HQ 1st Australian Army
From Our Contribution
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Brief History
When the first of the Australian troops arrived home from the Middle East, a restructure in April 1942 saw HQ 1st Australian Corps become HQ First Australian Army which moved to Toowoomba and took command of all troops in Queensland and New South Wales. As a result of the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway, the threat to southern Australia was considerably reduced with additional units then sent to Queensland and Western Australia. In August/September 1942 the Japanese threat to Port Moresby resulted in HQ First Australian Army and the 7th Division moved to Port Moresby. By 1943 the direct threat to Queensland had passed, and the Fortress troops from Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns came under the control of HQ First Australian Army in addition to those troops training on the Atherton Tablelands, i Townsville and Cairns.
With the 7th and 9th Infantry Divisions moving to New Guinea, by October 1943 the HQs were responsible only for the static fortresses and the under strength brigade groups at Torres Strait/Merauke; Townsville; Murgon and Brisbane. Sadly to this point a personality clash between Generals Blamey and Lavarack had meant that the 'HQs First Australian Army had been confined to minor roles. The Headquarters unit had remained i Toowoomba for more than two years, but with Lavarack's replacement it now moved to Mareeba in May 1944. With Australian troops taking over from US troops in New Guinea to allow them to prepare for the invasion of the Philippines, the HQs moved to Lae in September 1944. Unlike the US troops which had been simply holding ground the Australian units then embarked on an advance and by the end of the war had captured Wewak, had isolated Rabaul, and were approaching major Japanese bases at Buin and Buka.
Unit Personnel
- John William Alexander 28 Sep 1944 - 27 Sep 1945
- Andrew Wilkinson 28 Sep 1944 - 23 Jun 1945
Notes
Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 2 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 2.018 & 2.019 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018