Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie addressing members and guests at the 109th birthday of the Australian Army.
Lieutenant Rob O'Donnell, Australian Army Colour Bearer at the 109th birthday of the Australian Army.
Posted on 03/01/2010 5:31:09 AM PST by naturalman1975
Today we celebrate the 109th birthday of the Australian Army, one of the countries oldest and most important institutions with a commemorative service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie spoke to the officers and soldiers about the importance of the occasion.
“As the Australian Army marks its 109th year, we pause to remember the great work of this fine institution and reflect on the manner in which the Australian Army has served this nation, said Lieutenant General Gillespie.
“We have a great deal to be proud of.
“We will continue to grow as an organisation and ensure that the traditions of the Australian Army are maintained and carried into the future.”
The Australian Army currently has soldiers deployed on major operations in the Middle East, East Timor and the Solomon Islands.
Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie addressing members and guests at the 109th birthday of the Australian Army.
Lieutenant Rob O'Donnell, Australian Army Colour Bearer at the 109th birthday of the Australian Army.
Well done, the Australian Army.
What are the major operations in the Solomons?
Aussie Army
B U M P
I love the Australian Army! ANZACS kicked serious butt in both WWI and WWII.
I think the Japanese are building an airfield.
Seriously, they've got about 100 troops there helping the Solomons government maintain order. New Zealand has some there as well.
Oh my..they will need more than 109 soldiers to be effective..unless they are very very good soldiers..
Gotcha, those Jap bastards took back Henderson field. We’ll send some Marines in!!! : )
Seriously, so they and New Zealand are acting as a sort of National Guard for the government there. Is the Solomons self governed or are they owned by someone presently?
Never work harder than you have to...
I thought that in the Boer War, it was not the Australian Army fighting, but the Australians were under direct orders from the British.
The case of Morant, made it clear that the Aussies needed their own Army.
Yes,it's true that Morant's unit was under British command but think back to the several references to Australia being "an independent colony" and similar comments.I'm not familiar with the timeline of how Australia went from being fully dependent on the UK (like the entire island of Ireland once was) to being fully independent.Perhaps Naturalman could educate us.Perhaps he could also educate us regarding the technical accuracy of the uniforms shown in "Breaker".
I think I've read that there's been quite a bit of political unrest there.Given that Australia is the regional power in that part of the world they probably think it's their duty to play the role of "police force".
They're a sovereign nation and a member of the British Commonwealth. But as with a lot of countries formed by throwing a bunch of territory together and calling it a nation, you've got people unhappy with being governed by group A because they're corrupt/biased/whatever and want instead to set up government by group B. The Aussies went in to help boster the local police and security forces.
Thanks for all the good info.
Yes,it's true that Morant's unit was under British command but think back to the several references to Australia being "an independent colony" and similar comments.I'm not familiar with the timeline of how Australia went from being fully dependent on the UK (like the entire island of Ireland once was) to being fully independent.Perhaps Naturalman could educate us.Perhaps he could also educate us regarding the technical accuracy of the uniforms shown in "Breaker".
Always like discussing Australia's military history.
European settlement in Australia began in 1788 with the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson. As most people know this initial colony was a prison colony - of the approximately 1400 original settlers, approximately 250 were Royal Marines who acted as the colonies original military force, along with the two ships (out of eleven total) that were vessels of the Royal Navy.
The Marines were relieved in 1790 by a specially raised unit of the British Army formed in England as the New South Wales Corps. It was a regular unit of the British Army. It served as the military unit of the colony until it attempted a coup (the Rum Rebellion) against Governor Bligh (formerly of HMS Bounty) in 1808. In the aftermath of that incident, it was resignated as the 102nd Regiment of Foot and recalled to England while the 73rd Regiment of Foot was sent to Australia to replace them. This began a process that lasted until 1870 of British Army regular units being rotated into and out of the Australian colonies.
The Australian colonies began achieving self government in the 1850s (Britain had learned from its experiences in America than when colonies started asking for more control over their own affairs, it was a good idea to acquiesce). This gave them control of virtually all domestic affairs, but left two areas specifically under the control of London - foreign affairs and defence. But the self-governing colonies were permitted to raise militias in addition to the British Regular Army units stationed here. In 1863, in response to a request for help from the Colony of New Zealand, militia regiments raised in Australia were sent to New Zealand to fight in one of the wars against the Maoris, and in 1870, it was decided that the Australian colonies were now capable of taking responsibility for their own direct defence. The British Army withdrew and a combination of militia units and permanent forces of each colony became the established military. Additional regiments were raised from time to time to serve overseas as part of British Imperial Forces.
This is what happened in 1899 when the Boer War began. It was clear by 1899 that at least some of the Australasian colonies would soon federate into a single country and the idea of sending a combined Australian force was discussed, but in the end, it was decided to raise colonial units under the name and authority of their own individual colonies. These were to serve as units of the British Army. They were units such as the New South Wales Lancers, the Victorian Mounted Rifles, the Western Australian Mounted Infantry, the South Australian Nurses, the Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen - there was quite a lot of them, but they were explicitly colonial units of the British Army, not Australian units). In addition, considerable numbers of Australians (as British subjects) joined British regiments.
Lieutenant Harry Harboard 'Breaker' Morant was commissioned into one of these units - the South Australian Mounted Rifles. During the course of the war, however, he transferred into the Bushveldt Carbineers, which was a colonial unit raised in South Africa as part of the British Army. It contained quite a few Australians and was commanded by one, which illustrates how these forces were all considered part of an overall British Army wherever they came from.
During the Boer War, on the 1st January 1901, the six Australian Colonies federated into the Commonwealth of Australia. For the most part, this simply meant that their self governing on domestic matters but not on matters of defence or foreign affairs simply transferred to an overall government rather than individual ones. London was still in overall charge of foreign affairs and defence. But Australia's new Constitution authorised the creation of Commonwealth naval and military forces under the Governor-General as Commander-In-Chief. Australia had the right to create its owned armed forces. On the 1st of March 1901, Australia's colonial units were transferred to Australian command, forming the Australian Army.
But at this time, Morant was not in an Australian unit - he was in a South African one.
Australian Army units were sent to the Boer War - eight regiments of the Australian Commonwealth Horse (four of which arrived after the war ended) in 1902, but the original colonial units were still serving as well, and their command structure was complicated and whatever the strict legalities were, in practice they simply continued as units of the British Army. And when the Australian units arrived, they were placed into the British Army command structure as well - a practice that would continue throughout much of the twentieth century. Australian military units could be placed into a larger force when appropriate - nearly always British Imperial or Commonwealth Forces, but not always - during the Second World War, parts of the Royal Australian Navy were incorporated into the United States Seventh Fleet.
Australia's independence has been a gradual process and even after particular milestones were achieved, for convenience, it was often convenient for Australian troops to serve as part of larger British Imperial or Commonwealth forces. Legally speaking, these forces weren't under British command, but were under combined Commonwealth commands, but when a force was ninety percent British and ten percent Australian (as an example) there wasn't much practical difference between still being under British command. But the technical difference is important. It does at lead to some anomalies that are somewhat interesting from an historical perspective - Australia's only native born Field Marshal, Sir Thomas Blamey, who was promoted to that rank in the Australian Army in 1950, is also included in the lists of British Field Marshals.
As a brief chronology, the following dates are the relevant ones to this discussion. 1788-1790 - Royal Marines are Australia's only military force.
1790-1810 - the New South Wales Corps of the British Army is Australia's only military force.
1810-1870 - British Army units are rotated in and out of Australia.
1855-1870 - Australian colonial militia units and a small permanent force supplement Australian defence. First Australian units are sent overseas.
1870-1900 - Australian colonies are responsible for own defence. Militia and permanent forces.
1899 - Boer War begins. Colonial forces are sent to fight.
1901 - Australia federates, the Australian Army is formed, so is the Commonwealth Naval Force as a coastal defence force (the Australian government decides to help pay for the Royal Navy to continue to provide blue water defence).
1902 - Australian Army units deploy to the Boer War.
1911 - the Royal Australian Navy is formed out of the Commonwealth Naval Force and new ships purchased from Britain.
1914 - World War I begins. Foreign affairs and defence are still matters controlled by London, Australia automatically goes to war when Britain does. The Australian government decides to place Australian forces into an overall Imperial Forces structure in any case where they are operating alongside British or other Empire Forces. Importantly, this structure gives Australian officers equal status with British officers - in a situation where an Australian is the senior officer present in a combined force, he will command that force. Previous British Empire practice had placed British officers above colonial officers - now there was a unified command structure based on equal status. In practical terms, the much larger size of the British Army compared to those from the Dominions meant British officers were more often in overall command, but not always - Australian officers achieved up to the rank of full General and often had British forces under their command.
1919 - Treaty of Versailles. Australia sends representatives to the negotiations rather than just relying on British representation. The results of this are mixed - Australia is ceded control of some former German territories (New Guinea) as a separate country, but ships of the Royal Australian Navy (and other imperial Navies) need to be counted as part of the Royal Navy in terms of the restrictions of naval sizes. As a result of this, the RAN's flagship, the cruiser HMAS Australia is scuttled.
1931 - the British Parliament passes the Statute of Westminster following negotiations with the self-governing Dominions of the Empire (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa and the Irish Free State). This dramatically changes the structure of the Empire (many regard it as the changeover to Commonwealth). The Dominions now have the right of self government including over defence and foreign affairs. They also have equal status to Britain over matters such as a the royal succession. Australia does not immediately take on all these responsibilities, but is free to do so whenever it chooses.
1939 - World War II begins. This time Australia (because of the Statute of Westminster) does not automatically go to war when Britain does, although Prime Minister Robert Menzies declares war almost instantly. Again, it is decided that in cases where Australian and British forces are serving alongside each other there will be a combined command structure similar to the First World War. The difference in this case is Australia is on a much more equal footing to the UK than it was in World War I - still smaller, but the difference is nowhere near as much, and so it becomes much more common for Australian commanders to be the senior person in a particular situation.
1941 - As the war in the Pacific begins, Australia needs to look to its own direct defence. Britain is fighting a war of survival as well, so can provide little support. Australia, using the provisions of the Statute of Westminster takes control of its foreign affairs, among other things establishing its first ever embassy (in Washington DC). For the first time Australia's military doctrine begins to focus on Australia's need to both act completely independently of other nations, and also to closely ally with other nations outside the Commonwealth on its own behalf. Australian troops serving in the Pacific become closely integrated with American forces while maintaining close integration with Commonwealth forces elsewhere.
1950 - the Korean War begins. Before Britain has responded, and in response to a request by the United Nations, Australia commits troops to this war. When Britain, shortly afterwards, also makes a commitment, Australia decides to integrate its forces into a Commonwealth command structure, but this is the first time Australia went to war on its own behalf and not as a clear result of a British initiative.
1950s and 1960s - in a number of situations, Australian forces serve in combined Commonwealth units.
1962 - Australia commits troops to the Vietnam War. The first time Australia has entered a war that the United Kingdom will have no direct involvement in. Throughout the 1960s, Australia will have troops serving in combined Commonwealth forces and outside them.
1967 - on the 1st of March 1967, ships of the Royal Australian Navy stop sailing under the British White Ensign and begin to sail under the Australian White Ensign.
1975 - Australia's own system of medals and honours begins to function. Australians can still receive British and Commonwealth decorations as well as Australian ones.
1986 - The Australia Act is passed by the Parliaments of the United Kingdom and Australia. The United Kingdom no longer has any power to interfere in the national or international affairs of Australia (it does still retain a theoretical power to intervene in some matters concerning an individual state).
In essence, this is where we are today. Australia is an independent and sovereign nation, but there are still further steps that could be taken (and some people would like to be taken - not myself) to further divorce ourselves from the United Kingdom. It is up to Australia if and when it chooses to take these steps, but they are basically symbolic. In terms of its defence, Australia operates completely independently of Britain, but still retains a great many British traditions and practices, and while there has been no wide scale integration of forces since the 1960s, it does still happen on a smaller scale (there are Australian gunners serving in British artillery units in Afghanistan, and they are integrated rather than being on exchange.)
In terms of the uniforms seen in Breaker Morant, they look accurate. The traditional Australian Army uniform grew out of uniforms that had been worn by Australian and other colonial forces. The slouch hat was quite commonly worn by many British and Colonial units in the Boer War but the British Army stopped using it in 1905, while the Australian Army kept it.
Australia's aim in becoming involved was to prevent the Solomons from becoming a failed state and a haven for terrorists. Australia considers our operations in the Solomons to be part of the overall War on Terror for that reason. The United States has provided logistical support on that basis as well.
One fact you mentioned that struck a particular chord with me was your reference to the close cooperation that occurred between Australian and US Forces during WWII.I recall having once read that our 1st Marine Division (USMC) has had "Waltzing Matilda" as it official "anthem" since WWII.Pretty cool,I'd say.
I hereby declare you to be FR's "go to" guy when it comes to Australian history and her Armed Forces. ;-)
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