ipl-logo

Sydney Korgan Case Study

1933 Words8 Pages

Background 1. HMAS Sydney sank on 19 November 1941, after engagement with HSK Kormoran, a disguised German raider as a Dutch merchant vessel off the coast of Western Australia (Bathgate, 2007). All 645 members of her crew were lost whilst the Kormoran lost 81 members of its 399 crew (Royal Australian Navy, n.d.). The lack of clarity of the events surrounding the engagement has resulted in conspiracy and controversy towards the actions of Sydney, with the addition of the unknown location of both vessels until 2008. Sydney is the greatest maritime disaster in Australian history. (Affairs, 1999) Aim 2. To investigate the actions of the Sydney and Kormoran towards each other and how they effected the overall outcome. The analysis of the strategic …show more content…

From the accounts of the crew of the Kormoran and the damage of the wreck of Kormoran which was found in 2008, it is clear that the crew continued to fight even after communication was lost with the bridge. The crew of Sydney was highly trained, being praised for actions in battle especially in the sinking if the Italian destroyer Espero (Royal Australian Navy, n.d.). Thus, Sydney would have been able to bring themselves to action stations for each individual department without the usual reliance on the executive branch. For the damage that was inflicted on the Kormoran to cause her to sink would be only possible if continued to fight even with critical damage and beginning to sink. Throughout a battle Sydney's crew had three main objectives; fighting the enemy ship, coping with floods and fighting fires. The training the crew had practised before would have meant that would have worked frantically on these 3 objectives rather than self preservation. Even though these actions resulted in Sydney's crew to unable abandon ship as there was no direct order to evacuate and resilience of Sydney would have trapped a majority of the crew inside the hull. It is miraculous that the crew of Sydney was able to continue fighting for long and inflict the amount of damage on the Kormoran even with a surprise attack, proving the resilience of its crew. (Lewis,

Show More
Related

How Did Kokoda Invade Australia

1166 Words | 5 Pages

The Battle of Kokoda was a Japanese attempt to isolate Australia from their allies of the US so that they could not use their resources and weaponry. Kokoda was a direct result of other failed attempts by the Japanese for example, the Battle of Coral Sea. Kokoda gave the Australian military the opportunity to fight a forward defensive battle on foreign soil rather than an attempt to repel an enemy from its sovereign soil, within its victory it assisted in improving the moral of both the soldiers and its citizenry by providing a much needed victory that showed the Japanese could be defeated. Additionally, it was the first occasion where the new alliance between the Australian and American forces was tested and with this the alliance was cemented not only for world war to but continuing to present

Read More

What Were The Short And Long Term Consequences Of Kokoda

794 Words | 4 Pages

This weakened Australia’s ties with Great Britain making Australia more independent. This was also the first time Australia had to defend itself from a foreign invasion. After the Kokoda campaign, Australian soldiers and citizens also gained various qualities such as persistence, courage, endurance, mateship, and sacrifice. Therefore, the Kokoda campaign caused many short-term and long-term consequences for

Read More

How Did Rationing Regulations Affect Australia In 1942

456 Words | 2 Pages

Australia and allies lost 900 people, 77 aircraft and a load of ships. Facilities were destroyed and the Japanese lost around 131 planes during the attacks. Australians were terrified that the Japanese would invade or attack more areas. You could feel the uneasiness of

Read More

How Did The Kokoda Trail Affect Australian Soldiers

602 Words | 3 Pages

The Kokoda Campaign was a series of events fought between Australian and Japanese soldiers. It was one of the most difficult, yet important campaigns for Australian soldiers. The campaign had a high-level impact on the physical and mental health of soldiers who fought in it. This essay will convey key information from sources that explore different aspects of the Kokoda Campaign.

Read More

Factors That Led To The Switch In Australia During Ww2

751 Words | 4 Pages

Impacts in, and on Australia were felt almost instantly, and can still be noted in today's modern society where the relationships between Australia and the United Kingdom, and Australia and America are fortified internationally. Prior to World War Two, Australia was apart of the British commonwealth, and still is today, but during the war, Australia was at great risk because of it's geographical location. Many felt that support from the British was scarce, and as the Japanese continued fighting in the Pacific, the risk of attack on Australia was imminent. This was shown by the infamous bombing of Darwin on the 19th of February 1942. Source 1 shows a map of Japanese occupied areas in the Pacific at it's peak.

Read More

The Significance Of The Kokoda Campaign

921 Words | 4 Pages

Each individual soldier demonstrated exception courage when fighting the Japanese, truly displaying that the Anzac Spirit was very much alive within the Australian troops at Kokoda. The Australian troops at Kokoda fought courageously for the freedom of their country. Everyday they confronted obstacles and experienced frightening situations but they did not budge, everything they did was courageous fighting the Japanese to saving their own men. Brigadier A.W. Potts was a man whose fortitude, courage and inspirational ability to Australian troops inspired many others to save Port Moresby from being taken by the Japanese. An incoming battle from the north of the track was minutes from attacking the site Brigadier was stationed at.

Read More

Kokoda Trail Essay

1039 Words | 5 Pages

This was so important for the Pacific war as it marked the first time that the Japanese had been stopped in their advance across the pacific and stopped the Japanese from capturing Port Moresby. If the Japanese were able to successfully capture Port Moresby, then it would have put Australia at risk as the Japanese could have then invaded or attacked Australia. The Kokoda campaign is also significant for its use of military tactics that As significant as the Kokoda campaign was for the Pacific War, there was also many other campaigns and battles that were also extremely significant such as the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Siege of Tobruk, the Battle of Milne Bay, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, and the Battle of Guadalcanal all of which were only a few of the many important battles that helped the success and safety of Australia and were vital to the allies attempt to overtake the axis powers. While, these battles the Australians were involved with were extremely helpful and vital to the Australians success in the war but the Kokoda campaign was significant in its own way for its use of military tactics such as jungle warfare and fire and movement where one of the group makes their way toward the enemy while another fires, to keep the enemy distracted and it saved Australia from being

Read More

Kokoda Disaster

515 Words | 3 Pages

To what extent was the Battle for Kokoda a Disaster? To a small extent the Battle of Kokoda was a disaster. While there were some disastrous aspects of the campaign, the overall success of the campaign shows that it was not a disaster, but a victory. During the first part of the campaign, admittedly, the Australians made some mistakes, but some mistakes don’t equal a disaster, especially once the odds turned in their favour in the second part of their campaign.

Read More

Why 1917 Was The Worst Year Of Ww1

1687 Words | 7 Pages

World War 1 was a devastating period for Australia and Australian’s alike. It was the costliest conflict that Australia has participated in throughout its history, with casualties, both fatal and non-fatal, one of the largest on a per capita basis of the allied nations. 1917 was an arduous year and has been described as “the worst year of the Great War”. There are many reasons why 1917 was a difficult year for all Australians but also why it was not “the worst year of the Great War”. Australian troops, all volunteers, were tough, brave and highly valued in the war.

Read More

Essay On Australia's Response To Ww2

834 Words | 4 Pages

Australia’s experiences of World War II were significant for Australia and impacted on the shaping of our national identity. Australia 's response to entry into World War II in 1939 differed from Australia 's entry into World War I in 1914. Reasons for this includes attitudes towards war changing after gaining the knowledge and experiencing consequences of World War I, the conditions and lead up to World War II as well as Australia’s strong support for Britain. Firstly, the attitude of Australians changed due to World War 3I proving that war was not glamourous or exciting like it was assumed. During the lead up to World War II Australians had already struggled to survive through the depression and were now required to survive at war.

Read More

Battle Of Fromelles Essay

857 Words | 4 Pages

However, even with this in mind, the battle was a significant one, for both good and bad reasons, and this cannot be denied. Through the sheer number of soldiers lost, all the way to the depiction of the Australian spirit in preserving the memories of these men, it is clear that the battle served a purpose, in the

Read More

Battle Of Long Tan Essay

983 Words | 4 Pages

Although there were a number of Australian casualties, in relation to the Viet-Cong troops, Australia had a lot less. “There were 18 Australians killed - 17 from D Company and one from the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron - and 21 wounded.” As seen through source B, the efforts of the Australian troops are reflective of the number of casualties, in relation to the number they were fighting against, being up to two thousand, five hundred

Read More

Second World War's Effects On Australian People Essay

788 Words | 4 Pages

Not only the war had a massive effect on the Indigenous in Australia, The war was a huge boom to the Australian economy and as it turned out another massive factor. As many Australian fundamental products were purchased as could be produced, and secondary, subsidiary industries manufactured many ‘modern’ items for the services. Many men and women retired and fled their careers to accompany the armed forces leading to a ‘deficit’ of labour. New commerce and businesses need to have been created to fund the troops with combat weapons, uniforms and ammunition. Scarce goods needed to be controlled by the Australian Government in enhancing better buying and selling and in ensuring that everyone received a fair share.

Read More

What Are The Causes Of Migration To Australia

802 Words | 4 Pages

The Australian population was very vulnerable from the World War II Japanese attacks. During 1941, the Japanese bombed Darwin and caused a lot of damage. It was later discovered that there were two Japanese submarines were hiding in the Sydney Harbor. Australia felt like it needed more people to

Read More

Why Did The Us Enter World War 1 Essay

703 Words | 3 Pages

On June 15th, The Board of Trade investigated on the ships sinking concluding that the ship was unarmed by German forces during

Read More

More about Sydney Korgan Case Study

Related Topics

Open Document