History

Date	Year	Title	Event
1 May	1941	Allied evacuation of Greece complete	The Greek campaign, involving forces from Greece, Britain, New Zealand and Australia, resulted in heavy losses to the 6th Australian Division and ultimately an evacuation of Allied forces from beaches in southern Greece.
1 May	1942	Townsville put on invasion alert	We now know that Japan did not intend to invade Australia. In 1942, however, fear of such an invasion was almost universal, particularly after their early successes in the war.
1 May	1945	26 Brigade troops invade Tarakan	General MacArthur instructed Lieutenant-General Sir Leslie Morshead to seize and hold Tarakan Island and destroy the enemy forces there. The Netherlands East Indies Government was to be re-established, Tarakan's oil producing capacity was to be conserved and the island's airfields put into use. The operation was codenamed Oboe 1.
2 May	1945	Russians take Berlin	The Russian victory in the Battle of Berlin signaled the end of the Second World War in Europe
3 May	1917	Second attack on Bullecourt	Operations against the Hindenburg line at Bullecourt were aimed at protecting the British flank during operations at Arras. After an unsuccessful first attempt, a second involving the 2nd Australian Division was made. Once again the attack was unsuccessful costing about 7,000 allied casualties.
4 May	1915	Australian attack on Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli	The attack on Gaba Tepe by men of the 11th Battalion was an ill-conceived venture to deny the Turks a vantage point from which they could observe operations around ANZAC Cove. The venture ended in failure.
4 May	1945	German forces in the Netherlands, northern Germany and Denmark surrender	Hitler's successor, Grand Admiral Dönitz, attempted, by piecemeal surrenders to the British and Americans, to give German forces on the Eastern Front time to escape westwards, away from the Russians.
5 May	1915	Australians and New Zealanders on Cape Helles	The 2nd Australian Brigade and the New Zealand Brigade were redeployed from ANZAC Cove to Cape Helles to assist British and French troops in their attempts to capture the dominating heights known as Achi Baba.
5 May	1942	Battle of Coral Sea begins	This was the first naval engagement fought by aircraft alone. Although neither side won a clear victory, the Japanese were forced to try and capture Port Moresby in a ground campaign, rather than by sea as they had hoped.
5 May	1945	Germans surrender in Norway	Hitler's successor, Grand Admiral Dönitz, attempted, by piecemeal surrenders to the British and Americans, to give German forces on the Eastern Front time to escape westwards, away from the Russians.
6 May	1917	Corporal G.J. Howell, VC	Corporal Howell, originally of Enfield, NSW, wins the Victoria Cross near Bullecourt.
6 May	1945	Tarakan town and airstrip captured	General MacArthur instructed Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Morshead to seize and hold Tarakan Island and destroy the enemy forces there. The Netherlands East Indies Government was to be re-established, Tarakan's oil producing capacity was to be conserved and the island's airfields put into use. The operation was codenamed Oboe 1.
6 May & 11 May	1969	Warrant Officer 2, R.S. Simpson, VC	WO2 R.S. Simpson, Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, originally from Chippendale, NSW, wins the Victoria Cross in Kontum Province, South Vietnam
7 May	1945	Germany surrenders	Germany's surrender ended the Second World War in Europe.
8 May	1915	Battle of Krithia	The Australian 2nd Brigade and New Zealand Brigade took part in this predominantly French and British battle against the Turks on Cape Helles. None of the objectives set for the allies during the battle were achieved.
8 May	1945	Separate surrender of Germany to the Soviet Union	At the end of the war in Europe, Stalin refused the accept the German surrender, signed at Reims, as valid and demanded another, which took place at 11.30 pm on 8 May. 9 May became the Soviet Victory in Europe day.
8 May	1970	Anti-war demonstrations in Australia	Up to 200,000 Australians participate in demonstrations against the Vietnam War.
9 May	1943	Point Stuart bombed	Point Stuart, Northern Territory, bombed by Japanese aircraft for the 1st time.
10 May	1900	Zand River	New South Wales Mounted Rifles in action at Zand River, South Africa
10 May	1943	Point Stuart bombed	Point Stuart, Northern Territory, bombed by Japanese aircraft for the 2nd time.
11 May	1945	Wewak captured	Wewak was captured by the 6th Division in a combined land and amphibious operation. Its capture marked the beginning of the end of the Aitape Wewak campaign, the last major campaign on mainland New Guinea in the Second World War.
12 May	1917	Lieutenant R.V. Moon, VC	Lieutenant R.V. Moon, 58th Battalion, of Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, wins the Victoria Cross at Bullecourt
12 May	1945	Corporal J.B. Mackey, VC	Corporal J.B. Mackey, 2/3rd Pioneer Battalion, originally from Leichhardt, Sydney, wins the Victoria Cross on Tarakan. (Posthumous award)
13 May	1943	Axis forces surrender in Tunisia	The surrender of Axis forces in Tunisia meant the end of the three-year-long North African campaign
13 May	1968	Fire support base Coral attacked	The partly-constructed base, north of Saigon, was defended by elements of the 1st Battalion, when it was attacked by North Vietnamese troops. 10 Australians were killed and 25 wounded before the attackers were driven back.
14 May	1943	Centaur sunk	The hospital ship Centaur was sunk by a Japanese submarine off the south Queensland coast. Only 64 of the 333 on board survived.
14 May	1956	Sungei Siput, Malaya	2RAR attacks communist terrorists near Sungai Siput, Malaya
15 May	1915	Major General W.T. Bridges wounded at Gallipoli	Bridges commander of the First Division, AIF, died on 18 May while being taken to Egypt for treatment. His body was returned to Australia and buried overlooking the Royal Military College, Duntroon.
15 May	1942	Prisoners of Japanese transported to begin work on Burma-Thailand railway	Movement of prisoners of war (A Force) to Thailand from Singapore begins for work on the Burma–Thailand railway
15 May	1945	Private E. Kenna, VC	Private E. Kenna, 2/4th Battalion, originally from Hamilton, Victoria, wins the Victoria Cross near Wewak.
16 May	1901	Lieutenant F.W. Bell, VC	Lieutenant F.W. Bell, 6th West Australian Mounted Infantry, of Perth, Western Australia, wins the Victoria Cross at Brakpan, South Africa.
16 May	1943	Dam Busters raid	617 Squadron carry out the Dam Busters raid against targets in the Ruhr Valley, Germany.
17 May	1917	Bullecourt captured	After two failed attempts to capture the village of Bullecourt, the allies were finally successful, though the victory had cost 7,000 casualties.
18 May	1885	Sudan contingent departs Suakin	New South Wales troops of the Sudan contingent depart Suakin for Sydney having a little over two months in the Sudan without seeing any serious action.
19 May	1915	Turkish counter-attack on Gallipoli	The Turkish counter-attack sought to drive the Australians and New Zealanders from ANZAC Cove. The attack failed and over 10,000 Turks were killed or wounded in their greatest disaster of the entire campaign.
19 May	1918	Sergeant W. Ruthven, VC.	Sergeant W. Ruthven, 22nd Battalion AIF, originally from Collingwood, Victoria, wins the Victoria Cross at Ville-sur-Ancre, France
19-20 May	1915	Lance Corporal Albert Jacka, VC	Lance Corporal Albert Jacka, 14th Battalion, 4th Brigade, New Zealand and Australian Division, of Winchelsea, Victoria, wins the Victoria Cross at Courtney's Post, Gallipoli. Jacka's was the first VC to be awarded to an Australian in the First World War. Jacka also went on to win the Military Cross and bar.
20 May	1941	Germans invade Crete	German airborne forces began their invasion of Crete on 20 May, though outnumbered by Allied troops, they were better equipped and better organised. After less than two weeks of fighting allied troops began to evacuate the island.
21 May	1968	HMAS Sydney leaves Brisbane	HMAS Sydney left Brisbane on its 10th voyage to Vietnam with 4RAR embarked.
22 May	1940	Decision to form 8th Division made	Most of the 8th Division was lost in the fall of Singapore in February 1942. The Division never took the field as a complete Division because the battalions of the 23rd Brigade were sent to Ambon, Timor and Rabaul.
23 May	1942	Kanga Force moved to Wau, New Guinea	Kanga Force was formed in April 1942 to reinforce the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles. Kanga force was primarily involved in reconnaissance work, but did stage some raids against Japanese positions in the Wau–Bulolo area.
24 May	1915	Formal truce on Gallipoli	A formal truce was declared on Gallipoli during which the Turkish dead of the 19 May attacks were buried.
24 May	1966	Private Errol Noack killed in Vietnam	Private Noack, 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, was the first of 202 Australian conscripts to be killed in the Vietnam War.
24 May	1969	Warrant Officer Class II K. Payne	Warrant Officer Class II K. Payne, Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, originally from Ingham, Queensland, wins the Victoria Cross in Kontum Province.
25 May	1968	Fire Support Base Balmoral reinforced	Fire Support Base Balmoral in Vietnam is reinforced with Centurion Tanks just hours before 2 North Vietnamese Army battalions attacked.
26 May	1940	Evacuation of Dunkirk	More than 338,000 British, French and other allied troops were taken off the beaches at Dunkirk during the fall of France.
27 May	1965	HMAS Sydney's first voyage to Vietnam	HMAS Sydney departs on first voyage to Vietnam with 1RAR embarked.
28 May	1902	Boer War ends	Boers surrender, ending the Boer War. Over 16,000 Australians served in South Africa, 251 were killed in action and 267 died from disease and 43 were reported missing.
28 May	1968	Fire support base Balmoral attacked	This second assault on Fire Support Base Balmoral, Vietnam, was more easily defeated than the first with the North Vietnamese driven off after 30 minutes.
28 May	1968	D company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, receives citation	Award of United States Presidential Unit Citation to D Company, 6RAR, for the Battle of Long Tan
28 May	1970	Australian Army Training Team Vietnam awarded United States Meritorious Citation	Australian Army Training Team Vietnam awarded United States Meritorious Citation
29 May	1915	Quinn's Post	Turkish attack on Quinn's Post, Gallipoli.
29 May	1942	HMAS Perth damaged	HMAS Perth was damaged during the evacuation of Allied troops from Crete. Over 16,000 troops were successfully evacuated from the island over four successive nights.
30 May	1942	RAAF participates in first 1,000-bomber raid	First 1,000-bomber raid launched by the RAF. The target was Cologne, Germany. To make up the numbers crews were taken from operational training units to participate in the raid.
31 May	1918	Monash Commands the Australian Corps	Lieutenant General Monash succeeds Birdwood as General Officer Commanding the Australian Corps.
31 May	1942	Japanese midget submarines raid Sydney Harbour	All three Japanese submarines that attacked Sydney Harbour were sunk, though one has never been found. Little material damage was caused by the attack, but 21 sailors were killed when the depot ship HMAS Kuttabul was torpedoed.