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Australia's Involvement In World War 1 Essay

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Before 1914 Australia had had very little experience of warfare. They had supported Britain in previous conflicts in New Zealand, Sudan and during the Boer war. Seeing as Australia was still very much connected with Britain during the time, when war was declared on Germany on the 4th August 1914 Australia was ready to fight alongside their ‘mother country’.

The main reason that Australia was part of World War 1 was because of their loyalty to Britain. As soon as war was declared on Germany, both the prime minister of Australia at the time, Joseph Cook, and the Opposition Leader, Andrew Fisher, fully pledged their support for Britain in their involvement with the war. Australia was very much under the influence of Britain, so for many men enlisting was a way in which they could prove their loyalty.

At the beginning of the war countries such as France, Russia, Austria-Hungary and Germany had very large armies of 1 million but Britain only had 250, 000. Of these 250, 000 Britain was only able to send 125,000 over the English Channel to fight. The Australian army was building and they were able to join forces with Britain to create a larger army. The prime minister, Joseph Cook, offered to Britain in …show more content…

The unknown experience lead this war to be associated with a sense of excitement and adventure. As many as 20 000 men had enlisted in the first few weeks of the war and by the end of 1914, 50 000 Australians had enlisted. For many men enlisting was a way to explore the world whilst they were working and serving their country. Many men who were not of the age to fight (18-35) lied about their age and still enlisted as many of their mates were fighting and they didn’t want to miss out this adventure. The posters which were used to advertise enlistment during the war showed how much fun the war would be and they made sure that you didn’t miss out on this amazing

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