The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (popularly known as ANZAC) was originally an army corps formed of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought in the First World War at the Dardanelles against the Turks, so the ANZACs fought on the Western Front and in the Middle East.
The term ANZAC will no longer refer only to troops of the First World War but more generally to Australian and New Zealand soldiers in wartime. ANZAC Day is celebrated annually on April 25 in memory of these fallen soldiers by both countries. It commemorates the first landing in the Dardanelles in 1915 on the beach subsequently known as ANZAC Cove.
ANZAC military formations
The original Australian and New Zealand Corps which served in the Dardanelles was under the command of General William Birdwood and then comprised the 1st Australian Division and the Australian and New Zealand Division. The three Australian brigades and the New Zealand brigade were versed in infantry with ANZAC during the Gallipoli campaign. The 2nd Australian Division arrived from Australia in August 1915 and a few battalions saw action in the final months of the campaign.
Following the evacuation of the Dardanelles in November 1915, Australian and New Zealand units assembled in Egypt. The New Zealand contingent then formed its own division:the New Zealand Division. The Australian Imperial Force underwent a major reorganization and two new divisions were created:the Fourth and V Australian Divisions. The Australian III Division was then being formed in Australia and was sent directly to England and then to France.
These formations were reformed into two corps:I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps. It was then that "ANZAC" ceased to be an acronym and was used to refer to any formation containing Australian or New Zealand units. The I ANZAC Corps under the command of General Birdwood departed for France in early 1916. The II ANZAC Corps commanded by General Alexander Godley followed soon after.
The ANZAC Mounted Division (originally Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division) was formed at this time by three brigades of Australian light horses as well as the New Zealand mounted infantry brigade. This division fought as mounted infantry in the Middle East, but also in Egypt, Sinai (during the Battle of Romani, the Battle of Magdhaba and Rafa), Palestine (during the First and Second Battles of Gaza, in the Battle of Beersheba, in Jerusalem, in Jericho, in Es Salt, in the Battle of Megiddo, in Amman) and in Syria.
ANZAC participated in many battles on the Western Front. It is found during the Battle of the Somme as units of the British Corps during the Battle of Pozières. It was on July 23, 1916 that the ANZAC took part in combat as a unit in its own right, it was the 1st ANZAC (1st, 2nd and 4th Australian Divisions).
At Villers-Bretonneux during the first battles of the Somme, the term ANZAC ceased to be used to designate an army corps containing Australian and New Zealand divisions. I ANZAC Corps was renamed Australian Corps (IV and V Australian Divisions). Subsequently, the Australian Corps was to contain all five Australian divisions, creating the largest corps of the Allied armies on the Western Front.
During the Vietnam War, two companies of the Royal New Zealand Regiment of Infantry were incorporated into battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. These battalions had the suffix (ANZAC) added to their name (for example, the IVe RAR became the 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC)).
Warships
"ANZAC" has been chosen as the name for 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 begins with the ship HMAS ANZAC.
Other uses of the term ANZAC
The term ANZAC has also been used in a sporting sense to describe rugby league test matches between Australia and New Zealand. The ANZAC teams therefore brought together players from Australia and New Zealand. The last match took place in 2005 in Workington in England against Cumbria.