The Australian-American Alliance: Holt, LBJ and the Vietnam War

ii The Australian-American alliance, since World War II, has served as Australia’s most important bilateral relationship, particularly in the field of security. Two decades later, the Australian government entered the war in Vietnam to secure an American military presence on the Asian mainland. This thesis examines the Australian-American alliance during the prime ministership of Harold Holt in relation to Australia’s role in Vietnam, and growing concerns over Britain’s planned withdrawal from Southeast Asia. This thesis is a diplomatic history undertaken from a predominantly Australian perspective. This thesis is heavily reliant upon cables and reports prepared by the key departments of the governments of Australia, America, and where appropriate, Britain. This thesis differs from other revisionist studies centred on the Australian-American alliance in three clear ways: it highlights the influence of the British defence review on shaping Australia’s engagement with the United States (US); it fills an historiographical gap in the literature by providing a detailed examination of the first US presidential visi