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The "Battle of Brisbane" is the name given to violence between United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 (U.S.) military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 personnel on one side and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n servicemen and civilians on the other, in Brisbane
Brisbane

Brisbane is the state List of Australian capital cities of Queensland and its most populous city. It is also the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, behind southern rivals Sydney and Melbourne....
, Australia on November 26-27, 1942, during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. Australia and the US were Allies
Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers of World War II during the World War II. Within the ranks of the Allies powers, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America were known as "The Big Three"....
 at the time. By the time the violence had been quelled one Australian soldier was dead, and hundreds of Australians and US servicemen had been injured.






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The "Battle of Brisbane" is the name given to violence between United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 (U.S.) military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 personnel on one side and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n servicemen and civilians on the other, in Brisbane
Brisbane

Brisbane is the state List of Australian capital cities of Queensland and its most populous city. It is also the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, behind southern rivals Sydney and Melbourne....
, Australia on November 26-27, 1942, during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. Australia and the US were Allies
Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers of World War II during the World War II. Within the ranks of the Allies powers, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America were known as "The Big Three"....
 at the time. By the time the violence had been quelled one Australian soldier was dead, and hundreds of Australians and US servicemen had been injured. News reports of these incidents were suppressed during the war.

Background

From 1942 until 1945 during the Pacific War
Pacific War

The Pacific War was the part of World War II?and preceding conflicts?that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, between July 7, 1937 and August 14, 1945....
, large numbers of U.S. military forces were stationed at various locations throughout eastern Australia. These forces included personnel awaiting deployment to combat operations elsewhere in the Pacific, troops resting, convalescing, and/or refitting from previous combat operations, or military personnel manning Allied military bases and installations in Australia. Many US personnel were stationed in and around Brisbane, which was the headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Order of the Bath was an United States General officer, United Nations general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army....
, Supreme Allied
Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers of World War II during the World War II. Within the ranks of the Allies powers, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America were known as "The Big Three"....
 Commander, South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area

South West Pacific Area was the name given to the Allies of World War II supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II....
. Many buildings and facilities around Brisbane were given over to the usage of the U.S. military. At the same time, large numbers of Australian military personnel were also stationed in Brisbane.

Although the military personnel from Australia and the U.S. usually enjoyed a cooperative and convivial relationship, at times there were tensions between the two forces that sometimes resulted in violence. Several factors reportedly contributed to the tensions, including the fact that U.S. military pay was higher than that of the Australian military, the perception that U.S. military uniforms were more appealing than those of the Australians, and a belief among Australian personnel that U.S. servicemen enjoyed great success in their pursuit of Australian women ('They're overpaid, oversexed and over here', was a common phrase used by Australians around this time). The final major problem was the fact that Australian troops were only being used for mop up missions while US troops got all of the glory. The city of Brisbane was one location where large numbers of U.S. and Australian military personnel were stationed and where some tension had developed between some members of the two forces due to these factors.

The battle

According to Australian historian Barry Ralph, a group of Australian servicemen befriended an intoxicated US serviceman, Pvt James R. Stein of the U.S. 404th Signal Company some time on or before the evening of November 26. When Stein was arrested by Pvt Anthony E. O'Sullivan of the U.S. 814th Military Police
Military police

Military police are normally the police of a military organization.Military police may refer to:* a section of the military solely responsible for policing the armed forces ...
 (M.P.) Company at about 7pm, these Australian soldiers assaulted O'Sullivan. Other MPs at the nearby U.S. Post Exchange
Base exchange

In the US Armed Forces, BX is a common name for a type of retail store operating on United States military installations worldwide. Originally akin to trading posts, they now resemble department stores or strip malls....
 (PX), in the Primaries Building, near the corner of Adelaide
Adelaide Street, Brisbane

Adelaide Street, which is a major thoroughfare in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, runs parallel to Queen Street, Brisbane and Ann Street, Brisbane....
 and Creek Streets, heard the commotion and carried O'Sullivan inside. In the meantime, a crowd of Australian servicemen and civilians had gathered and about 100 people began to besiege the PX, throwing objects at it and breaking windows.

The MPs in the PX started to arm themselves with 12-gauge Stevens
Savage Arms

The Savage Arms Company is a firearms manufacturing company based in Westfield, Massachusetts. The company makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as marketing the Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns....
 pump action
Pump-action

A pump-action rifle or shotgun is one in which the handgrip can be pumped back and forth in order to eject and chamber a round of ammunition. It is much faster than a bolt-action rifle and somewhat faster than a lever-action, as it does not require the trigger hand to be removed from the trigger whilst reloading....
 shotgun
Shotgun

A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called lead shot, or a solid projectile called a shotgun slug....
s in order to protect the PX. People in the crowd took umbrage at this demonstration of force and attempted to relieve Pvt Norbert Grant, of the 738th MP Battalion, of his weapon. During the scuffle it discharged three times. One shot hit Pte Edward Webster of the Australian 2/2nd Anti-Tank Regiment in the chest. Webster died soon afterwards. Several other Australian servicemen and civilians, and at least one MP also suffered serious injuries at the PX.

The next day, groups of Australian and U.S. soldiers roamed the streets, engaging in violent brawls. Outside MacArthur's headquarters at the AMP Building on the corner of Queen and Edward Streets, the intersection was filled with rings of Australians beating up GIs. US Army Sergeant, Bill Bentson recalled how he was amazed to see "Americans flying up in the air".

Writer Margaret Scott has stated that several U.S. servicemen were beaten to death in the fighting, but there is no evidence to support this.

Pvt. Grant was later court-martial
Court-martial

A court-martial is a military court. These military courts can determine punishments for members of the military subject to military law who are found guilty or may dismiss the charges based on the evidence and the case presented....
led by the U.S. military authorities for manslaughter
Manslaughter

Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder.The law generally differentiates between levels of criminal culpability based on the mens rea, or state of mind....
 in relation to the death of Webster, but was acquitted. Five Australians were convicted of assault as a result of the events described above, and one was jailed for six months.

See also

  • Battle of Manners Street
    Battle of Manners Street

    The Battle of Manners Street refers to a riot involving American servicemen and New Zealand servicemen and civilians outside the Allied Services Club in Manners Street, Wellington, New Zealand, New Zealand in 1943....
     a similar 'battle' in New Zealand


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