- ANZAC
ANZAC army formations and units include both Australian and New Zealand troops. The term "ANZAC" originated as an acronym for the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps , anarmy corps of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought against the Turks in 1915 at theBattle of Gallipoli duringWorld War I . The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was disbanded in 1916 and other "ANZAC" formations were then formed and fought during that war in theMiddle East and on theWestern Front .The term "ANZAC" was used again during the
Vietnam War as part of the name ofbattalion s comprising Australian and New Zealand troops.Within
Australasia , "ANZAC" came to stand not just for the troops in World War I, but for Australian and New Zealand soldiers in time of war more generally.Anzac Day is observed annually in memory of those soldiers who died in war. It is commemorated each year by both countries on 25 April, the date of the first landing at Gallipoli in 1915 on a beach known as ANZAC Cove. (It is similar to days such asMemorial Day ,Veterans Day ,Armistice Day ,Remembrance Day orV-E Day commemorated in other countries.)World War I formations
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was the original "ANZAC" formation. It served at Gallipoli under the command of GeneralWilliam Birdwood and comprised the Australian 1st Division and theNew Zealand and Australian Division . The three Australian and one New Zealand mountedbrigade s were employed asinfantry with ANZAC during the Gallipoli campaign. The Australian 2nd Division began to arrive from Australia in August 1915 and somebattalion s saw action on Gallipoli in the final months of the campaign.Other World War I formations
Following the evacuation of Gallipoli in November 1915, the Australian and New Zealand units reassembled in
Egypt . The New Zealand contingent expanded to form their own division; theNew Zealand Division . The Australian Imperial Force underwent a major reorganization resulting in the formation of two new divisions; the 4th and 5th divisions. (TheAustralian 3rd Division 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. By this time, "ANZAC" had ceased to be an acronym and had begun to be used as a term to describe any formation containing Australian or New Zealand units. I ANZAC Corps, under the command of General Birdwood, departed for France in early 1916. II ANZAC Corps, commanded by General
Alexander Godley , followed soon after.The ANZAC Mounted Division (originally the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division) was also formed at this time and contained the three Australian
light horse brigades as well as theNew Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade . The division fought asmounted infantry throughout theMiddle East , including Egypt, the Sinai (Romani, Magdhaba and Rafa) andPalestine (First and Second battles ofGaza , Beersheba,Jerusalem ,Jericho , Es Salt, Megiddo andAmman ) andSyria .On the Western Front, ANZAC formations participated in many battles, the first of which was the disastrous
Battle of Fromelles on 19/20 July 1916 where the Australians lost 5,533 men killed or wounded in one night. Australian and New Zealand Divisions were involved in a number of engagements during theBattle of the Somme (1916) while components of British corps but it was only during theBattle of Pozieres , 23 July 1916, that an ANZAC formation participated as a whole. This was I ANZAC (Australian 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions).At
Villers-Bretonneux , in the 1918 First Battles of the Somme, the "ANZAC" designation ceased to be used to represent an army corps containing Australian and New Zealand divisions. I ANZAC Corps was renamed the Australian Corps (and comprised the Australian 4th and 5th Divisions at the time). The Australian Corps ultimately contained all five Australian divisions, making it the strongest Allied army corps on the Western Front.Formations and units since World War I
During
World War II , the Australian I Corps HQ was moved to Greece during April 1941. As the corps also controlled theNew Zealand 2nd Division (along with Greek and British formations), it was officially renamed the "Anzac Corps" on April 12. TheBattle of Greece was over in weeks and the corps HQ left Greece on April 23-24, with the name "Anzac Corps" no longer being used. [D.M. Horner. " [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130231b.htm Blamey, Sir Thomas Albert (1884 - 1951)] ". "Australian Dictionary of Biography", Volume 13, Melbourne University Press, 1993, pp 196-201.]During the
Vietnam War , two companies from theRoyal New Zealand Infantry Regiment were integrated intoRoyal Australian Regiment battalions. These integrated battalions had the suffix (ANZAC) added to their name (for example, 4 RAR became the 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion).The
ANZAC Battle Group is a battle group of Australian and New Zealand units deployed toTimor Leste as part ofOperation Astute . The battle group was established in September 2006.Naval vessels
HMAS "Anzac" was a
destroyer launched in 1917. It was commissioned into theRoyal Navy in 1917 as HMS "Anzac", named to honour the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It was presented to the Australian Government in 1919 and commissioned into theRoyal Australian Navy as HMAS "Anzac".The second "Anzac" was HMAS "Anzac" (D59), a "Battle" class (named "Anzac" class in the Royal Australian Navy) destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy, launched in 1948.
"ANZAC" was chosen as the name of a new class of
frigate s based on the MEKO 200 design, for the Royal Australian Navy and theRoyal New Zealand Navy . The "ANZAC" class, beginning with HMAS "ANZAC" (FFH 150), will serve well into the 21st century.Non-military uses of ANZAC
Rugby league test matches played between Australia and New Zealand on or nearAnzac Day have been namedANZAC Test s.ANZAC teams have also played representative rugby league with players from both Australia and New Zealand. The last match took place in 2005 in
Workington , England, against a team representingCumbria .On
ANZAC Day in Sydney, the NRL hold an annual match between Sydney and St. George-Illawarra. InMelbourne , the AFL annually holds anAustralian Rules Football match at theMCG withCollingwood vsEssendon matches every year.See also
*
Anzac spirit
*Anzac Day
*ANZAC biscuit
*Alec Campbell , the last living ANZAC at Gallipoli [Shaw, John. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E7D61438F933A15756C0A9649C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/D/Deaths%20(Obituaries) "Alec Campbell, Last Anzac at Gallipoli, Dies at 103,"] "New York Times." May 20, 2002.]
*Charlie Mance References
External links
* [http://dl.filmaust.com.au/tag/ANZAC/ Educational Resources about the ANZACS]
* [http://www.wspd.wellington.net.nz/resources/anzacarticle.htm W(h)ither ANZAC Day? - The Legal Protection of "ANZAC"]
* [http://suttonveny.co.uk/1st_World_War/Anzacs/anzacs.html Anzacs in Sutton Veny, Wiltshire during the First World War and the Australian War Commission Graveyard]
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