Australia. Guide to Australia

When 1914 the war broke out, Labour Prime Minister of Australia Andrew Fisher promised to help Great Britain "to the last man and the last shilling". Australian troops have received the baptism of fire at Gallipoli (Italy) 25 April 1915. Since then, this day is celebrated as the day of commemoration of the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

After the evacuation of Gallipoli in December 1915 Australian troops were deployed to France. At the very end 1916 Labour Prime Minister W. M. Hughes acknowledged the need for the introduction of conscription. However, his political opponents forced a referendum on the issue, and the proposal was rejected by.

In 1917 Hughes formed a new war cabinet, consisting of five laborers, supported the proposal for compulsory military service, and of the six representatives of other parties. In defense of the proposal addressed only that formed the national party, but a second attempt to hold this act too couldn't succeed.

At the Versailles peace conference in Paris at the end of the war the Prime Minister Hughes represented Australia in quite an ultimatum and insisted on maximum reparations. Fearing the proximity of potential enemy, He demanded, to Australia was allowed to annex any land, it conquered during the war, and opposed suggestions, former German colonies who became territories. He had to agree to transfer Japan former German possessions in the Pacific Ocean North of the Equator.

Australia passed the management of the German part of Papua New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Northern Solomon Islands group. Hughes has actively opposed the proposal by Japan for the inclusion of the principle of racial equality in the Charter of the League of Nations.

Just war participated 332 тыс. Australians, из них погибло 59 тыс. After the war, Australia received a mandate for German New Guinea, the northern part of the Solomon Islands and the Bismarck Archipelago.