Australian Imperial Force 415433 224529831 2008-07-09T07:34:36Z Glenn Sisson 6036001 Changed category The '''Australian Imperial Force''' (AIF) was the name given to two all-[[volunteer]] [[Australian Army]] forces dispatched to fight overseas during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]]. * [[First Australian Imperial Force]] (1914-18) * [[Second Australian Imperial Force]] (1939-45) Following the [[Federation of Australia]] in [[1901]], the Commonwealth Military Forces were formed with a small [[regular army]] and a larger component of reservists in the [[Citizens Military Forces]] (CMF). As the CMF could not be deployed overseas. Therefore the AIFs were formed in 1914 and 1939 respectively. The two AIFs are distinguished by referring to the World War I contingent as the "1st AIF", and the World War II contingent as the "2nd AIF". During World War I, the [[Australian Flying Corps]], the precursor of the [[Royal Australian Air Force]], was part of the 1st AIF. The modern regular [[Australian Army]] was established in [[1947]] and its soldiers can be deployed anywhere in the world. Theatres where they have served include Korea, Malaya, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, various Pacific nations, Afghanistan and Iraq. ==References== *[http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/structure/army.htm Army Structure (Australian War Memorial)] *[http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/conflict.htm AWM] *[http://www.diggerhistory.info Digger History] [[Category:Military units and formations of the Australian Army]] [[de:Australian Imperial Force]]