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.1st Australian Division    1st Australian Division 1914-1918 On 3rd of August 1914, the day before Britain declared war - the Government of Australia offered an expeditionary force of 20,000 men, to be composed of a Division plus a brigade of Light Horse and titled the Australian Imperial Force. The original AIF sailed on 1 November 1914 and proceeded via Colombo to Egypt. The original intention was that the force would continue on to England but problems of accommodation being experienced by the Canadian units then in England forced a change of mind. The Force halted in Egypt and training recommenced. Thereafter the Division fought in many of the major actions of the war. 1915 3 February 1915: two battalions involved in defending against Turkish attack on Suez Canal March 1915 : 3rd Brigade moves to Lemnos 1 April 1915 : Division receives orders to prepare to make amphibious assault at Gallipoli 25 April 1915 : Division lands at what was to become forever known as ANZAC Beach The Division withdrew from Gallipoli in late 1915. 1916 On 13 January 1916 it was decided that the AIF would be developed to create five Divisions, four Australian and one New Zealand. The infantry brigades of 1st Division were split to create a nucleus of the 14th, 15th and 16th Brigades and places in all six brigades were filled by new drafts. The Division was warned for France and sailed on 13 March 1916. It remained in France and Flanders for the rest of the war. The Battle of Pozieres including the fighting for Mouquet Farm - Somme 1916 1917 Operations on the Ancre including the capture of the Thilloys The Arras Offensive, in which the Division fought the German attack on Lagnicourt and in the Battle of Bullecourt The Battle of the Menin Road - Third Battle of Ypres The Battle of Polygon Wood - Third Battle of Ypres The Battle of Broodseinde - Third Battle of Ypres The battle of Poelcapelle - Third Battle of Ypres The Second Battle of Passchendaele - Third Battle of Ypres 1918 The Australian Divisions were not affected by the restructuring of the army to having three brigades per Division, that took place in the British Divisions in February 1918. When the enemy launched its second phase of the spring offensive, the Division was rushed from the Somme to help plug the gap. The Battle of Hazebrouck in which the Division fought the defence of Nieppe Forest - Battles of the Lys The Battle of Amiens The Battle of Albert in which the Division captured Chuignes - Somme 1918 The Battle of Epehy - Hindenburg Line The Division was in Australian Corps reserve at the Armistice and was not selected to advance into Germany. Demobilisation commenced in early 1919 and by March 1919 the Division merged with 4th Australian Division. The Divisional Order of Battle of the 1st Australian Division 1st Australian Brigade 1st Battalion, AIF 2nd Battalion, AIF 3rd Battalion, AIF 4th Battalion, AIF 1st Australian Machine Gun Company formed February 1916, left to move into 1st Australian MG Battalion February 1918 1st Australian Trench Mortar Battery formed April 1916 2nd Australian Brigade 5th Battalion, AIF 6th Battalion, AIF 7th Battalion, AIF 8th Battalion, AIF 2nd Australian Machine Gun Company formed February 1916, left to move into 1st Australian MG Battalion February 1918 2nd Australian Trench Mortar Battery formed April 1916 3rd Australian Brigade 9th Battalion, AIF 10th Battalion, AIF 11th Battalion, AIF 12th Battalion, AIF 3rd Australian Machine Gun Company formed February 1916, left to move into 1st Australian MG Battalion February 1918 3rd Australian Trench Mortar Battery formed April 1916 Divisional Troops under direct command of Divisional HQ 1st Australian Pioneer Battalion formed in Egypt 21st Australian Machine Gun Company joined February 1917, left to move into 1st Australian MG Battalion February 1918 1st Australian Machine Gun Battalion formed February 1918 1st Australian Divisional Train ASC later titled 741, 742, 743 and 744 Companies 1st Australian Mobile Veterinary Section AVC 1st Australian Divisional Employment Company joined August 1917 Divisional Mounted Troops under direct command of Divisional HQ 4th Australian Light Horse left April 1915, returned after Gallipoli and left March 1916 1st Australian Cyclist Company formed in Egypt, left May 1916 Divisional Artillery 1 Australian Brigade, RFA 2 Australian Brigade, RFA 3 Australian Brigade, RFA 21 Australian (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA formed in Egypt, absorbed by July 1916 1st Australian Divisional Ammunition Column 1st Australian Heavy Battery RGA formed at Gallipoli in November 1915, disbanded in December V.1.A Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA formed June 1916, left February 1918 X.1.A, Y.1.A and Z.1.A Medium Mortar Batteries RFA formed April 1916; in February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each Royal Engineers 1st Australian Field Company 2nd Australian Field Company 3rd Australian Field Company 1st Australian Divisional Signals Company Royal Army Medical Corps 1st Australian Field Ambulance 2nd Australian Field Ambulance 3rd Australian Field Ambulance 25th Apr 1915 Landings Aug 1915 Risk Sep 1916 Address 1st of January 1917    2nd of January 1917  8th of January 1917    9th of January 1917    21st of January 1917  22nd of January 1917  26th of January 1917  28th of January 1917    Mar 1917 Military Police Sep 1917 Traffic Control 11th Apr 1918 Bomb Dumps   13th of April 1918 Under Heavy Attack   14th of April 1918 A Counter-Attack   16th Apr 1918 Attack Fails 17th of April 1918 HQs Move   19th of April 1918 Orders   24th of April 1918 Rest and Reorganisation   30th of April 1918 Reports   14th of June 1918 MG Captured   15th Jun 1918 Trench Raids 24th of June 1918  Very Quiet   2nd of July 1918 Artillery Active   4th of July 1918  Shelling   13th of July 1918  Unchanged Situation   18th Sep 1918 Machine Gun Barrage Sep 1918 Hard Fighting 4th Nov 1918 Advance Oct 1918 Justice, righteousness and liberty If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about .1st Australian Division? There are:31 items tagged .1st Australian Division available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with .1st Australian Division during the Great War 1914-1918. McKean John Sharp. Pte. Mills Albert Claude Eugene. Pte. All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Looking for help with Family History Research?    Please see Family History FAQ's Please note: We are unable to provide individual research. Can you help? The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Announcements 19th Nov 2024     Please note we currently have a massive backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 264989 your submission is still in the queue, please do not resubmit. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to the Great War. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great battalion regiment artillery Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations. 260166 Pte. John Sharp McKean 9th Battalion John McKean was my great-uncle. He enlisted on 22nd of July 1915 and was wounded in action. Linda Anne McKean Add to this record. 247350 Pte. Albert Claude Eugene Mills 1st. Divison Ammunition Column Bert Mills passed away in 1944. Suzanne Tainsh Add to this record.

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