When was conscription introduced in australia ww2

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The scheme was criticised as being irrelevant to modern defence needs, and for being a drain on the Regular Army's finances and manpower. In the scheme was abolished.

National Service was re-introduced in , and in May the Coalition Government introduced new powers that enabled it to send national servicemen to serve overseas. From to , 15, national servicemen served in the Vietnam War, with killed and 1, wounded. Last updated: 15 November When the number of volunteers for the Australian Imperial Force AIF , which was serving overseas, began to wane, the Hughes Labor government held two referendums to introduce conscription for overseas service. The CMF stood at 80,, but it had a poor reputation and was under-equipped.

The Royal Australian Air Force had men, though it lacked effective aircraft. The Royal Australian Navy had regulars and though its ships were few — effectively two heavy cruisers and four light cruisers — they were relatively modern. On 20 October Menzies announced the reintroduction of compulsory military training, known as the Universal Service Scheme, with effect from 1 January Once again, there was to be no conscription for service beyond Australia and its territories.

Crucially, that included Australian territories in Papua and New Guinea. He was also opposed to overseas service, even for volunteers. National Savings Stamps poster, On to Victory , — National Museum of Australia.

At the same time, the government raised a new volunteer army for service overseas. This was the Second AIF. It was the result of a concerted recruitment campaign, though with unemployment being so high the government had little trouble filling the ranks.

In effect this created two armies. The first unit to be deployed was the 6th Division. About 15, men sailed in March Most of the men in the 8th Division would be taken into captivity when Singapore fell on 15 February In July the seven-month Kokoda Trail campaign began.

During the campaign, more than Australians were killed and some were wounded. Many members of the Australian Labor Party were strongly opposed to conscription for overseas service. However by late Curtin realised that with voluntary recruitment waning it was necessary to expand the limits of where the CMF could serve. However, the United States was aware that the CMF, which formed the bulk of Australian troops, were not legally able to fight beyond that point. Despite his earlier opposition to conscription for overseas service, at a special Labor Party federal conference in November Curtin argued that it was necessary to extend compulsory service in the theatre known as the South-West Pacific Zone.

While there was much debate about the conscription policy within his own party and in parliament, there was little public opposition.