WW1+why+Australia+went+to+war

Type in the content of your page here. =Why Australia followed Britain to fight in WW1= · Australia was still a very young nation in 1914, · Federation only 13 years earlier in 1901. · Geographically isolated from the long-standing conflicts between many of the European nations · Despite Australia's not being directly involved with the tensions which brought about the declaration of war, · Australians soon found themselves playing an important role in what was thought to be 'the war to end all wars.

· to ensure the protection and security of the British Empire, Britain put aside her previous conflicts of interest with the · French and Russian empires and signed agreements.

· agreements required the reciprocal support of all parties in the event of an attack from the German Empire or her allies.

· Australia was still a member of the British Empire. This meant that when Britain declared war on 4 August 1914 not only were the French
· and Russian empires compelled to join the British, but Australia also found herself at war.

· the then-Labor leader, Andrew Fisher, who assured that 'Australians will stand beside our own to help and defend her to our last man and our last shilling


 * The peoples reaction**

· Although Australia was constitutionally bound to the British Empire, the Australian people themselves reacted to the outbreak of war in an unprecedented manner of enthusiasm · hey had a natural, strong sense of patriotism and loyalty to their 'mother country.' · With ninety percent of Australians having a British background and with many aspects of life, including law and education, being modelled on the British system · Australians had such a tremendous amount of pride for their king and country · Belief the British Empire was superior to other races · resulted in feelings of animosity towards other nations · a hatred of anything related to Germany became apparent in Australian society · it is not surprising that volunteers made up the main expeditionary force in the Australian Army in World War I. · Initially, Australia's contribution to the war was going to be 20 000 men.


 * Naïve Views**
 * · The reason for such an expeditious response from the Australians was that, along with many other nations,
 * they also naively thought that the War would be over before they had a chance to be a part of it


 * · Through the media, popular books and education in schools, war was generally perceived as being quick and effective battles.
 * · People at the time thought the War would be over in six weeks when in fact it would take four years


 * Through the media, popular books and education in schools, war was generally perceived as being quick and effective battles. People at the time thought the War would be over in six weeks when in fact it would take four years