The third stage of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs ‘ANZAC360’ app has been released, exploring a precarious time in Australia’s history during the Second World War – the Fall of Singapore.
Minister for Veteran’s Affairs, Darren Chester said the ANZAC360 app explored the loss and devastation suffered by Australia and its Allies for more than three years until the war ended with Japan’s surrender on 15 August 1945.
“Through drone footage of Singapore, and blending of modern day imagery with pictures and footage of the fierce action that took place, the app takes viewers on a journey to learn about the Fall of Singapore, starting with battlefield action in Malaya,” Mr Chester said.
“Japan’s entry into the Second Word War was a defining moment which changed the strategic environment dramatically and placed Singapore, the cornerstone of Australia’s defence, at the forefront,” he said.
Mr Chester said Singapore was thought to be an island fortress, so the speed at which the Japanese achieved victory shocked the world and marked Japan as a formidable enemy.
“The Fall of Singapore and capture of so many Australians there was a devastating event and made a Japanese invasion of the Australian mainland seem a more real possibility,” he said.
“It is important we remember the more than 20,000 Australians who served in the Malayan campaign and the Battle for Singapore, around 1,800 died, more than 1,300 were wounded and over 15,000 Australians became prisoners of war when Singapore fell.”
He said the ANZAC360 app already brought to life the battlefields of the Western Front during the First World War, important stories of the Burma-Thailand Railway, and the Sandakan death marches in the Second World War.
Mr Chester said the app was available on the App Store and Google Play.
