Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in 1915, and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which comprised troops from the First Australian Imperial Force and 1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The corps disbanded in 1916, following the Allied evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula and the formation of I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps.

Original formation

Plans for the formation began in November 1914 while the first contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops were still in convoy bound for, as they thought, Europe. However, following the experiences of the Canadian Expeditionary Force encamped on Salisbury Plain, it was decided not to subject the Australians and New Zealanders to the English winter and so they were diverted to Egypt for training before moving on to the Western Front in France. The British Secretary of State for War, Horatio Kitchener, appointed General William Birdwood, an officer of the British Indian Army, to the command of the corps and he furnished most of the corps staff from the Indian Army as well. Birdwood arrived in Cairo on 21 December 1914 to assume command of the corps.

ANZAC (disambiguation)

ANZAC is an acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

ANZAC or Anzac may also refer to:

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ANZAC (acronym)

The ANZAC acronym came from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, formed in Egypt prior to the Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War. The corps was the higher formation for all Australian and New Zealand soldiers. It then gave its name to ANZAC Cove, on the Gallipoli peninsula, and at first was only used to identify the men who took part in the Gallipoli landings, although it later came to mean "any Australian or New Zealand soldier of the First World War." Both the 'ANZAC' and the 'Anzac' versions of the acronym have been protected by the Commonwealth Government of Australia.

The acronym was used during the war by the I ANZAC Corps and the II ANZAC Corps in Egypt and later on the Western Front. Then there was the 1st (ANZAC) Wireless Signal Squadron, which served in the Mesopotamia Campaign. The Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division formed in March 1916 also made use of the acronym. The division's name was abbreviated to the A. & N. Z. Mounted Division, to the ANZAC Mounted Division, and to the Anzac Mounted Division by the Australian official history, and the New Zealand official history.