In March 1901, the Australian Army came into existence as the Commonwealth Military Forces through the amalgamation of the former colonies military forces. The existing regiments and battalions of the colonies were reorganised and renumbered due to their absorption into the national army and subsequently formed the first military units of a united Australia. At the outbreak of World War I, in July 1914, the Australian Government committed the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF), a fully volunteer force, to the war; all existing units were exempt from serving overseas due the Defence Act of 1903, which stipulated that they could only serve in Australian territory.
In 1921, the Citizens Force's regimental numbering system, used since federation, was replaced by a divisional structure when the Australian Government decided to continue the unit designations of the AIF and to continue the traditions of the units of World War I. This renumbering brought about the end of localised regiments, with battalions taking up their role as community recruitment organisations.
This list covers individual units, above or equivalent to a battalion, which were created or maintained after 1914, by either being militia units that were amalgamated and/or renumbered or being entirely new entities.
Armies
The field army has been the largest ever created unit for the Australian Army and has only been utilised in the Second World War.
Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) were formed in the aftermath of the Second World War, when Australian defence policymakers government decided to exchange the focus on the Militia to a permanent force. The battalions are as follows:
Battalions of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) were initially formed in the First World War as volunteer units for overseas service. The battalions are as follows:
Battalions of the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) were initially formed in the Second World War as volunteer units for overseas service. The battalions are as follows:
Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australia's part-time military force. These units were gradually mechanised either before or during World War II, although only a small number undertook operational service during the war. A number of Australian light horse units are still in existence today.
The Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) is an administrative corps of the Australian Army. It provides the Australian Defence Force's Armour capability, which performs the function of mounted combat. Armour combines firepower, mobility, protection and networked situational awareness to generate shock action and overmatch in close combat. Armour is an essential element of the combined arms approach that is employed by the Australian Army.
This article describes the current structure of the Australian Army. It includes the army's order of battle and the headquarters locations of major units. Members of the Australian Army also serve within joint units of the Australian Defence Force which fall outside the direct command of the Australian Army.
The 3rd Armoured Division was an armoured unit of the Australian Army during World War II. Originally raised in 1921 as the 1st Cavalry Division, the formation had been converted into a motor division in early 1942, before adopting the armoured designation in November 1942. A Militia formation, the division undertook garrison duties in New South Wales and then Queensland and did not see combat before being disbanded in late 1943 and early 1944.
Armoured units made a relatively small, but important, contribution to Australia’s war effort during World War II. While Australia formed three armoured divisions and two independent armoured brigades during the war, Australian armoured units only saw action as independent regiments and companies supporting larger infantry formations. Early actions were fought in the Middle East by the divisional carrier regiments that supported the 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions, fighting in Libya, Egypt and Syria in 1941–42, before the Australian divisions returned to Australia in 1942–43. During the early fighting in the Pacific, there was a limited role for armoured formations, although one armoured regiment – the 2/6th – took part in the fighting around Buna–Gona in late 1942. Later in the war, though, during the Huon Peninsula, Bougainville and Borneo campaigns of 1943–45, several armoured units were used by Australian forces in the infantry support role.
The 1st Cavalry Division was a regular Division of the British Army during the First World War where it fought on the Western Front. During the Second World War it was a first line formation, formed from Yeomanry Regiments. It fought in the Middle East before being converted to the 10th Armoured Division.
The 10th Armoured Division was an armoured formation of division-size of the British Army, raised during the Second World War and was active from 1941–1944 and after the war from 1956–1957. It was formed from the 1st Cavalry Division, a 1st Line Yeomanry unit of the Territorial Army (TA) which had previously been serving in Palestine. The division was converted from cavalry to armour and redesignated from 1 August 1941.
The following units of the German First Army and British Expeditionary Force fought in the Battle of Mons in World War I.
This is the order of battle for the ground forces involved in Operation Crusader, a World War II battle between the British Commonwealth and the European Axis Powers of Germany and Italy in North Africa between 18 November – 30 December 1941.
Armoured reconnaissance also Combat reconnaissance vehicle is the combination of terrestrial reconnaissance with armoured warfare by soldiers using tanks and wheeled or tracked armoured reconnaissance vehicles. While the mission of reconnaissance is to gather intelligence about the enemy with the use of reconnaissance vehicles, armoured reconnaissance adds the ability to fight for information, and to have an effect on and to shape the enemy through the performance of traditional armoured tasks.
The 2nd Armoured Brigade was a formation of the Australian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in July 1941, at Puckapunyal, Victoria, from Second Australian Imperial Force volunteers. It was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division in July 1941, with the intention of deploying it to the Middle East. However, it was reassigned to home defence following Japan's entry into the war, and was then transferred to the 3rd Armoured Division in October 1942. The brigade remained in Australia, undertaking defensive duties in Victoria and Queensland before being disbanded in January 1944. While it did not see any active service as a formation, some of its constituent units eventually took part in the campaigns on Tarakan, Labuan, Bougainville and around Aitape–Wewak in 1944–1945 after transferring to other brigades.
In September 1939, the British Army was in process of expanding their anti-aircraft and mobile assets. Among these new changes was the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command which was formed on 1 April 1939, and the 1st Armoured Division formed in 1937. The list below will include the British Army units, colonial units, and those units which were in the process of formation.
This is an order of battle listing the Allied and Ottoman forces involved in the Gallipoli campaign during 1915.
The Structure of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force over the course of the First World War is shown below.
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