Since 1950, together with New Zealand, Australia has joined the Anglo-American Treaty, then the ANZUS military bloc to prevent the development of the socialist system, against the national liberation movement in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. On May 24, 1962, the Australian Defense Minister announced the intention of the Australian Government to send 30 military advisers to South Vietnam.
On April 23, 1964, US President Johnson officially launched the campaign "More flags", calling on allied countries to support the US policy of "internationalization" of the Vietnam War by providing aid to the US. and sent troops to South Vietnam. On June 8, 1964, the Australian Department of Defense announced that it would increase its forces in South Vietnam.
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Number of Australian army in 7 years of war in Vietnam:
On October 22, 1965, hundreds of thousands of Sydneysiders took to the streets to protest against the war, against the Australian government sending ground forces to directly fight in South Vietnam. 65 people in the protest group were detained by Australian authorities. Also during this time, according to a survey report by the Gallup Institute - Australia, only 56% of Australians supported the war of the US and its allies in Vietnam.
On December 16, 1969, more than 200 sales staff and 32 labor union leaders representing more than 1.5 million Australian voters passed a resolution opposing Australian military involvement in the Vietnam War. Male. Along with the above resolution, they also issued another resolution calling on Australian troops in South Vietnam to drop their guns and refuse to fight. The next day, the Secretary of the Australian Chamber of Commerce criticized the resolution, calling it "calls for rebellion".
To appease public opinion and opposition forces, also on December 16, 1969, the Australian Prime Minister gave a televised speech in which he announced plans to reduce the number of troops participating in the war in South Vietnam. in the year 1970.
To protest against the indecision of the Australian Government in the matter of withdrawing troops from South Vietnam, on May 8, 1970, more than 70,000 people held a large protest in the City of Melbourne. In other cities, there were also protests against the Vietnam War. The number of people participating in the protest reached 120,000 people.
After more than 4 years of being assigned by the US to "pacify" at Long Dat - Ba Ria, more than 2 Australian battalions stationed here suffered heavy losses. The progressive public opinion in the country and the Australian Parliament strongly condemned the belligerent faction in the Government who had pushed many young Australians to their unjustified deaths. The defeats on the Ba Ria battlefield, plus the pressure of domestic public opinion, forced the Australian Government to "de-escalate". Speaking on television at 20:30 on August 18, 1971, Australian Prime Minister William McMahon officially announced to the National Assembly the decision to withdraw all Australian combat forces from South Vietnam, starting from December 1971. The last logistics unit of the Australian army left Vung Tau and returned home on March 5, 1972. On December 8, 1972, the 150 man advisory team holding a training role withdrew from South Vietnam, ending the Australian army's combat role in Vietnam.
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Protests in support of Vietnam - Sydney, Australia, December 15, 1969.
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People in Adelaide, Australia protest against the government sending troops to Vietnam, October 1968.
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Youth in Sydney Harbor protest against the Australian government forcing young people to join the army during the US war of aggression in Vietnam, 1966.