Australian Imperial Force
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2008-07-09T07:34:36Z
Glenn Sisson
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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]]