Welcome to the first episode of the Australian War history podcast. In this episode, we look at our interest in military history, briefly cover the storm clouds building in Europe after the German blitzkrieg batters Poland on September 1, 1939, the total unpreparedness of the Australian armed forces, the genesis of 2nd 2nd Independent Company, its training at Wilson’s Promontory and Katherine, their journey to Darwin and eventually Timor.

S01E01 - Timor - The Beginning

This podcast is about Australian War History. In the first series, we cover the Japanese push down the Malaysian Peninsula into Timor. Here Australian forces combined with others stopped the Japanese juggernaut, which no other armed force had done up until that point. 

The Special Air Service (SAS) regiment stationed at Campbell Barracks, Perth is widely regarded as one of the world's top elite fighting forces. Its beginnings can be traced back to a little known but significant campaign fought in Timor during World War Two. The 2nd/2nd Independent Company, set up in 1941, comprised highly skilled, tough and resourceful volunteers from Australia's armed forces. They were trained at Wilson's Promontory in Victoria and sent to Timor prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

In the mountains surrounding Dili, the capital of Timor, they formed small guerrilla units of 4-5 men and attacked Japanese forces who invaded the island on February 19, 1942, the same day that Darwin was bombed. They (300 men) managed to keep an invasion force of 13000 Japanese at bay. In the year they were on the island, they lost only forty of their own but they managed to kill 1600 enemy soldiers. Their exploits resonate favourably with our campaigns in Gallipoli, Kokoda and Long Tan. They stand tall in the pantheon of Australian military history.

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This podcast is about Australian War History. In the first series, we cover the Japanese push down the Malaysian Peninsula into Timor. Here Australian forces combined with others stopped the Japanese juggernaut, which no other armed force had done up until that point. The Special Air Service (SAS) regiment stationed at Campbell Barracks, Perth is widely regarded as one of the world's top elite fighting forces. Its beginnings can be traced back to a little known but significant campaign fought in Timor during World War Two. The 2nd/2nd Independent Company, set up in 1941, comprised highly skilled, tough and resourceful volunteers from Australia's armed forces. They were trained at Wilson's Promontory in Victoria and sent to Timor prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In the mountains surrounding Dili, the capital of Timor, they formed small guerrilla units of 4-5 men and attacked Japanese forces who invaded the island on February 19, 1942, the same day that Darwin was bombed. They (300 men) managed to keep an invasion force of 13000 Japanese at bay. In the year they were on the island, they lost only forty of their own but they managed to kill 1600 enemy soldiers. Their exploits resonate favourably with our campaigns in Gallipoli, Kokoda and Long Tan. They stand tall in the pantheon of Australian military history.

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S01E01 - Timor - The Beginning

S01E01 - Timor - The Beginning