Allied naval and air forces, centred on the US 7th Fleet under Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, the Australian First Tactical Air Force and the US Thirteenth Air Force, also played important roles in the campaign. As the Japanese were split into several enclaves the II Corps fought separate offensives in the northern, central and southern portions of the island. * Only one armoured squadron served with 1 Australian Task Force (ATF) at any one time during the Vietnam War.

[189] Appointments therefore went to reservists like Stanley Savige, Arthur Allen, Leslie Morshead and Edmund Herring. The decision to form the 1st Armoured Division created a requirement for large numbers of highly skilled personnel,[225] but there were few officers and men with the required skills in the small pre-war Army and many of them were already serving in the AIF's divisional mechanised cavalry regiments. [115] Thousands of Australians who were ineligible for service in the military responded to the threat of attack by joining auxiliary organisations such as the Volunteer Defence Corps and Volunteer Air Observers Corps, which were modelled on the British Home Guard and Royal Observer Corps respectively. The Australian Army was the largest service in the Australian military during World War II. [154] The value of these campaigns was controversial at the time and remains so to this day as the Australian Government authorised these operations for primarily political, rather than military, reasons. While Alan Vasey, a major in the First AIF, was not promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel until 1937, Kenneth Eather, a reservist who was too young to serve in World War I, was commissioned in 1923 and promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1935.

[144] In the latter half of 1943 the Australian Government decided, with MacArthur's agreement, that the size of the military would be decreased to release manpower for war-related industries which were important to supplying Britain and US forces in the Pacific. After a 20-day preliminary air and naval bombardment the 7th Division landed near the town on 1 July. The Army was considerably expanded in early 1942 in response to the Japanese threat to Australia. An AIF battalion was also allocated to garrison Rabaul, and another brigade would be dispersed piecemeal to Timor and Ambon. [249] By August 1945 all the former Australian POWs in Europe had embarked on ships bound for Australia. 3 x Carrier Troop, Regiment Headquarters (4 light tanks, 2 carriers) [186] Many regular officers had attended training courses or been on exchange with the British Army, which was important in the early years of the war when there was close cooperation between the two armies. Australian Army officers receive a commission from the Monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, of Australia, signed by the Governor-General of Australia, acting on her behalf. Corps troops included a machine-gun battalion, and various engineer, logistics and communication units. [51] As a result, the divisions were strengthened for their 1944–45 campaigns by returning the artillery and anti-tank units that had been removed. After the war it participated in the reoccupation of Singapore. [103] In response, most of the AIF was brought back from the Middle East and the Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, appealed to the United States for assistance. [145] As a result of this policy, the size of the Army was reduced from late 1943 onwards, though an offensive force of six infantry divisions (three AIF and three Militia divisions) was maintained until the end of the war. [251], More than 21,000 members of the AIF were captured by the Japanese during the first months of 1942. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and. [16], In October 1939, conscription was introduced to keep the Militia at strength as its members volunteered for the AIF.

[58] As a result, the growth of the support arms and ancillary services proved dramatic, including many capabilities which the Australian Army had only minimal or no previous experience in maintaining. 1 x M79 grenade launcher, Administration Company

Signals Platoon [63], Shortages of manpower also led to the establishment of the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) in August 1941. ** Only a single cavalry squadron served in Somalia with the Australian Forces in Somalia (AFS). During this year the Army's strength peaked at eleven infantry divisions—the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Divisions—and three armoured divisions—the 1st, 2nd and 3rd—organised into the First and Second Armies, and I, II and III Corps, as well as many support and service units. In 1939 the Northern Territory was designated the 7th Military District, while and the 8th Military District was later activated in Port Moresby to command forces in New Guinea. As a result, the operation is generally considered to have not been worthwhile. As Japanese forces advanced through Burma towards India in early 1942, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, attempted to divert the 6th and 7th Divisions while they were en route to Australia, but Curtin refused to authorise this movement. [89], Due to the emphasis placed on cooperation with Britain, relatively few Australian military units were stationed in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region after 1940. [214], The need for tanks to equip armoured units led the War Cabinet to approve the manufacture of the Sentinel tank in 1940. By mid-1942 the Army had a strength of ten infantry divisions, three armoured divisions and hundreds of other units. Regimental sergeant major (RSM): The senior soldier in a regiment/battalion sized unit. [57] VDC units gradually took over responsibility for manning the fixed coastal and anti-aircraft defences as the threat of attack against the Australian mainland receded. While an invasion was considered by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters in February 1942, it was judged to be beyond the Japanese military's capabilities and no planning or other preparations were undertaken. The town was eventually captured on 11 September 1943. [91] In keeping with the Singapore strategy, a high proportion of Australian forces in Asia were concentrated in Malaya during 1940 and 1941 as the threat from Japan increased. [129] Following reverses at the hands of US forces on Guadalcanal the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters decided they could not support fronts on both New Guinea and Guadalcanal. The Australian Army generally had a long-standing policy of using British-designed equipment, but equipment from Australia, the United States and some other countries was introduced into service in the war's later years. Below them were a distinct group of regular officers, graduates of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, which had opened in 1911. chief petty officer and flight sergeant).

[7], During the 1930s the Australian Army's organisation, equipment and doctrine were similar to those of World War I. [27][185], The next most senior regular officers, all colonels, included men like Vernon Sturdee, Henry Wynter and John Northcott, all of whom had joined the Army before World War I. The role of these forces was to defend strategic airfields which could be used to launch attacks on the Australian mainland. [254] The POWs held in camps at Ambon and Borneo suffered the highest death rates; 77 percent of those at Ambon died and few of the 2,500 Australian and British prisoners in Borneo survived; almost all were killed by overwork and a series of death marches in 1945. [223] By far the single greatest difficulty in training in the early war years was the shortage of equipment. The Australian forces in Borneo and the NEI were to remain in place only until they were relieved by British and Dutch units in late 1945. Some 2,860 motor vehicles and motorcycles suitable for military use were purchased in 1939 for the Militia and another 784 for the 6th Division, but since a division's war establishment was around 3,000, this was only enough for training. [13] Wartime exigencies required a rapid expansion of the Army and during the war 730,000 personnel enlisted in either the Militia or the AIF, a figure which represented around 10 percent of Australia's population of just seven million,[3] one of the highest percentages of any of the Allied armies during World War II.

[240] During 1943 and 1944, combined training with the RAAF and RAN was also carried out at Trinity Beach, near Cairns in preparation for amphibious operations in the South West Pacific as the Allies advanced. Additionally, a total of 530 2 pounder and 6 pounder anti-tank guns were required, but the Army had 1,941, while 68 3.7 inch anti-aircraft guns were needed for combat and five for training, but there were 640 pieces available. These resulted in heavy casualties and the area was not secured until 22 January 1943. [148], While the Australian Government offered I Corps for use in Leyte and Luzon, nothing came of several proposals to utilise it in the liberation of these islands.

Brigade Headquarters The Allied force consisted of the exhausted 7th Division and the inexperienced and ill-trained US 32nd Infantry Division, and was short of artillery and supplies. Technical Support Platoon, Signals Platoon [70], The Australian Army first saw action in Operation Compass, the successful Commonwealth offensive in North Africa which was conducted between December 1940 and February 1941. In July 1941, fully trained soldiers who had completed 90 days' training became liable for three months' additional training per year while new recruits were liable for six months. [90] Meanwhile, in July 1941 the 1st Independent Company was deployed to Kavieng on New Britain in order to protect the airfield, while sections were sent to Namatanai in central New Ireland, Vila in the New Hebrides, Tulagi on Guadalcanal, Buka Passage in Bougainville, and Lorengau on Manus Island to act as observers. Under the terms of an agreement reached between Blamey and Admiral Louis Mountbatten, the head of South East Asia Command, Australia was responsible for providing occupation forces for all of Borneo, the NEI east of Lombok (including western New Guinea) and the pre-war Australian and British territories in eastern New Guinea and the Solomon Islands as well as Nauru and Ocean Islands in the Pacific. Given the task of capturing Italian fortresses bypassed by the British 7th Armoured Division during its advance,[71] on 3 January, the division went into action at Bardia. A school, known as No. As a group, they had become embittered and resentful, and determined to prove that they could lead troops in battle.

He later justified his actions saying that he had gained an understanding of how to defeat the Japanese and needed to return to Australia to pass his knowledge on, but two post-war inquiries found that he was unjustified in leaving his command. In September and October 1941, upon the request of the Australian Government, the 9th Division was relieved and the bulk withdrawn from Tobruk.

[8], There are a number of appointments held by the senior warrant officers in the Australian Army. This rank is currently being phased out of the Australian Army. The demands of combat during World War II led to changes in the composition of Army units. Following the outbreak of war, on 14 September 1939 Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced that 40,000 members of the Militia would be called up for training and a 20,000-strong expeditionary force, designated the Second Australian Imperial Force (Second AIF), would be formed for overseas service.

Bombardier and lance bombardier are used by members of Royal Australian Artillery.

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