Billy Hughes and Lt-Gen William Birdwood in early 1916

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 Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). However, the British government objected to the proposal, on the grounds that two corps (

I ANZAC Corps The I ANZAC Corps (First Anzac Corps) was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I. It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and ...

and

II ANZAC Corps The II ANZAC Corps (Second Anzac Corps) was an Australian and New Zealand First World War army corps. Formed in early 1916 in Egypt in the wake of the failed Gallipoli campaign, it initially consisted of two Australian divisions, and was sent t ...

), comprising six divisions, were insufficient for a field army. As a result, the plan was abandoned, and Australian and New Zealand divisions instead served as part of British field armies, for the remainder of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. However, in late 1917, the five Australian divisions were grouped together as the

Australian Corps The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire in France. At its peak the Australian Corps numbered 10 ...

History

Following the withdrawal of the

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood com ...

from Gallipoli to Egypt in December 1915, Lieutenant-General

William Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...

, the commander of the AIF, was appointed to the temporary position of commander of the Australian and New Zealand Forces. In his role he was to oversee the reorganisation of the Australian combat divisions and the formation of 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 ...

. At this time the Australian and New Zealand Governments hoped to establish an Australian and New Zealand Army comprising two

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

under the command of Birdwood. Birdwood was an ambitious officer, and agitated for such a command. In early 1916 Australian Government telegraphed the British Government supporting Birdwood's proposal to establish an Australian and New Zealand Army. The Australian Government argued that the establishment of this force would reflect Australian aspirations and encourage enlistment in the AIF. It is not clear whether the New Zealand Government supported the proposal at this time. On 2 April 1916 the British

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

responded, declining to establish such a formation but claiming that it would do so "as soon as circumstances permit". The next month the Australian Government offered to establish a sixth division. This offer was made to provide enough divisions to justify the formation of an army. It was also rejected by the British as it was unclear whether Australia would be able to provide sufficient reinforcements to replace the AIF's casualties if the division was formed. During this period Birdwood also encouraged the formation of a Dominion Army which would have included the Canadian forces in France as well as the AIF and NZEF. He hoped to command this army. Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes advocated for the establishment of an Australian and New Zealand Army during his visit to General Douglas Haig's General Headquarters in France during late May 1916. Hughes argued that the Australian and New Zealand units in France "should be regarded as an army and that General Birdwood should command it". Haig rejected this proposal, stating that the size of the Australian and New Zealand forces was insufficient to justify forming them into an army. He also made a vague offer to potentially group the Australian divisions under Birdswood's tactical control "for some special operations" in the future. Hughes accepted Haig's position, and decided to not pursue the matter further. The Australian and New Zealand combat forces in France served as part of two separate corps (

and

) until late November 1917, when the Australian units were concentrated into the

. The New Zealand Division remained part of a British corps. Writing in 2022, the Australian military historian

David Horner David Murray Horner, (born 12 March 1948) is an Australian military historian and academic. Early life and military career Horner was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 12 March 1948. He was raised in a military household—his father, Mur ...

judged that "there was an element of aggrandisement and delusion in Australia wanting to form an army of six divisions" in 1916. He observed though that Hughes' advocacy for both the army and Birdwood's command of the AIF was the first attempt by the Australian government to exercise control over how the AIF was employed and led in Europe.

References

;Citations ;Works consulted * * * *{{cite book , last=Horner , first=David , author-link=David Horner , title = The War Game: Australian War Leadership from Gallipoli to Iraq , publisher = Allen & Unwin , year = 2022 , location = Crows Nest, New South wales , isbn = 978-1-76106-595-8 Field armies of Australia New Zealand in World War I Military units and formations of Australia in World War I Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War I