The Australian 7th Division in Lebanon

In February 1942, as Singapore fell and the Japanese military prepared to invade Papua New Guinea, the 7th Division of the Second Australian Imperial Force was sailing from the Middle East back to the Pacific.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill insisted the 7th Division should be deployed to Burma while the Australian Prime Minister John Curtin argued they should return immediately to defend Australia. A diplomatic feud ensued, but Curtin brought the troops home.

Soldiers from the 7th Division went on to fight in the first battles that halted the Japanese progress in the Pacific, at Milne Bay on the Kokoda Trail.