Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps | |
---|---|
Active | 1914–1916; 1941 |
Countries | |
Branch | Second World War Vietnam War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | William Birdwood |
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a
History
Original formation
Plans for the formation began in November 1914 while the first contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops were still in convoy bound for, as they thought, Europe. However, following the experiences of the
It was originally intended to name the corps the Australasian Army Corps, this title being used in the unit diary in line with the common practice of the time which often saw New Zealanders and Australians compete together as Australasia in sporting events.[4] [5] [6] However, complaints from New Zealand recruits led to adoption of the name Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The administration clerks found the title too cumbersome so quickly adopted the abbreviation A. & N.Z.A.C. or simply ANZAC.[4] Shortly afterwards it was officially adopted as the codename for the corps, but it did not enter common usage amongst the troops until after the Gallipoli landings.[7]
At the outset, the corps comprised two divisions; the
Despite being synonymous with Australia and New Zealand, ANZAC was a multi-national body: in addition to the many British officers in the corps and division staffs, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps contained, at various points, the 7th Brigade of the
Later formations
World War I
Following the evacuation of the
In January 1916, the 4th (ANZAC) Battalion, Imperial Camel Corps, was formed with Australian and New Zealand troops. The 1st and 3rd Battalions were Australian, while the 2nd Battalion was British.[15] Then in March 1916, the ANZAC Mounted Division with three Australian and one New Zealand brigade, was formed for service in Egypt and Palestine.[13] There was also the 1st (ANZAC) Wireless Signal Squadron, which served with the British expeditionary force in Mesopotamia in 1916–1917.[13]
In early 1916, the Australian and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand governments sought the creation of an
World War II
During World War II, the Australian
Some troops evacuated to Alexandria, but the majority were sent to the Greek island of Crete to reinforce its garrison against an expected German invasion from air and sea. Australians and New Zealanders were respectively deployed around the cities of Rethymno and Chania in western Crete with a smaller Australian force being positioned in Heraklion. The invasion began the morning of 20 May and, after the fierce Battle of Crete, which lasted ten days, Crete fell to the Germans. Most of the defenders of Chania withdrew across the island to the south coast and were evacuated by the Royal Navy from Sfakia. Many others evaded capture for several months, hiding in the mountains with generous assistance from the local Cretan population.[19] Others who were captured and transported to Axis POW camps in mainland Europe were able to escape en route via Yugoslavia. Those who escaped found refuge with Chetniks and Yugoslav Partisans until they were either repatriated or recaptured by Axis forces.[20][21]
Other conflicts
During the Vietnam War, two companies from the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment were integrated into Royal Australian Regiment battalions. These integrated battalions had the suffix (ANZAC) added to their name (for example, 4 RAR became the 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion).[13] An ANZAC battalion served as one of the infantry battalions of the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) from early March 1968 until its withdrawal in December 1971. Due to the rotation of forces, there were a total of five combined battalions of this period.[22]
The
See also
- ANZAC day
- Colour of War: The Anzacs, includes rare colour footage
- Military history of Australia during World War I
- Military history of New Zealand during World War I
References
- ^ Beckett, Ian (2012). The Making of the First World War. Yale University Press.
- ^ Grey, Jeffrey (2008). A Military History of Australia. Cambridge University Press. p. 92.
- ^ Bean, Charles (1941a). The Story of ANZAC from the outbreak of war to the end of the first phase of the Gallipoli Campaign, May 4, 1915. Angus and Robertson. p. 117.
- ^ a b Davidson, Leon (2005). Scarecrow Army: The Anzacs at Gallipoli. Black Dog Books. p. 24.
- ^ "Blog | Macquarie Dictionary". 23 October 2023.
- ^ "The Anzacs".
- ^ Bean, Charles (1941a). The Story of ANZAC from the outbreak of war to the end of the first phase of the Gallipoli Campaign, May 4, 1915. Angus and Robertson. pp. 124–125.
- ^ a b Davidson, Leon (2005). Scarecrow Army: The Anzacs at Gallipoli. Black Dog Books. p. 25.
- ^ Bean, Charles (1941a). The Story of ANZAC from the outbreak of war to the end of the first phase of the Gallipoli Campaign, May 4, 1915. Angus and Robertson. pp. 214–215.
- ^ Waite, Fred (1919). The New Zealanders at Gallipoli. Official History of New Zealand's Effort in the Great War. Auckland, New Zealand: Whitcombe & Tombs. p. 165.
- ^ Broadbent, Harvey (2005). Gallipoli: The Fatal Shore. Camberwell, Victoria: Viking/Penguin. p. 128.
- ^ Bean, Charles (1941b). The Story of ANZAC from 4 May 1915, to the Evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Angus and Robertson. pp. 454–455.
- ^ a b c d e "The ANZAC Acronym". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Grey, Jeffrey (2008). A Military History of Australia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 100–102.
- ^ "Imperial Camel Corps". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Bean, Charles (1941c). The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1916. Angus and Robertson. p. 148.
- ISBN 1921215291.
- Melbourne University Press, 1993, pp 196–201.
- ^ "Crete, Kreta: the battles of May 1941". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ Lawrence, Christie (1946). Irregular Adventure. London: Faber and Faber.
- ^ Churches, Ralph (1999). 100 Miles as the Crow Flies. Sydney: AMPH.
- ^ McGibbon, Ian (2010). New Zealand's Vietnam War: A History of Combat, Commitment and Controversy. Exisle. p. 550.
- ^ "ANZAC Battle Group". 24 August 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
Bibliography
- OCLC 220878987.
- Bean, Charles (1941b) [1926]. The Story of ANZAC from 4 May 1915, to the Evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Vol. II (11th ed.). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 220051990.
- Bean, Charles (1941c) [1929]. The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1916. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Vol. III (12th ed.). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 220623454.
- ISBN 978-0-670-04085-8.
- ISBN 978-0-521-69791-0.
- McGibbon, Ian (2010). New Zealand's Vietnam War: A History of Combat, Commitment and Controversy. Auckland: Exisle. ISBN 978-0908988969.
- OCLC 221448346.
Further reading
- Fleming, Robert (2012). The Australian Army in World War I. Men at Arms. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey. ISBN 978-1849086325.
- ISBN 978-1-74223-151-8.
- Teniswood-Harvery, Arabella (2016). "Reconsidering the Anzac Legend: Music, National Identity and the Australian Experience of World War I, as Portrayed in the Australian War Memorial's Art and Photographic Collection". Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography. 41 (1–2): 129–140. ISSN 1522-7464.
- Robins, James (2020). When We Dead Awaken: Australia, New Zealand, and the Armenian Genocide. London: I.B. Tauris.
External links
- Anzac Day Act 1995
- Visit Gallipoli: Australian site about Gallipoli and the Anzacs, includes previously unpublished photographs, artworks and documents from Government archives. A site by the Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs.
- Discovering Anzacs, includes service records and profiles from National Archives of Australia and Archives NZ for those who enlisted in WWI.
- New Zealanders at Gallipoli
- An ongoing collection of geo-mapped Australian & ANZAC War Memorial photographs.
- Listen to an excerpt from a simulated recording of Australian troops docking in Egypt after their voyage from Australia to take part in the First World War on australianscreen online.
- This recording was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2007
- Measuring the ANZACS – a citizen science project
- Seal, Graham: Anzac (Australia), in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
- Monash University: One Hundred Stories (Online Exhibition)
- Beersheba ANZAC Memorial Center