Cadets (14-18) - four whole-day drills, twelve half-day drills and twenty-four night drills.
3) Citizen Forces (18-26) - sixteen whole-day drills or their equivalent.
The Defence Act also provided for the establishment of a Military College, established at Duntroon in June 1911 to train officers for the Australian Military.
This level of organisation and compulsory military training were extraordinary within the British Dominions, and even Britain itself had no compulsory military service during this period. At the outbreak of World War I, Australia had over 200 000 individuals under arms of varying degrees. The quality of their training was dubious, as Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton commented after his inspection in 1914. A lack of instructors, funds and high absenteeism contributed to their poor training, and could not be overcome by their natural abilities alone.
The bulk of the Militia, in 1914, was composed of young men aged between eighteen and twenty-one but the Defence Act allowed only for the use of volunteers for overseas service. Consequently, the Government raised a new volunteer force designated the Australian Imperial Force or AIF under the command of Brig.Gen. Bridges.
Natural Soldiers
The histories and commentaries of the Anzac's role in the Great War have often referred to the natural abilities of the Australian personnel. In drawing comparisons between British Divisions and those of the AIF, many authors attribute much to the country lifestyle of Australians' that developed the skills and capabilities of a masterful solider. The Official Historian of the AIF, C.E.W. Bean, was adamant that country life produced better soldiers, and that this was a significant element in the effectiveness of the AIF. Bean wrote:
Differences between country and city soldiers were also definitely perceptible in the A.I.F., though to a very much less degree. For example, an outstanding feat by a platoon would be explained by such a comment as, "They were country boys from around Shepparton."
Anecdotal evidence of this nature is the most often produced to support the theory of rural superiority in soldiery, and denies the facts. Australia, during this period, was one of the most urbanised countries in the World and rural enlistments accounted for less than twenty per cent of the AIF. Indeed, the percentage of British born persons who enlisted are estimated at as much as twenty-seven per cent, some having lived in Australia for only a few years.
Were the members of the AIF natural
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