Key Commemorative Dates
January
1 January – Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed (1901)
8 January - Last Australian servicemen returned from Korea (1958)
11 January – Official cessation of hostilities in Vietnam by Australian forces (1973)
17 January - Operation Desert Storm commenced - the combat phase of the Gulf War (1991)
February
3 February - The Fall of Ambon - Gull Force forced to surrender - 800 Australians taken prisoner (1942)
10 February – HMAS Melbourne/HMAS Voyager Collision (1964)
14 February– National Serviceman Day
15 February – Fall of Singapore (1942)
16 February – Bangka Island massacre (1942)
19 February – First bombing of Darwin (1942)
20 February - Battle of Koepang in Dutch Timor (1942)
24 February – National Day for War Animals
28 February - Sinking of HMAS Perth in the Battle of Sunda Strait (1942)
March
1 March – Formation of Australian Army (1901)
1 March – Formation of Australian Navy (1901)
2 March - Battle of Bismark Sea (1943)
3 March - Attacks on Broome (1942)
19 March – Iraq War commenced (2003)
31 March – Formation of Royal Australian Air Force (1921)
April
2 April – Crash of RAN Sea King helicopter Shark 02 (2005)
10 April – Siege of Tobruk commences, North Africa (1941)
11 April - Battles for Bullecourt (1917)
22 April – Battle of Kapyong commences, Korea (1951)
25 April – Gallipoli Landing, Türkiye (1915). Anzac Day
30 April - End of the Vietnam War (1975)
May
3 May - Battles for Bullecourt (1917)
4 May – Battle of the Coral Sea commences (1942)
8 May – Victory in Europe (1945)
12 May - First attack on FSB Coral (1968)
13 May - End of the North Africa Campaign (1943)
14 May – Hospital Ship Centaur sunk (1943)
26 May - First attack on FSB Balmoral
29 May – International Day of UN Peacekeepers
31 May – Japanese submarines attack Sydney Harbour (1942)
31 May – Boer War ends (1902)
June
6 June – D Day, Liberation of Europe commences (1944)
6 - 7 June - Battle of Long Khanh (1971)
7 June - Military Working Dog Day
10 June – Battle of Shah Wali Kot commences, Afghanistan (2010)
12 June – Black Hawk helicopter tragedy (1996)
16 June - Malayan Emergency declared (1948)
19 June - Battle of Wadi Zieni (1941)
25 June - International Day of the Seafarer
JuLy
1 July – The sinking of the Montevideo Maru (1942)
1 July - The formation of the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Crops (1902), Formation of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (1902), Formation of the Royal Australian Army Nursing Crops (1903)
4 July - Battle of Hamel (1918)
11 July - All ADF departed Afghanistan (2021)
19 July - Battle of Fromelles (1916)
21 July - First Battle of El Alamein (1942)
23 July - 3 September - Battle of Pozières (1916)
24 July – Arrival of RAMSI forces in the Solomon Islands (2003)
27 July – Korean Veterans’ Day (Armistice signed 1953)
28 July - Crash of 'Bushman 83' MRH-90 Taipan helicopter during Exercise Talisman Sabre (2023)
August
2 August - Iraq invasion of Kuwait (1990)
5 August – Cowra Breakout by Japanese prisoners of war (1944)
9 August - Sinking of HMAS Canberra (1) (1942)
15 August – Victory in the Pacific (1945)
18 August – Vietnam Veterans’ Day
25 August - Battle of Milne Bay (1942)
26 August - Battle of Isurava (1942)
31 August – Malaya & Borneo Veterans’ Day
September
1 September - Battle of Mont St Quentin (1918)
3 September – Merchant Navy Day
14 September – Australian Peacekeepers Day
15 September - Battle of Britain Day (1940)
20 September – Arrival of INTERFET in East Timor (1999)
26 September - Operation Jaywick (1943)
29 September - Breaking the Hindenburg Line (1918)
October
3 October - The Battle of Maryang San (1951)
3 October – Vietnam Forces Welcome Home Parade, Sydney (1987)
19 October - War Widows Day
23 October - Second Battle of Alamein (1942)
24 October - United Nations Day
31 October – Charge of Beersheba (1917)
November
1 November – AIF first convoy sails from Albany (1914)
3 November - Kokoda Day
11 November – Remembrance Day / Great War Armistice signed (1918) / Shrine of Remembrance opened, Melbourne (1934) / Australian War Memorial opened, Canberra (1941)
18 November - Battle of Berlin (1943)
19 November - Sinking of HMAS Sydney (II) (1941)
December
7 December - The end of the Siege of Tobruk (1941)
11 December - ‘Operation Fauna’ 1RAR (1952)
20 December - Last troops evacuated from Gallipoli (1915)
31 December – Conclusion of Operation SLIPPER, Afghanistan (2014)