Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (popularly abbreviated as
ANZAC) was originally an army
corps of
Australian and
New Zealand troops who fought in
World War I at
Gallipoli against the Turks, an enemy for whom they had great respect. The ANZACs also fought during WW1 in the
Middle East and on the
Western Front.
Within
Australasia ANZAC came to stand not just for the troops in World War I, but for Australian and New Zealand soldiers in time of war more generally.
ANZAC Day is observed annually in memory of those soldiers who died in war. It is commemorated each year by both countries on
April 25, the date of the first landing at Gallipoli in
1915 on a beach later known as
Anzac Cove. (It is similar to days such as
Memorial Day,
Veterans Day,
Armistice Day,
Remembrance Day or
V-E Day commemorated in other countries.)
The original Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, which served at Gallipoli, was commanded by General
William Birdwood and comprised the
Australian 1st Division and the
New Zealand and Australian Division. The three Australian and one New Zealand mounted brigades were employed as
infantry with ANZAC during the Gallipoli campaign. The
Australian 2nd Division began to arrive from Australia in August 1915 and some battalions saw action on Gallipoli in the final months of the campaign.
Following the evacuation of Gallipoli in November 1915 the Australian and New Zealand units reassembled in
Egypt. The New Zealand contingent expanded to form their own division; the
New Zealand Division. The
Australian Imperial Force underwent a major reorganization resulting in the formation of two new divisions; the
4th and
5th divisions. (The
Australian 3rd Division was forming in Australia and would be sent directly to England and then to France.)
These divisions were reformed into two corps;
I ANZAC Corps and
II ANZAC Corps. By this time "ANZAC" had ceased to be an acronym and had begun to be used as a term to describe any formation containing Australian or New Zealand units. I ANZAC Corps, under the command of General Birdwood, departed for France in early 1916. II Anzac Corps, commanded by General
Alexander Godley, followed soon after.
The
ANZAC Mounted Division (originally the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division) was also formed at this time and contained the three Australian
light horse brigades as well as the
New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade. The division fought as mounted infantry throughout the
Middle East, including
Egypt, the
Sinai (
Romani,
Magdhaba and Rafa) and
Palestine (
First and
Second battles of
Gaza,
Beersheba,
Jerusalem,
Jericho, Es Salt,
Megiddo and
Amman) and
Syria.
On the Western Front, Anzac formations participated in many battles. Australian and New Zealand Divisions were involved in a number of engagements during the
Battle of the Somme (1916) while components of British corps but it was only during the
Battle of Pozieres,
23 July 1916, that an Anzac formation participated as a whole. This was I Anzac (Australian 1st,
2nd and
4th Divisions).
At Villers-Bretonneux, in the
1918 First Battles of the Somme, the "ANZAC" designation ceased to be used to represent an army corps containing Australian and New Zealand divisions. I ANZAC Corps was renamed the Australian Corps (and comprised the Australian 4th and 5th Divisions at the time). The Australian Corps ultimately contained all five Australian divisions, making it the strongest Allied army corps on the Western Front.
During the
Vietnam War, two companies from
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment operated as part of the 4th Battalion of the
Royal Australian Regiment (4RAR) which was then referred to as the 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion.
|
The landing at ANZAC, painting in Parliament House |
 |
An ANZAC soldier gives water to a wounded Turk |
"ANZAC" was chosen as the name of a new class of
frigates based on the MEKO 200 design, for the
Royal Australian Navy and the
Royal New Zealand Navy. The
ANZAC class, beginning with
HMAS ANZAC, will serve well into the 21st century.
The term ANZAC has also been used in a sporting sense to describe test matches at
rugby league between
Australia and
New Zealand. See
ANZAC Test.
ANZAC teams have also played representative rugby league with players from both Australia and New Zealand. The last match took place in
Workington, England, against a team representing
Cumbria.
*
ANZAC spirit*
Anzac biscuit*
New Gallipoli Film*
The band played Waltzing Matilda - fictionalised account of one man's service in the Anzacs.
*
Anzac Conference 2006*
W(h)ither ANZAC Day? - The Legal Protection of "ANZAC"
