|
Following the federation of Australia in 1901, the six colonial militias were merged to form a national reserve army. This had various, often alternating, official names, including the Citizens Military Force (CMF), Militia, Citizens Forces and, unofficially, the "Australian Militia Forces". It was renamed the Australian Army Reserve in 1980. The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federated on 1 January 1901, to form the Commonwealth of Australia, of which they became component states. ...
In politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a geographically-distant state (or city, in ancient times). ...
A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ...
A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ...
In the early 20th century, CMF units included the vast majority of Australian Army personnel during peacetime, as Australia had a very small standing army, prior to formation of the regular army, in 1947. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...
The Australian Army Emblem The Australian Army is Australias military land force. ...
The Regular Army is the name given by many countries to the permanent force of the a countries army that is maintained during peacetime. ...
However, because it was illegal to deploy CMF units overseas, all-volunteer Australian Imperial Forces were formed during World War I and World War II. The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was the name given to two all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, Australia had a very small regular army and reservists in the Australian Citizens Military Forces...
World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ...
World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ...
CMF units were sometimes scorned as "chocolate soldiers", or "chockos", because of their inability to fight outside Australian territory.
Nevertheless, Militia units distinguished themselves and suffered extremely high casualties during the Pacific War, especially in 1942, when they fought Japanese forces in New Guinea, which was then an Australian territory. The members of the 39th (Militia) Battalion, many of them very young, untrained and poorly equipped, distinguished themselves and suffered extremely heavy casualties, in the stubborn rearguard action on the Kokoda Track. Simultaneously, the 7th Militia Brigade played a key role in the Australian-US victory at the Battle of Milne Bay, the first outright defeat suffered by Japanese land forces in the war. The Pacific War, which is known in Japan as the Greater East Asia War and in China as the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (kang-Ri zhanzheng, literally Resist Japan War), occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in Asia. ...
The 39th Militia Battalions deeds are well known in Australia but the actual battalion itself is largely forgotten. ...
The Kokoda Track Campaign or Kokoda Trail Campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought from July 1942 to January 1943 between Japanese and Australian forces in the Owen Stanley Ranges of Papua New Guinea. ...
Brigade is a term from military science which refers to a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ...
Battle of Milne Bay Conflict World War II, Pacific War Date August 25, 1942 – September 5, 1942 Place Milne Bay, New Guinea Result Allied victory The Battle of Milne Bay was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay...
Later in the war, the law was changed to allow:
- (1) the transfer of Militia units to the 2nd AIF, if 65% or more of their personnel had volunteered for overseas service and;
- (2) Militia units to serve anywhere south of the Equator in South East Asia. Consequently they also saw action against Japanese forces in the Dutch East Indies.
From 1947 onwards, during increasing tension and wars in Asia, the strength of the Regular Army increased rapidly relative to the CMF. By 1980, when the name of the CMF was changed to Australian Army Reserve, the Regular Army was the more significant force. The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, (Dutch: Nederlands Indië) was the name of the colonies set up by the Dutch East India Company, which came under administration of the Netherlands during the 19th century (see Indonesia). ...
See also:
This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ...
The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from August 15, 1914, following Britains declaration of war on Germany. ...
The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) was the name given to the volunteer units of the Australian Army in World War II. The 2nd AIF was formed, from 1939 onwards, to fight overseas: most army units were Militia (reserve) units and under Australian law at the time, Militia troops...
The Australian Army Emblem The Australian Army is Australias military land force. ...
|
Feeds |
Contact