 Birdwood was officially confirmed as commander of the AIF on 14 September 1916 , backdated to 18 September 1915 , while also commanding I ANZAC Corps on the Western Front . He retained overall responsibility for the AIF units in the Middle East , but in practice this fell to Godley , and after II ANZAC Corps left Egypt as well , to Chauvel who also commanded the ANZAC Mounted Division . Later promoted to lieutenant general , he subsequently commanded the Desert Mounted Corps of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force ; the first Australian to command a corps . Birdwood was later given command of the Australian Corps on its formation in November 1917 . Another Australian , Monash , by then a lieutenant general , took over command of the corps on 31 May 1918 . Despite being promoted to command the British Fifth Army , Birdwood retained command of the AIF . By this time four of the five divisional commanders were Australian officers . The exception was Major General Ewen Sinclair @-@ Maclagan , the commander of the 4th Division , who was a British Army officer seconded to the Australian Army before the war , and who had joined the AIF in Australia in August 1914 . The vast majority of brigade commands were also held by Australian officers . A number of British staff officers were attached to the headquarters of the Australian Corps , and its predecessors , due to a shortage of suitably trained Australian officers . 
