Weapons used by the Australian Army in World War I

Standard weaponry

In 1911, Australia had introduced compulsory military training for males aged 12 to 26. By the time the war started in 1914, Australia had a small regular army and a larger part-time reserve force, the Citizens Forces. At the time, Australian law prevented these forces from being deployed overseas.

This is why the Australian Government raised 2 new forces to serve in the war overseas:

• Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF).
• Australian Imperial Force (AIF), a much larger force.

The 6 Australian states had shared standardised weaponry since Federation in 1901. Between 1863 and 1911, South Australia administered the Northern Territory and was responsible for its defence. From 1911, the Commonwealth of Australia administered the NT and the newly formed Australian Capital Territory (ACT), but the military presence in both territories was minimal before the war started.

Most of the AIF's equipment was the same as that used by the British Army and by other British dominions, including Canada, India and New Zealand.

When the AIF disembarked from Australia in late 1914, the minister for Defence, George Pearce, issued a press statement:

We have sent or are about to send troops to the number of 40,000 for the defence of the Empire in Europe. All of these are armed and equipped exactly as are the British regiments.

['CITIZEN DUTY', The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 Nov 1914, p 8.]

The AIF issued its troops with thick woollen khaki uniforms and broad-brimmed felt slouch hats with a Rising Sun badge. Soldiers also received a rifle and a sword bayonet.

Members of the Infantry received a woven cotton webbing equipment set, which included:

• belt
• braces (suspenders)
• bayonet frog
• cartridge pouches
• entrenching tool with holder
• haversack (small bag)
• valise with straps (backpack)
• water bottle with holder.

From 1916, troops serving on the Western Front also received steel helmets.

AWM RELAWM01013

Troops of the Australian Light Horse received a leather bandolier to wear over the shoulder to carry ammunition. They were also issued load carriage, a specialised saddle to carry the bulk of their equipment, including blankets and rifles. Their horses would often carry a second bandolier.

Equipment and weapons used by the Australian Army changed during the war due to:

• changing warfare tactics
• technological innovations.

AWM REL30046

Firearms

Rifles

In 1914, the Army equipped AIF soldiers with rifles from the Citizen Forces. This practice continued until local production of Lee-Enfield rifles increased from the Lithgow Small Arms Factory.

Some soldiers had received weapons training as cadets. This likely included practise firing with the .310 calibre Martini Cadet single-shot rifle. For years after the war, farms around Australia had one of these .310 rifles for pest animal control.

Soldiers in the Infantry and Light Horse regiments (LHR) received a Lee-Enfield Mark III rifle. This rifle was in use across the British Army from 1910. A variation of the Mark III, denoted the Mark III*, was introduced later in the war.

The Lee-Enfield Mark III/III* was a bolt-action rifle that fired a .303 calibre round from a 10-round magazine. Many Commonwealth forces kept using Lee-Enfield rifles in different versions until the late 1950s.

AWM REL/16021

War correspondent, Trooper Clifford Halloran of the 6th LHR in Ma'adi, Egypt, discussed the differing opinions about the Lee-Enfield rifle:

MA'ADI, Egypt, March 24. I am glad to be able to say that a recognised authority on rifle construction has vindicated the Lee-Enfield, Mark 3, rifles which the Australian infantry and Light Horse in Egypt are using. There has been a great amount of wild talk among the troops concerning these rifles, which were turned out at the Commonwealth Government's small arms factory. But Lieutenant Proudfoot, an Englishman, a man who knows much about rifles, said at a lecture a few nights ago that the Australian Government's rifle was one of the finest he had ever handled. Our rifle is shorter and not so slender as the weapon with which the British Territorials in Egypt have been armed. Our bayonet, though, is longer than that of the Terriers--just that much longer as to even matters up. Our bayonet, too, is thicker and heavier than the English weapon we [have] seen in Egypt.

['AUSTRALIANS IN EGYPT', The Sun, 23 Apr 1915, p 4.]

During the Gallipoli Campaign, Lance Corporal William Beech invented a periscope rifle. His invention let soldiers aim and fire from a deep trench without exposing themselves to enemy fire.

AWM C03431

Bayonets

A bayonet is a long, sharp blade that attaches to a rifle for hand-to-hand fighting. Created as a backup weapon for the single-shot musket, the bayonet has been in use since the 17th century.

The main bayonet issued to Australian soldiers in World War I was the Pattern 1907 Bayonet.

With the development of new weapons, such as artillery and machine guns, the bayonet was used less. Despite this, AIF members were issued with bayonets for:

• Gallipoli
• the Middle East
• the Western Front.

Well-known instances of Australian troops adopting traditional bayonet charges include the disastrous Charge at the Nek. Later uses of the bayonet charge were more successful.

Read about major battles where Australians used bayonet charges:

• Charge at the Nek 1915
• Battle of Romani 1916
• Charge at Beersheba 1917
• Battle of Lagnicourt 1917 (Lieutenant Charles Pope)
• Battle of Messines 1917
• Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux 1918.

Side-arms

Certain members of the AIF carried service revolvers, known as side-arms. This could be in addition to or instead of rifles.

Officers used side-arms more commonly than soldiers. Machine gun and armoured car crews were also issued with side-arms, as were members of the Australian Flying Corps.

Some of the more common models used by AIF members were:

• .455 calibre Colt New Service revolver
• .455 calibre Webley revolver Mark IV/V/VI
• .476 calibre Enfield revolver Mark I/II.

The Enfield-made revolvers were not standard issue during World War I, but many soldiers still carried them. Many other types of side-arms were used by Australian troops. Some of the men, especially officers, bought their own, often before leaving home.

AWM REL31046.001

AWM REL31704

Machine guns

At the start of the war, the AIF used a small number of medium machine guns (Maxim, Vickers). Machine-gun technology and tactics evolved in response to trench warfare on the Western Front.

The Vickers medium machine gun was a heavy machine gun used to fire on rows of advancing enemy troops. This gun was used by the British Army until 1968, when it was given a full military funeral.

The Lewis light machine gun saw extensive action with Australian and Allied troops. It could be carried into an attack. By the end of the war, each platoon carried several Lewis guns into action, in part to make up for the decreasing number of soldiers.

The Lewis light machine gun fired a .303 calibre round and was gas operated. It was used both by land forces and as a mounted machine gun on aircraft.

AWM RELAWM03860

AWM E00769

Hand grenades

During World War I, hand grenades were often called bombs. Bombing squads or platoons were a regular part of many infantry battalions.

Infantry soldiers used a Mills bomb, a standard British Army grenade that weighed 765 g. A soldier could throw a Mills bomb about 15 m. The wounding range of the bomb's fragments was about 90 m. These were offensive bombs, with the thrower behind cover and the target within range.

The improvised jam tin bomb was designed by the Anzacs during the Gallipoli campaign. It came out of necessity because the troops were ill-equipped for trench warfare. Soldiers would sometimes use these bombs defensively. They would set the explosives as booby traps under battlefield debris and bodies.

Read about the Australian soldiers' daily life at Gallipoli.

The bombers' target was not always in the open. Sometimes, it might have been in a shell hole, for example.

Soldiers threw bombs:

• into dugouts when assaulting trenches
• to clear the ground around traverses when infantrymen were advancing along enemy trenches
• against pillboxes in Flanders on the Western Front.

Later in the war, the Mills bomb was modified and used with a rod-type rifle launcher and a cup-type launcher. This increased its range up to 182 m. One example is the Hales rifle grenade.

AWM G00267

Artillery guns and mortars

Artillery operators controlled the largest guns during land combat.

Guns used in Australian artillery brigades included:

• 9.45-inch (24 cm) heavy trench mortar (the 'flying pig') – up to one round per 6 minutes with a range up to 2 km
• 4.5-inch (11.5 cm) Howitzer field gun – up to 4 rounds per minute with a range up to 6 km
• 18-pounder (8.2 kg) field gun – up to 20 rounds per minute with a range of 6 to 10 km.

A mortar is a short, smooth-bore gun that fires shells (called 'bombs') at high angles.

To move the field guns and heavy mortars, the troops had to disassemble them. They were transported to the front on horse-drawn wagons.

AWM E02927

Light mortar

Medium and heavy mortars were classified as artillery. Light mortar remained with the infantry.

Early trench mortars used by Allied units were either 3.7 inches (just under 10 cm) or 4 inches (just over 10 cm).

By the time the AIF arrived at the Western Front in 1916, the dominant model was the Stokes 3-inch trench mortar (about 8 cm). A soldier could drop a mortar bomb into a firing tube, propelling the 4 kg shell up to 686 m. The equipment weighed 47 kg and needed at least 2 men to carry and operate.

Other mortars used by the AIF throughout the war included:

• the Garland trench mortar at Gallipoli in 1915
• the 2-inch medium Howitzer mortar.

Accidents while firing a trench mortar could be fatal. The 6th Light Trench Mortar Battery had a high death rate, with 20 men named on the Roll of Honour. Two of them died operating mortar equipment in combat zones.

AWM RELAWM05056.001

Armoured cars and tanks

The rise of mass-produced cars in the early 20th century led to the adoption of automotive technology during World War I.

British forces used open-top cars fitted with a Lewis machine gun in hit-and-run attacks. Armoured cars were of limited use on the Western Front due to the stalemate of trench warfare. Once the stalemate broke in the last few months of the war, the use of armoured cars increased greatly.

Armoured cars were also used by Australians in the Middle East. The Australian War Memorial has archived footage of the 1st Australian Light Car Patrol. They were captured on film at Aleppo in operations against the Ottomans.

The AIF did not operate any tanks during the war. But Australians served alongside British tanks during fighting on the Western Front. These instances were sometimes:

• unsuccessful, as the Battle of Bullecourt
• successful, as the Battle of Hamel.