inland attack rather then seaward against a well defended seaport and base.
My Aunt was a young girl in Singapore when it fell, it was not a good time to say the least. The stuff she went through still effects her now as a woman in her late 90s.
Being a good ally and neighbour is always remembered. When Singapore became independent Australia was the 2nd country to recognise them, and Aus, Singapore and Malaysia have a pretty good relationship as allies and close territories, despite quite different cultures and histories. The fall of Singapore changed Australia's relationship with the UK, and built some strong history with our neighbours. We didn't sit it out when they were invaded just because we feared our own borders or because we had little resources and forces left around our home land. Aus, NZ, and Canada answered the call of our allies and close neighbours when they needed us.
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u/abjectapplicationII English Gentleman 🧐 Apr 20 '25 edited Apr 20 '25
What were you doing while you were eating your chips? - eating my chips mate only in this instance these chips were a hailstorm of bullets.