 army . In 1911 , following a report by Lord Kitchener the Royal Military College , Duntroon was established , as was a system of universal National Service .   Prior to federation each self @-@ governing colony had operated its own naval force . These navies were small and lacked blue water capabilities , forcing the separate colonies to subsidise the cost of a British naval squadron in their waters for decades . The colonies maintained control over their respective navies until 1 March 1901 , when the Commonwealth Naval Force was created . This new force also lacked blue water capable ships , and ultimately did not lead to a change in Australian naval policy . In 1907 Prime Minister Alfred Deakin and Creswell , while attending the Imperial Conference in London , sought the British Government 's agreement to end the subsidy system and develop an Australian navy . The Admiralty rejected and resented the challenge , but suggested diplomatically that a small fleet of destroyers and submarines would be sufficient . Deakin was unimpressed , and in 1908 invited the American Great White Fleet to visit Australia . This visit fired public enthusiasm for a modern navy and in part led to the order of two 700 @-@ ton River @-@ class destroyers . The surge in German naval construction prompted the Admiralty to change their position however and the Royal Australian Navy was subsequently formed in 1911 , absorbing the Commonwealth Naval Force . On 4 October 1913 , the new fleet steamed through Sydney Heads , consisting of the battlecruiser HMAS Australia , three light cruisers , and three destroyers , while several other ships were still under construction . And as a consequence the navy entered the First World War as a formidable force .   The Australian Flying Corps ( AFC ) was established as part of the Commonwealth Military Forces in 1912 , prior to the formation of the Australian Military Forces in 1916 and was later separated in 1921 to form the Royal Australian Air Force , making it the second oldest air force in the world . Regardless , the service branches were not linked by a single chain of command however , and each reported to their own minister and had separate administrative arrangements and government departments .   = = First World War , 1914 – 18 = =   = = = Outbreak of hostilities = = =   When Britain declared war on Germany at the start of the First World War , the Australian government rapidly followed suit , with Prime Minister Joseph Cook declaring on 5 August 1914 that " ... when the Empire is at war , so also is Australia " and reflecting the sentiment of many Australians that any declaration of war by Britain automatically included Australia . This was itself in part due to the large number of British @-@ born citizens and first generation Anglo @-@ Australians that made up the Australian population at the time . Indeed , by the end of the war almost 20 % of those who served in the Australian forces had been born in Britain .   As the existing militia forces were unable to serve overseas under the provisions of the Defence Act 1903 , an all @-@ volunteer expeditionary force known as the Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) was formed and recruitment began on 10 August 1914 . The government pledged 20 @,@ 000 men , organised as one infantry division and one light horse brigade plus supporting units . Enlistment and organisation was primarily regionally based and was undertaken under mobilisation plans drawn up in 1912 . The first commander was Major General William Bridges , who also assumed command of the 1st Division . Throughout the course of the conflict Australian efforts were predominantly focused upon the ground war , although small air and naval forces were also committed .   = = = Occupation of German New Guinea = = =   Following the outbreak of war Australian forces moved quickly to reduce the threat to shipping posed by the proximity of Germany 's Pacific colonies . The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force ( AN & MEF ) , a 2000 @-@ man volunteer force — separate from the AIF — and consisting of an infantry battalion plus 500 naval reservists and ex @-@ sailors , was rapidly formed under the command of William Holmes . The objectives of the force were the wireless stations on Nauru , and those at Yap in the Caroline Islands , and at Rabaul in German New Guinea . The force reached Rabaul on 11 September 1914 and occupied it the next day , encountering only brief resistance from the German and native defenders during fighting at Bita Paka and Toma . German New Guinea surrendered on 17 September 1914 . Australian losses were light , including six killed during the fighting , but were compounded by the mysterious loss offshore of the submarine AE1 with all 35 men aboard .   = = = Gallipoli = = =   The AIF departed by ship in a single convoy from Albany on 1 November 1914 . During the journey one of the convoy 's naval escorts — HMAS Sydney — engaged and destroyed the German cruiser SMS Emden at the Battle of Cocos on 8 November , in the first ship @-@ to @-@ ship action involving the Royal Australian Navy . Although originally bound for England to undergo further training and then for employment
Ġarmy Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1911 Ġ, Ġfollowing Ġa Ġreport Ġby ĠLord ĠKitchen er Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠMilitary ĠCollege Ġ, ĠD unt ro on Ġwas Ġestablished Ġ, Ġas Ġwas Ġa Ġsystem Ġof Ġuniversal ĠNational ĠService Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠPrior Ġto Ġfederation Ġeach Ġself Ġ@ - @ Ġgoverning Ġcolony Ġhad Ġoperated Ġits Ġown Ġnaval Ġforce Ġ. ĠThese Ġnav ies Ġwere Ġsmall Ġand Ġlacked Ġblue Ġwater Ġcapabilities Ġ, Ġforcing Ġthe Ġseparate Ġcolonies Ġto Ġsubsid ise Ġthe Ġcost Ġof Ġa ĠBritish Ġnaval Ġsquadron Ġin Ġtheir Ġwaters Ġfor Ġdecades Ġ. ĠThe Ġcolonies Ġmaintained Ġcontrol Ġover Ġtheir Ġrespective Ġnav ies Ġuntil Ġ1 ĠMarch Ġ1901 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthe ĠCommonwealth ĠNaval ĠForce Ġwas Ġcreated Ġ. ĠThis Ġnew Ġforce Ġalso Ġlacked Ġblue Ġwater Ġcapable Ġships Ġ, Ġand Ġultimately Ġdid Ġnot Ġlead Ġto Ġa Ġchange Ġin ĠAustralian Ġnaval Ġpolicy Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1907 ĠPrime ĠMinister ĠAlfred ĠDe akin Ġand ĠC res well Ġ, Ġwhile Ġattending Ġthe ĠImperial ĠConference Ġin ĠLondon Ġ, Ġsought Ġthe ĠBritish ĠGovernment Ġ' s Ġagreement Ġto Ġend Ġthe Ġsubsidy Ġsystem Ġand Ġdevelop Ġan ĠAustralian Ġnavy Ġ. ĠThe ĠAdmir alty Ġrejected Ġand Ġres ented Ġthe Ġchallenge Ġ, Ġbut Ġsuggested Ġdiplom atically Ġthat Ġa Ġsmall Ġfleet Ġof Ġdestroy ers Ġand Ġsubmarines Ġwould Ġbe Ġsufficient Ġ. ĠDe akin Ġwas Ġun imp ressed Ġ, Ġand Ġin Ġ1908 Ġinvited Ġthe ĠAmerican ĠGreat ĠWhite ĠFleet Ġto Ġvisit ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠThis Ġvisit Ġfired Ġpublic Ġenthusiasm Ġfor Ġa Ġmodern Ġnavy Ġand Ġin Ġpart Ġled Ġto Ġthe Ġorder Ġof Ġtwo Ġ700 Ġ@ - @ Ġton ĠRiver Ġ@ - @ Ġclass Ġdestroy ers Ġ. ĠThe Ġsurge Ġin ĠGerman Ġnaval Ġconstruction Ġprompted Ġthe ĠAdmir alty Ġto Ġchange Ġtheir Ġposition Ġhowever Ġand Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠAustralian ĠNavy Ġwas Ġsubsequently Ġformed Ġin Ġ1911 Ġ, Ġabsorbing Ġthe ĠCommonwealth ĠNaval ĠForce Ġ. ĠOn Ġ4 ĠOctober Ġ1913 Ġ, Ġthe Ġnew Ġfleet Ġste amed Ġthrough ĠSydney ĠHeads Ġ, Ġconsisting Ġof Ġthe Ġbattle cru iser ĠHM AS ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġthree Ġlight Ġcru isers Ġ, Ġand Ġthree Ġdestroy ers Ġ, Ġwhile Ġseveral Ġother Ġships Ġwere Ġstill Ġunder Ġconstruction Ġ. ĠAnd Ġas Ġa Ġconsequence Ġthe Ġnavy Ġentered Ġthe ĠFirst ĠWorld ĠWar Ġas Ġa Ġformidable Ġforce Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠAustralian ĠFlying ĠCorps Ġ( ĠAFC Ġ) Ġwas Ġestablished Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠCommonwealth ĠMilitary ĠForces Ġin Ġ1912 Ġ, Ġprior Ġto Ġthe Ġformation Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠMilitary ĠForces Ġin Ġ1916 Ġand Ġwas Ġlater Ġseparated Ġin Ġ1921 Ġto Ġform Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠAustralian ĠAir ĠForce Ġ, Ġmaking Ġit Ġthe Ġsecond Ġoldest Ġair Ġforce Ġin Ġthe Ġworld Ġ. ĠRegardless Ġ, Ġthe Ġservice Ġbranches Ġwere Ġnot Ġlinked Ġby Ġa Ġsingle Ġchain Ġof Ġcommand Ġhowever Ġ, Ġand Ġeach Ġreported Ġto Ġtheir Ġown Ġminister Ġand Ġhad Ġseparate Ġadministrative Ġarrangements Ġand Ġgovernment Ġdepartments Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠFirst ĠWorld ĠWar Ġ, Ġ1914 ĠâĢĵ Ġ18 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠOutbreak Ġof Ġhostilities Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠWhen ĠBritain Ġdeclared Ġwar Ġon ĠGermany Ġat Ġthe Ġstart Ġof Ġthe ĠFirst ĠWorld ĠWar Ġ, Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġgovernment Ġrapidly Ġfollowed Ġsuit Ġ, Ġwith ĠPrime ĠMinister ĠJoseph ĠCook Ġdeclaring Ġon Ġ5 ĠAugust Ġ1914 Ġthat Ġ" Ġ... Ġwhen Ġthe ĠEmpire Ġis Ġat Ġwar Ġ, Ġso Ġalso Ġis ĠAustralia Ġ" Ġand Ġreflecting Ġthe Ġsentiment Ġof Ġmany ĠAustralians Ġthat Ġany Ġdeclaration Ġof Ġwar Ġby ĠBritain Ġautomatically Ġincluded ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠThis Ġwas Ġitself Ġin Ġpart Ġdue Ġto Ġthe Ġlarge Ġnumber Ġof ĠBritish Ġ@ - @ Ġborn Ġcitizens Ġand Ġfirst Ġgeneration ĠAnglo Ġ@ - @ ĠAustralians Ġthat Ġmade Ġup Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġpopulation Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġ. ĠIndeed Ġ, Ġby Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġwar Ġalmost Ġ20 Ġ% Ġof Ġthose Ġwho Ġserved Ġin Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġhad Ġbeen Ġborn Ġin ĠBritain Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs Ġthe Ġexisting Ġmilitia Ġforces Ġwere Ġunable Ġto Ġserve Ġoverseas Ġunder Ġthe Ġprovisions Ġof Ġthe ĠDefence ĠAct Ġ1903 Ġ, Ġan Ġall Ġ@ - @ Ġvolunteer Ġexpedition ary Ġforce Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠImperial ĠForce Ġ( ĠA IF Ġ) Ġwas Ġformed Ġand Ġrecruitment Ġbegan Ġon Ġ10 ĠAugust Ġ1914 Ġ. ĠThe Ġgovernment Ġpledged Ġ20 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġmen Ġ, Ġorganised Ġas Ġone Ġinfantry Ġdivision Ġand Ġone Ġlight Ġhorse Ġbrigade Ġplus Ġsupporting Ġunits Ġ. ĠEn list ment Ġand Ġorganisation Ġwas Ġprimarily Ġregion ally Ġbased Ġand Ġwas Ġundertaken Ġunder Ġmobil isation Ġplans Ġdrawn Ġup Ġin Ġ1912 Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġcommander Ġwas ĠMajor ĠGeneral ĠWilliam ĠBridges Ġ, Ġwho Ġalso Ġassumed Ġcommand Ġof Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠDivision Ġ. ĠThroughout Ġthe Ġcourse Ġof Ġthe Ġconflict ĠAustralian Ġefforts Ġwere Ġpredominantly Ġfocused Ġupon Ġthe Ġground Ġwar Ġ, Ġalthough Ġsmall Ġair Ġand Ġnaval Ġforces Ġwere Ġalso Ġcommitted Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠOccup ation Ġof ĠGerman ĠNew ĠGuinea Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġoutbreak Ġof Ġwar ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġmoved Ġquickly Ġto Ġreduce Ġthe Ġthreat Ġto Ġshipping Ġposed Ġby Ġthe Ġproximity Ġof ĠGermany Ġ' s ĠPacific Ġcolonies Ġ. ĠThe ĠAustralian ĠNaval Ġand ĠMilitary ĠExpedition ary ĠForce Ġ( ĠAN Ġ& ĠME F Ġ) Ġ, Ġa Ġ2000 Ġ@ - @ Ġman Ġvolunteer Ġforce ĠâĢĶ Ġseparate Ġfrom Ġthe ĠA IF ĠâĢĶ Ġand Ġconsisting Ġof Ġan Ġinfantry Ġbattalion Ġplus Ġ500 Ġnaval Ġreserv ists Ġand Ġex Ġ@ - @ Ġsailors Ġ, Ġwas Ġrapidly Ġformed Ġunder Ġthe Ġcommand Ġof ĠWilliam ĠHolmes Ġ. ĠThe Ġobjectives Ġof Ġthe Ġforce Ġwere Ġthe Ġwireless Ġstations Ġon ĠN aur u Ġ, Ġand Ġthose Ġat ĠY ap Ġin Ġthe ĠCaroline ĠIslands Ġ, Ġand Ġat ĠRab aul Ġin ĠGerman ĠNew ĠGuinea Ġ. ĠThe Ġforce Ġreached ĠRab aul Ġon Ġ11 ĠSeptember Ġ1914 Ġand Ġoccupied Ġit Ġthe Ġnext Ġday Ġ, Ġencountering Ġonly Ġbrief Ġresistance Ġfrom Ġthe ĠGerman Ġand Ġnative Ġdefenders Ġduring Ġfighting Ġat ĠBit a ĠPak a Ġand ĠTom a Ġ. ĠGerman ĠNew ĠGuinea Ġsurrendered Ġon Ġ17 ĠSeptember Ġ1914 Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġlosses Ġwere Ġlight Ġ, Ġincluding Ġsix Ġkilled Ġduring Ġthe Ġfighting Ġ, Ġbut Ġwere Ġcompounded Ġby Ġthe Ġmysterious Ġloss Ġoffshore Ġof Ġthe Ġsubmarine ĠAE 1 Ġwith Ġall Ġ35 Ġmen Ġaboard Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠGall ip oli Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠA IF Ġdeparted Ġby Ġship Ġin Ġa Ġsingle Ġconvoy Ġfrom ĠAlbany Ġon Ġ1 ĠNovember Ġ1914 Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthe Ġjourney Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġconvoy Ġ' s Ġnaval Ġesc orts ĠâĢĶ ĠHM AS ĠSydney ĠâĢĶ Ġengaged Ġand Ġdestroyed Ġthe ĠGerman Ġcruiser ĠSMS ĠEm den Ġat Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠCoc os Ġon Ġ8 ĠNovember Ġ, Ġin Ġthe Ġfirst Ġship Ġ@ - @ Ġto Ġ@ - @ Ġship Ġaction Ġinvolving Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠAustralian ĠNavy Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġoriginally Ġbound Ġfor ĠEngland Ġto Ġundergo Ġfurther Ġtraining Ġand Ġthen Ġfor Ġemployment