List of Australian Army units

Last updated

In March 1901, the Australian Army came into existence as the Commonwealth Military Forces through the amalgamation of the former colonies military forces. The existing regiments and battalions of the colonies were reorganised and renumbered due to their absorption into the national army and subsequently formed the first military units of a united Australia. At the outbreak of World War I, in July 1914, the Australian Government committed the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF), a fully volunteer force, to the war; all existing units were exempt from serving overseas due the Defence Act of 1903, which stipulated that they could only serve in Australian territory.

Contents

In 1921, the Citizens Force's regimental numbering system, used since federation, was replaced by a divisional structure when the Australian Government decided to continue the unit designations of the AIF and to continue the traditions of the units of World War I. This renumbering brought about the end of localised regiments, with battalions taking up their role as community recruitment organisations.

This list covers individual units, above or equivalent to a battalion, which were created or maintained after 1921, by either being militia units that were amalgamated and/or renumbered or being entirely new entities.

Armies

The field army has been the largest ever created unit for the Australian Army and has only been utilised in the Second World War.

Corps

In the history of the Australian Army, only during the world wars were tactical corps units raised.

World War I

World War II

Divisions

Infantry

Light Horse

Armoured

Brigades

Infantry

Regiments

Infantry

Administrative

Functional

Armoured

Cavalry

Light Horse

Artillery

Battalions

Infantry

Royal Australian Regiment

Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) were formed in the aftermath of the Second World War, when Australian defence policymakers government decided to exchange the focus on the Militia to a permanent force. The battalions are as follows:

Australian Imperial Force

Battalions of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) were initially formed in the First World War as volunteer units for overseas service. The battalions are as follows:

Citations

  1. "Royal Australian Armoured Corps". Australian Army. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  2. "Army Order of Battle". Australian Army. January 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2020.

Notes

  1. Amalgamated
  2. Originally the 65th Battalion
  3. Originally the 66th Battalion
  4. Originally the 67th Battalion
  5. Reorganised into the 2nd Commando Regiment
  6. Currently amalgamated with the 19th Battalion to form the 1st/19th Battalion

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Light Horse</span> Australian mounted troops

Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australia's part-time military force. These units were gradually mechanised either before or during World War II, although only a small number undertook operational service during the war. A number of Australian light horse units are still in existence today.

This is the complete order of battle of Allied and German forces involved during Operation Market Garden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Structure of the Australian Army</span>

This article describes the current structure of the Australian Army. It includes the army's order of battle and the headquarters locations of major units. Members of the Australian Army also serve within joint units of the Australian Defence Force which fall outside the direct command of the Australian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Armoured Division (Australia)</span> 1942-1943 armoured formation of the Australian Army

The 3rd Armoured Division was an armoured unit of the Australian Army during World War II. Originally raised in 1921 as the 1st Cavalry Division, the formation had been converted into a motor division in early 1942, before adopting the armoured designation in November 1942. A Militia formation, the division undertook garrison duties in New South Wales and then Queensland and did not see combat before being disbanded in late 1943 and early 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian armoured units of World War II</span> Australian Army during WW2

Armoured units made a relatively small, but important, contribution to Australia’s war effort during World War II. While Australia formed three armoured divisions and two independent armoured brigades during the war, Australian armoured units only saw action as independent regiments and companies supporting larger infantry formations. Early actions were fought in the Middle East by the divisional carrier regiments that supported the 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions, fighting in Libya, Egypt and Syria in 1941–42, before the Australian divisions returned to Australia in 1942–43. During the early fighting in the Pacific, there was a limited role for armoured formations, although one armoured regiment – the 2/6th – took part in the fighting around Buna–Gona in late 1942. Later in the war, though, during the Huon Peninsula, Bougainville and Borneo campaigns of 1943–45, several armoured units were used by Australian forces in the infantry support role.

The following units of the German First Army and British Expeditionary Force fought in the Battle of Mons in World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Armoured Brigade (Australia)</span> 1941-1957 formation of the Australian Army

The 2nd Armoured Brigade was a formation of the Australian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in July 1941, at Puckapunyal, Victoria, from Second Australian Imperial Force volunteers. It was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division in July 1941, with the intention of deploying it to the Middle East. However, it was reassigned to home defence following Japan's entry into the war, and was then transferred to the 3rd Armoured Division in October 1942. The brigade remained in Australia, undertaking defensive duties in Victoria and Queensland before being disbanded in January 1944. While it did not see any active service as a formation, some of its constituent units eventually took part in the campaigns on Tarakan, Labuan, Bougainville and around Aitape–Wewak in 1944–1945 after transferring to other brigades.

The Allied invasion of Italy, a phase of the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, took place on 3 September at Reggio di Calabria, and on 9 September 1943 at Taranto and Salerno. Allied naval forces landed American and Commonwealth troops on the beaches of southern Italy where they faced resistance from Axis forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of battle of the Gulf War ground campaign</span>

This is the order of battle for the ground campaign in the Gulf War between U.S. and Coalition Forces and the Iraqi Armed Forces between February 24–28, 1991. The order that they are listed in are from west to east. Iraqi units that were not in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations are excluded from this list. Some Iraqi divisions remained un-identified by Department of Defense intelligence and a number of the details of the Iraqi order of battle are in dispute among various authoritative sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 invasion of Iraq order of battle</span> Order of battle

This is the order of battle for the invasion of Iraq during the Iraq War between coalition forces and the Iraqi Armed Forces; Fedayeen Saddam irregulars; and others between March 19 and May 1, 2003.

In September 1939, the British Army was in process of expanding their anti-aircraft and mobile assets. Among these new changes was the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command which was formed on 1 April 1939, and the 1st Armoured Division formed in 1937. The list below will include the British Army units, colonial units, and those units which were in the process of formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of battle for the Gallipoli campaign</span>

This is an order of battle listing the Allied and Ottoman forces involved in the Gallipoli campaign during 1915.

This page details the South African Army order of battle in 1940, before and after the formation of expeditionary forces.

The Structure of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force over the course of the First World War is shown below.