Editing Royal Australian Navy (section)

==== Pacific ====
Following [[British entry into World War I|the British Empire's declaration of war on Germany]], the [[British War Office]] tasked the capture of [[German New Guinea]] to the [[Australian Government]]. This was to deprive the [[Imperial German Navy]]'s [[East Asia Squadron]] of regional intelligence by removing their access to wireless stations. On 11 August, three destroyers and [[HMAS Sydney (I)|HMAS ''Sydney'']] prepared to engage the squadron at German Anchorages in New Guinea, which did not eventuate as the vessels were not present. Landing parties were placed on [[Rabaul]] and [[Herbertshohe]] to destroy its German wireless station; however, the objective was found to be further inland and an expeditionary force was required. Meanwhile, [[HMAS Australia (I)|HMAS ''Australia'']] was tasked with scouring the Pacific Ocean for the German squadron.

The [[Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force]] (ANMEF) began recruiting on the same day that the taskforce arrived in [[New Britain]], and consisted of two battalions: one of 1,000 men, and the other with 500 serving and former seamen. On 19 August, the ANMEF departed [[Sydney]] for training in [[Townsville]] before the rendezvous with other RAN vessels in [[Port Moresby]].<ref name=":2" /> On 29 August, four cruisers and HMAS ''Australia'' assisted New Zealand's [[Samoa Expeditionary Force]] in landing at [[Apia]], and committing a bloodless takeover of German Samoa. Additionally, the RAN captured German merchant vessels, disrupting German merchant shipping in the Pacific. On 7 September, the ANMEF, now including HMAS ''Australia'', three destroyers, and two each of cruisers and submarines, departed for Rabaul.

A few days later, on 9 September, [[HMAS Melbourne (I)|HMAS ''Melbourne'']] landed a party to destroy the island's wireless station, though the German administration promptly surrendered. Between 11 and 12 September, landings were put ashore at Kabakaul, Rabaul and Herbertshohe; it was during this period that the first Australian casualties and deaths of the war occurred. On 14 September, [[HMAS Encounter (1902)|HMAS ''Encounter'']] barraged an enemy position at Toma with shells; it was the first time the RAN had fired upon an enemy and had shelled an inland location. On 17 September, German New Guinea surrendered to the encroaching ANMEF, with the overall campaign a success and exceeded the objectives set by the War Office. However, the RAN submarine [[HMAS AE1|HMAS ''AE1'']] became the first ever vessel of the new navy to be sunk.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Before Gallipoli – Australian Operations in 1914|url=https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/gallipoli-australian-operations-1914|url-status=live|access-date=13 September 2021|website=Navy|archive-date=13 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913000343/https://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/gallipoli-australian-operations-1914}}</ref> The Australian Squadron was placed under control of the [[British Admiralty]],<ref>Dennis et al. 1995, p. 517.</ref> and was moreover tasked with protecting Australian shipping.<ref name=":2" />

On 1 November, the RAN escorted the [[First Australian Imperial Force]] convoy from [[Albany, WA]] and set for the [[Khedivate of Egypt]], which was soon to become the [[Sultanate of Egypt]]. On 9 November, HMAS ''Sydney'' began hunting for [[SMS Emden|SMS ''Emden'']], a troublesome German coastal raider. The SMS ''Emden'' and HMAS ''Sydney'' met in the Battle of Cocos, the ''Emden'' was destroyed in Australia's first naval victory. Following the almost complete destruction of the East Asia Squadron in the [[Battle of the Falklands]] by the Royal Navy, the RAN became able to be reassigned to other naval theatres of the war.<ref name=":2" />