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Member of the Melbourne University Rifles"World War I broke out during the years when Menzies was pursuing the law course at Melbourne University. It was considered at the time a fair thing if two boys out of a family of four went to the war. Menzies's two elder brothers enlisted and went overseas after a family conference in which it was agreed that Menzies should not enlist but should complete his law course. Compulsory military training within Australia was then in operation and Menzies had become a lieutenant in the Citizen Forces. He continued to hold this commission until his period of compulsory service ended on his attaining the age limit." · |
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August: Australia joins Britain in the war effort. Britain controls Australia's
foreign relations and defence. By war's end, more than 320,000 Australians
enlisted and served overseas of whom over 60,000 were killed. Fisher Government,
September 17. HMAS Sydney
cripples the German raider Emden. Armed forces
capture the German colony of New Guinea. |
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July: Concerned about Russian expansion, Turkey signs a secret defensive
alliance with Germany. August: World
War I begins after Germany declares war on Russia and France then invades
neutral Belgium on August 4 to attack France. On the same day Britain
declares war on Germany. Lord Kitchener
begins a very successful recruiting campaign for men to join the British
Army with 33,000 men joining every day. August 26: German
forces defeat 150,000 Russian troops at the Battle of Tannenberg on the
Eastern Front. The Germans lose 20,000 men in the battle and take over
92,000 Russian prisoners; only 10,000 manage to escape. News of the Russian
defeat is kept from the British public. September: Battle
of the Marne - with the Allied forces in retreat and the German Army advancing
to encircle Paris, the French government moves to Bordeaux. On September
6 the French and British armies advance and divide the German forces.
Three days later, unable to break through the Allied lines, the Battle
of the Marne is over. The French suffer 250,000 casualties, Germany a
similar number, and Britain loses 12,733 men during the battle. October 29:
Turkey and Germany launch an attack on Russian Navy bases in the Black
Sea. Turkey declares its alliance and that it is at war with Russia, France
and Britain. Irish Home Rule
Act provides for a separate Parliament in Ireland. The Panama Canal
is opened. It had taken 10 years to construct. Marconi sends
wireless telephone messages between Italian ships 80k apart. Chaplin and
de Mille make their first films. |
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