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The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War.It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division and one light horse brigade.
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.
As a result, many of the AIF units became associated with the Militia units from where they were located and to some extent there was an attempt to maintain the identity of these units within the AIF. Up to 100 men from the pre-war 1st Infantry Regiment are believed to have served in various AIF units during the war, including the 1st Battalion ...
Soldiers from the 4th Division near Chateau Wood, Ypres, in 1917. In Australia, the outbreak of World War I was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the nation pledged its support alongside other states of the British Empire and almost immediately began preparations to send forces overseas to engage in the conflict.
The refusal of the Australian public to institute conscription had made this situation even worse, and in late 1918 it became clear that the AIF could not maintain the number of units it had deployed in France and it was decided to disband three battalions—the 36th, 47th and 52nd—in order to reinforce others.
Vernon Ashton Hobart Sturdee was born in Frankston, Victoria, on 16 April 1890, the son of Alfred Hobart Sturdee and his wife Laura Isabell, née Merrett. [1] Alfred Sturdee, a medical practitioner from England, came from a prominent naval family and was the brother of Doveton Sturdee, who later became an admiral of the fleet.
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.
Over the course of the war, although there was some attempt to limit the numbers of militiamen joining the AIF, especially in the trades considered vital to national defence such as garrison artillery and engineers, [8] large numbers of the militia volunteered for service with the AIF during the war, to the extent that many militia units ceased ...