When war came again, however, the nation’s response was firm—some 30,000 Australians died in World War II (1938–45), and 65,000 were injured. From early in the war, the Royal Australian Air Force was active in the defense of Britain. The Australian Navy operated in the Mediterranean Sea (1940–41), helping to win the Battle of Cape Matapan (March 1941). Australian troops fought in the seesaw battles of North Africa. In mid-1941 Australians suffered heavy losses both in the Allied defeats in Greece and Crete and in the victories in the Levant. Meanwhile, the German general Erwin Rommel was scoring his greatest ...(100 of 51163 words)