Australian Military

cont

as for nz been invaded who and for what reason would that happen? and if it did do you think the would just sail down unnoticed to nz land and take over?
to get to nz u would first have to take care of aust or get through Fiji who are excellent soldiers in combat as i have often trained with them , and do u think the rest of the 4 million pop would just bend over and take it? clearly if u think this you have never meet or been to nz and how did USA go in vietnam? and russia in afganistan? u just cant take natives in there own territory
so my point does nz need a huge army navy and air force ? no!
a air combat team would help i agree but all nz needs is a well equipped and trained navy army and whatever is left from our air force (no.3 sqn soon to be equip with NH-90s)
and if nz is ever invaded? well there is a very good chance that the would have gone through australia to get here ,which means they would be very significant in size.
 
AussieNick said:
What I meant that it would be more helpful for Australia to concentrate its military to help the US in one area.

Mate, the US asked specifically for our SAS to go to Iraq. It was pretty much said that the US Army/Marines wouldn't go near Baghdad without the SAS going first... so yeah, it would have been really helpful if we'd stayed in Afghanistan wouldn't it.

Think of the work that the SASR do, and see if you can find another military group that can do those same tasks.

I agree the US commanders first came to recognize the value of the Aussie S.A.S in Afganistan (it had been years since they had worked together) when they realized that they had the lost art of being able to go behind enemy lines for days and even weeks at a time without resupply. The S.A.S working alongside the US airforce and their satelite techonlogy become walking natural disaster area's for any who oppose them.

Just face it, when the US and AUS work together this way the enemy faces many a sleepless night.

Here is a good article of why we were in Iraq and what our job was.
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Friends down under

By COLIN RUBENSTEIN

Jerusalem Post - May 25, 2003

A couple of weeks ago US President George W. Bush revealed something surprising about the beginning of the Iraq war.

It did not begin with the much-talked about "decapitation strike" on a Baghdad meeting including Saddam and his sons on March 19, as widely believed. The first shots were actually fired a day earlier on March 18. And those doing the firing were not Americans or even their British allies. They were Special Air Services (SAS) forces from the third military partner in the coalition Australia.

Moreover, while many Israelis are probably unaware that Australia even participated in this war, recent revelations about the until now secret activity of the Australian forces make it clear that more than anything else it was the Australians who made it impossible for Saddam to fire Scud missiles at Israel as he had in 1991.

According to the chief of staff of Australia's Special Operations Forces, Colonel John Mansell, hundreds of SAS soldiers in Land Rovers and dropped in by helicopter penetrated into Western Iraq a full 36 hours before the bombing of Baghdad began. While they breached the guard posts and trench system undetected, they later ran into an Iraqi convoy, which they defeated, killing or capturing all members, in a sharp firefight. They then moved on to attack suspected missile sites inside Iraq.

However, it was the attack of the following night, which, according to Mansell, both "stirred up a hornet's nest" for the Australians and struck a major blow against Iraq's ability to launch Scuds against Israel.

Most of the SAS troops attacked a well-defended radio relay station, calling in an airstrike to destroy the tower. After this SAS forces were involved in constant heavy fighting with enemy forces clearly seeking them out, while the SAS met them head-on with "unpredictable shock engagements," leading to the destruction of several heavily armed Iraqi convoys.

The SAS continued to strike targets, including another command and control center and several surface to air missile launchers, as well as a Scud-launching site, according to some reports.

By the end the first week of war the SAS had effectively neutralized all Iraqi opposition across a wide swath of Western Iraq, preventing any Scud attacks from there. And they did it without suffering a single casualty.

Another group of Australian SAS was flown 600 km. to carry out surveillance duties near Baghdad as the war began, the only troops placed so near the Iraqi capital. In addition, Royal Australian Air Force FA-18 Hornet aircraft were heavily involved in Defensive Counter Air missions and Australian navy ships and personnel were intensely involved in supporting the forces on the ground, as well as in clearing of sea mines.

Perhaps the most important achievement was when the HMAS Kanimbla intercepted Iraqi tugs carrying 68 concealed mines that were about to be released into the water against coalition ships.

Thus despite the fact that Australia's force in this war only numbered around 2,000, including 500 or so SAS, their unique abilities (and the Australian SAS is generally regarded as one of the best Special Operations units in the world) were important not only to overall war effort but especially to protecting Israel.

This was not without its risks and controversies for Australia.

The news of Australia's involvement in the clearing and securing of the potential Scud launching areas even led local Australian Arabist Prof. Amin Saikal, of the Australian National University in Canberra, to declare that Australian forces would become a target of suicide bombings by Palestinian Fedayeen forces due to the fact that "Australian special forces have been operating in defense of Israel ."

This warning is unlikely to phase the current conservative Australian government under John Howard, which is among the most friendly to Israel in the world. Howard, whose own emotional commitment to Israel's security and well-being has been demonstrated repeatedly, did not join the current war to protect Israel, but he will doubtless be proud to have had Australian forces playing a leading role in doing so.

AND INDEED, despite the distance Australia has long played an extremely honorable role in the Middle East. Many older Israelis will either fondly remember or have heard stories about the Australian troops present in Israel during World War II and the British Mandate, but Australia's regional role is actually significantly older than that.

During the World War I Australian forces, notably the Light Horsemen, joined with the British in an effort to roll back the German-supported Ottoman forces that had advanced almost to the edge of the Suez Canal.

The most famous battle of that campaign took place at Beersheba, where the mounted Australian Light Horse charged the Turkish lines in a desperate attempt to seize the vital water wells in the city. This, the last great cavalry charge in history, significantly undermined Turkish morale, paving the way for further victories.

Then, in 1940-41, when the overrunning of the Jewish community in Palestine was looking very probable with German forces passing through Vichy French Syria to the east and Italian and German forces advancing across North Africa, another counterattack campaign was launched in order to block this advance. The Australians forces, again at the forefront, were the majority of those involved, were certainly the most vigorous, and, as was the case 23 years earlier, led the allies into Damascus and Beirut.

Despite the distances involved and the apparent lack of overlapping interests, there seems to be a sort of affinity between Australia and Israel, almost an overlapping destiny.

Israelis should be grateful to US President Bush and his British ally, Tony Blair, for removing one of the biggest international threats to both Israel and the West and providing a glimmer of hope that Israel's neighborhood might take a significant turn for the better.

But also, please, spare a thought for other friends a little farther away from the major seats of power on which Israelis are normally focused, far away down under.
 
What can I say about the men from Oz, we had a number of them in our Regiment and a grand bunch they where to. On my visit back to my old Regiment to have dinner with them all I found that there were still the sons of Oz in the Regiment and they were as good as the predecessors
 
do u think the rest of the 4 million pop would just bend over and take it? clearly if u think this you have never meet or been to nz and how did USA go in vietnam? and russia in afganistan? u just cant take natives in there own territory

If you can't take natives in their own country then why the h**l do militaries exist. Almost every country in the world has been conquered at least once throughout history, you should think before you speak.

Besides, NZ could be invaded by telephone :p !

As for our army we are unstoppable because i am in it :lol: .
Seriously though Aussie diggers generally are hard, and profesional, but it is too small. I think increasing wages might give it more recruiting success 8) !
 
If you can't take natives in their own country then why the h**l do militaries exist. Almost every country in the world has been conquered at least once throughout history, you should think before you speak.

Um Britian, China, America, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Russia on and on
 
Um Britian, China, America, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Russia on and on

What was your argument?
China was done by the mongols, and by Japan.
Britain by the Romans.
Russia by the French.

And i said ALMOST every country. Godd argument though, well presented! :roll:
 
Throught history there are prime examples of armies walking in to another country, taking on the natives and winning. If it wasn't true, Australia would be a series of some 600 Aboriginal Republics.
Another example, the Boer War. We took on the people who knew that land backwards, and won.
 
I have been talking to some liberals recently who say that every occupation has failed and future ones will. I tried to inform them of successful occupations in history but they just respond, saying you dont know shit. These same people believe that the iraqi occupation is going wrongly and it will fail as well. Personally i think things in Iraq aren't too bad, considering that in a matter of years about 1500 US soldiers died.
 
Theres always going to be casualties in war and i bet most iraqis are glad the coalition is there, but i expect the liberals have never been there to ask..

Well seeing as American exists due to spanish, french and british occupation they definatly know :cen:
 
Bory said:
Throught history there are prime examples of armies walking in to another country, taking on the natives and winning. If it wasn't true, Australia would be a series of some 600 Aboriginal Republics.
Another example, the Boer War. We took on the people who knew that land backwards, and won.

Also with a little help using concentration camps on the Boers.

Your knowledge of Australian history is rather wobbly. :lol:
 
Hmmmmmmmmm, I believe the Maoris succesfully fought against the British. So well that the Brits signed a peace treaty to end the war.
Can any kiwis shed some light on this????
The Aussie aboriginies never combined to put up a fight against the early English pioneers. Just many years of minor skirmishes/ clashes until disease, alcohol and apathy took over.
Boar war wasn't such a push over. The Boers gave the Brits some bloody battles before finaly exhausting themselves.
Have any native populations succeded in winning against a more modern European invader??????
Be interesting to know.
 
There were some fierce battles between the Kiwis and the Brits and there was a great deal of respect from both sides over their fighting ability.
Another interesting set of Battles was in Nepal when Britain fought Gurkha's. The finial battle was long and fierce and it was the first time Gurkha's had not cleared the battle field, so they adopted the British soldier as a brother and the link was forged that remains until this day.
 
The treaty was the Treaty of Waitangi. It was signed partly because of maori ferocity, and the fact that some were armed with muskets and were giving it some stick, but mostly because France was having a look in and signing the treaty meant it became a British colony faster.
 
it's a disputed fact but the maori invented trench warfare on their pa (forts) to escape british cannon bombardment.

the british also thought the bayonet was the worlds best close quaters weapon....till they met the tiaha
 
Saw a VHS movie some years ago set during the Moari wars.
Called UTU I think. Not bad for a local production.
Moaris had some good weapons, fortifications and adapted to European tactics and weapons very quickly. Smart buggers eh.

I don't mind the odd can of Speights on occasion.
Cheers.
 
If you have a careful look at India before the British arrived it was rather like Europe a series of small countries. These were all unified under one flag over a period time. At one time India even took in Tibet and bordered on Iran, even the parts that are now Pakistan happily came under British rule until Independence
 
Locke said:
whats that? the Maori version of the Gurkha's kuri?

this page will give some info;

http://www.tu.co.nz/taiaha.htm

taiaha-full.jpg

it looks like a spear but the "blade" end is the business end of this weapon, very fast, very deadly.

i especially like this story:

During World War 2, a 28 Maori Battalion soldier armed with a taiaha defeated a bayonet instructor from the Scots Guards during a public demonstration at Maadi Camp, Egypt in 1943.
 
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