existed in permanent form only from 1948 with the formation of the Australian Regiment, which became ‘Royal’ in the following year. Previously there had been permanent specialist forces such as engineers and artillery, but no infantry. The forces sent to the two world wars were specially raised and operated under the name Australian Imperial Force (AIF). The infantry available for the defence of Australia were the part-time soldiers of the Citizen Military Forces (CMF), now known as the Reserves. The Army's history is now treated in volume 1 of The Australian Centenary History of Defence (2001).
The Oxford Companion to Australian History. © 1998
Oxford University Press.
All rights reserved.
