Prime Minister of Australia,
Robert Menzies with the
British Prime Minister,
Sir Winston Churchill in
England, March 1941.

[AWM 006414]

The British Empire campaign to defend Greece in 1941, in which the men of the 6th Division AIF and warships of the RAN were involved, ended in disaster. This section outlines the Greek campaign and includes an online book – A Great Risk in a Good Cause – specially written for the 60th anniversary of the campaign. In addition to the dramatic narrative of the Australian experience in Greece and Crete, follow the action in dozens of images taken by Australian cameramen as they accompanied the fighting men north to the snows of Mount Olympus and then retreated with them down the backbone of Greece to evacuation and on to a final desperate struggle against German paratroopers in Crete.

Bibliography

John Herington, Australia in the war of 1939-1945: Series Three, Air, Vol 1 - Air war against Germany and Italy, 1939-1943, Canberra, 1954.

G Hermon Gill, Australia in the War of 1939-1945; Series Two, Navy, Vol I - Royal Australian Navy 1939-1942, Canberra, 1957.

Gavin Long, Australia in the war of 1939-1945: Series One, Army, Vol II - Greece, Crete and Syria, Canberra, 1953.

Richard Reid, A great risk in a good cause, Canberra, 2001.

Operation CLICK: Anzac to Kokoda

is a classroom resource which draws on and encourages the use of the following Veterans' Affairs websites:
• Australia’s War 1939–1945 – www.ww2australia.gov.au
• Visit Gallipoli – www.anzacsite.gov.au

You may download Work sheets - provided in PDF file format.

The resource book and CD-ROM package contains lessons that can be used in many contexts in History and Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) classrooms. They were written by experienced history teachers with three aims in mind:

• to provide both beginning and experienced teachers with lessons using the two websites as core resources
• to invite teachers to explore more effective ways of encouraging their students to incorporate ICT skills into their classroom learning activities
• to provide exciting and original lessons that will encourage young Australians to learn more about Australia’s wartime heritage through the stories and images provided on the two websites.