Editing History of Australia (section)

===Vietnam War===
{{Main|Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War}}
[[File:RAAF TFV (HD-SN-99-02052).jpg|thumb|left|Personnel and aircraft of [[No. 35 Squadron RAAF|RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam]] arrive in [[South Vietnam]] in August 1964.]]

By 1965, Australia had increased the size of the [[Australian Army Training Team Vietnam]] (AATTV), and in April the Government made a sudden announcement that "after close consultation with the United States", a battalion of troops was to be sent to [[South Vietnam]].<ref>E.M. Andrews (1979) p. 160</ref> In parliament, Menzies emphasised the argument that "our alliances made demands on us". The alliance involved was presumably, the [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization]] (SEATO), and Australia was providing military assistance because South Vietnam, a signatory to SEATO, had apparently requested it.<ref>Glen Barclay and Joseph Siracusa (1976) p. 74</ref> [[Pentagon Papers|Documents released]] in 1971 indicated that the decision to commit troops was made by Australia and the US, not at the request of South Vietnam.<ref>See discussion in E.M. Andrews (1979) pp. 172–73</ref> By 1968, there were three Australian Army battalions at any one time at the [[1st Australian Task Force]] (1ATF) base at [[Nui Dat]] in addition to the advisers of the AATTV placed throughout Vietnam, and personnel reached a peak total of almost 8,000, comprising about one third of the Army's combat capacity. Between 1962 and 1972 almost 60,000 personnel served in Vietnam, including ground troops, naval forces and air assets.<ref name="Elkins">Ashley Elkins, Australian War Memorial: Overview of Australian military involvement in the Vietnam War, 1962–1975. [http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/impressions/impressions.asp AWM.gov.au]</ref>

In July 1966, new Prime Minister [[Harold Holt]] expressed his government's support for the US and its role in Vietnam in particular. "I don't know where people would choose to look for the security of this country were it not for the friendship and strength of the United States."<ref>Glen Barclay and Joseph Siracusa (1976) p. 79</ref> While on a visit in the same year to the US, Holt assured President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] "...I hope there is corner of your mind and heart which takes cheer from the fact that you have an admiring friend, a staunch friend, [Australia] that will be all the way with LBJ."<ref>Jan Bassett (1986) p. 265</ref>

The Liberal-CP Government was returned with a massive majority in [[1966 Australian federal election|elections held in December 1966]], fought over national security issues including Vietnam. The opposition Labor Party had advocated the withdrawal of all conscripts from Vietnam, but its deputy leader [[Gough Whitlam]] had stated that a Labor government might maintain regular army troops there.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lavelle|first=Ashley|date=May 2006|title=Labor and Vietnam: A Reappraisal|journal=Labour History|volume=90|issue=90|pages=119–36|doi=10.2307/27516117|jstor=27516117|hdl=10072/13911|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Arthur Calwell, who had been leader of the Labor Party since 1960, retired in favour of Whitlam a few months later.

Despite Holt's sentiments and his government's electoral success in 1966, the war became unpopular in Australia, as it did in the United States. The movements to end Australia's involvement gathered strength after the [[Tet Offensive]] of early 1968 and compulsory national service (selected by ballot) became increasingly unpopular. In the [[1969 Australian federal election|1969 elections]], the government hung on despite a significant decline in popularity. [[Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam#Australia|Moratorium marches]] held across Australia in mid-1970 attracted large crowds—the Melbourne march of 100,000 being led by Labor MP [[Jim Cairns]]. As the Nixon administration proceeded with [[Vietnamization]] of the war and began the withdrawal of troops, so did the Australian Government. In November 1970 [[1st Australian Task Force]] was reduced to two battalions and in November 1971, 1ATF was withdrawn from Vietnam. The last military advisers of the AATTV were withdrawn by the Whitlam Labor government in mid-December 1972.<ref name="Elkins"/>

The Australian military presence in Vietnam had lasted 10 years, and in purely human cost, more than 500 had been killed and more than 2,000 wounded. The war cost Australia $218&nbsp;million between 1962 and 1972.<ref name="Elkins"/>