page_title: Australian Army during World War II
section_title: Forces in Australia and the Pacific
hierarchical_section_title: Australian Army during World War II / Organisation / Forces in Australia and the Pacific
caption_attribution_description: AWM caption&#160;: "LA PEROUSE, NSW. 1946-05-09. ONE OF THE 9.2" COASTAL ARTILLERY GUNS EMPLACED AT CAPE BANKS. THE BARREL IS 33 FEET LONG. THE GUNS ARE POWERED BY TWO LARGE DIESEL GENERATORS 75 FEET UNDERGROUND. THE GENERATORS GENERATE 400 VOLTS AND TURN OUT 273 AMPS EACH."
context_page_description: The Australian Army was the largest service in the Australian military during World War II. Prior to the outbreak of war the Australian Army was split into the small full-time Permanent Military Forces and the larger part-time Militia. Following the outbreak of war, on 14 September 1939 Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced that 40,000 members of the Militia would be called up for training and a 20,000-strong expeditionary force, designated the Second Australian Imperial Force, would be formed for overseas service. Meanwhile, conscription was introduced in October 1939 to keep the Militia at strength as its members volunteered for the AIF. The Australian Army subsequently made an important contribution to the Allied campaigns in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa fighting the Germans, Italians and Vichy French during 1940 and 1941, and later in the jungles of the South West Pacific Area fighting the Japanese between late 1941 and 1945. Following the Japanese surrender Australian Army units were deployed as occupation forces across the South West Pacific. Meanwhile, the Army contributed troops to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan from 1946.
context_section_description: The Army's command and administrative arrangements at the start of the war were based on a system of military districts that had existed since Federation, albeit with a number of modifications. Australia was divided into six military districts each of which largely equated to a State or Territory, and reported to the Department of the Chief of the General Staff. Meanwhile, the Military Board was responsible for the administration of the Army, with regular members consisting of the Deputy Adjutant-General, the Chief of Intelligence, the Chief of the General Staff, the Chief of Ordnance and a civilian Finance Member, in addition to a number of consultative members, under the overall control of the Minister of the Defence. The 1st Military District (1 MD) encompassed Queensland, the 2nd included most of New South Wales, the 3rd was primarily based on Victoria, the 4th included South Australia, the 5th included Western Australia and the 6th encompassed forces in Tasmania. In 1939 the Northern Territory was designated the 7th Military District, while and the 8th Military District was later activated in Port Moresby to command forces in New Guinea.
  Following the outbreak of World War II a regional command structure was subsequently adopted, with 2 MD becoming Eastern Command, 5 MD redesignated Western Command, while 1 MD in Queensland became Northern Command and the three southern states of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania were amalgamated into Southern Command. In the early years of the war this structure proved effective for operations overseas; however, as the threat of war with Japan grew the various commands and military districts came under greater pressure. The activation of the Militia for full-time duty after Japan's entry into the war in late 1941 compounded the situation. In response, the Army command structure was reorganised in early 1942. While Western Australia remained unchanged, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia were redesignated as Lines of Communications Areas, 7 MD became Northern Territory Force and 8 MD was redesignated as New Guinea Force. In July 1942 the Military Board's functions were assumed by the commander of the military forces, General Sir Thomas Blamey.
  The AIF's requirements for manpower and equipment constrained the Militia during the early years of the war. At the outbreak of the Pacific War the main Army units in Australia were five Militia infantry divisions—the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Divisions—two Militia cavalry divisions—the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions—and the AIF 1st Armoured Division. The Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC), which was a part-time volunteer force of 100,000 men based on the British Home Guard, was also available for local defence. In addition, by early 1942 there were 12,000 garrison force personnel—mostly reservist veterans of World War I—organised into 13 garrison battalions for coastal defence and five battalions and two companies for internal security tasks, including guarding prisoner of war camps. Yet at this time only 30 percent of Militia units were on full-time duty, with the remainder periodically undertaking three month-long mobilisations. The Militia was also poorly armed, and there was insufficient equipment to be issued to all units if they were mobilised. In response to the Japanese threat following the outbreak of the Pacific War and the capture of the 8th Division in Malaya, the condition of the Militia became a pressing concern, after largely having been ignored since 1940. Several middle-ranking and senior officers of the AIF were subsequently posted to Militia units and formations to give them experience. Meanwhile, the Army was forced to move units between Militia divisions so that the most combat-ready could be sent to areas believed to be under the greatest threat of attack. Some battalions were amalgamated, and although some were later separated and reformed, others were disbanded altogether. After the Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Act 1943 was passed Militia units were able to serve outside Australian 
caption: A 9.2-inch coastal artillery emplacement at Fort Banks, La Perouse, New South Wales
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