Quote:
Originally Posted by Mohoender
Without US, Australia would have been crushed by Japan...
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While the USA certainly made a difference in the region, I would dispute that Australia would have been crushed by the Japanese without the US. Trying to put aside any "Aussie pride", the Japanese were probably spread too thin to effectively damage Australia's ability to wage war and they would certainly have had a difficult time trying to invade mainland Australia.
We held our own more so because of our distance and isolation as well as being completely self-sufficient in primary resources (along with setting up our own aircraft and vehicle manufacture even to the point of designing and building our own medium tank, the Sentinel).
Where the US aid was really felt was in the
mass supply of aircraft and tanks, something which our own facilities could not match and something which was more effective than the supply of such items to Australia from Great Britain (who arguably needed them for the war in Europe).
I for one am thoroughly sick to death of hearing how the US saved our arse in WW2 because it is simply not that simple and most certainly isn't correct when stated in such simplistic terms.
Okay, my rant is over now