Complete the following sentence: The Australian military suffered a series of defeats during the early months of the Pacific War. 8th Division and RAAF squadrons in Malaya formed a part of the British Commonwealth forces which were unable to stop a smaller Japanese invasion force which landed on 7 December. ️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk> smaller Australian forces were also overwhelmed and defeated during early 1942 at Rabaul, and in Ambon,
Timor e Java. ️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️ Over 22,000 Australians were taken prisoner in early 1942 and endured harsh conditions in Japanese captivity.<unk> Over 22,000 Australians were taken prisoner in early 1942 and endured harsh conditions in Japanese captivity. <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> As a result, 8,296 Australian prisoners died in captivity.