Australian Army

From TheBestLinks.com

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force.

As well as ground troops, approximately 80 Leopard tanks and artillery, it also operates Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters. Recently plans have been announced to procure 59 M1A1 tanks from the United States.

Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout its history, but only in World War II did Australian territory come under direct attack.

The history of the Australian Army can be divided into two periods: 1901–47, when limits were set on the size of the regular army, the vast majority of peacetime soldiers were in the reserve units of the Australian Citizens Military Force (Militia/CMF), and Australian Imperial Forces were formed to serve overseas, and post-1947, when limits on the size of the regular army were removed and the CMF (known as the Army Reserve after 1980) began to decline in importance.

The army has been involved in many peacekeeping operations, usually under the auspices of the United Nations. The biggest one began in 1999 in East Timor. Other notable operations include peacekeeping on Bougainville and in the Solomon Islands, which are ongoing as of May 2004.

History

To be completed.

The "two armies": militia and permanent forces 1870–1947

For more than 80 years after the first British settlement, the only professional soldiers in Australia were members of British Army garrisons.

The first conflicts in which large numbers of Australian-born soldiers fought overseas were the Maori Wars, between 1863–72, although almost all of these—about 2,500 men—served in New Zealand colonial units, or the British Army.

By the time that the garrisons were withdrawn in 1870, the six separate self-governing colonies in Australia already had their own separate, part-time reserve units, known as militia or "volunteers". The colonial governments began to raise professional artillery units, to staff coastal batteries. From 1877 onwards, the British sent officers to advise the colonies on defence matters, and in the early 1880s, the first inter-colonial defence conferences were held.

During 1885, the government of New South Wales sent an infantry battalion, with artillery and support units to the short-lived British campaign in Sudan.

During the economic depression of the early 1890s, large-scale strikes in various colonies were met with governments mobilising and/or threatening to use militia against strikers. This was very unpopular and led to successful and historically-significant campaigns against the formation of standing, regular forces. The "two armies" system was established whereby the only infantry units would be militia, although permanent artillery and other support units remained.

As Federation of the colonies approached, on August 24, 1899 the colonial artillery units were merged into the first Australia federal army unit.

Boer War 1899–1902

Before Federation and the forming of the national army, the six Australian colonial governments sent contingents to South Africa to serve in the Second Boer War. These soldiers were paid by the British government and as such were technically part of the British Army.

The first detachment, sent in October 1899, was known as the The Australian Regiment and was an infantry unit, made up mainly of volunteers from the Colonies of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, who left on one ship for Cape Town. Due to the way the war developed, these troops were converted from infantry to mounted infantry.

Strong resistance from the Afrikaner forces led to further recruiting in the Australian colonies. Known as Bushmen's Contingents, these soldiers were usually volunteers with horse-riding and shooting skills but no military experience. After Federation in 1901, eight Australian Commonwealth Horse battalions were sent.

Many of the Australian units were short-lived and subject to frequent restructuring. Some Australians were also transferred to multinational units, such as the Bushveldt Carbineers, famed as the last unit in which Harry "Breaker" Morant and Peter Hancock served, before their court martial and execution for alleged war crimes.

Australian units served at many notable actions, including Sunnyside, Slingersfontein, Pink Hill, the Relief of Kimberley, Paardeburg, the Siege of Eland's River, Rhenosterkop and Haartebeestefontein. In all, 16,175 Australians, with 16,314 horses, served in the Boer War; 251 were killed in action, 267 died of other causes and 43 went missing in action. Five Victoria Crosses were awarded to members of the Australian contingents.

1901–14

As the Boer War raged, the Commonwealth of Australia was founded on January 1, 1901. On March 1, 28,923 colonial soldiers, comprised of 1,457 professional soldiers, 18,603 paid militia and 8,863 unpaid volunteers, were transferred to the new Australian Army. However, the individual units continued to be administered under the various colonial Acts. Maj. Gen. Sir Edward Hutton, a former commander of the New South Wales Military Forces, became the first commander of the Commonwealth Forces on December 26 and set to work devising an integrated structure for the new army.

The Defence Act of 1903 brought all of the units under one piece of legislation; more significantly, it prevented the raising of standing infantry units and specified that militia forces could not be used in industrial disputes, and could not serve outside Australia. The vast majority of soldiers remained in militia units, now known as the Citizen Military Forces (CMF).

In 1911, two significant changes followed a report by Lord Kitchener: the Royal Military College, Duntroon was established and; a system of universal national service began: boys aged 12 to 18 became cadets, and men aged 18–26 had to serve in the CMF.

World War One

When Britain declared war on Germany at the start of World War I, the Australian government followed without hesitation. This was considered to be expected by the Australian public, because of the very large number of British-born citizens and first generation Anglo-Australians at the time. By the end of the war, almost 20% of those who served in the Australian forces had been born in the United Kingdom, even though nearly all enlistments had occurred in Australia.

Because existing militia forces were unable to serve overseas, an all-volunteer expeditionary force, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was formed from August 15, 1914. The Australian government had pledged to supply 20,000 men, organised as one infantry division and one light horse brigade plus supporting units. The first commander of the AIF was General William Bridges, who also assumed direct command of the infantry division.

However, the first target for Australian action was close to home, seizing German colonial outposts in the south-west Pacific and New Guinea. The 2000-man force assembled for this purpose, known as the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF), landed near Rabaul on September 11, 1914 and after some fighting, the German garrison surrendered on September 21.

Departing from Western Australia on November 1, 1914, the AIF was sent initially to British-controlled Egypt, to pre-empt any attack by the Ottoman Empire, and with a view to opening another front against the Central Powers. The AIF had four infantry brigades with the first three making up the 1st Division. The 4th Brigade was joined with the sole New Zealand infantry brigade to form the New Zealand and Australian Division.

The combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), commanded by British general William Birdwood, went into action when Allied forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula on April 25, 1915 (now commemorated as Anzac Day). The Battle of Gallipoli would last for eight months of bloody stalemate. By the end of the campaign, Australian casualties were 8,700 killed and 19,000 wounded or sick. The original AIF contingent had continued to grow with the arrival of the 2nd Division which was formed in Egypt and went to Gallipoli in August.

After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the infantry underwent a major expansion with the two veteran divisions (1st and 2nd) being split to create an additional two divisions (4th and 5th). The 3rd Division was formed in Australia and sent to the Western Front, in France. The light horse brigades had served as infantry at Gallipoli. In 1916, they were reunited with their horses and formed into cavalry divisions in Egypt to campaign against Turkish forces in the Sinai and Palestine. Australia also supplied the majority of troops for the newly formed Imperial Camel Corps Brigade.

The first Australian division to see action on the Western Front was the 5th Division which was thrown unprepared into the futile Battle of Fromelles, a "diversion" to the Battle of the Somme that cost the division 5,500 casualties for no gain. The 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions, combined as I Anzac Corps, fought the Battle of Pozi�res and subsequent Battle of Mouquet Farm, part of the Battle of the Somme. In Egypt, the light horse had helped repulse the Turkish attempt capture the Suez Canal in the Battle of Romani.

During 1917, the five divisions in France fought in three Allied offensives: the Battle of Bullecourt (part of the Battle of Arras), the Battle of Messines and the Third Battle of Ypres. Meanwhile the light horse had entered southern Palestine. After two attempts to break through the Turkish defences at Gaza, the decisive victory was achieved in the Third Battle of Gaza in which the Australians captured the town of Beersheba in a dramatic cavalry charge. By the end of the year, British forces had captured Jerusalem.

The German Spring Offensive of early 1918 broke through British lines south of the Somme. The Australians were called on to halt the German advance east of Amiens at the town of Villers-Bretonneux. In preparation for the British counter-offensive, the newly formed Australian Corps commanded by General John Monash, fought the Battle of Hamel, widely regarded as the finest set-piece strategy of the war on the Western Front. The final Allied offensive began with the Battle of Amiens on August 8, and the Australian divisions, along with the Canadian Corps, spearheaded the advance south of the Somme. By the end of September, the Australian divisions were severely depleted, with only the 3rd and the (rebuilt) 5th deemed to be fit for action. On October 5 the Australian Corps was withdrawn to rest and saw no more fighting before the war ended.

In the Middle East, the light horse had endured summer in the Jordan Valley before leading the British offensive in the final Battle of Megiddo. The 10th Light Horse Regiment was the first Allied unit to reach Damascus.

A total of 331,814 Australians were sent overseas to serve as part of the AIF, which represented 13% of the white male population. About 2,100 women served with the 1st AIF, mainly as nurses. 18% (61,859) of those who served in the AIF were killed. The casualty rate (killed or wounded) was 64%, reportedly the highest of any country which took part in World War I. This casualty rate was exacerbated by a perpetual manpower shortage in the AIF due to the fact that it remained a volunteer force for the duration of the war—the only British or Dominion force to do so. Two referendums on conscription had been defeated, preserving the volunteer status, but stretching the reserves towards the end of the war.

See also:

1919–39

World War Two

When war broke out between Britain and Germany in 1939, the 2nd AIF was formed, to fight in France. The AIF's main strength would consist of four divisions raised in 1939–40: the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th. Maj. Gen. Thomas Blamey was appointed commander of the 2nd AIF.

Compulsory military service was introduced: all men over 21 had to complete three months training with the Militia. However, to ensure home defences, Militia members were barred from joing the AIF.

After British forces withdrew from France in the face of the German Blitzkrieg, the 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions, as I Corps, were sent to Egypt. From late 1940, the individual divisions faced Italian and German forces in North Africa. The 6th Division then experienced many casualties in mainland Greece, and on Crete, and 3,000 of its personnel were taken prisoner in this campaign. The 7th Division formed the body of the successful Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Lebanon and Syria in 1941. The 9th Division and part of the 7th played a celebrated defensive role at the Siege of Tobruk.

In 1941, a start was made on raising an 1st Armoured Division, as part of the AIF.

As fears of war with Japan mounted, most of the 8th Division was sent to Singapore, to strengthen the British garrison; the remaining battalions were deployed in the islands to Australia's north, at Rabaul, Ambon and Timor. Following short but bloody campaigns in Malaya and the islands, virtually all of the 8th division was lost, when stronger Japanese forces swept through South East Asia, in early 1942. In the Fall of Singapore alone, more than 15,000 Australians were taken prisoner. The 6th and 7th Divisions were recalled to Australia, as the country faced the prospect of invasion.

Blamey was appointed Commander-in-Chief in March 1942; in April a major re-organisation took place: the name First Army—which previously referred to a Militia formation—was re-assigned to I Corps, which was expanded to army size with the inclusion of Militia divisions. The 1st Army's initial area of responsibility was the defence of Queensland and northern New South Wales. The Second Army was responsible for south-eastern Australia; the other components of Australia's defences were III Corps (in Western Australia), the Northern Territory Force and New Guinea Force. Conscription was effectively introduced in mid-1942, when all men 18–35, and single men aged 35–45, were required to join the CMF.

In February 1942, a change in regulations meant that if 65% of the official, establishment strength of a Militia unit, or 75 per cent of the actual personnel, volunteered for the AIF, the unit became an AIF unit. At the time, the CMF were often scorned as "chocolate soldiers", or "chockos", because they were barred from fighting overseas. Nevertheless, Militia units distinguished themselves and suffered extremely high casualties during 1942, in New Guinea, which was then an Australian territory. The prime example was the 39th (Militia) Battalion, many of them very young, untrained and poorly equipped, who distinguished themselves and suffered heavy casualties, in the stubborn rearguard action on the Kokoda Track.

By late 1942, the 7th Division was beginning to relieve the Militia in New Guinea. In August, as the Kokoda battles raged, Militia and 7th Division units formed the bulk of Australian-US forces at the Battle of Milne Bay, the first outright defeat inflicted on Japanese land forces. The 6th and 7th Divisions, with Militia units and elements of the 1st Armoured, formed a large part of Allied forces which destroyed the major Japanese beachhead in New Guinea, at the Battle of Buna-Gona.

In 1943, the Defence Act was changed to allow Militia units to serve south of the Equator in South East Asia.

The 9th Division remained in North Africa and distinguished itself at the Second Battle of El Alamein, after which victory over Rommel was assured, and returned to Australia in 1943. Later that year it was pitched into battle against Japanese forces in New Guinea.

General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Allied Commander in the South West Pacific, was resented for his treatment of Australian forces. After the surrender of Allied forces in the Philippines, Australian ground forces comprised 100% of MacArthur's ground forces. As US forces re-built, however, he increasingly used Australian units for secondary assignments. The campaign on Bougainville after the departure of US forces is considered to be an example of this.

The 1st Army took responsibility for mopping-up and controlling areas which flanked US forces' "island-hopping" campaign towards Japan. Australian units were also responsible for the last phase of amphibious assaults during the Pacific War: the attacks on Japanese-occupied Borneo, including Tarakan, Brunei, British Borneo, Balikpapan and other targets in Sarawak.

Meanwhile, Australian prisoners of the Japanese, were often held in inhumane conditions, such as Changi prison, or in Japan itself. Some were subject to forced labour, including the Burma Railway, or forced long distance marches, such as on Sandakan. There was a very high death rate among Allied prisoners of the Japanese.

A planned invasion of the Japanese home island of Honshu in 1946, Operation Coronet, would probably have included an Australian division. However, the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused Japan to surrender before the invasion became necessary.

Compulsory military service ended in 1945, and most Australian personnel had been demobilised by the end of 1946.

Out of more than 724,000 army personnel during World War Two, almost 400,000 served outside Australia. More than 18,000 died; 22,000 were wounded and more than 20,000 became prisoners of war.

Australian Army

From TheBestLinks.com

History

The "two armies": militia and permanent forces 1870–1947

Boer War 1899–1902

1901–14

World War One

1919–39

World War Two

Occupation of Japan

The modern army, 1947–

Malayan Emergency

Korean War

1960–65

Indonesian Confrontation

Vietnam War

1972–90

Gulf War

1991–1999

Peacekeeping in East Timor

US-Afghan War

Iraq War

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Articles on conflicts and wars involving Australia

Articles on Australian Army units

Articles on Conscription and National Service

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