The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force on 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany, initially with a strength of one infantry division and one light horse brigade. The infantry division subsequently fought at Gallipoli between April and December 1915, being reinforced by a second division which was later raised, as well as three light horse brigades. After being evacuated to Egypt the AIF was expanded to five infantry divisions, which were committed to the fighting in France and Belgium along the Western Front in March 1916. A sixth infantry division was partially raised in 1917 in the United Kingdom, but was broken up and used as reinforcements following heavy casualties on the Western Front. Meanwhile, two mounted divisions remained in the Middle East to fight against Turkish forces in the Sinai and Palestine.
The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire in France. At its peak the Australian Corps numbered 109,881 men. By 1918 the headquarters consisted of more than 300 personnel of all ranks, including senior staff officers, as well as supporting personnel such as clerks, drivers and batmen. Formed on 1 November 1917, the corps replaced I Anzac Corps while II Anzac Corps, which contained the New Zealand Division, became the British XXII Corps on 31 December. While its structure varied, Australian Corps usually included 4–5 infantry divisions, corps artillery and heavy artillery, a corps flying squadron and captive balloon sections, anti-aircraft batteries, corps engineers, corps mounted troops, ordnance workshops, medical and dental units, transport, salvage and an employment company.
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which primarily consisted of troops from the First Australian Imperial Force and 1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force, although there were also British and Indian units attached at times throughout the campaign. The corps disbanded in 1916, following the Allied evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula and the formation of I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps. The corps was reestablished, briefly, in the Second World War during the Battle of Greece in 1941.
The 9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment is a Reserve light infantry battalion of the Australian Army, raised and based in the state of Queensland. It is part of the Royal Queensland Regiment and is currently attached to the 11th Brigade of the 2nd Division. 9 RQR can trace its history as far back as 1867 with the establishment Queensland Volunteer Rifle Corps, although it was not until 1911 that it was designated as the "9th Battalion". Over the course of its history, the battalion has served Australia in a number of conflicts including The Boer War, World War I and World War II, while more recently, members of the battalion have been involved in various peacekeeping operations and exercises around the Pacific region.
Unit colour patches are a method of identification used by the Australian Army, used to indicate which unit a soldier belongs to.
The 4th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised as part of the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion formed part of the 1st Brigade, attached to the 1st Division. During the war the battalion fought at Gallipoli and in the trenches on the Western Front, before being disbanded in 1919. In 1921, the battalion was re-raised as a militia unit and designated as the "4th Battalion ", adopting the designation of the Australian Rifles militia unit from which many of the battalion's recruits had come during the war. In 1930, the battalion was amalgamated with the 3rd Battalion and they remained linked until 1936, when they were delinked.
The 5th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in Victoria as part of the First Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I, the battalion formed part of the 2nd Brigade, attached to the 1st Division. It participated in the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, coming ashore in the second wave, before taking part in the fighting at Krithia and then at Lone Pine. In December 1915, the battalion was withdrawn from the peninsula and returned to Egypt where it was involved in defending the Suez Canal until being transferred to the Western Front in France in early 1916. After that, over the course of the next two and a half years the 5th Battalion was rotated in and out of the front line and took part in a number of significant battles including at Pozieres, Ypres, Amiens and the Hindenburg Line. Following the end of the war, the battalion was disbanded and its personnel returned to Australia. The battalion was re-raised during the inter-war years as a part-time unit and was later mobilised during World War II, but did not serve overseas. During the post war period, the battalion has existed at various times before being subsumed into the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.
The 6th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally formed in 1914 for service during the First World War, the battalion fought at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. The battalion was disbanded in 1919 but was re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizens Force, and adopted the title of "Royal Melbourne Regiment" in 1935. The battalion did not serve overseas during the Second World War and was eventually disbanded in 1944. It was re-raised in 1948 and remained in existence until 1960 when it was absorbed into the Royal Victoria Regiment. Today its honours and traditions are maintained by the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.
The 8th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Initially raised in 1914 for the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War the battalion was completely recruited from Victoria and formed part of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. During the war it fought at Gallipoli and in France and Belgium on the Western Front. It was disbanded in 1919, before being re-raised as a Militia battalion in 1921. During the Second World War the 8th Battalion was used primarily as a garrison unit before taking part in the Bougainville campaign late in the war. It was disbanded again in 1946 during the demobilisation process, although it was reformed again in 1948 when it was amalgamated with the 7th Battalion. Today, its honours and traditions are perpetuated by the 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.
The 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment is an Australian Army reserve infantry battalion located in Western Australia and one of the two battalions of the Royal Western Australia Regiment. The battalion was first formed during the First World War, during which it fought during the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front in France and Belgium as part of the Australian Imperial Force. It was re-formed as a part-time unit in Western Australia during the inter-war years, and served in the New Britain Campaign against the Japanese during the Second World War. In the post war years, the battalion became part of the Royal Western Australia Regiment and currently forms part of the 13th Brigade.
The 13th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised for the 1st Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, it was formed just six weeks after the start of the war. Along with the 14th, 15th and 16th Battalions which were recruited from New South Wales, it formed the 4th Brigade. The battalion saw service initially at Gallipoli before being transferred to France in 1916. For the next two years it fought in the trenches of the Western Front, earning numerous battle honours in the process.
The 14th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised in 1914 as part of the Australian Imperial Force for service in World War I, the battalion served at Gallipoli initially before being sent to France where it served in the trenches along the Western Front until the end of the war, when it was disbanded. It was raised again in 1921 as a part-time unit of the Citizen Forces based in Victoria. Later, during World War II the battalion was called up for defensive duties to guard against possible Japanese invasion, but in late 1942 it was merged with the 32nd Battalion to become the 14th/32nd Battalion.
The 23rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was raised in 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I and formed part of the 6th Brigade, attached to the 2nd Division. After being formed in Australia, the battalion was sent to Egypt to complete its training, before being committed to the Gallipoli Campaign as reinforcements in September 1915. They remained on the peninsula until the evacuation of Allied troops in December, when they were withdrawn back to Egypt where they were reorganised before being transferred to the Western Front in March 1916. Over the course of the next two-and-a-half years, the 23rd took part in a number of significant battles in France and Belgium, before being disbanded in mid-1919 following the conclusion of hostilities. In 1921, the battalion was re-raised as a part-time unit within the Citizens Forces in the state of Victoria, but was amalgamated with the 21st Battalion in 1929 to form the 23rd/21st Battalion.
The 4th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in August 1914, as the divisional cavalry regiment for the 1st Division. The regiment fought against the forces of the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire, in Egypt, at Gallipoli, on the Western front, on the Sinai Peninsula, and in Palestine and Jordan. After the armistice the regiment eventually returned to Australia in March 1919. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded twenty-one battle honours.
The 13th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in March 1915, and eventually assigned as the mounted regiment for the Australian Corps. During the war the regiment fought against the forces of the Ottoman Empire, at Gallipoli, and against the German Empire on the Western Front. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded twelve battle honours. In 1921, it was later re-raised as a part-time unit of the Citizens Forces, and was briefly amalgamated with the 19th Light Horse. During the Second World War, the regiment was converted into an armoured regiment, designated the "13th Armoured Regiment", although it was disbanded in late 1943 without seeing action.
The Australian Army was the largest service in the Australian military during World War I. The First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was the Army's main expeditionary force and was formed from 15 August 1914 with an initial strength of 20,000 men, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Meanwhile, the separate, hastily raised 2,000-man Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF), landed near Rabaul in German New Guinea on 11 September 1914 and obtained the surrender of the German garrison after ten days; it later provided occupation forces for the duration of the war. In addition, small military forces based on the pre-war Permanent Forces and part-time Citizen Forces were maintained in Australia to defend the country from attack.
The II ANZAC Corps Mounted Regiment was a combined mounted unit made up of Australian and New Zealand troops during the First World War. The regiment served on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. For the most part, the regiment undertook rear area duties, although it undertook more mobile operations in early 1917 during the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. In November 1917, the regiment was redesignated as the XXII Corps Mounted Regiment when II ANZAC Corps was converted into XXII Corps. During early 1918, the regiment played a defensive role during the German spring offensive and then supported French operations during the Second Battle of the Marne. The regiment continued operations throughout the remainder of 1918, supporting the Allied Hundred Days Offensive until the end of the war.
The 2nd Pioneer Battalion was an Australian infantry and light engineer unit raised for service during the First World War as part of the all volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Formed in Egypt in March 1916, the battalion subsequently served on the Western Front in France and Belgium, after being transferred to the European battlefields shortly after its establishment. Assigned to the 2nd Division, the 2nd Pioneer Battalion fought in most of the major battles that the AIF participated in between mid-1916 and the end of the war in November 1918. It was subsequently disbanded in early 1919.
The Australian Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the Australian Army which was formed for service during World War I. It was established in early 1916 as part of a reorganisation of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in Egypt as preparations were made to transfer the bulk of the AIF's infantry divisions to Europe to take part in the fighting on the Western Front. Initially, the corps was established into company or squadron sized elements, with a total of 20 companies being raised for service in Europe and four squadrons for service with the Australian Light Horse in the Middle East. In early 1918, the companies deployed to the Western Front were reorganised into five battalions, which were each assigned to an infantry division for defensive and offensive duties. These units were disbanded in mid-1919 following the end of hostilities.
The 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion was a First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) battalion of World War I. It was formed in June 1916 with the role of preparing soldiers for combat with the AIF's infantry battalions. From September that year until the battalion's disbandment in October 1917 it was used as a tunnelling unit.
