This volume investigates the organizational, logistical, and operational challenges involved in raising, deploying, and sustaining the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during the First World War. The authors, all established military historians and academics, utilize extensive archival research and personnel records to analyze how a young Commonwealth managed the immense human and financial costs of a global conflict. By examining the administrative structures and the lived experience of the soldiers, the text provides a comprehensive framework for understanding Australia's military contribution to the Great War.

Experts recognize this work as a definitive academic resource for understanding the administrative history of the Australian military during the early twentieth century. Readers frequently note the scholarly density of the prose and the meticulous attention to archival detail provided by the authors.