The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the

Mediterranean Expeditionary Force The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) was the part of the British Army during World War I that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. It was formed in March 1915, under the command of General Sir Ian Hamilton, at the beginn ...

. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which primarily consisted of troops from the First Australian Imperial Force and

1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

, although there were also British and Indian units attached at times throughout the campaign. The corps disbanded in 1916, following the Allied evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula and the formation of I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps. The corps was reestablished, briefly, in the Second World War during the

Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

in 1941.

History

Original formation

Coloured illustration of Anzac troops after the fighting at Gallipoli during World War I (5681735081)

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

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

encamped on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

, where there was a shortage of accommodation and equipment, it was decided not to subject the Australians and New Zealanders to the English winter, and so they were diverted to Egypt for training before moving on to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in France. The British

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

Horatio Kitchener Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, h ...

, appointed General William Birdwood, an officer of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

, to the command of the corps and he furnished most of the corps staff from the Indian Army as well. Birdwood arrived in Cairo on 21 December 1914 to assume command of the corps. 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. 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. 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. At the outset, the corps comprised two divisions; the

Australian Division The 1st Division is headquartered in Enoggera, a suburb of Brisbane. The division was first formed in 1914 for service during World War I as a part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). It was initially part of the Australian and New Zealand ...

, composed of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Australian Infantry Brigades and the New Zealand and Australian Division, composed of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade,

New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was a brigade of the New Zealand Army during the First World War. Raised in 1914 as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, it was one of the first New Zealand units to sail for service overseas. The ...

Australian 1st Light Horse Brigade The 1st Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time militia formation in the early 1900s ...

and 4th Australian Infantry Brigade. The 2nd and 3rd Australian Light Horse Brigades were assigned as corps level troops, belonging to neither division. 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 Indian Mountain Artillery, Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps troops, the

Zion Mule Corps The Jewish Legion (1917–1921) is an unofficial name used to refer to five battalions of Jewish volunteers, the 38th to 42nd (Service) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers in the British Army, raised to fight against the Ottoman Empire during ...

, several battalions from the

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who wer ...

, the

British 13th (Western) Division The 13th (Western) Division was one of the Kitchener's Army Division (military), divisions in the World War I, First World War, raised from volunteers by Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, Lord Kitchener. It fought at Battle of Ga ...

, one brigade of the

British 10th (Irish) Division The 10th (Irish) Division, was one of the first of Kitchener's New Army K1 Army Group divisions (formed from Kitchener's 'first hundred thousand' new volunteers), authorized on 21 August 1914, after the outbreak of the Great War. It included b ...

and the

29th Indian Brigade The 29th Indian Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service with the Indian Army during the First World War. Formed in October 1914, it raided Sheik Saiad en route to Egypt, defended the Suez Canal in e ...

Later formations

World War I

Following the evacuation of

Gallipoli, Turkey The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

, in December 1915, the Australian and New Zealand units reassembled in Egypt. The New Zealand contingent expanded to form their own division; the

New Zealand Division The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

. The First Australian Imperial Force underwent a major reorganisation resulting in the formation of two new divisions; the

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

and

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

divisions. (The

Australian 3rd Division The 3rd Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. Existing during various periods between 1916 and 1991, it is considered the "longest serving Australian Army division". It was first formed during World War I, as an infantry div ...

was forming in Australia and would be sent directly to England and then to France.) These divisions were reformed into two corps: I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps. I ANZAC Corps, under the command of General Birdwood, departed for France in early 1916. II ANZAC Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Alexander Godley, followed soon after. 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. Then in March 1916, the ANZAC Mounted Division with three Australian and one New Zealand brigade, was formed for service in Egypt and Palestine. There was also the 1st (ANZAC) Wireless Signal Squadron, which served with the British expeditionary force in Mesopotamia in 1916–1917. In early 1916, the Australian and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand governments sought the creation of an

Australian and New Zealand Army In early 1916, the Australian and New Zealand governments proposed the formation of a new field army, to be named the Australian and New Zealand Army, including all of the existing divisions of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and New Zeala ...

, which would have included the New Zealand Division and all of the Australian infantry divisions, but this did not occur.

World War II

During World War II, the Australian

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

HQ moved to Greece in April 1941. As the corps also controlled the

New Zealand 2nd Division The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry division of the New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the Second World War. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-Ge ...

(along with Greek and British formations), it was officially renamed ANZAC Corps in April. The

was over in weeks and the corps HQ left Greece on 23–24 April, with the name ''ANZAC Corps'' no longer being used. Some troops evacuated to Alexandria, but the majority were sent to Crete to reinforce its garrison against an expected air and sea German invasion. 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. 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 The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

and Yugoslav Partisans until they were either repatriated or recaptured by Axis forces.

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). An ANZAC battalion served as one of the infantry battalions of the

1st Australian Task Force The 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was a brigade-sized formation which commanded Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based in a rubber plantation at Nui Dat, north of Bà Rịa i ...

(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. The ANZAC Battle Group was the official designation of Australian and New Zealand units deployed to Timor Leste as part of Operation Astute. The battle group was established in September 2006.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

Anzac Day Act 1995Visit 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.

* An ongoing collection of geo-mappe
Australian & ANZAC
War Memorial photographs. * Listen to an excerpt from a simulated recording o
Australian troops docking in Egypt
after their voyage from Australia to take part in the First World War o
australianscreen online
**This recording was added to th
National Film and Sound Archive

Sounds of Australia Registry
in 2007
Measuring the ANZACS
– a

citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...

project *Seal, Graham
Anzac (Australia)
in

*Monash University
One Hundred Stories (Online Exhibition)Beersheba ANZAC Memorial Center
{{Authority control ANZAC units and formations Corps of Australia Military units and formations of New Zealand Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations of Australia in World War I New Zealand in World War I 1914 establishments in Australia 1914 establishments in New Zealand Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1916