Australian Army in World War II - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Australian Army

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...

was the largest service in the Australian military

Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...

during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

and was deployed to many parts of the world.

Background

Prior to the outbreak of war the Australian Army was split into the small full-time Permanent Military Forces (PMF) and the larger part-time Citizen Military Forces

Australian Army Reserve

The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...

(CMF). The Army's strength in September 1939 was 2,800 full-time soldiers and 80,000 members of the CMF. The CMF had been expanded from a strength of 35,000 during 1938 and 1939, and the PMF's main responsibility was to administer and train it. The Defence Act restricted the pre-war Army to service in Australia and its territories.

During the 1930s the Australian Army's organisation, equipment and doctrine were similar to those of World War I. The CMF was organised into infantry and horse-mounted cavalry divisions and fixed coastal fortifications at strategic ports. While the Army recognised that there was a threat of war with Japan, little had been done to prepare for the jungle warfare

Jungle warfare

Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain.It has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for both sides in many conflicts, including World War II and the...

this would involve. The Army followed the trends in the British Army as it modernised in the late 1930s, but was unable to obtain the up to date equipment needed to properly implement the new British doctrines and organisations. Nevertheless, the CMF provided a pool of experienced officers and soldiers who could be used to expand the Army in the event of war, and indeed during the course of the war about 200,000 CMF soldiers volunteered for overseas service.

Organisation

Australia entered World War II on 3 September 1939. On 14 September Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

Robert Menzies

Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....

announced that 40,000 members of the CMF would be called up for training and a 20,000-strong expeditionary force, designated the Second Australian Imperial Force

Second Australian Imperial Force

The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...

(AIF), would be formed for overseas service. Like the First Australian Imperial Force

First Australian Imperial Force

The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...

, the Second AIF was a volunteer force formed by establishing entirely new units. The Government also introduced conscription

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

in October 1939 to keep the CMF at strength as its members volunteered for the AIF, with all unmarried men turning 21 being liable for three months training.

The first AIF units to be formed were grouped as the 6th Division. This was an infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

and initially comprised twelve infantry battalions with supporting artillery, armoured cavalry, engineer and logistics and communication units. An early problem was whether to adopt the British or Australian organisation. In 1939 the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

was in the process of re-equipping with new weapons, which called for a new organisation. This new equipment was not available in Australia, so it was decided to organise the 6th Division with some elements of the old twelve-battalion organisation and some of the new.

Three further AIF infantry divisions were formed during 1940, with the 7th Division being established February 1940 and the 8th Division and 9th Division following in May and June. Second AIF units were often raised from volunteers from certain areas and were given the same numbers as First AIF units from those areas but with the prefix '2/'. An AIF corps

Corps

A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...

headquarters, designated I Corps, was formed in March 1940 along with its support units. The final AIF division to be formed was the 1st Armoured Division, which was established in July 1941. Twelve AIF commando companies

Australian commandos

The name commando has been applied to a variety of Australian special forces and light infantry units that have been formed since 1941–42. The first Australian "commando" units were formed during the Second World War, where they mainly performed reconnaissance and long-range patrol roles during...

and many corps, support and service units were also raised during the war.

The AIF's requirements for manpower and equipment constrained the CMF during the early years of the war. At the outbreak of the Pacific War

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

the main Army units in Australia were five CMF infantry divisions, two CMF cavalry divisions and the AIF 1st Armoured Division. The Volunteer Defence Corps

Volunteer Defence Corps (Australia)

The Volunteer Defence Corps was an Australian part time volunteer military force of World War II modelled on the British Home Guard. The VDC was established in July 1940 by the Returned and Services League of Australia and was initially composed of ex-servicemen who had served in World War I...

, which was a part time volunteer force based on the British Home Guard, was also available for local defence. At this time only 30 percent of CMF units were on full-time duty, with the remainder periodically undertaking three month-long mobilisations. The CMF was also poorly armed, and there was insufficient equipment to be issued to all units if they were mobilised. In response to the Japanese threat the Army was forced to move units between CMF divisions so that the most combat-ready could be sent to areas believed to be under the greatest threat of attack.

The Army was considerably expanded in early 1942 in response to the Japanese threat to Australia. During this year the Army's strength peaked at eleven infantry divisions and three armoured divisions as well as many support and service units. This force was larger than what Australia's population and industry could sustain, however, and the Government began reducing its strength in the second half of the year. Most of the units which were disbanded were CMF, and by September 1943 the AIF had 265,000 members compared to just over 117,000 in the CMF. CMF units were able to serve outside of Australian territory in the South-West Pacific Area from January 1943 after the Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Act 1943 was passed, though the 11th Brigade

11th Brigade (Australia)

The Australian 11th Brigade is an Australian Army brigade which currently comprises most Australian Army Reserve units located in Queensland. The Brigade was first formed in early 1916 as part of the 3rd Division and saw action during World War I and World War II.-Brigade Structure:*Headquarters...

was the only major unit to do so. The Army's strength was further reduced by 100,000 members from October 1943 in order to free up manpower to work in industry. At the end of 1943 the Government determined that the Army's strength was to be six infantry divisions and two armoured brigades, though further reductions were ordered in August 1944 and June 1945. The Army was still one of the largest Allied armies as a proportion of population at the end of the war.

The demands of combat during World War II led to changes in the composition of Army units. The success of German mechanised units during the invasions of Poland and France convinced Australian defence planners and the Government that the Army required armoured units, and these began to be raised in 1941 when the 1st Armoured Division was formed. The two CMF cavalry divisions were first motorised and then converted into armoured divisions in 1942 and the 3rd Army Tank Brigade was formed to provide support to the infantry. These large armoured units were not suitable for jungle warfare, however, and most were disbanded during 1943 and 1944. Conditions in the South West Pacific also led the Army to convert its six combat divisions to 'jungle divisions'

Jungle Division

The Jungle Division was a military organisation adopted in 1943 by the Australian Army during the Second World War. This organisation was a much lighter version of the standard British-pattern infantry division used during previous campaigns in the deserts of North Africa and was optimised to meet...

in early 1943 and 1944. This organisation, which had fewer heavy weapons, vehicles and support units then the British-pattern organisation previously used, proved only moderately successful, because the conditions that it was designed for did not recur. As a result, the divisions were strengthened for their 1944–45 campaigns by returning the artillery and anti-tank units which had been removed.

Leadership

When the war began the Army was on the cusp of a generational change. At the time, the senior officer on the active list were Major General

Major General (Australia)

Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...

Gordon Bennett and Major General Thomas Blamey

Thomas Blamey

Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....

, although Bennett had not held an appointment for seven years and Blamey for the last two. Then came then the Chief of the General Staff, Major General John Lavarack

John Lavarack

Lieutenant General Sir John Dudley Lavarack KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was an Australian soldier who was Governor of Queensland from 1 October 1946 to 4 December 1957, the first Australian-born governor of that state....

; the Adjutant General

Adjutant general

An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...

, Major General Sir Carl Jess

Carl Jess

Lieutenant General Sir Carl Herman Jess CB, CMG, CBE, DSO was an Australian Army officer who served in World War I and World War II.-Early life and career:...

; Major General Owen Phillips, the Quartermaster General

Quartermaster general

A Quartermaster general is the staff officer in charge of supplies for a whole army.- The United Kingdom :In the United Kingdom, the Quartermaster-General to the Forces is one of the most senior generals in the British Army...

; Major General Edmund Drake-Brockman, the commander of the 3rd Division; and Major General Iven Mackay, the commander 2nd Division. All were over 50 years of age and all except Bennett, Drake-Brockman and Mackay were serving or former regular soldiers. Only the first three were considered to command the 6th Division and Second AIF, for which posts Blamey was selected by Prime Minister Menzies. Both Blamey and Lavarack were promoted to lieutenant general on 13 October 1939.

The next most senior regular officers, all colonels, included men like Vernon Sturdee

Vernon Sturdee

Lieutenant General Sir Vernon Ashton Hobart Sturdee KBE, CB, DSO was an Australian Army commander who served two terms as Chief of the General Staff...

, Henry Wynter

Henry Wynter

Lieutenant General Henry Douglas Wynter, CB, CMG, DSO was a regular Australian Army officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general during World War II...

and John Northcott

John Northcott

Lieutenant General Sir John Northcott KCMG, KCVO, CB was an Australian Army general who served as Chief of the General Staff during World War II, and commanded the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in the Occupation of Japan...

, all of whom had joined the Army before the First World War. These officers held senior commands throughout the war, but seldom active ones. Below them were a distinct group of regular officers, graduates of the Royal Military College, Duntroon

Royal Military College, Duntroon

The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...

, which had opened in 1911. Their number included Frank Berryman, William Bridgeford

William Bridgeford

Lieutenant General Sir William Bridgeford KBE, CB, MC was a senior officer in the Australian Army. He began his military career in 1913 and fought on the Western Front during the First World War, before rising to command the 3rd Infantry Division during the Bougainville campaign in the Second...

, Cyril Clowes

Cyril Clowes

Lieutenant General Cyril Albert Clowes CBE, DSO, MC was an Australian soldier. He won the first land victory against the Japanese in the Second World War, at the Battle of Milne Bay, New Guinea...

, Horace Robertson

Horace Robertson

Lieutenant General Sir Horace Clement Hugh Robertson KBE, DSO was a senior officer in the Australian Army who served in the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War...

, Sydney Rowell

Sydney Rowell

Lieutenant General Sir Sydney Fairbairn Rowell, KBE, CB was an Australian soldier who served as Chief of the General Staff from 17 April 1950 to 15 December 1954...

and George Alan Vasey. These officers had fought in the First World War and reached the rank of major, but their promotion prospects were restricted and they remained majors for twenty years. Many left the Army to join the British or Indian armies, or the RAAF, or to return to civilian life. As a group, they had become embittered and resentful, and determined to prove that they could lead troops in battle. Many regular officers had attended training courses or been on exchange with the British Army

British Army

, which was important in the early years of the war when there was close cooperation between the two armies.

Between the wars, the reservists enjoyed better much promotion prospects. While Alan Vasey, a major in the First AIF, was not promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel until 1937, Kenneth Eather

Kenneth Eather

Major General Kenneth William Eather CB, CBE, DSO, ED was an Australian soldier who served during World War II, rising to the rank of major general. Eather led a battalion in the Battle of Bardia, a brigade on the Kokoda Track campaign and a division in the New Britain campaign...

, a reservist who was too young to serve in the First world War, was commissioned in 1923 and promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1935. Menzies ordered that all commands in the 6th Division be given to reservists rather than regular officers, who had become political adversaries through their outspoken opposition to the Singapore Strategy

Singapore strategy

The Singapore strategy was a strategy of the British Empire between 1919 and 1941. It was a series of war plans that evolved over a twenty year period to deter or defeat aggression by the Empire of Japan by basing a fleet of the Royal Navy at Singapore. Ideally, this fleet would be able to...

. Appointments therefore went to reservists like Stanley Savige

Stanley Savige

Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, KBE, CB, DSO, MC, ED , was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in World War I and World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant general....

, Arthur Allen

Arthur Samuel Allen

Major General Arthur Samuel "Tubby" Allen CB CBE DSO VD was an Australian soldier. During World War II he reached the rank of Major General and commanded Allied forces in the Syria-Lebanon and New Guinea campaigns...

, Leslie Morshead

Leslie Morshead

Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, with a distinguished military career that spanned both world wars...

and Edmund Herring

Edmund Herring

Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World...

. Later other militia officers rose to prominence as brigade and division commanders. The distinguished records of officers like Heathcote Howard Hammer

Heathcote Howard Hammer

Major General Heathcote Howard Hammer CBE, DSO & Bar was a senior officer in the Australian Army, seeing service during the Second World War. Born on 15 February 1905 in Southern Cross, Western Australia, he later lived in Bendigo, Victoria and married Mary Hammer...

, Ivan Dougherty

Ivan Dougherty

Major General Sir Ivan Noel Dougherty CBE, DSO & Bar, ED was an Australian Army officer during World War II.-Education and early life:...

, David Whitehead

David Whitehead

David Adie Whitehead CBE, DSO & Bar, MC was an Australian Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II and rose to the rank of brigadier.-Biography:...

, Victor Windeyer

Victor Windeyer

Major General Sir William John Victor Windeyer KBE CB DSO and Bar PC KC Australian judge, soldier and educator, was a Justice of the High Court of Australia....

and Selwyn Porter

Selwyn Porter

Major General Selwyn Havelock Watson Craig Porter CBE, DSO was an Australian Army officer and chief commissioner of Victoria Police.-Early life:...

would challenge the regular officers' contention that they had a special claim to senior command ability.

Initially, battalion commanders tended to be older reservists, some of whom had commanded battalions in the First AIF. Only one battalion command in 1939 or 1940 went to a regular officer. As the war went on the average age of battalion commanders declined from 42.9 in 1940 to 35.6 in 1945. By 1945, half of all senior appointments would be held by regular officers, although they would still be under-represented in unit commands. In 1945, there was still only one infantry battalion commanded by a regular officer.

Around the time of the outbreak of war with Japan, many senior officers with distinguished records in the Middle East were recalled to Australia to lead militia formations and fill important staff posts. Because the Army reached its greatest extent in 1942 and shrank in size thereafter, Blamey was faced with a limited number of senior appointments and more senior officers than he needed to fill them. He faced public and political criticism over "shelving" senior officers. This affected prospects for more junior officers as well. Of the 52 officers promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel in the last six months of 1944 only five were infantrymen, while two were engineers, and 45 were in the services.

Equipment

The Australian Army generally had a long-standing policy of using British-designed equipment, but equipment from Australia, the United States and some other countries was introduced into service in the war's later years. Pre-war defence policies favoured the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

, which received the majority of defence dollars in the interwar period. The result was that when war came in 1939, the Army's equipment was of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

vintage, and Australian factories were only capable of producing small arms. Most equipment was obsolescent and had to be replaced, and new factories were required to produce the latest weapons, equipment and motor vehicles. Some 2,860 motor vehicles and motorcycles suitable for military use were purchased in 1939 for the Militia and another 784 for the 6th Division, but since a division's war establishment was around 3,000, so this was enough for training only. In February 1940, the Treasury

Department of the Treasury (Australia)

The Department of the Treasury is an Australian Government department. Its role is to focus and develop economic policy.-History:The Commonwealth Treasury was established in Melbourne in January 1901....

urged the War Cabinet

War Cabinet

A War Cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers. It is also quite common for a War Cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members....

to slow orders of motor vehicles to save the shipping space used for sending them to the Middle East for wheat cargoes.

Australian infantry units were largely equipped with British-designed but largely Australian-made small arms

Small arms

Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...

and support weapons. The standard rifle was the SMLE No 1 Mk III*

Lee-Enfield

The Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century...

, manufactured since 1912 at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory

Lithgow Small Arms Factory

The Lithgow Small Arms Factory is a military small arms factory located in the town of Lithgow, New South Wales in Australia.- History :Opened on 8 June 1912, the factory initially manufactured Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield Mk III rifles for the Australian military during World War I...

. During the course of World War II, Australian infantry units utilised the Lee-Enfield No.4 MkI/MkI* rifle (many of which were made by Long Branch Arsenal in Canada and Savage-Stevens Firearms in the US) in small quantities in New Guinea (most of these rifles were provided to other branches of the Australian military and to the Volunteer Defence Corps

Volunteer Defence Corps (Australia)

in order to free up No.1 MkIII* rifles for frontline infantry units). Some Australian infantry units attached to US Army units in New Guinea were armed with American-made M1 Garand

M1 Garand

The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...

semi-automatic rifles. The Vickers machine gun

Vickers machine gun

Not to be confused with the Vickers light machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army...

was also produced there from 1929. The Bren Gun replaced Lewis Gun

Lewis Gun

The Lewis Gun is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War...

as the standard automatic rifle

Automatic rifle

Automatic rifle is a term generally used to describe a semi-automatic rifle chambered for a rifle cartridge, capable of delivering both semi- and full automatic fire...

in the early years of the war. Their manufacture in Australia started in 1941. The American Thompson submachine gun

Thompson submachine gun

The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...

was introduced and replaced by the Australian-designed Owen Gun and the British-designed but Australian-modified and -made Austen submachine gun. Infantry platoons were also equipped with M36 grenades

Mills bomb

Mills bomb is the popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades in the world.-Overview:...

. The Boys anti-tank rifle was the standard infantry anti-tank weapon at the start of the war, but was replaced with the PIAT

PIAT

The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank was a British hand-held anti-tank weapon developed during the Second World War. The PIAT was designed in 1942 in response to the British Army's need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon, and entered service in 1943.The PIAT was based on the spigot...

in 1943. The heavier support weapons used by infantry battalions the war included the 2-inch mortar and Stokes 3-inch mortar

Stokes Mortar

The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar invented by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE which was issued to the British Army and the Commonwealth armies during the latter half of the First World War.-History:...

. Infantry battalions were also equipped with Universal Carriers until being converted to the tropical warfare establishment in 1943. A man-pack flamethrower

Flamethrower

A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...

was also introduced in 1945.

Not until 17 January 1940 did Richard Casey

Richard Casey, Baron Casey

Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...

obtain Cabinet

Cabinet of Australia

The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister the Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, and serves at the former's pleasure. The strictly private...

's approval to spend £400,000 to construct a plant to manufacture 25 pounder

Ordnance QF 25 pounder

The Ordnance QF 25 pounder, or more simply, 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was introduced into service just before World War II, during which it served as the major British field gun/howitzer. It was considered by many to be the best field artillery piece of the war, combining high rates of fire with a...

field gun

Field gun

A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as to opposed guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannon or mortars which...

s and 2 pounder

Ordnance QF 2 pounder

The Ordnance QF 2-pounder was a British anti-tank and vehicle-mounted gun, employed in the Second World War. It was actively used in the Battle of France, and during the North Africa campaign...

anti-tank guns. Until the 25 pounder could become available in quantity, units in Australia and the Far East were equipped with the old 18 pounder

Ordnance QF 18 pounder

The Ordnance QF 18 pounder, or simply 18-pounder Gun, was the standard British Army field gun of the World War I era. It formed the backbone of the Royal Field Artillery during the war, and was produced in large numbers. It was also used by British and Commonwealth Forces in all the main theatres,...

. Some units in the Middle East operated the 18/25 pounder, an 18 pounder

Ordnance QF 18 pounder

that had been re-bored to take 25 pounder ammunition, until they received British 25 pounders. The old 4.5 inch howitzer

QF 4.5 inch Howitzer

The Ordnance QF 4.5 inch Howitzer was the standard British Empire field howitzer of the First World War era. It replaced the BL 5 inch Howitzer and equipped some 25% of the field artillery. It entered service in 1910 and remained in service through the interwar period and was last used in...

also saw service, with the 2/10th Field Regiment employing them in support of the 9th Division during the Siege of Tobruk

Siege of Tobruk

The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War...

. A collection of captured Italian guns were also employed, known as the "Bush Artillery". These were rendered obsolete when the 25 pounder became available in quantity. Eventually, 1,527 were manufactured in Australia. A special light weight version known as the Short 25 pounder

Ordnance QF 25-pounder Short

The Ordnance QF 25-pounder Short was an Australian variant of the British Ordnance QF 25-pounder field gun/howitzer. The gun was developed by modifying the 25-pounder's design to improve its mobility during jungle warfare. Development began in 1942, and the weapon first entered service with the...

was developed for jungle warfare. The requirement for a portable field piece in mountainous jungle led to the use of the 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer

3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer

The Ordnance QF 3.7 Inch Mountain Howitzer was an artillery weapon, used by British and Commonwealth armies in World War I and World War II, and between the wars.-History:...

in the New Guinea Campaign

New Guinea campaign

The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...

. The American 75 mm Pack Howitzer M1 was also employed. Experience in the Western Desert Campaign

Western Desert Campaign

The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was the initial stage of the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign was heavily influenced by the availability of supplies and transport. The ability of the Allied forces, operating from besieged Malta, to...

soon showed that the 2 pounder could not deal with German tanks, and it was superseded by the 6 pounder

Ordnance QF 6 pounder

The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt, or just 6 pounder, was a British 57 mm gun, their primary anti-tank gun during the middle of World War II, as well as the main armament for a number of armoured fighting vehicles...

, which began coming off the assembly lines in Australia in July 1942. In turn it was replaced in 1944 by the 17 pounder

Ordnance QF 17 pounder

The Ordnance Quick-Firing 17 pounder was a 76.2 mm gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was used as an anti-tank gun on its own carriage, as well as equipping a number of British tanks. It was the most effective Allied anti-tank gun of the war...

, which was manufactured at the Maribyrnong

Maribyrnong, Victoria

Maribyrnong is a suburb 8 km north-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong, part of River Ward. At the 2006 Census, Maribyrnong had a population of 8242....

Ordnance Factory. The anti-aircraft artillery were equipped with the Swedish-designed Bofors 40 mm gun, which was manufactured in Australia, and the British 3.7 inch Ainti-Aircraft gun

QF 3.7 inch AA gun

The 3.7-Inch QF AA was Britain's primary heavy anti-aircraft gun during World War II. It was roughly the equivalent of the German 88 mm FlaK but with a slightly larger calibre of 94 mm and superior performance. It was used throughout World War II in all theatres except the Eastern Front...

. Medium artillery included the American 155 mm Long Tom

155 mm Long Tom

The 155 mm Gun M1 and M2 , widely known as Long Tom, were 155 millimeter calibre field guns used by the United States armed forces during World War II and Korean War. The Long Tom replaced the Canon de 155 mm GPF in United States service.-Development:Before entering World War I, the United...

and the British 5.5 inch gun

BL 5.5 inch Medium Gun

The BL 5.5 inch Gun was a British artillery gun introduced during the middle of the Second World War to equip medium batteries.-History:In January 1939 a specification was issued for a gun to replace the 6 inch 26 cwt howitzers in use with most medium batteries...

.

The need for tanks to equip armoured units led the War Cabinet to approve the manufacture of the Sentinel tank

Sentinel tank

The Sentinel tank was a cruiser tank designed in Australia in World War II in response to the war in Europe, and to the threat of Japan expanding the war to the Pacific or even a feared Japanese invasion of Australia. It was the first tank to be built with a hull cast as a single piece, and the...

in 1940. Some 66 of them were delivered by the time manufacture ceased in July 1943, but none was used in action. Otherwise tanks were sources from overseas. The first shipment of M3 Stuart light tanks arrived in September 1941. The first shipment of British Matilda II tanks arrived in July 1942, and these proved to be the most suitable type for jungle warfare. A flame-thrower variant was produced and saw action in the Borneo campaign

Borneo campaign (1945)

The Borneo Campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area, during World War II. In a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. Allied naval and...

. The most numerous tank used by the Australian Army was the M3 Lee

M3 Lee

The Medium Tank M3 was an American tank used during World War II. In Britain the tank was called "General Lee", named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and the modified version built with a new turret was called the "General Grant", named after U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant.Design commenced...

. Several hundred of these equipped the armoured divisions, but unlike the Stuarts and Matildas, they did not see action. An Australian scout car known as the Dingo

Dingo (scout car)

The Dingo Scout Car was a light armoured car built in Australia during Second World War. They were produced by the Ford motor company during 1942.-History:...

was produced as an interim measure until adequate supplies of the Canadian Staghound armoured car

T17 Armored Car

The T17 and the T17E1 were American armored cars produced during the Second World War. They did not see service with frontline US forces but the latter was supplied via the United Kingdom to British and Commonwealth forces during the war and received the service name Staghound...

became available in 1944. The Australian Army also operated some amphibious tractors

Landing Vehicle Tracked

The Landing Vehicle Tracked was a class of amphibious vehicles introduced by the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Army during World War II. Originally intended solely as cargo carriers for ship to shore operations, they rapidly evolved into assault troop and fire support vehicles as well...

.

The Australian Army developed its own landing craft. Development of an Australian version of the Landing Craft Assault

Landing Craft Assault

The Landing Craft Assault was a British landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. During the war it was manufactured throughout...

, the ALCV (Australian Landing Craft, Vehicle), was carried out by Army personnel working alongside the Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

. Prototypes were constructed by sappers and launched on the Brisbane River

Brisbane River

The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...

. The initial version, known as the ALCV I was found to be too small, so the larger 12-metre ALCV II was developed. An Australian version of the Landing Craft Mechanized

Landing Craft Mechanized

The Landing Craft Mechanized or Landing Craft Mechanical was a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults....

, the ALCM, was also developed and manufactured by Ford in Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

and later at Geelong. Operational experience demonstrated the need for larger landing craft, so the ALCV III, an enlarged version of the ALCM II with four Ford V8 engines and twice the cargo capacity, was produced. The Army also ordered 15 ALCM IIIs, a type of similar capacity to an American Landing Craft Tank

Landing craft tank

The Landing Craft, Tank was an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the British Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "Tank Landing Craft" by the British, they later...

, with five Ford V8 engines. Only four were delivered before the end of the war, which saw service in New Guinea.

By 1945, due to a shrinking number of operational units and stepped up production, equipment shortages were a thing of the past. The Army required 368 25 pounders for combat and 38 for training but it had 1,516. The Army needed 530 2 pounder and 6 pounder anti-tank guns and had 1,941. The Army required 68 3.7 inch anti-aircraft guns for combat and five for training and had 640. The Army required 9,438 Brens guns and had 21,139, and it needed 123 Bren gun carriers but had 3,767.

Training and doctrine

The Australian Army's pre-war doctrine was focused on conventional warfare

Conventional warfare

Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted byusing conventional military weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined, and fight using weapons that primarily target the opposing army...

in a European environment. This doctrine and the supporting training manuals were common to those of all Commonwealth countries. Following the outbreak of war the Army continued to focus on preparing its units to fight in Europe and North Africa. By far the single greatest difficulty in training in the early war years was the shortage of equipment. However, there were also critical shortages of instructors. The decision to form the 1st Armoured Division created a requirement for large numbers of highly skilled personnel, but there were few officers and men with the required skills in the small pre-war Army and many of them were already serving in the AIF's divisional mechanised cavalry regiments. An Armoured Fighting Vehicles School was created at Puckapunyal

Puckapunyal

Puckapunyal is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Victoria, south-eastern Australia.-Description:Puckapunyal is a small restricted-access town inhabited mainly by about 280...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

in 1941. The Armoured Corps Training Centre moved there in March 1943.

Another problem for the Militia was a lack of continuity in the training. When the war began, men were called up for only one month's additional training. This was then increased to three months' additional training. In 1940–41, officers and non-commissioned officers were intensively trained for 18 to 24 days, after which there was a camp for 70 days. The men who had been through the 90 day training regimen in 1939–40 were given 12 days' additional training while those who had not completed the full 70 days. This allowed for individual training, but prevented proper unit training. In July 1941, soldiers who had completed 90 days' training became liable for three months' training per year while new recruits were liable for six months. At the same time, the War Cabinet provided for more intensive training for the full-time cadre of Militia units, which were not to exceed 25% of the unit's strength.

Although the Army's focus was on conventional warfare, in late 1940 Lieutenant Colonel J . C. Mawhood, a British officer, arrived in Australia with a small specialist staff to conduct training in unconventional warfare

Unconventional warfare

Unconventional warfare is the opposite of conventional warfare. Where conventional warfare is used to reduce an opponent's military capability, unconventional warfare is an attempt to achieve military victory through acquiescence, capitulation, or clandestine support for one side of an existing...

. A school, known as No. 7 Infantry Training Centre, was opened at Wilsons Promontory

Wilsons Promontory

Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland and is located at . South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia...

, Victoria, "an isolated area of high, rugged and heavily timbered mountains, precipitous valleys, swiftly running streams, and swamps." The 1st

1st Independent Company (Australia)

The 1st Independent Company was one of twelve independent or commando companies raised by the Australian Army for service in World War II. Raised in 1941, the 1st Independent Company served in New Ireland, New Britain and New Guinea in the early stages of the war in the Pacific, taking part in a...

, 2nd

2/2nd Commando Squadron (Australia)

The 2/2nd Commando Squadron was one of 12 independent companies or commando squadrons raised by the Australian Army for service during World War II. The 2/2nd served in Timor, New Guinea and New Britain during World War II, taking part in the Battle of Timor in June 1942 as part of Sparrow Force...

and 3rd

2/3rd Commando Squadron (Australia)

The 2/3rd Commando Squadron was one of twelve independent or commando companies and squadrons formed by the Australian Army for service during World War II. Raised in October 1941 as the 2/3rd Independent Company, it served in New Caledonia and New Guinea before being amalgamated into the 2/7th...

Independent Companies and a nucleus of the 4th

2/4th Cavalry Commando Squadron (Australia)

The 2/4th Commando Squadron was one of 12 independent companies and commando squadrons raised by the Australian Army during the Second World War. Raised in August 1941 it was disbanded not long after due to conceptual problems, however, it was quickly reformed following the entry of Japan into the...

were raised by October 1941 when training was discontinued. After the outbreak of the war with Japan, the school was reopened as the Guerilla Warfare School, the training of the 4th company was completed and five more companies were formed.

The Australian Army did not have any doctrine for jungle warfare

Jungle warfare

prior to 1942. Some lessons were passed on by officers who escaped from Malaya and Singapore, however, and these were incorporated into a training memorandum in May that year. AIF units which returned from North Africa undertook some training in jungle tactics before going into action, but the CMF units which initially faced the Japanese in New Guinea suffered from inadequate training, and this led to them suffering heavy casualties.

In order to be able to move troops to the front in New Guinea more rapidly, to acclimatise them during the process, and to allow more realistic of large formation in jungle and mountainous but Malaria-free terrain, General Blamey decided to establish a training and staging area on the Atherton Tableland

Atherton Tableland

The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It is located west to south-south-west inland from Cairns, well into the tropics, but its elevated position provides a climate suitable for dairy farming. It has an area of around...

in November 1942. Eventually, accommodation was provided there for 70,000 troops. As divisions returned from tours of duty in New Guinea in 1943 and 1944, they were sent to Atherton for anti-Malaria treatment. The men then went on leave, after which they returned to Atherton where training was conducted before staging and departing again.

In early 1943 the Army developed a jungle warfare doctrine by adapting the pre-war field service regulations to meet the conditions in the South-West Pacific. The Army's front-line combat formations were reorganised and trained in accordance with this doctrine during the year. A jungle warfare school was opened at Canungra, Queensland

Canungra, Queensland

Canungra is a small picturesque rural township in South East Queensland, Australia. Its economy depends on tourism, being a popular destination for short drives from the Gold Coast and Brisbane. Canungra, also called the "Valley of the Owls", is situated in the Gold Coast Hinterland, west of the...

in November 1942, and all reinforcements for combat units subsequently passed through the school before joining their unit. Canungra consist of a reinforcement training centre, an Independent Company training centre, and a tactical school. With the establishment of Canungra the Independent Company training centre on Wilson 's Promontory was closed.

Over time, training programs included greater cooperation between the Army's combat arms and with the other services. A Combined Training Centre, also known as HMAS Assault

HMAS Assault

HMAS Assault was a Royal Australian Navy Naval Training Centre at Nelson Bay in the Port Stephens area of New South Wales, Australia during World War II....

, opened on 1 September 1942 at Nelson Bay

Nelson Bay, New South Wales

Nelson Bay is a suburb of the Port Stephens Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on a bay of the same name on the southern shore of Port Stephens about by road north-east of Newcastle, its nearest rail link. At the 2006 census, Nelson Bay had a...

, near Port Stephens

Port Stephens

Port Stephens is a large natural harbour located about north-east of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It lies wholly within the Port Stephens Local Government Area although its northern shoreline forms the boundary between the Port Stephens and Great Lakes LGAs...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, as a central establishment for the training staffs, beach parties and small boat crews. In July 1942, a Combined Training School was established at Bribie Island Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

and nearby Toorbul Point for Army units. During 1944, combined training with the RAAF and RAN

Royal Australian Navy

was also carried out at Trinity Beach, near Cairns.

The Australian Army began training parachutists in December 1942 as an offshoot of the training of Independent Companies. The 1st Parachute Battalion was formed in March 1943. It reached full strength by January 1944, but, although it was warned for action a number of times, it did not see any. After the war it participated in the reoccupation of Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

.

By 1945 the Army possessed a comprehensive schools system, with 40 schools of various kinds. Between 1942 and 1945 96,000 training courses were conducted. The Officer Cadet Training Unit had trained 7,887 officers by August 1945. Unlike the First AIF, newly-commissioned lieutenants were not sent back to their original unit, but were posted to the first vacancy. Other schools included the School of Artillery, the Guerrilla Warfare School, the Cooking and Catering School, the School of Military Law and the School of Movement and Transport. Recruit training was now thorough and exacting, and for infantrymen culminated in a jungle training course at Canungra, where the Jungle Warfare School turned out 4,000 reinforcements a month. In 1945, the 29th Infantry Brigade received 1,000 young reinforcements shortly before embarking for Torokina

Torokina

Torokina is a coastal village on the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. It is located on the western coast of that island, at ....

, but their commander later remarked that their training at Canungra had been so thorough that they "reacted with almost miraculous quickness to conditions of battle."

Casualties

The Australian Army suffered the following casualties during the war: