Episode 5
As the Second World War continued, Australia faced a struggle for its survival. Ill-prepared for the Japanese threat, our forces were divided across the world; our airmen in Bomber Command suffered appalling losses flying against the Germans, and our troops fought bravely at El Alamein. In Papua and New Guinea, Australian forces fought the Japanese to a standstill until Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the horror to an end.

Episode 6
Scarcely had Australia become used to peace when communist aggression in Korea broke out into full-scale war. Answering a call from the new United Nations Organization, Australia quickly committed its service personnel. Despite more than 300 Australians killed during the war, most Australians have little knowledge of this "forgotten war". Like the Malayan Emergency and Indonesian Confrontation that followed, it faded from our memory.

Episode 7
The Vietnam War was our longest war, and one that divided the nation. It was a war where the line between ally and enemy was blurred, and where the constant questions were whether the war was valid, conscription was just and if the war could be won at all. In Vietnam, Australian servicemen and women continued to uphold the same traditions of mateship and strengh of spirit as their forefathers.

Episode 8
There has been a strong resurgance of interest in the Anzac tradition and its value. Over the past century the impact of war has had on our nation and our people can be seen in the importance of remembrance and commemoration. Australia today has a significant international profile and reputation as a successful peacekeeping contributor. For all Australians this is one of the answers to the central question of Anzac Day: "What have we done with the peace that was won for us?"

Synopsis

From the Boer War in 1899 to the 1998 peacekeeping mission in Timor, Australians at War is the most comprehensive visual record of our wartime history ever made. Australian men and women, veterans of all our conflicts and witnesses to our past, speak movingly of the events that shaped their lives and those of millions of Australians. Combining archive film and stills, interviews and newly filmed sequences Australians at War breathes life into our past; a past that influences every day of our present... and our future. Australians at War was funded by the Federal Government, and produced by Beyond Productions in association with Mullion Creek Productions for the Department of Veterans' Affairs in co-operation with the Australian War Memorial.