AIF CEF BEF AEF nomenclature

[Bill Alexander]

The British Expeditionary Force, the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and the Australian Imperial Force? Could a digger historian explain why the Australian's used a different terminology for their expeditionary forces? The AEF was used by the Americans, but they did not enter the war until long after the Aussies had been in Europe. Were there political implications? Nationalism, stirring earlier in the Canadian component? Would naming the force Expeditionary be "more" equal to the mother country? Or were we Canadians ever aware of the implications of "imperial" regarding Canadian national unity?

[Broznitsky]

Nicholson indicates the 1909 Imperial Defence Conference in London as the first time the establishment of a Canadian EF was noted. He doesn't mention if Australia was involved in the Conference, although an interchange of officers ocurred over the following years between Canada, Australia, India, and Britain.

Peter

[Guest bismarck]

Australian Instantly

American Eventually

[Guest paddy]

G'day Bill

The Parliamentary & Press debates of the time were centred on the raising of an "Expeditionary" Force. Folk- lore has it that the actual naming rights were given to General Bridges who personally raised & led the First Division AIF at Gallipoli. He had been involved in establishing Australia's Home Defence Forces, [Kitchener Scheme], represented Australia on the Imperial General Staff in London, suggested & founded Duntroon Military College. Apparently he forsaw that the initials would be more widely used than the full title, and chose AIF as being more distinctive.

Regards

Pat

[mordac]

I've seen some documents where the Government of the Dominion of Canada was calling the army being dispatched to Europe the 'Overseas Military Forces of Canada' (OMFC). Also, throughout the war you can find references to OMFC Routine Orders. Does anyone know if the CEF was the official name of the Canadian forces?

Garth

[Broznitsky]

I've seen several refererences to Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force (COEF).

[mordac]

I've seen several refererences to Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force (COEF).

Hi Peter:

So have I, however use the of COEF seems to disappear by late 1915. Do you have any references to this name being used in 1916 to 1919? Since this thread started I've been looking for an act of Parliament creating the Canadian Expeditionary Force. No luck yet.

Garth

[Bill Alexander]

The OMFC appears to have been the polictical / military element (liason, admin, training and holding units etc) in the UK. It's full name was the Ministry of Overseas Military Forces of Canada. The Expeditionary Force was the fighting army, and it was responsible to the OMFC in England for certain issues and the Imperial army command at British GHQ in France, for operational control. The OMFC was organized in late 1916. The OMFC controlled Canadian efforts and affairs in England, as when new CEF units arrived, they came under the control of OMFC. This appears to have been a similar arrangement to the CMHQ and the Canadian Corps, later the Canadian Army, in the UK and Northwest Europe during WWII.

[Edward_N_Kelly]

G'day Bill

The Parliamentary & Press debates of the time were centred on the raising of an "Expeditionary" Force. Folk- lore has it that the actual naming rights were given to General Bridges who personally raised & led the First Division AIF at Gallipoli. He had been involved in establishing Australia's Home Defence Forces, [Kitchener Scheme], represented Australia on the Imperial General Staff in London, suggested & founded Duntroon Military College. Apparently he forsaw that the initials would be more widely used than the full title, and chose AIF as being more distinctive.

Regards

Pat

I would have to refer to resources at home for the title of AIF and how it came about but am working from memory (particularly from Mordike's An Army for a Nation) The discussions (at first informal) for an "overseas expeditionary force" began before the turn of the 20th Century while Hutton was in Australia for his first "tour of duty".

Hutton was very ambitious for Australia (then 7 disparate colonies - NZ was to join as part of the Federation but filed to take up the offer (to date ) to take part in "Imperial Defence" but he was rebuffed by the political heads of the colonies for other than a home defence based army. Ultimate defence was to rely on the RN sea power and all that was required was "defence against raids" which could be handled by a small cadre of regulars (mainly coastal defence artillery) and a militia based field force.

With Federation and his return to command the Australian Military Forces, Hutton began active planning for the expeditionary force with his young protégé Bridges. The Defence Act 1903 was a cruel blow - he did not want the Army to be solely constrained to service in "Australia and its Territories" but allowed to take part in Imperial expeditions. Given the strict definition in the Act, he had to plan for a separate voluntary enlistment force and this began almost straight away.

After the departure of Hutton the nascent Australian Staff under Bridges and others began the necessary planning including work with the British Army through contacts gained while on exchange service.

The fruit of their labour was the raising of the 1st Australian Infantry Division with minimal fuss or lack of such necessities as clothing and basic equipment.

(It must also be pointed out that much of this necessities were as a result of the need to support the Militia as a result of the compulsory training scheme of 1912 which provided an at least semi-trained pool of manpower from which to raise the AIF)

Edward

[Guest paddy]

G'day Ned

Just to confirm that things are done a bit differently down here.

On 6/8/14 Australia was asked to perform "a great and urgent imperial service" by silencing German Radio stations around New Guinea, Nauru, etc. To do this Imperial task, they raised the Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force. Although this force "went first", I THINK the AIF had already been "named"

ooRoo

Pat {No 1 Fan of Redmond-Barry, I don't think}