Australian Imperial Force, World War I

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

This page expands on a section of the Australia in the Great War and The Australian Army pages

The initial Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was the main all-volunteer, expeditionary force of the Commonwealth Military Force during the Great or First World War (formed simultaneously was the Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force which served in New Guinea and the South Pacific). Due to the provisions of the Defence Act 1903, which precluded sending conscripts overseas, the AIF was formed by an Act of Parliament on 15th August 1914, following Britain's (and thereby Australia's) declaration of war on Germany, initially with a strength of one infantry division and one light horse brigade. The word 'imperial' was chosen to reflect the 'duty' of Australians to both nation and empire and 'expeditionary' denoted a force being deployed overseas.

The AIF subsequently fought at Gallipoli between April and December 1915 – the 1st Division comprising the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Brigades, and the New Zealand & Australian Division employing the 4th Brigade – being reinforced by a second division which was raised in Egypt in 1915, as well as three light horse brigades. After being evacuated to Egypt the AIF was expanded in early 1916 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 broken up and used as reinforcements following heavy casualties on the Western Front. Meanwhile, two mounted divisions – the famous Light Horse – were deployed from 1916 in the Middle East to fight against Turkish forces in Sinai and Palestine. The AIF also included the Australian Flying Corps (AFC), which consisted of four combat and four training squadrons that were deployed to the United Kingdom, the Western Front and the Middle East throughout the war.

By the end of the war the AIF had gained the reputation of being a well-trained and highly effective military force, playing a significant role in the final Allied victory. This reputation came at a heavy cost, however, with a casualty rate among the highest of any belligerent for the war.

331,781 men served in the AIF during the war.

The AIF was closely tied with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) during the war, from the famous Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) of the Gallipoli Campaign to the ANZAC Mounted Division in the Middle East and 1st Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (1 ANZAC) and Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (2 ANZAC) on the Western Front.

Of the 64 Australian Victoria Cross recipients of the war, all but one were members of the AIF – 9 at Gallipoli and 54 on the Western Front – Lieutenant William Dartnell recieving his VC for action in East Africa as a member of the British 25th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Frontiersmen).

The nation formed another all-volunteer expeditionary force for the Second World War, which was known as the Second Australian Imperial Force (2AIF).

---

AIF Commanders

• Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges (1861-1915); prior to the war served as Chief of Military Intelligence, Chief of the General Staff, Commandant of Royal Military College and Inspector General of the Army; was charged with the creation of the AIF and commanded it in Egypt and during the ANZAC landing. Was in the process of converting his command to the 1st Division AIF when he was KIA at Gallipoli on 15th May 1915.
• Major General (later Lieutenant General) Gordon Legge (1863-1947) was Chief of the General Staff. Whilst Bridges organised the AIF, Legge organised the AN&MEF. He succeeded Bridges in May 1915 as both commander of the 1st Division and of the AIF. In July he moved to Egypt and assumed command of the newly-formed 2nd Division. After falling foul of the commander of British Troops in Egypt, Lieutenant General Sir John Maxwell (objected to being bypassed by an Australian), he returned to Australia as Inspector General and, once more, Chief of the General Staff.
• Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) Sir William Birdwood (1865-1951), later Baron Birdwood of Anzac. As ANZAC commander, assumed the role of Commander AIF (upheld by the Australian government) after the Legge commotion. With the AIF fighting in two theatres from 1916, the Western Front and the Middle East, in effect it became two forces: Birdwood commanding the European operations and Sir Harry Chauvel the Light Horse.
• Lieutenant General Sir John Monash (1865-1931) succeeded Birdwood as commander of the Australian Corps; the largest corps fielded by the British Empire on the Western Front, comprising all five Australian infantry divisions – the closest the AIF came since 1915 operating as a single formation.

---

For more information on the Australian Imperial Force see:

• Australian War Memorial - Dawn of the legend, The AIF.
• National Archives of Australia - Army – World War I: 1914–18.