1.
2/17th Battalion (Australia)
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The 2/17th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in April 1940 in New South Wales, it formed part of the 20th Brigade, after completing basic training in Australia, the unit was deployed to the Middle East. In early 1941, it took part in the fighting at Tobruk, a period of garrison duties followed in Syria and Lebanon before the battalion took part in the First and Second Battles of El Alamein in mid-1942. As the focus of the Australian Armys operations shifted to the Pacific theatre to fight the Japanese, in early 1944, the battalion was withdrawn to Australia for rest and reorganisation and a long period of inactivity followed before it returned to combat. Its final campaign came late in the war when it was committed to the fighting in Borneo in June 1945, following the end of the war, the battalion was disbanded in early 1946. Formed for service during the World War II, the 2/17th Battalion was raised on 26 April 1940 from Second Australian Imperial Force volunteers at Ingleburn, after completing individual training at Ingleburn, the battalion moved on foot to Bathurst to complete collective training. Following this, the 2/17th embarked for the Middle East from Sydney on 20 October 1940, moving in convoy the Queen Mary briefly stopped in Fremantle, before continuing to Bombay in early November where the battalion was disembarked. Following a few days in camp ashore they were transferred to the Rohna for the leg of the voyage. The convoy continued, sailing via the African coast into the Gulf of Aden and then through the Suez Canal, before finally berthing at El Kantara in Egypt. Arriving in the Middle East in late November, the battalion undertook further training near Gaza in Palestine, returning to Palestine in early January they conducted a number of exercises until late February. In March 1941 the battalions of the 9th Division were sent into the desert to relieve the 6th Division that was deploying to Greece, as part of this the 2/17th garrisoned Mersa Brega, near Tripoli. On the night of 13/14 April 1941, a party of about 30 Germans broke into the Australian position and set up eight machine-guns, a couple of mortars and two field guns. Seeing this, the nearest platoon commander, Lieutenant Austin Mackell, launched a counterattack with a party of men consisting of one corporal. It was the first such award to a member of the 2nd AIF, the battalions losses during the fighting around Tobruk, including the withdrawal prior to the siege, consisted of 32 dead from all causes,127 wounded and 14 captured. Shortly afterwards, a company was detached from the battalion to guard duties in Broumane, in Syria. Relieving the 2/12th Battalion, the battalion established itself around Afrine, north of Aleppo, in March, after the 2nd New Zealand Division arrived, the battalion moved to Latakia. The 2/17th Battalion subsequently carried out an operation and then occupied a position around Tel el Eisa, from where it conducted patrols. In September, the 2/17th was relieved by the 2/15th Battalion, meanwhile, several exercises and other training was undertaken prior to the upcoming offensive
2.
Australian Army
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The Australian Army is Australias military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy, while the Chief of the Defence Force commands the ADF, the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army. The CA is therefore subordinate to the CDF, but is directly responsible to the Minister for Defence. Although Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout its history, Australias largest peacekeeping deployment began in 1999 in East Timor, while other ongoing operations include peacekeeping on Bougainville, in the Sinai, and in the Solomon Islands. Humanitarian relief after 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in Aceh Province, Indonesia, Operation Sumatra Assist, the 1st Division comprises a deployable headquarters, while 2nd Division under the command of Forces Command is the main home-defence formation, containing Army Reserve units. 2nd Divisions headquarters only performs administrative functions, the Australian Army has not deployed a divisional-sized formation since 1945 and does not expect to do so in the future. 1st Division carries out training activities and deploys to command large-scale ground operations. It does not have any combat units permanently assigned, Forces Command controls for administrative purposes all non-special-forces assets of the Australian Army. It is neither an operational nor a deployable command,1 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Darwin and Adelaide. 3 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Townsville,6 Brigade – Mixed brigade based in Sydney. 7 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Brisbane,16 Aviation Brigade – Army Aviation brigade based in Enoggera, Brisbane. 17 Combat Service Support Brigade – Logistic brigade based in Sydney, 2nd Division administers the reserve forces from its headquarters located in Sydney. 4 Brigade – based in Victoria,5 Brigade – based in New South Wales. 8 Brigade – based in New South Wales,9 Brigade – based in South Australia and Tasmania. 11 Brigade – based in Queensland,13 Brigade – based in Western Australia. Special Operations Command comprises a command formation of equal status to the commands in the ADF. It includes all of Armys special forces assets, the force will be known as the Amphibious Ready Element and will be embarked on the Navys new Canberra-class amphibious assault ships. Infantry, and some combat units of the Australian Army carry flags called the Queens Colour
3.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
4.
Line infantry
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Line infantry is the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century. For both battle and parade drill it consisted of 2 to 4 ranks of soldiers drawn up side by side in rigid alignment. By extension, the term came to be applied to the regiments of the line as opposed to skirmishers, foot guards, militia. Line infantry mainly used three formations in its battles, the line, the square and the column, a line consisted of 2,3 or 4 ranks of soldiers. During the time period that line infantry were prevalent, the object was to cause the formation to rout, which was done by breaking it. The line was considered as the battle formation as it allowed for the largest deployment of firepower. Troops in skirmish formation, though able to cover and use initiative, were highly vulnerable to cavalry. Line infantry provided an anchor for skirmishers and cavalry to retreat to if threatened, against surrounding enemy cavalry, line infantry could swiftly adopt square formations to provide protection. Such squares were hollow, unlike the pikemen and old-style musketeers square, movement in line formation was very slow, and unless the battalion was superbly trained, a breakdown in cohesion was virtually assured, especially in any kind of uneven or wooded terrain. As a result, line was used as a stationary formation, with troops moving in column formations. Usually, columns would be adopted for movement and melee attacks, line infantry was trained in the manual of arms evolutions, the main objectives of which were fast deployment of a line, rapid shooting and manoeuvre. Line tactics required a strict discipline and simple movements, practiced to the point where they became second-nature, during training, the drill and corporal punishments were widely used. Line infantry quickly became the most common type of infantry in European countries, musketeers and grenadiers, formerly elite troops, gradually became part of the line infantry, switching to linear tactics. In the middle of the 17th century, the muskets of some line infantry were equipped with bayonets. Bayonets were attached to the muzzles of muskets and were used when line troops entered melee combat and they also helped to defend against cavalry. In many countries, the new fusils retained the name musket, both muskets and fusils were smoothbore, which lessened their accuracy and range, but made for faster loading, lesser amount of bore fouling and more robust, less complicated firearms. The bulk of the infantry had no protective equipment, as armor that could provide protection from musket fire were considered too expensive. Only the former elite troops could keep by tradition some elements of protection, for example, initially, soldiers equipped with firearms formed only a small part of the infantry branch of most armies, because of their vulnerability to hostile cavalry
5.
Unit Colour Patch
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Unit Colour Patches are currently worn on the slouch hat in the Australian Army to identify the wearers unit. Unit colour patches are approximately 40 millimetres x 40 millimetres in size and have a variety of colours. While some are recent creations many date back to World War I and it was an extension of an order allowing the posting of distinctive colour flags to denote HQ and unit lines, and these flags were used as the basic design for 1st Division colour patches. These were worn on the sleeve,1 inch below the shoulder seam, Divisional Order 81 decreed a rectangular patch 1.25 inches by 2. Each Infantry Brigade within each Division was assigned a colour and the Brigade HQ colour patches were the Divisional shape in the Brigade colour. Each Battalion in each Brigade was then assigned a colour, and the patch was split horizontally with the Battalion colour across the top of the field, light Horse, Artillery, Engineer and Medical units were also allocated colour patches. Light Horse patches were divided diagonally, in total over 300 individual patches were authorized during the war. Military Order 206/21 in 1921 authorised the use of Unit Colour Patches for the Citizen Military Forces, which was raised in May,1921. As this new organisation was based on the AIF, this order granted authority to the Citizen Military Forces to wear Regimental Colour Patches similar to those worn by corresponding units of the AIF. It also allowed for ex-members of the AIF serving in Citizen Military Forces to wear a miniature colour patch of the last AIF unit in which they served, with the raising of the Second AIF in World War II, the unit colour patch was continued. A grey background of the shape as the divisional patch was then included to denote a unit of the Second AIF. New shapes were used, for example with the T-shaped patches instituted by the units of the 9th Division in 1943 representing their key role in the Siege of Tobruk, over 800 separate patches were authorised during the war. At right is the patch of the 2/17th Battalion. As a unit within 9th Division of the 2nd AIF, 17th Battalion has a T-shaped colour patch representing the Siege of Tobruk, with the grey background of the 2nd AIF. The original series of patches was discontinued in 1949. The Series I range are known as the Heritage patches and are the pre-1949 patches maintained in a register with the Series I Extended, both are used in the Australian Army due to some units tracing their lineage to the First AIF units. The register also includes the patches for the Royal Australian Air Force, Colour Patches of the Australian Forces. The Australian Imperial Force in France,1916, official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918
6.
Battalion
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A battalion is a military unit. The use of the term varies by nationality and branch of service. Typically a battalion consists of 300 to 800 soldiers and is divided into a number of companies, a battalion is typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. In some countries the word battalion is associated with the infantry, the term was first used in Italian as battaglione no later than the 16th century. It derived from the Italian word for battle, battaglia, the first use of battalion in English was in the 1580s, and the first use to mean part of a regiment is from 1708. The battalion must, of course, have a source of re-supply to enable it to sustain operations for more than a few days, the battalion is usually part of a regiment, brigade, or group, depending on the organizational model used by that service. The bulk of a battalions companies are often homogeneous with respect to type, a battalion includes a headquarters company and some sort of combat service support, typically organized within a combat support company. The term battalion is used in the British Army Infantry and some including the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. It was formerly used in the Royal Engineers, and was used in the now defunct Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Other corps usually use the term regiment instead, an infantry battalion is numbered ordinarily within its regiment. It normally has a company, support company, and three rifle companies. Each company is commanded by a major, the officer commanding, the HQ company contains signals, quartermaster, catering, intelligence, administration, pay, training, operations and medical elements. The support company usually contains anti-tank, machine gun, mortar, pioneer, mechanised units usually have an attached light aid detachment of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers to perform field repairs on vehicles and equipment. A British battalion in theatre during World War II had around 845 men in it, and, as of 2012, with successive rounds of cutbacks after the war, many infantry regiments were reduced to a single battalion. A battalion group or battlegroup consists of a battalion or armoured regiment with sub-units detached from other military units acting under the command of the battalion commander. In the Canadian Forces, most battalions are reserve units of between 100–200 soldiers that include an operationally ready, field-deployable component of approximately a half-company apiece, the nine regular force infantry battalions each contain three or four rifle companies and one or two support companies. Canadian battalions are generally commanded by lieutenant-colonels, though smaller reserve battalions may be commanded by majors, with the Dutch artillery units, the equivalent of a battalion is called an afdeling. Combat companies consist of infantry, combat engineers, or tanks, in the latter case, the unit is called an eskadron, which translates roughly to squadron
7.
St Leonards, New South Wales
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St Leonards is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. St Leonards was named after English statesman Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney of St Leonards, originally, St Leonards applied to the whole area from the present suburb of North Sydney to Gore Hill. The township of St Leonards in 1883 is now North Sydney, the oldest railway station on the North Shore line opened in 1890 in St Leonards and originally only ran to Hornsby. The Gore Hill cemetery was established on the Pacific Highway in 1868 and was the burial site for the area until its closure in 1975. It is still maintained as a site by the Department of Local Government and Lands, Willoughby Municipal Council. St Leonards has a centre that complements the role of Chatswood, Lane Cove. The NSW Department of Education and Training host their Information Technology Directorate in Herbert Street, Gore Hill Technology Park is the site of current Fox Sports television studios. The suburbs tallest building is the Forum Tower, with 483 apartments including many with views of the city skyline. Forum West is the second of the two buildings within the Forum Plaza, standing 25 stories tall with 290 apartments. Forum Tower was completed in August 1999 and Forum West 3 years later, both buildings boast a concierge, pool, spa, gym and private & public car parking facilities each. The Plaza also contains offices for Cisco Systems, Verizon Business, Getty Images and Carnival Cruise Lines, St Leonards railway station is on the North Shore, Northern & Western Line of the Sydney Trains network. The Pacific Highway is the road through the suburb. A major landuse in the suburb is the Royal North Shore Hospital which is the largest hospital north of Port Jackson in Sydney, the Northern Suburbs Rugby Club has its clubhouse in St. Leonards, featuring the Cabana Bar and Lounge. Gore Hill Oval is the ground of Australian Rules football club. Willoughby City Council Naremburn/St Leonards - community profile
8.
Military history of Australia
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The relationship between war and Australian society has also been shaped by the enduring themes of Australian strategic culture and its unique security dilemma. In total, nearly 103,000 Australians died during the course of these conflicts, the Gallipoli campaign was one of the first international events that saw Australians taking part as Australians and has been seen as a key event in forging a sense of national identity. The relationship between war and Australian society has been shaped by two of the enduring themes of Australian strategic culture, bandwagoning with a powerful ally. Indeed, Australian defence policy was linked to Britain until the Japanese crisis of 1942. Likewise, multilateralism, collective security and defence self-reliance have also been important themes, to be sure, during threats to the core Australia has often found itself defending the periphery and perhaps as a result, it has frequently become involved in foreign wars. Throughout these conflicts Australian soldiers—known colloquially as Diggers—have often been noted, somewhat paradoxically, from 1788 until 1870 the defence of the Australian colonies was mostly provided by British Army regular forces. The New South Wales Corps subsequently was involved in putting down a rebellion of Irish convicts at Castle Hill in 1804, soon however shortcomings in the corps convinced the War Office of the need for a more reliable garrison in New South Wales and Van Diemens Land. Chief of these shortcomings was the Rum Rebellion, a coup mounted by its officers in 1808, as a result, in January 1810 the 73rd Regiment of Foot arrived in Australia. By 1870,25 British infantry regiments had served in Australia, as had a number of artillery. Although the primary role of the British Army was to protect the colonies against external attack, notably British soldiers were involved in the battle at the Eureka Stockade in 1854 on the Victorian goldfields. Members of British regiments stationed in Australia also saw action in India, Afghanistan, New Zealand, during the early years of settlement the naval defence of Australia was provided by detached Royal Navy units of the East Indies Station, based in Sydney. However, in 1859 Australia was established as a squadron under the command of a commodore. European diseases decimated Aboriginal populations, and the occupation or destruction of lands, at times, however, the frontier wars did see the involvement of British soldiers and later mounted police units. Not all Aboriginal groups resisted white encroachment on their lands, while many Aborigines served in mounted units and were involved in attacks on other tribes. Fighting between Aborigines and Europeans was localised as the Aborigines did not form confederations capable of sustained resistance, as a result, there was not a single war, but rather a series of violent engagements and massacres across the continent. Organised or disorganised however, a pattern of frontier warfare emerged with Aboriginal resistance beginning in the 18th century and this warfare contradicts the popular and at times academic myth of peaceful settlement in Australia. Faced with Aboriginal resistance settlers often reacted with violence, resulting in a number of indiscriminate massacres, among the most famous is the Battle of Pinjarra in Western Australia in 1834. Such incidents were not officially sanctioned however, and after the Myall Creek massacre in New South Wales in 1838 seven Europeans were hanged for their part in the killings
9.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
10.
First Australian Imperial Force
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The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed on 15 August 1914, following Britains declaration of war on Germany, initially with a strength of one infantry division and one light horse brigade. The infantry division fought at Gallipoli between April and December 1915, being reinforced by a second division which was later raised. After being evacuated to Egypt the AIF was expanded to five infantry divisions, a sixth infantry division was partially raised in 1917 in the United Kingdom, but was broken up and used as reinforcements following heavy casualties on the Western Front. Meanwhile, two mounted divisions remained in the Middle East to fight against Turkish forces in the Sinai and Palestine. An all volunteer force, by the end of the war the AIF had gained a reputation as being a well-trained and highly effective military force, however, this reputation came at a heavy cost with a casualty rate among the highest of any belligerent for the war. After the war, the AFC evolved into the Royal Australian Air Force, after the war the achievements of the AIF and its soldiers, known colloquially as Diggers, became central to the national mythology of the Anzac legend. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is referred to as the 1st AIF to it distinguish from the Second Australian Imperial Force raised during World War II. At the start of the war, Australias military forces were focused upon the part-time Militia, the small number of regular personnel were mostly artillerymen or engineers, and were generally assigned to the task of coastal defence. The Australian government pledged to supply 20,000 men organised as one division and one light horse brigade plus supporting units. Officially coming into being on 15 August 1914, the word imperial was chosen to reflect the duty of Australians to both nation and empire, the AIF was initially intended for service in Europe. Meanwhile, a separate 2, 000-man force—known as the Australian Naval, in addition, small military forces were maintained in Australia to defend the country from attack. Upon formation, the AIF consisted of one infantry division, the 1st Division. The 1st Light Horse Brigade was commanded by Colonel Harry Chauvel, the initial response for recruits was so good that in September 1914 the decision was made to raise the 4th Infantry Brigade and 2nd and 3rd Light Horse Brigades. The 4th Infantry Brigade was commanded by Colonel John Monash, a prominent Melbourne civil engineer, the AIF continued to grow through the war, eventually numbering five infantry divisions, two mounted divisions and a mixture of other units. As the AIF operated within the British war effort, its units were organised along the same lines as comparable British Army formations. However, there were small differences between the structures of British and Australian units, especially in regards to the AIF infantry divisions support units. Hastily deployed, the first contingent of AIF was essentially untrained and suffered from widespread equipment shortages, in early 1915 the AIF was largely an inexperienced force, with only a small percentage of its members having previous combat experience
11.
5th Brigade (Australia)
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5th Brigade is a brigade of the Australian Army. Raised for overseas service in 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, during the inter-war years, it was re-raised as a part-time formation as part of Citizens Military Force. It undertook garrison duties in Australia during the Second World War, following the war, the brigade was re-raised in 1948 once again and it is currently a Reserve combined arms formation based in New South Wales and forms part of the 2nd Division. The 5th Brigade was initially formed in mid-1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force for service during the First World War, upon formation it consisted of four infantry battalions—the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Battalions. Assigned to the 2nd Division, the majority of its personnel were drawn from men that had served in New Guinea with the Australian Naval. The brigade subsequently took part in the August Offensive, as the Allies sought to break the deadlock that had descended on the peninsula. After the offensive failed, the 5th Brigade remained at Gallipoli, undertaking mainly defensive tasks until they were evacuated in December 1915, in early 1916, the brigade was sent to France as part of the large-scale transfer of the AIFs infantry divisions to the European battlefield. For the next years the 5th Brigade fought on the Western Front. In July 1916, they were committed to the Battle of Pozières, in May 1917, as the Germans withdrew to the Hindenburg Line, the brigade took part in the Battle of Lagnicourt in April 1917 and then the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May. Later in the year they were committed, joining actions at Menin Road in September 1917. During this time they were involved in the battles at Amiens in August, Mont St Quentin in September, and Montbrehain in October. Based in New South Wales, at time it consisted of the 4th, 20th, 36th and 54th Battalions. In 1948, the CMF was established once more, albeit on a limited scale, in 1960, with the introduction of the Pentropic divisional structure, the brigade ceased to exist as it was decided to move away from the traditional triangular formation. The Pentropic structure was abandoned in 1965, however, and the Army returned to the tropical establishment. The brigade was reformed at this time, albeit under the guise of the 5th Task Force, in 1982, it reverted to the designation of 5th Brigade and in 1987 all Reserve formations were reduced to two infantry battalions. Today, 5th Brigade is a combined formation of the Australian Army Reserve, based in New South Wales. Under Plan Beersheba the reserve 5th and 8th Brigades are partnered with the regular 7th Brigade, the Story of ANZAC from 4 May 1915, to the Evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australian War Memorial
12.
2nd Division (Australia)
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The 2nd Division commands all the reserve brigades in Australia. These are the 4th in Victoria, the 5th and 8th in New South Wales, the 9th in South Australia and Tasmania, the 11th in Queensland, the division is also responsible for the security of Australias northern borders through its Regional Force Surveillance Units. The division was first formed in 1915 during World War I as part of the First Australian Imperial Force, apart from a period from 1960 to 1965, the division has existed in one form or another. The Australian 2nd Division was formed from training in Egypt on 10 July 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force to fight in World War I. It fought at Gallipoli during the stages of the campaign. After the war ended and the AIF was demobilised, the 2nd Division name was revived and assigned to a Citizens Military Forces unit. The Australian 2nd Division was formed in July 1915 from a collection of brigades that had been raised independently in Australia, the 2nd Division held a quiet stretch of the original line, and only a part of the Division saw serious fighting during around Hill 60 on 22 August. The 2nd Division was evacuated from the peninsula in December, returning to Egypt, the 2nd Division started to arrive in France in March 1916, and was initially sent to a quiet sector south of Armentières to acclimatise to the Western Front conditions. Due to the casualties sustained by the Australian 1st Divisions attack at Pozières on 23 July, continuing the attack started by the 1st Division, the 2nd Division attacked on 29 July. However, due to the preparation, the division sustained approximately 3,500 casualties for little gain. The 2nd Division attacked again on 4 August, capturing the OG2 trench line, alarmed by the loss of the defences, the Germans initiated a severe, sustained artillery bombardment. The position of the Australian salient, meant that the soldiers were receive artillery fire from the rear – from German batteries near Thiepval. After 12 days on the front line and sustaining 6,846 casualties, after a brief rest – during which the division was built up to two-thirds strength – the 2nd Division again relieved the Australian 1st Division from its position beyond Pozières on 22 August. These counterattacks succeeded in forcing the 2nd Division back from Mouquet Farm, after sustaining another 1,268 casualties, the 2nd Division was relieved by the Australian 4th Division on 26 August. On 5 September, I Anzac was withdrawn from the Somme, the division anticipated spending winter quarters in Flanders but was recalled to the Somme for the final stages of the British offensive. This time they joined the British Fourth Army, holding a sector south of Pozières near the village of Flers, while part of the German trenches were captured and held, the exhausted soldiers were ejected from their gains a few days later. The 7th Brigade attacked again on 14 November, but were partially successful in capturing parts of the Gird and Gird Support trenches immediately to the north of The Maze. However, a German counterattack on 16 November succeeded in recapturing all of the trenches captured by the 2nd Division, in January, Legge fell ill and was replaced by Brigadier-General Nevill Maskelyne Smyth VC
13.
Gallipoli Campaign
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The peninsula forms the northern bank of the Dardanelles, a strait that provided a sea route to the Russian Empire, one of the Allied powers during the war. Intending to secure it, Russias allies Britain and France launched an attack followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula. The naval attack was repelled and after eight months fighting, with casualties on both sides, the land campaign was abandoned and the invasion force was withdrawn to Egypt. The campaign was one of the greatest Ottoman victories during the war, in Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the nations history, a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. In 1908, a group of officers, known as the Young Turks. The new régime implemented a program of reform to modernise the political and economic system. An enthusiastic supporter, Germany provided significant investment, German diplomats subsequently found increasing influence, despite Britain previously being the predominant power in the region, while German officers assisted in training and re-equipping the army. Despite this support, the resources of the Ottoman Empire were depleted by the cost of the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. In December 1913, the Germans sent a mission to Constantinople. The geographical position of the Ottoman Empire meant that Russia and her allies France, during the Sarajevo Crisis in 1914, German diplomats offered Turkey an anti-Russian alliance and territorial gains in Caucasia, north-west Iran and Trans-Caspia. The pro-British faction in the Cabinet was isolated due to the British ambassador taking leave until 18 August, as the crisis deepened in Europe, Ottoman policy was to obtain a guarantee of territorial integrity and potential advantages, unaware that the British might enter a European war. This action strained diplomatic relations between the two empires and the German government offered SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau to the Ottoman navy as replacements, by allowing the German ships to enter the Dardanelles, the Ottomans confirmed their links to Germany. In September, the British naval mission to the Ottomans, which had established in 1912 under Admiral Arthur Limpus, was recalled due to increasing concern that Turkey would soon enter the war. Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon of the Imperial German Navy took over command of the Ottoman navy, the German naval presence and the success of German armies on all fronts, gave the pro-German faction in the Ottoman government enough influence to declare war on Russia. On 27 October, Goeben and Breslau, having been renamed Yavûz Sultân Selîm and Midilli, sortied into the Black Sea, bombarded the Russian port of Odessa and sank several Russian ships. The Ottomans refused an Allied demand that they expel the German missions and on 31 October 1914, Russia declared war on Turkey on 2 November. The next day, the British ambassador left Constantinople and a British naval squadron off the Dardanelles bombarded the outer defensive forts at Kum Kale, a shell hit a magazine, knocked the guns off their mounts and killed 86 soldiers. Fighting also began in Mesopotamia, following a British landing to occupy the oil facilities in the Persian Gulf, the Ottomans prepared to attack Egypt in early 1915, aiming to occupy the Suez Canal and cut the Mediterranean route to India and the Far East
14.
Western Front (World War I)
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The Western Front or Western Theater was the main theatre of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several major offensives along this front, the attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire, as a result, no significant advances were made. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new technology, including poison gas, aircraft. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored, the German Armys Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. In spite of the stagnant nature of this front, this theatre would prove decisive. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, belgiums neutrality was guaranteed by Britain under the 1839 Treaty of London, this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914, Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August, Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under von Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August, for their part, the French had five armies deployed on their borders. The pre-war French offensive plan, Plan XVII, was intended to capture Alsace-Lorraine following the outbreak of hostilities, on 7 August the VII Corps attacked Alsace with its objectives being to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with 1st and 2nd Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French advanced the 3rd and 4th Armies toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau, before being driven back
15.
Battle honour
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In European military tradition, military units may be acknowledged for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. These honours usually take the form of a place and a date, theatre honours could be listed and displayed on regimental property but not emblazoned on the colours. Since battle honours are emblazoned on colours, artillery units. These honour titles were permitted to be used as part of their official nomenclature, similar honours in the same tenor include unit citations. Battle honours, theatre honours, honour titles and their ilk form a part of the variety of distinctions which serve to distinguish military units from each other. For the British Army, the need to adopt a system to recognise military units battlefield accomplishments was apparent since its formation as an army in the later part of the 17th century. Although the granting of battle honours had already been in place at the time, before then, a regiments colours were practical tools for rallying troops in the battlefield and not quite something for displaying the units past distinctions. The first battle honour to be awarded in the British Army was granted to the 15th Hussars for the Battle of Emsdorf in 1760, thereafter, other regiments received battle honours for some of their previous engagements. The battle honour is held by the successor regiment, the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment. During these early years of the British standing army, a regiment needed only to engage the enemy with musketry before it was eligible for a battle honour, thus in 1882, a committee was formed to adjudicate applications of battle honour claims. This committee, later called the Battles Nomenclature Committee, still maintains its function in the British Army today. A battle honour may be granted to infantry/cavalry regiments or battalions, as well as ships and squadrons, they are granted to sub-units such as companies. Battle honours are presented in the form of a name of a country, region, or city where the units distinguished act took place. Not every battle fought will automatically result in the granting of a battle honour, conversely, a regiment or a battalion might obtain more than one battle honour over the course of a larger operation. Similarly, while in Korea, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry earned both Kapyong and Korea 1951–1953, supporting corps/branches such as medical, service, ordnance, or transport do not currently receive battle honours. However and uniquely the Royal Logistic Corps has five battle honours inherited from its previous transport elements, Commonwealth artillery does not maintain battle honours as they carry neither colours nor guidons—though their guns by tradition are afforded many of the same respects and courtesies. However, both the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers were in 1832 granted by King William IV the right to use the Latin Ubique, meaning everywhere and this is worn on the cap badge of both the Corps of Royal Engineers and the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The practice was extended to these same regiments and corps in the successor Commonwealth armed forces
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2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment
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The 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment is a reserve infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The unit was formed in 1987, following a reorganisation of the Australian Army Reserve which saw the amalgamation of a number of Reserve units across Australia. The 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment was formed on 5 December 1987 when the 2nd and 17th Battalions were amalgamated during a ceremony held at Newcastle, New South Wales. Upon formation, the battalion was assigned to the 8th Brigade, in 1988, the newly formed battalion marched through the municipality of Ku-ring-gai, after it was granted the Freedom of Entry to the town. In 1990, 2/17 RNSWR was called upon to provide relief in the wake of Newcastle earthquake. Following this, the battalion was relocated to Silverwater, New South Wales while Suakin Depot was being refurbished, at the same time, the battalion gained a company that was based at Arncliffe from the 4th/3rd Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment. In 1997, as a result of a re-organisation of the Ready Reserve Scheme, the previous year, B Company was moved to Erina. Throughout the late 1990s, 2/17 RNSWR took part in a number of large-scale exercises and these included Kangaroo 95, which was a multinational exercise that was undertaken in northern Australia. Alpha Company traces its lineage to the NSW Scottish Rifles unit which was affiliated with the Black Watch, until late 2010, Alpha Company members paraded in a khaki balmoral with a Black Watch tartan and RNSWR cap badge complete with red hackle, the ceremonial balmoral being navy blue. The khaki balmoral was presented to the qualified infanteers of the company upon completion of their second, only the ceremonial balmoral is still worn. Since 2007, the unit has contributed individuals, sections or platoons to operations in the Solomon Islands, East Timor, additionally, personnel have deployed to Rifle Company Butterworth. The 2nd/17th Battalion is currently located across the following depots, Regimental Headquarters, Pymble Signals Platoon, Pymble A Company, Dee Why, C Company, Adamstown in Newcastle with 9 Platoon at Erina. D Company, Blacktown with 12 Platoon at Kensington,7 Light Battery, Dee Why, Erina and Adamstown. Lieutenant Colonel Garren A. Hamilton See Royal New South Wales Regiment 2/17 Battalion History Committee, what We Have We Hold, A History of the 2/17 Australian Infantry Battalion, 1940–1945. The Evolution of the Infantry State Regiment System in the Army Reserve, garran, Australian Capital Territory, Military Historical Society of Australia. 2/17 Royal NSW Regiment Facebook Group Page 2/17th Battalion Home Page
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Sydney, New South Wales
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Sydney /ˈsɪdni/ is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australias east coast, the metropolis surrounds the worlds largest natural harbour, residents of Sydney are known as Sydneysiders. The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years, the first British settlers, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural. As at June 2016 Sydneys estimated population was 5,005,358, in the 2011 census,34 percent of the population reported having been born overseas, representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home and it is classified as an Alpha+ World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has a market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing. Its gross regional product was $337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia, there is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as one of Asia Pacifics leading financial hubs. Its natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, man-made attractions such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are also well known to international visitors. The first people to inhabit the now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago, the earliest British settlers called them Eora people. Eora is the term the indigenous used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is from this place, prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in Sydney from as many as 29 different clans. Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan, the principal language groups were Darug, Guringai, and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells. Development has destroyed much of the citys history including that of the first inhabitants, there continues to be examples of rock art and engravings located in the protected Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The first meeting between the people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. He noted in his journal that they were confused and somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors, Cook was on a mission of exploration and was not commissioned to start a settlement
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Federation of Australia
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Fiji and New Zealand were originally part of this process, but they decided not to join the federation. When the Constitution of Australia came into force, on 1 January 1901, the efforts to bring about federation in the mid-19th century were dogged by the lack of popular support for the movement. A number of conventions were held during the 1890s to develop a constitution for the Commonwealth, Sir Henry Parkes, Premier of New South Wales, was instrumental in this process. The election returned Barton as prime minister, though without a majority and this period has lent its name to an architectural style prevalent in Australia at that time, known as Federation architecture, or Federation style. A serious movement for Federation of the colonies arose in the late 1880s, a time there was increasing nationalism amongst Australians. The idea of being Australian began to be celebrated in songs and this was fostered by improvements in transport and communications, such as the establishment of a telegraph system between the colonies in 1872. The Australian colonies were influenced by other federations which had emerged around the world, notably in Argentina, Canada, Switzerland. Sir Henry Parkes, then Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, the Federation had the potential to ensure that throughout the continent, trade, and interstate commerce would be unaffected by protectionism and measurement and transport would be standardised. The final push for the Federal Council came at a conference in 1883, called to debate the strategies needed to counter the activities of the German and French in New Guinea, Sir Samuel Griffith, the Premier of Queensland, drafted a bill to constitute the Federal Council. The conference successfully petitioned the Imperial Parliament to enact the bill as the Federal Council of Australasia Act 1885, as a result, a Federal Council of Australasia was formed, to represent the affairs of the colonies in their relations with the South Pacific islands. New South Wales and New Zealand did not join, the self-governing colonies of Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria, as well as the Crown Colonies of Western Australia and Fiji, became involved. South Australia was briefly a member between 1888 and 1890, furthermore, the absence of the powerful colony of New South Wales weakened its representative value. Nevertheless, it was the first major form of inter-colonial co-operation and it provided an opportunity for Federalists from around the country to meet and exchange ideas. The means by which the Council was established endorsed the continuing role that the Imperial Parliament would have in the development of Australias constitutional structure, the individual colonies, Victoria excepted, were somewhat wary of Federation. Queensland, for its part, worried that the advent of national legislation would restrict the importing of kanaka labourers and these were not the only concerns of those resistant to federation. Smaller colonies also worried about the abolition of tariffs, which would deprive them of a proportion of their revenue. New South Wales, traditionally free-trade in its outlook, wanted to be satisfied that the federations tariff policy would not be protectionist, Victorian Premier James Service described fiscal union as the lion in the way of federation. A further fundamental issue was how to distribute the excess customs duties from the government to the states
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Conscription in Australia
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Conscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as national service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood. Australia currently only has provision for conscription during times of war, the legislation did not allow soldiers to be conscripted for overseas service. This legislation was passed through the support of the Protectionist Party. John Barrett, in his study of boyhood conscription, Falling In, noted, since universal was a misnomer, about half that number were exempted from training, or perhaps never registered, reducing the group to 175,000. Under Labor prime minister Billy Hughes, full conscription for overseas service was attempted during WWI through two plebiscites, the first plebiscite was held on 28 October 1916 and narrowly rejected conscription with a margin of 49% for and 51% against. A second plebiscite was held on 20 December 1917 and defeated by a greater margin, the question put to Australians was, Are you in favour of the proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Commonwealth Forces overseas. After the failure of the first plebiscite, Billy Hughes left the Australian Labor Party parliamentary caucus, the remainder of the Labor Party, under their new leader Frank Tudor, then expelled Hughes and all who had followed him. Following the split, Labor stayed out of office for ten years, H. Coombe of the Daily Herald. The young John Curtin, at the time a member of the Victorian Socialist Party, was also arrested, anti-conscriptionist publications, were seized by government censors in police raids. Other notable opponents to Conscription included the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Daniel Mannix, the Queensland Labor Premier Thomas Ryan, Vida Goldstein, most trade unions actively opposed conscription. The County Cork born Archbishop Mannix stated that Ireland had been wronged by Great Britain than Belgium had been by Germany. Many people thought positively of conscription as a sign of loyalty to Britain, however, trade unions feared that their members might be replaced by cheaper foreign or female labour and opposed conscription. Some groups argued that the war was immoral, and it was unjust to force people to fight. The conscription issue deeply divided Australia with large meetings held both for and against, the womens vote was seen as important with large womens meetings and campaign information from both sides aimed at women voters. The campaigning for the first plebiscite was launched by Hughes at a huge meeting at the Sydney Town Hall where he outlined the Governments proposals. This was followed by a huge meeting at the Melbourne Town Hall on 21 September. An anti-conscription stop work meeting called by five trade unions held on the Yarra Bank mid-week on 4 October attracted 15,000 people and it was passed on 21 September 1916 and mandatory registration and enrolment commenced while the first plebiscite campaign was underway. By 5 October The Age reported that of 11607 men examined,4581 were found fit, the Age noted, in the article Influence of the IWW, that the great bulk of the opposition to conscription is centred in Victoria
20.
Liverpool, New South Wales
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Liverpool is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney 32 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, Liverpool is the administrative seat of the local government area of the City of Liverpool. Liverpool is one of the oldest urban settlements in Australia, founded on 7 November 1810 as a centre by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Until the 1950s, Liverpool was still a town with an agricultural economy based on poultry farming. The city centre has a Hoddle Grid layout with many little laneways and arcades, the main strip is Macquarie Street which contains numerous small cafes. In recent times the extension of the Westfield shopping centre has many new fashion stores come in. The main shopping area is centred on Macquarie Street, with Westfield Liverpool, Liverpool Plaza is located between Macquarie Mall & Northumberland Street. The northern end of the city has been zoned for high density residential apartments, the southern end of the city is zoned for high density commercial developments. Liverpool has a teaching hospital, two technical colleges and many shopping centres and office buildings. The private hospital operator Healthscope owns the Sydney Southwest Private Hospital in Liverpool, Liverpool is well served by roads such as the Hume Highway, the M5 motorway, the Westlink M7 motorway. Liverpool railway station has services to Sydney CBD and Campbelltown as well as two morning services to Parramatta on most weekdays. The Liverpool to Parramatta transitway provides a route for buses. Liverpool Boys and Liverpool Girls are the two secondary schools. The Mainsbridge School caters to children with disabilities and Liverpool Hospital School for children hospitalised for lengthy periods. Private schools include All Saints Primary School, All Saints Catholic College, St Lukes Anglican Church, located in the city centre across the road from Westfield Liverpool, is the oldest Anglican church in Australia. All Saints Catholic Church in George St is located with the All Saints schools, St Raphael, Nickolas and Irene Greek Orthodox Church is in Forbes Street and the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Apostle Luke is on Flowerdale Rd. There are many open spaces within the city centre, including botanical parks, bigge Park on the east side of the city features a War Memorial while Pioneer Memorial Park to the north has a historical cemetery. Woodward Park to the west is the main sporting precinct containing a number of playing fields and the Whitlam Leisure Centre, hosting a swimming pool
21.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
22.
ANZAC Cove
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Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZACs on 25 April 1915, the cove is 600 metres long, bounded by the headlands of Arıburnu to the north and Little Arıburnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south. Following the landing at Anzac Cove, the became the main base for the Australian. General William Birdwood, commander of Anzac, made his headquarters in a gully overlooking the cove, as did the commanders of the New Zealand and Australian Division, the beach itself became an enormous supply dump and two field hospitals were established, one at either end. Four floating jetties were constructed for the landing of stores. The volume of stores quickly overflowed onto the adjacent beaches, firstly onto Brighton Beach to the south of the cove, three wireless radio stations were established on the beach to maintain contact with the fleet. Nibrunesi Point was under the guns of the Royal Navy so was never used to fire on Anzac, however the well-concealed Turkish battery at Gaba Tepe, despite the shelling and Turkish snipers, Anzac Cove was a popular swimming beach for the soldiers. At ANZAC it was a struggle to supply sufficient water for drinking, most soldiers disregarded all but the fiercest shelling rather than interrupt the one luxury available to them. On Anzac Day in 1985, the name Anzac Cove was officially recognised by the Turkish government, the Anzac Day dawn service was held at Ari Burnu Cemetery within the cove until 1999 when the number of people attending outgrew the site. A purpose built Anzac Commemorative Site was constructed nearby on North Beach in time for the 2000 service, the only way onto the beach was via the CWGC cemeteries at each headland, Arıburnu Cemetery, and Beach Cemetery. In 2003 the Australian government announced that it was negotiating with Turkey to place Anzac Cove on the National Heritage List, however this request was dismissed by the Turkish government as the Gallipoli peninsula is Turkish territory and already a national park in the Turkish National Park System. In 2004 the Australian Minister for Veterans Affairs, Danna Vale, made a request to the Turkish authorities that roadworks be carried out in the area
23.
Battle of Sari Bair
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The Gallipoli Campaign had raged on two fronts, Anzac and Helles, for three months since the invasion of 25 April 1915. With the Anzac landing a tense stalemate, the Allies had attempted to carry the offensive on the Helles battlefield at enormous cost for little gain, at Helles, the British and French were now to remain largely on the defensive. The battle should properly be known as the Battle of Kocaçimentepe which was the correct Turkish name for the ridge, the peak was known to the British as Hill 971 and they mistakenly applied the name for a lesser ridge to the main range. He was later reinforced with two Territorial Army divisions, the 53rd Division and the 54th Division and one division of dismounted yeomanry, the 2nd Mounted Division. The Suvla landing was to be made by the British IX Corps and his appointment was made based solely on seniority but his hesitancy during the preparations for the landing should have warned Hamilton that he was not a fit choice for the command. The Ottomans were well aware that a renewal of the offensive was imminent, consequently, the Fifth Army underwent a reorganisation resulting in an expansion to 16 divisions. Ten of these defended the existing battlefields, three divisions defended the Asian shore of the Dardanelles and three divisions of the Ottoman XVI Corps defended the Gulf of Saros north of Bulair at the neck of the peninsula. The Ottomans anticipated that the offensive would involve a breakout from Anzac but were unsure whether it would be north or south. A new British landing was considered likely but Suvla was not rated highly as a candidate. The Ottoman commanders also dismissed the possibility of an assault against the Sari Bair range due to the rugged terrain, the attack from the Anzac perimeter was directed against two peaks of the Sari Bair range, Chunuk Bair and Hill 971. Under the overall command of Major-General Alexander Godley, the force included the New Zealand and Australian Division. The plan was for two assaulting columns to march out of Anzac on the night of 6 August, the right-hand column, comprising the New Zealand Infantry Brigade under Brigadier-General Francis Johnston, would head for Chunuk Bair. Both objectives were expected to be captured by dawn, to distract the Ottomans from the impending offensive, on 6 August, at 5.30 p. m. an attack was made at Lone Pine by the infantry brigades of the Australian 1st Division. While the attack was successful in capturing the Ottoman trenches. Another costly diversion was carried out at Helles which resulted in a struggle over a patch of ground known as Krithia Vineyard. As was the case at Lone Pine, the British action at Helles did not restrain the Ottomans from sending reinforcements north to the Sari Bair range. The right column heading for Chunuk Bair had a simpler navigation task as their route was to some degree visible from the old Anzac perimeter. In what became known as the Battle of Chunuk Bair, the New Zealanders failed to capture the peak by the morning of 7 August, on the morning following the breakout, a number of other attacks were planned within the old Anzac perimeter
24.
Battle of Hill 60 (Gallipoli)
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The Battle of Hill 60 was the last major assault of the Gallipoli Campaign. It was launched on 21 August 1915 to coincide with the attack on Scimitar Hill made from the Suvla front by Major-General H. de B, de Lisles British IX Corps, Stopford having been replaced in the few days previous. Hill 60 was a low knoll at the end of the Sari Bair range which dominated the Suvla landing. Capturing this hill along with Scimitar Hill would have allowed the Anzac, two major attacks were made by Allied forces, the first on 21 August and the second on 27 August. Hill 60 commanded the low ground occupied by a line of outposts between the Allied forces at Anzac and Suvla. The hill was to be taken as part of an attack that stretched over a front from Hill 60 through Hetman Chair, Hill 70. The initial plan allocated the objective of Hill 60 to the New Zealand Mounted Rifles. To their left, the Connaught Rangers were to take the water wells at Kabak Kuyu, on the morning of 21 August, it was decided that the New Zealand artillery support, that had been planned to pre-empt the attack, would be diverted to support the Suvla offensive. The start time for the advance on Hill 60 was put back by 30 minutes, as a consequence Hill 60, and the area around it, received practically no bombardment and the attackers were guaranteed to face severe opposition because the Turks were alerted. The NZMR moved out at 3,30 with a 400-metre approach march to the Ottoman positions. A number of Turks, on seeing the advancing lines abandoned their front trench, ran back to their trenches and, by 3,45. Brigadier-General Andrew Hamilton Russell, the NZMR commander, ordered the Australians to push forward and requested that the Connaughts assist on the left flank. Although only A Company was ordered forward, the Connaughts had become very mixed, the survivors consolidated their position in the first-line trench, and were relieved by the Gurkhas from 5,15, leaving the Connaughts to concentrate on securing and fortifying the wells. The right flank was still having difficulties, from Hill 100 down to Hill 60, the Turkish trenches and artillery commanded the Kaiajik Dere valley which 4 Aust and the Hampshires had to cross. Those that survived the crossing had dug in at 5 pm, an artillery shell had set undergrowth on fire, burning many of the wounded to death. The Connaughts joined up with the NZMR to their right by 7 pm, on 22 August, the attack was reinforced by the Australian 18th Battalion which was part of the newly arrived Australian 2nd Division. The men were fresh and healthy, in stark contrast to the veteran troops, attacking only with the bayonet, they suffered 383 casualties, out of 750 men, in their dawn attack on Hill 60. The assault resumed on 27 August and further progress was made up the slope, on the evening of 27 August 1915, the 9th Light Horse Regiment, of the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade, were sent in as reinforcements
25.
Battle of the Somme
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The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the reaches of the River Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front, more than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The French and British had committed themselves to an offensive on the Somme during Allied discussions at Chantilly, Oise, in December 1915. Initial plans called for the French army to undertake the main part of the Somme offensive, the first day on the Somme was, in terms of casualties, also the worst day in the history of the British army, which suffered 57,470 casualties. These occurred mainly on the front between the Albert–Bapaume road and Gommecourt, where the attack was defeated and few British troops reached the German front line, the battle is notable for the importance of air power and the first use of the tank. At the end of the battle, British and French forces had penetrated 10 km into German-occupied territory, the Anglo-French armies failed to capture Péronne and halted 5 km from Bapaume, where the German armies maintained their positions over the winter. Debate continues over the necessity, significance and effect of the battle, David Frum opined that a century later, the Somme remains the most harrowing place-name in the history of the British Empire. Allied war strategy for 1916 was decided at the Chantilly Conference from 6–8 December 1915, in December 1915, General Sir Douglas Haig replaced Field Marshal Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF. Haig favoured a British offensive in Flanders close to BEF supply routes, to drive the Germans from the Belgian coast, Haig was not formally subordinate to Marshal Joseph Joffre but the British played a lesser role on the Western Front and complied with French strategy. A week later the Germans began an offensive against the French at Verdun, by 31 May, the ambitious Franco-British plan for a decisive victory, had been reduced to a limited offensive to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun with a battle of attrition on the Somme. The Chief of the German General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, intended to end the war by splitting the Anglo-French Entente in 1916, Falkenhayn chose to attack towards Verdun to take the Meuse heights and make Verdun untenable. The British would then have to begin a hasty relief offensive, Falkenhayn expected the relief offensive to fall south of Arras against the Sixth Army and be destroyed. If such Franco-British defeats were not enough, Germany would attack the remnants of armies and end the western alliance for good. Eloi, south of Ypres and reduced the German counter-offensive strategy north of the Somme, to one of passive, the Battle of Verdun began a week after Joffre and Haig agreed to mount an offensive on the Somme. The battle changed the nature of the offensive on the Somme, as French divisions were diverted to Verdun, German overestimation of the cost of Verdun to the French contributed to the concentration of German infantry and guns on the north bank of the Somme. The German offensive at Verdun was suspended in July, and troops, guns, the Brusilov Offensive, absorbed the extra forces that had been requested on 2 June by Fritz von Below, commanding the German Second Army, for a spoiling attack on the Somme. During the offensive the Russians inflicted c. 1,500,000 losses including c. 407,000 prisoners, three divisions were ordered from France to the Eastern Front on 9 June and the spoiling attack on the Somme was abandoned
26.
William Jackson (VC)
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Jackson was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1916 for selfless courage under heavy fire while rescuing his comrades near Armentières in France during the First World War. Jackson is the youngest Australian to have awarded a Victoria Cross. His was the first VC to be won by an Australian on the Western Front, John William Alexander Jackson was born on 13 September 1897 on Glengower station, near Gunbar. Known as William or Bill, he was the child of John Gale Jackson. His mother died in 1905 and the six surviving children were raised by her parents at Seaton Park, William and his siblings attended the Gunbar School and William later found employment on local properties. On 15 February 1915, Jackson enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in the first group of volunteers from Gunbar, in order to do so, with his fathers approval, Jackson had raised his age by one year. Placed in the 17th Battalion Jackson embarked for Egypt in May 1915 for initial training, on 20 August he was landed at Gallipoli and fought at Kaiakij Aghala. Six weeks later Jackson was hospitalised with severe dysentery and he recovered in a military hospital in Cairo and on 15 February 1916 rejoined his battalion only days before it embarked for France as part of the 2nd Division. On 10 April Jacksons Division took over a position in the eastern Amentieres section of the Western Front. As a prelude to what became known as the Battle of the Somme, during the assault Jackson captured an enemy soldier and returned with him through no mans land. Prisoners were valued for the purpose of interrogation, on learning that some of his party had been hit in the intense shelling and gun-fire, Jackson returned to no mans land. He helped to bring in a man, before going out again. While assisting Sergeant Camden to bring in the seriously wounded Private Robinson, the blast rendered Camden unconscious, blew off Jackson’s right arm above the elbow and inflicted further wounds to Robinson. Despite the loss of his arm, Jackson managed to return to his trenches, the hospital ship St. Patrick took Jackson from Boulogne to England where the remainder of his right arm was amputated. Approval of Jackson’s VC was gazetted on 8 September 1916, five days prior to his nineteenth birthday. Two weeks later, approval was gazetted of the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal to Private Jackson, Jackson left England with a large group of repatriated servicemen aboard the Themistocles, and arrived in Sydney on 5 July 1917. At a reception in Sydney for the soldiers, held at the Anzac Buffet in the Domain, Jackson was hoisted shoulder-high. Accounts suggest that Jackson’s private and reticent nature left him ill-prepared for the attention and adulation he received on his return to Australia, shortly afterwards Jackson travelled by train to Hay, accompanied by his comrade Sergeant Camden
27.
Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
28.
Hindenburg Line
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The Hindenburg Line was a German defensive position of World War I, built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front, from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916, the German offensive at the Battle of Verdun had been a costly failure, the Anglo-French offensive at the Battle of the Somme had forced a defensive battle on the Germans, leaving the western armies exhausted. On the Eastern Front, the Brusilov Offensive had inflicted huge losses on the Austro-Hungarian armies in Russia, the declaration of war by Romania had placed additional strain on the German army and war economy. The shorter defensive position behind the Noyon Salient was built to economise on manpower, contain an Allied breakthrough, the British and French armies would need about eight weeks to rebuild roads, bridges and railways in the abandoned area before they could attack. By the beginning of 1917, the outlook for the Germans made a retirement inevitable. German divisions on the Western Front numbered 133 on 25 January 1917, reducing the German manpower shortage, greater output of explosives, ammunition and weapons by German industry to provide the means to counter the Allied Materialschlacht was attempted in the Hindenburg Programme of August 1916. Production did not sufficiently increase over the winter, with only 60 percent of the expected to be fulfilled by the summer of 1917. News of the demolitions and the state of French civilians left behind, were serious blows to German prestige in neutral countries. Divisions released by Operation Alberich and other reinforcements, increased the number of divisions on the Aisne front to 38 by early April. The Hindenburg Line was attacked several times in 1917, notably at St. Quentin, Bullecourt, in August 1916 the German armies on the Somme had been subjected to great strain, the IX Reserve Corps had been shattered in the defence of Pozières. Ten fresh divisions had been brought into the Somme front and a division had been put into the line opposite the British. Destruction, capture, damage, wear and defective ammunition had caused 1,068 of 1,208 field guns and 371 of 820 heavy guns to be out of action by the end of August. The 2nd Army had been starved of reinforcements in mid-August, to replace exhausted divisions in the 1st Army, the emergency in Russia caused by the Brusilov Offensive, the entry of Romania into the war and the French counter offensive at Verdun had already overstretched the German army. The new supreme command ordered an end to attacks at Verdun and the dispatch of troops there to Romania. The western front commanders were told that no reserves were available for offensive operations, on 21 September, after the battle of Flers–Courcelette, Hindenburg ordered that the Somme front was to have priority in the west for troops and supplies. By the end of the Battle of Morval Rupprecht had no reserves left on the Somme front, during September, the Germans sent another thirteen fresh divisions to the British sector and scraped up troops wherever they could be found. Defeats inflicted by the French Tenth Army led to the sacking of the 2nd Army Chief of Staff, Hindenburg and Ludendorff demanded domestic changes to complement their strategy changes. German workers were to be subjected to an Auxiliary Service Law that subjected all Germans from 16–50 years old to compulsory service, the new programme was intended to create a trebling of artillery and machine-gun output and a doubling of munitions and trench mortar production
29.
Bullecourt
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Bullecourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in France. Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway and this satellite photograph shows Bullecourt just north of centre. Quéant is the larger of the two villages near the eastern edge, the A1 and the high-speed railway line run up the western edge. To the south of Bullecourt, a now closed railway line snakes from east to west. Bullecourt lies in the triangle made by the A1, A2 and A26 motorways, there were remains from the Gallo-Roman period and the village was mentioned under the name Bullecortis, in 1096. In 620, it was the birthplace of Saint Vindicien, a follower of Saint Eligius, Vindicien became successively, bishop of Arras and bishop of Cambrai. He is regarded as the founder of the named after his mentor, Mont St Eloi. The village has twice been destroyed, in 1543 and in 1917. As a result of events in the year, Bullecourt is part of Australian. This arose as part of the Battle of Arras in the spring of 1917, the 62nd Division was part of the same battle in the sector adjoining that of the ANZACs and facing the part of the Hindenburg Line which lay in the village itself. They returned to the formerly occupied by the Australians, later in May. The Musée Jean et Denise Letaille now commemorates this fighting, while there were many bunkers and dugouts, from the period of the Hindenburg Line, there is also an underground shelter from the 17th century. The church of St. Vlaast was rebuilt after 1918, there is a museum of objects collected from the periods of the world wars. The economy is one of general farming with the raising of beef, the village has an agricultural cooperative. The village festival is held on the first Sunday of June and there is a festival in honour of the Australians on the last Saturday in April
30.
Battle of the Menin Road Ridge
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The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, sometimes called Battle of the Menin Road, was the third British general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle took place from 20–25 September 1917, in the Ypres Salient in Flanders on the Western Front, in early September, optimism increased among German commanders that the Flanders offensive had been defeated and several divisions and air units were transferred elsewhere. Drier weather and extensive repairs made it much easier for the British to move vast amounts of supplies forward from the original front line. German defences on the Gheluvelt Plateau, which had retained or quickly recaptured in July and August were lost. The Kerensky Offensive by Russia in July had accelerated the disintegration of the Russian Army and these defensive successes had been costly and by mid-August, German satisfaction at their defensive achievements was accompanied by concern at the extent of casualties. The rain, constant bombardments and British air attacks had put great strain on the German defence between British attacks. II Corps had been ordered to capture the rest of the line on 2 August. Principal responsibility for the offensive was transferred to General Plumer on 25 August, the Second Army boundary was shifted north into the area vacated by II Corps on the Gheluvelt plateau. Haig put more emphasis on the fringe of the plateau. Plumer issued an order on 1 September, which defined the Second Army area of operations as Broodseinde. Few German concrete pill-boxes and machine gun nests had been destroyed during earlier preparatory bombardments and attempts at precision bombardment between attacks had also failed, Plumers tactical refinements sought to undermine the German defence by making a shallower penetration and then fighting the principal battle against German counter-attack divisions. More infantry was provided for the stages of the advance, to defeat German counter-attacks. During a lull in early September, both tried to improve their positions, on 1 September, a determined German attack at Inverness Copse was repulsed. Further north in the XIX Corps area, a battalion of the 61st Division rushed Hill 35 but only took a small area, next day, the division attacked Aisne Farm and was repulsed but the neighbouring 58th Division took Spot Farm. On 5 September, the 61st Division tried again at night, took a German outpost on Hill 35, an attack from south of Hill 35 by the 42nd Division with the 125th Brigade and part of the 127th Brigade, took place on 6 September. For several days, practice barrages were conducted and a reconnaissance by a small party probed to within 25 yd of Beck House. During the night, the Germans sent up flares and rockets, disclosing their barrage line. The British barrage schedule required four rounds per-gun-per-minute but the gunners fired up to ten, the 125th Brigade attacked Iberian, Borry and Beck House farms, captured Beck House, then small-arms fire from Hill 35 stopped the rest of the attack, which was a costly failure
31.
Battle of Arras (1917)
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The Battle of Arras was a British offensive on the Western Front during World War I. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the Western Front, the British achieved the longest advance since trench warfare had begun, surpassing the record set by the French Sixth Army on 1 July 1916. The British advance slowed in the few days and the German defence recovered. The battle became a stalemate for both sides and by the end of the battle the British Third and First armies had suffered about 160,000 casualties. For much of the war, the armies on the Western Front were at a stalemate. The Allied objective from early 1915 was to break through the German defences into the ground beyond. The British attack at Arras was part of the French Nivelle Offensive, the aim of the French offensive was to breathrough the German defences in forty-eight hours. At Arras the British were to re-capture Vimy Ridge, dominating the plain of Douai to the east, advance towards Cambrai, the British effort was a relatively broad front assault between Vimy in the north-west and Bullecourt to the south-east. After a long preparatory bombardment, the Canadian Corps]] of the First Army in the north fought Battle of Vimy Ridge and took the ridge. The Third Army in the centre advanced astride the Scarpe River and in the south, the British armies then engaged in a series of small-scale operations to consolidate the new positions. Although these battles were successful in achieving limited aims, they were costly successes. When the battle ended on 16 May, British Empire troops had made significant advances but had been unable to achieve a breakthrough. At the beginning of 1917, the British and French were still searching for a way to achieve a breakthrough on the Western Front. Both battles consumed enormous quantities of resources while achieving virtually no strategic gains on the battlefield, the mid-war years were momentous times. Governing politicians in Paris and London were under pressure from the press. The casualties from the battles of Gallipoli, the Somme and Verdun had been high, British Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, resigned in early December 1916 and was succeeded by David Lloyd George. The United States Congress finally declared war on Imperial Germany on 6 April 1917, in March, the German army in the west, withdrew to the Hindenburg line in Operation Alberich, which negated the tactical assumptions underlying the plans for the French offensive. Until French troops advanced to compensate during the Battles of Arras, they encountered no German troops in the assault sector, the French government desperately needed a victory to avoid civil unrest but the British were wary of proceeding, in view of the rapidly changing tactical situation
32.
Spring Offensive
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The Germans had realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the overwhelming human and matériel resources of the United States could be fully deployed. They also had the advantage in numbers afforded by the nearly 50 divisions freed by the Russian surrender. There were four German offensives, codenamed Michael, Georgette, Gneisenau, once this was achieved, it was hoped that the French would seek armistice terms. The other offensives were subsidiary to Michael and were designed to divert Allied forces from the offensive on the Somme. No clear objective was established before the start of the offensives and once the operations were underway, the Allies concentrated their main forces in the essential areas, while leaving strategically worthless ground, devastated by years of combat, lightly defended. The Germans were unable to move supplies and reinforcements fast enough to maintain their advance, the fast-moving stormtroopers leading the attack could not carry enough food and ammunition to sustain themselves for long and all the German offensives petered out, in part through lack of supplies. By late April 1918, the danger of a German breakthrough had passed, the German Army had suffered heavy casualties and now occupied ground of dubious value which would prove impossible to hold with such depleted units. In August 1918, the Allies began a counter-offensive with the support of 1–2 million fresh American troops and using new artillery techniques, the German government and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, nominally the Chief of the General Staff, were not party to the planning process. Eventually it was decided to launch Operation Michael near Saint-Quentin, at the hinge between the French and British armies, and strike north to Arras, the main reason for the choice was tactical expediency. The ground on this sector of the front would dry out much sooner after the winter and spring rains and it was also a line of least resistance as the British and French armies were weak in the sector. However, these remained only secondary and weaker operations, subordinate to Michael, the constant changing of operational targets once the offensive was underway gave the impression the German command had no coherent strategic goal. Any capture of an important strategic objective, such as the Channel ports, the success of Operation Michael led German infantry to advance too far from its supply bases and railheads. The stormtrooper units leading the advance carried supplies for only a few days, the advance was slowed by supply shortages, which gave Allied commanders more time to reinforce the threatened areas and to slow the advance still more. The stormtrooper tactic was to attack and disrupt enemy headquarters, artillery units, each major formation creamed off its best and fittest soldiers into storm units, several complete divisions were formed from these elite units. The Germans also failed to arm their forces with a mobile force, such as cavalry. This tactical error meant the infantry had to keep up a tempo of advance. Notwithstanding the effectiveness of the stormtroopers, the following German infantry often made attacks in large traditional waves, to enable the initial breakthrough, Lieutenant Colonel Georg Bruchmüller, a German artillery officer, developed the Feuerwalze, an effective and economical creeping barrage scheme. There were three phases, first, a bombardment on the enemys command and communications, then, destruction of their artillery
33.
Hundred Days Offensive
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The offensive essentially pushed the Germans out of France, forcing them to retreat beyond the Hindenburg Line, and was followed by an armistice. The term Hundred Days Offensive does not refer to a battle or unified strategy. The Spring Offensive of the German Army on the Western Front had begun on 21 March 1918 with Operation Michael and had petered out by July, the Germans had advanced to the river Marne but failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough. When Operation Marne-Rheims ended in July, the Allied supreme commander Ferdinand Foch ordered a counter-offensive which became known as the Second Battle of the Marne, the Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne towards the north. For this victory, Foch was granted the title Marshal of France, Foch considered the time had arrived for the Allies to return to the offensive. The American Expeditionary Force, was present in France in large numbers, pershing was keen to use his army in an independent role. The Somme was chosen as a site for the offensive for several reasons. As in 1916, it marked the boundary between the BEF and the French armies, in this case defined by the Amiens–Roye road, also the Picardy countryside provided a good surface for tanks, which was not the case in Flanders. Finally, the German defences, manned by the German 2nd Army, were relatively weak, the Battle of Amiens opened on 8 August 1918, with an attack by more than 10 Allied divisions—Australian, Canadian, British and French forces—with more than 500 tanks. Through careful preparation, the Allies achieved surprise, the attack, led by the British Fourth Army, broke through the German lines and tanks attacked German rear positions, sowing panic and confusion. By the end of the day, a gap 15 mi wide had been created in the German line south of the Somme, the Allies had taken 17,000 prisoners and 330 guns. Total German losses were estimated to be 30,000 men, while the Allies had suffered about 6,500 killed, wounded, the collapse in German morale led Erich Ludendorff to dub it the Black Day of the German Army. The advance continued for three days but without the spectacular results of 8 August, since the rapid advance outran the supporting artillery. During those three days, the Allies had managed to gain 12 mi but most of that had occurred on the first day, as a result of the Germans adding reinforcements. On 10 August, the Germans began to pull out of the salient that they had managed to occupy during Operation Michael in March, haig refused and prepared to launch a fresh offensive by the Third Army at Albert, which opened on 21 August. The offensive was a success, pushing the German 2nd Army back over a 34 mi front, Albert was captured on 22 August. The attack was widened on the south, by the French Tenth Army starting the Second Battle of Noyon on 17 August, capturing the town of Noyon on 29 August. On 26 August, to the north of the initial attack, with the front line broken, a number of battles took place as the Allies forced the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line
34.
Battle of Amiens (1918)
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Allied forces advanced over 11 kilometres on the first day, one of the greatest advances of the war, with Henry Rawlinsons British Fourth Army playing the decisive role. The battle is notable for its effects on both sides morale and the large number of surrendering German forces. This led Erich Ludendorff to describe the first day of the battle as the day of the German Army. On 21 March 1918, the German Army had launched Operation Michael and these offensives were intended to translate this advantage into victory. Operation Michael was intended to defeat the right wing of the British Expeditionary Force, a final effort was aimed at the town of Amiens, a vital railway junction, but the advance had been halted at Villers-Bretonneux by British and Australian troops on 4 April. By the end of the Marne-Rheims offensive, the German manpower advantage had been spent and their supplies, the Allied generalissimo, General Ferdinand Foch, ordered a counteroffensive which led to the Second Battle of the Marne, after which victory he was promoted to Marshal of France. The Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne to the north, Foch now tried to move the Allies back onto the offensive. Foch disclosed his plan on 23 July 1918, following the Franco-American victory at the Battle of Soissons, the plan called for reducing the Saint-Mihiel salient and freeing the railway lines that ran through Amiens from German shellfire. The commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, when the British retreat had ended in April, the headquarters of the British Fourth Army under General Sir Henry Rawlinson had taken over the front astride the Somme. On 30 May, all the Australian infantry divisions were united under the corps HQ, Rawlinson had submitted Monashs proposals to Haig in July and Haig had forwarded them to Foch. At a meeting on 24 July, Foch agreed to the plan but insisted that the French First Army, Rawlinson opposed this as his and Monashs plans depended on the large-scale use of tanks to achieve surprise, by avoiding a preliminary bombardment. The French First Army lacked tanks and would be forced to bombard the German positions before the advance began. Eventually, it was agreed that the French would participate, and it was also agreed to advance the proposed date of the attack from 10 August to 8 August, to strike the Germans before they had completed their withdrawal from the Marne salient. Rawlinson had already finalised his plans in discussion with his Corps commanders on 21 July, for the first time, the Australians would attack side by side with the Canadian Corps. Both had a reputation for aggressive and innovative tactics and a record of success over the past two years. The tactical methods had been tested by the Australians in a local counter-attack at the Battle of Hamel on 4 July, the German defenders of Hamel were deeply dug in, and their position commanded a very wide field of fire. Similar positions had resisted capture for two months in the Battle of the Somme, the Australians had used surprise rather than weight at Hamel. The artillery had opened only at the moment the infantry and tanks advanced
35.
Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin
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The Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin was a battle on the Western Front during World War I. The British Fourth Armys commander, General Henry Rawlinson, described the Australian advances of August 31 – September 4 as the greatest military achievement of the war. During the battle Australian troops stormed, seized and held the key height of Mont Saint-Quentin, a pivotal German defensive position on the line of the Somme. The Allies were pursuing the Germans, and the greatest obstacle to crossing the Somme River in pursuit was Mont Saint-Quentin which, situated in a bend of the river, dominated the whole position. The Mont was only 100 metres high but was a key to the German defence of the Somme line, and it overlooked the Somme River approximately 1.5 kilometres north of Péronne. Its location made it an ideal point, and strategically. Australian forces faced the German 51, armee, under General Max von Boehn. According to Australian official historian Charles Bean, German archives show that the 51st Corps anticipated the offensive, the line divisions were ordered to increase their depth and the counter-attack divisions to stand to. Korps controlled the 5th Royal Bavarian Division, 1st Reserve Division, the German 94th Infantry Regiment was also involved in the battle. The offensive was planned by General John Monash, Monash planned a frontal assault which required the Australian 2nd Division to cross a series of marshes to attack the heights. This plan failed when the troops could not cross the marshes. After this initial setback, Monash manœuvred his divisions in the only free manœuvre battle of any consequence undertaken by the Australians on the Western Front, Australians of the Second Division crossed to the north bank of the Somme River on the evening of 30 August. At 5 am on 31 August 1918, supported by artillery, the Germans quickly surrendered and the Australians continued to the main German trench-line. In the rear, other Australians crossed the Somme by a bridge which Australian engineers had saved and repaired, the Australians were unable to hold their gains on Mont St Quentin and German reserves regained the crest. However, the Australians held on just below the summit and next day it was recaptured, on that day also,1 September 1918, Australian forces broke into Péronne and took most of the town. The next day it fell into Australian hands. In three days the Australians endured 3,000 casualties but ensured a general German withdrawal eastwards back to the Hindenburg Line. Looking back after the event, Monash accounted for the success by the gallantry of the men, the rapidity with which the plan was carried out
36.
Battle of St Quentin Canal
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American forces were ordered to attack on 27 September, to finish clearing German forces from outposts in front of the line. However, due to a shortage of American officers, the attack was unsuccessful, as a consequence 200 Australian Officers were then assigned to the US troops to provide both experience and leadership. The British high command had realised that any success against the formidable defences of the Hindenburg Line could only be achieved with the use of tanks. The US divisions launched the attack, with the Australian 3rd. The 30th Infantry Division broke through the Hindenburg Line on 29 September 1918 at Bellicourt winning the praise of General Pershing, the 30th Division did especially well. It broke through the Hindenburg Line on its front and took Bellicourt and part of Nauroy by noon of the 29th. The British 46th Division crossed the St Quentin Canal, capturing 4,200 German prisoners, while the attack succeeded in widening the breach in the Beaurevoir Line, it was unable to seize the high ground further on. However, by 2 October, the attack had resulted in a 17 km breach in the Hindenburg Line, by any measure, and especially by World War I standards, it was a stunning and swift victory. Crows Nest, New South Wales, Allen & Unwin, military History Encyclopedia on the Web – Battle of Cambrai-St. Bean, Volume VI – The Australian Imperial Force in France during the Allied Offensive,1918
37.
Armistice
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An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, since it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace and it is derived from the Latin arma, meaning arms and -stitium, meaning a stopping. The United Nations Security Council often imposes, or tries to impose, armistices are always negotiated between the parties themselves and are thus generally seen as more binding than non-mandatory UN cease-fire resolutions in modern international law. An armistice is a modus vivendi and is not the same as a peace treaty, the 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement is a major example of an armistice which has not been followed by a peace treaty. Armistice is also different from a truce or ceasefire, which refer to a cessation of hostilities for an agreed limited time or within a limited area. A truce may be needed in order to negotiate an armistice, under international law an armistice is a legal agreement which ends fighting between the belligerent parties of a war or conflict. The Hague II Treaty, says If duration is not fixed, the parties can resume fighting as they choose and this is in comparison to a fixed duration armistice, where the parties can renew fighting only at the end of the particular fixed duration. Most countries changed the name of the holiday after World War II, to veterans of that. Most member states of the Commonwealth of Nations adopted the name Remembrance Day, archived from the original on 2 February 2007. The Expanded Cease-Fires Data Set Code Book
38.
20th Battalion (Australia)
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The 20th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in early 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force, it was attached to the 5th Brigade, the battalion first saw action during the Gallipoli campaign, before being evacuated in December 1915. After that the 20th Battalion was sent to France where they served in the trenches along the Western Front, over the course of the next two years, they fought in many major battles, including the battles of the Hundred Days Offensive at the end of the war. The 20th Battalions last engagement was at Montbrehain in October 1918, following the end of the war, it was disbanded in April 1919. It was later re-raised in 1921, although it was amalgamated in 1929 due to manpower shortages, during World War II the battalion was briefly re-raised and carried out garrison duties in Australia. The 20th Battalion was raised in March 1915 in Liverpool, New South Wales, a small number of its original recruits had already served with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force in New Guinea in 1914. They remained on the peninsula until the evacuation on 20 December 1915, following further training in Egypt, the 20th Battalion was sent to France, arriving there on 22 March 1916. Later, in July and August the 20th took part in the Battle of Pozières, once the German offensive was defeated, the Allies launched their own, known as the Hundred Days Offensive which eventually brought about an end to the war. During this time the 20th were involved in the battles at Amiens and Mont St Quentin in August and this would be the battalions last contribution to the war, as it was training out of the line when the Armistice was declared in November 1918. During the war, the 20th Battalion lost 848 men killed and 3,143 men wounded, the battalions sole Victoria Cross recipient was Walter Brown, who received the decoration for his actions around Villers-Bretonneux on 6 July 1918. For the battalions involvement in the war, it received a total of 20 battle honours, in 1921, Australias part-time military force, the Citizens Force, was re-organised to perpetuate the numerical designations and structure of the AIF. At this time the 20th Battalion was re-raised in New South Wales, around Parramatta, upon formation, the new 20th Battalion drew personnel from the 20th Infantry Regiment, and through this link it inherited two battle honours, Suakin 1885 and South Africa 1899–1902. Territorial designations were introduced in 1927, at point the battalion adopted the title of the Paramatta and Blue Mountains Regiment. The 20th Battalion was one of those chosen, and it merged with the 54th, an alliance with the Lancashire Fusiliers was approved in 1937. In 1939, the 20th Battalion merged with the 19th Battalion to become the 20th/19th Battalion, adopting the designation of the Parramatta. Following the outbreak of World War II, the 20th/19th Battalion was transferred from Sydney to Darwin in the Northern Territory and these two battalions were delinked on 1 November 1941 as part of the expansion of the Australian military following Japans entry into the war. At this time they were assigned again to the 5th Brigade. This unit remained in existence until it was disbanded on 6 April 1944, World War II, Malaya 1941–42, Johore, Singapore Island
39.
Order of St Michael and St George
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It is named in honour of two military saints, St Michael and St George. People are appointed to the Order rather than awarded it, British Ambassadors to foreign nations are regularly appointed as KCMGs or CMGs. It is the award for members of the FCO. The Orders motto is Auspicium melioris ævi and its patron saints, as the name suggests, are St. Michael the Archangel, and St. George, patron saint of England. One of its symbols is that of St Michael trampling over. The third of the aforementioned Orders—which relates to Ireland, no longer fully a part of the United Kingdom—still exists but is in disuse, the last of the Orders on the list, related to India, has also been in disuse since that countrys independence in 1947. In 1864, however, the protectorate ended and the Ionian Islands became a part of Greece, accordingly, numerous Governors-General and Governors feature as recipients of awards in the order. In 1965, the order was open for women, with Evelyn Bark becoming the first CMG, the British Sovereign is the Sovereign of the Order and appoints all other members of the Order. The next-most senior member is the Grand Master, the office was formerly filled by the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, now, however, Grand Masters are chosen by the Sovereign. Members of the Royal Family who are appointed to the Order do not count towards the limit, the Orders King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, like many other heraldic officers. The Usher of the Order is known as the Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod, he not, unlike his Order of the Garter equivalent. On the left side is a representation of the star, the mantle is bound with two large tassels. The collar, worn only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross, is made of gold and it consists of depictions of crowned lions, Maltese Crosses, and the cyphers SM and SG, all alternately. In the centre are two winged lions, each holding a book and seven arrows, at less important occasions, simpler insignia are used, The star is an insignia used only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross and Knights and Dames Commanders. It is worn pinned to the left breast, the Knight and Dame Grand Cross star includes seven-armed, silver-rayed Maltese Asterisk, with a gold ray in between each pair of arms. The Knight and Dame Commanders star is a slightly smaller eight-pointed silver figure formed by two Maltese Crosses, it does not include any gold rays, in each case, the star bears a red cross of St George. In the centre of the star is a blue ring bearing the motto of the Order. Within the ring is a representation of St Michael trampling on Satan, the badge is the only insignia used by all members of the Order, it is suspended on a blue-crimson-blue ribbon
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Distinguished Service Order
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Instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria in a Royal Warrant published in the The London Gazette on 9 November, the first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886. It is typically awarded to officers ranked major or higher, during the First World War,8,981 DSOs were awarded, each award being announced in The London Gazette. The order was established for rewarding individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war, after 1 January 1917, commanders in the field were instructed to recommend this award only for those serving under fire. Prior to 1943, the order could be only to someone mentioned in despatches. The order is given to officers in command, above the rank of captain. A number of junior officers were awarded the DSO. In 1942, the award of the DSO was extended to officers of the Merchant Navy who had performed acts of gallantry while under enemy attack. Since 1993, its award has been restricted solely to distinguished service and it has, however, despite some very fierce campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, remained an officers-only award and it has yet to be awarded to a non-commissioned rank. Recipients of the order are known as Companions of the Distinguished Service Order. They are entitled to use the post-nominal letters DSO, one or more gold medal bars ornamented by the Crown may be issued to DSO holders performing further acts of such leadership which would have merited award of the DSO. The bars are worn as clasps on the ribbon of the original award. The medal signifying its award is a cross, enamelled white. In the centre, within a wreath of laurel, enamelled green, is the crown in gold upon a red enamelled background. On the reverse is the royal cypher in gold upon a red enamelled ground, within a wreath of laurel, a ring at the top of the medal attaches to a ring at the bottom of a gold suspension bar, ornamented with laurel. At the top of the ribbon is a gold bar ornamented with laurel. The red ribbon is 1.125 in wide with blue edges. The medals are issued unnamed but some recipients have had their names engraved on the reverse of the suspension bar, the bar for an additional award is plain gold with an Imperial Crown in the centre. The back of the bar is engraved with the year of the award, a rosette is worn on the ribbon in undress uniform to signify the award of a bar
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Distinguished Conduct Medal
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The Distinguished Conduct Medal, post-nominal letters DCM, was established in 1854 by Queen Victoria as a decoration for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, the medal was also awarded to non-commissioned military personnel of other Commonwealth Dominions and Colonies. Prior to the institution of this decoration, there had been no medal awarded by the British government in recognition of acts of gallantry in the Army. One known prior award for acts of gallantry by other ranks was the unofficial Sir Harry Smiths Medal for Gallantry, although the British government initially disapproved of Sir Harrys institution of the medal, it subsequently paid for it and thereby gave it recognition, but not official status. Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal are entitled to the post-nominal letters DCM, a Bar to the medal, introduced in 1881, could be awarded in recognition of each subsequent act of distinguished conduct for which the medal would have been awarded. During the First World War, the concern arose that the number of medals which were being awarded would devalue the prestige of those already awarded. The Military Medal for bravery in battle on land was instituted on 25 March 1916. The lesser Military Medal was usually awarded for bravery from this date, around 25,000 Distinguished Conduct Medals were awarded during the First World War, while approximately 1,900 were awarded during the Second World War. The medal could also be awarded to personnel serving in any of the Sovereigns forces in the British Empire. It remained an exclusively Army award until 1942, when other ranks of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, in May 1894, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various military medals and to award them to their local military forces. The Colony of Natal and the Cape Colony introduced this system in August and September 1894 respectively, other territories which made use of the opportunity were Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In respect of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, two versions are known to have been awarded, both King Edward VII versions. A territorial version of the Distinguished Conduct Medal was also approved for the Union of South Africa in 1913, More than 300 members of the Union Defence Forces were awarded the applicable British versions of the decoration during the two World Wars. These three decorations were replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, to serve as the second award for gallantry for all ranks of all the Arms of the Service. The medal was struck in silver and is a disk,36 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres thick, the suspender of all versions of the medal is an ornamented scroll pattern. The manner of attachment of the suspender to the medal varied between medal versions and, on early versions, allows the medal to swivel, all medals awarded bear the recipient’s number, rank, name and unit on the rim. From 1902, after the accession of King Edward VII, the effigy of the reigning monarch replaced the trophy of arms, King Edward VII – EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR. King George V, bareheaded – GEORGIVS V BRITT, OMN, REX ET IND, King George V, crowned – GEORGIVS•V•D•G•BRITT•OMN•REX•ET•INDIÆ•IMP•
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Military Cross
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The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and used to be awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC is granted in recognition of an act or acts of gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members. In 1979, the Queen approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, the award was created on 28 December 1914 for commissioned officers of the substantive rank of Captain or below and for Warrant Officers. In August 1916, Bars were awarded to the MC in recognition of the performance of acts of gallantry meriting the award. In 1931 the award was extended to Majors and also to members of the Royal Air Force for actions on the ground, the MC now serves as the third-level award for gallantry on land for all ranks of the British Armed Forces. 46 mm max height,44 mm max width, ornamental silver cross with straight arms terminating in broad finials, suspended from plain suspension bar. Obverse decorated with crowns, with the Royal Cypher in centre. Reverse is plain, but from 1938 the name of the recipient, the ribbon width is 32 mm and consists of three equal vertical moire stripes of white, purple, and white. During World War I, Acting Captain Francis Wallington of the Royal Field Artillery was the first person to be awarded the MC, during World War II Captain Sam Manekshaw, Indian Army, was leading a counter-offensive operation against the invading Japanese Army in Burma. During the course of the offensive, he was hit by a burst of machine-gun fire, Major General D. T. Cowan spotted Manekshaw holding on to life and was aware of his valour in face of stiff resistance from the Japanese. Fearing the worst, Major General Cowan quickly pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on to Manekshaw saying, the first posthumous Military Cross was that awarded to Captain Herbert Westmacott, Grenadier Guards for gallantry in Northern Ireland during the period 1 February 1980 to 30 April 1980. The first woman to be awarded the Military Cross was Private Michelle Norris of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Norris was awarded her medal personally by Queen Elizabeth II on 21 March 2007 as the result of her actions in Iraq on 11 June 2006. Able Seaman Kate Nesbitt, second woman, first in the Royal Navy, sergeant Michael Lockett MC was the first holder of the MC to be killed in action since World War II. Database of Australian Awardees at the Australian Government Honours website Search recommendations for the Military Cross on The UK National Archives website, the Kings Own Royal Regiment Museum, Military Cross
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Military Medal
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The medal was established on 25 March 1916. It was the other ranks equivalent to the Military Cross, which was awarded to commissioned officers and, rarely, to warrant officers, the MM ranked below the Distinguished Conduct Medal, which was also awarded to non-commissioned members of the Army. According to Frank Richards, when the medal was first introduced, Richards writes, There were no grants or allowances with the Military Medal, which without a shadow of a doubt had been introduced to save awarding too many DCMs. With the DCM went a money-grant of twenty pounds, and a man in receipt of a life pension who had won the DCM was entitled to an extra sixpence a day on to his pension. After the new decoration was introduced, for every DCM awarded there were fifty Military Medals, the old regular soldiers thought very little of the new decoration. Recipients of the Military Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters MM, over 115,000 awards were made for actions during the First World War. Additionally, over 5,700 bars were awarded, as well as 180 second bars, during the Second World War, over 15,000 awards of the MM were made. In 1993, the Military Medal was discontinued, since then, the Military Cross has been awarded to personnel of all ranks within the British honours system. Several Commonwealth nations, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, have established their own systems in the post Second World War era. The medal and ribbon had the features, A circular silver medal of 36 mm diameter. The obverse bears the effigy of the reigning monarch, the reverse has the inscription FOR BRAVERY IN THE FIELD in four lines, surrounded by a laurel wreath, surmounted by the Royal Cypher and Imperial Crown. The suspender is of a scroll type. The ribbon is blue,1.25 inches wide, with five equal centre stripes of white, red, white, red. Silver, laurelled bars are authorised for subsequent awards, over 135,000 people have been awarded the Military Medal. Among the more notable recipients are, Walter Bingham, Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany who served in Normandy, ian Bailey, who was awarded the medal as a Corporal in The Parachute Regiment during the Falklands War, and went on to become a Captain. Geoffrey Bingham, Australian theologian and author, mairi Chisholm, British volunteer ambulance driver. Douglas Clark, British rugby league footballer and wrestler, william Coltman, who was also awarded the Victoria Cross, and was the most highly decorated NCO of the First World War. Robert Gaspare Consiglio, Special Air Service member killed during Bravo Two Zero patrol, ernest Albert Corey, the only person to be awarded the MM four times
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Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom)
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The Meritorious Service Medal was instituted on 19 December 1845 for the British Army, to recognise meritorious service by non-commissioned officers. Recipients were also granted an annuity, the amount of which was based on rank, during 1916–1919, army NCOs could be awarded the medal immediately for meritorious service in the field. They could also be awarded the medal for acts of non-combat gallantry, awards for gallantry ceased after 7 September 1928, as they were honoured by the Empire Gallantry Medal. The medal for Royal Marines was instituted in 1849, for gallantry or for distinguished service, as a gallantry medal, it was superseded by the Naval Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. As with the Army, during 1916–1919 NCOs of the Royal Marines could be awarded the medal in the field, since 1977, the Royal Marines medal is only awarded for long service and is identical to the Royal Navys. The Royal Air Force version of the medal was instituted in 1918 and it was superseded in 1928 by the Empire Gallantry Medal. Awards of the medal again in 1977 using the same criteria as the Army. The Royal Navys medal was instituted in 1919, for not in the face of the enemy and for meritorious service by petty officers. As a gallantry award, it was superseded by the Empire Gallantry Medal in 1928 and it is now awarded to senior NCOs in the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Womens Royal Naval Service and Queen Alexandras Royal Naval Nursing Service. The first woman to be awarded the medal was Warrant Officer Marion Dickson Mackay in 1966, to be awarded the MSM, an individual must have good, faithful, valuable and meritorious service, with conduct judged to be irreproachable throughout. Officers of any service can also be considered for the immediately after being commissioned, provided they meet the other criteria. Recipients were entitled to use the post-nominal letters MSM, a Bar to the medal was instituted by Royal Warrant on 23 November 1916, that could be awarded to holders of the Meritorious Service Medal for subsequent acts of gallantry. The medal has the profile on one side, on the other a small crown. The recipients name, rank and unit is inscribed on the rim, if a sovereign is shown in naval uniform, then the medal was awarded for service at sea or with a Naval or Royal Marines unit on land. The design varied slightly by monarch, with George V having at least two variations, while George VI had variations in legend. King Edward VII An effigy of the King in Field Marshals uniform, legend, EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR King George V An effigy of the King in Field Marshals uniform, facing left. Legend, GEORGIVS V BRITT, OMN, REX ET IND, IMP, King George V A crowned coinage effigy, facing left. Legend, GEORGIVS * V * D * G * BRITT * OMN REX * ET * INDIAE * IMP * King George VI A bareheaded effigy, facing left
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