Army has always been faced with the questions of what type of war it should aim to prepare for, and in what context it should prepare. Mobilising the Australian Army explores the rich history of the Australian Army, the challenges of preparing armies for war in uncertain times, and the many possibilities for their continuing strength and future success. Comprising research presented at the 2021 Chief of Army History Conference, this collection examines how contingency and compromise are crucial elements for both the historical and the modern-day Army. Key themes include the mobilisation of resources for war in the first half of the twentieth century, the employment of women in the war effort at a time of rapid force expansion, alliance and concurrency pressures in the Cold War and post–Cold War years, utilisation in crisis and war of the reserve forces, and deployment challenges in the 1990s and beyond. Written by leading Australian and international military historians and practitioners, Mobilising the Australian Army will appeal to both casual history enthusiasts and future Army.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: on mobilisation Ian Langford; Part I. Mobilising an Army: 1. The Australian Army, mobilisation and its recent intellectual history: the contemporary and historical environment Jean Bou; Part II. Mobilising Resources for War: Early twentieth century; 2. Hard but necessary: resource decision-making to win a war Meighen McCrae; 3. Preserving scratch: interwar mobilisation planning in the Canadian and Australian armies Douglas E. Delaney; 4. Industrial mobilisation: the Australian Army, industry and the Second World War Andrew T. Ross; 5. A double-edged sword: Second World War commercial-sector munitions production for the Australian Army Carol Fort; Part III. Women and Force Expansion: Second World War and beyond; 6. Australia's signals intelligence capability: the employment of women in the lead-up to and opening phases of the Second World War Clare Birgin; 7. Women in the military in Australia and Canada: reflecting on the past, shaping the future Karen D. Davis and Philip McCristall; Part IV. Alliance and Concurrency Pressures: Cold War and post-Cold War; 8. Concurrency pressures of accelerated warfare: strategic issues for a contemporary Australian Army Amanda Johnston; 9. Collective security: allied security alliance planning in South-East Asia during the Cold War Sue Thompson; 10. The Australian Army's growing concurrency pressures, 2003–2010: expectations of a modern land force John Blaxland; 11. Difficulties of coalition operations: UK and US experiences in Operation Telic 8–11 Dan Marston; Part V. Force Preparation: Utilising the Reserve; 12. Mobilising the home reserve: Australia's Second World War Militia James Morrison; 13. National service: Australian's compulsory service schemes since 1945 James Kell; 14. Reserve mobilisation for domestic contingencies: the Australian Army's bushfire and COVID-19 responses Renée Kidson; Part VI. Deployment Challenges: 1990s and beyond; 15. The Kangaroo Exercise Series, 1989–1995: rehearsing mobilisation and force projection Bob Breen; 16. Auditing force projection: the Australian Army's performance in six Australian deployments, 1987–2003 Bob Breen; 17. Organising for operations: case studies from the Australian Defence Force's Afghanistan commitments, 2005–2006 Rhys Crawley; Part VII. Reflections: 18. Where to from here? Reflections on mobilisation in the past and pointers for the future John Blaxland.