Allied victory Allied Powers Axis Powers John Curtin Joseph Burnett David V. J. Blake John Crace Chūichi Nagumo Mitsuo Fuchida Kanji Matsumura Sakonjo Naomasa Sasaki Hankyu Robert Eyssen Second Sino-Japanese War The Battle for Australia is a contested historiographical term used to claim a coordinated link between a series of battles near Australia during the Pacific War of the Second World War alleged to be in preparation for a Japanese invasion of the continent.

After the fall of Singapore in 1942, Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin compared its loss to the Battle of Dunkirk.

While Japan did not plan to invade Australia and in February 1942 could not successfully do so, the Australian government and people expected an invasion soon.

Curtin said on 16 February:[1] The protection of this country is no longer that of a contribution to a world at war but the resistance to an enemy threatening to invade our own shore ...

[2] This campaign met with success, and in 2008 the Australian Government proclaimed that commemorations for the Battle for Australia would take place annually on the first Wednesday in September, with the day being designated "Battle for Australia Day".