Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey was given command of the Second AIF on 13 October 1939 and retained it throughout the war.
As such, he was answerable directly to the Minister of Defence, rather than to the Military Board.
He was given a charter based on that given to Major General William Throsby Bridges in 1914.
Part of his charter required the Second AIF to be kept together, but a series of political and military crises resulted in the divisions rarely fighting together, with individual divisions, brigades and even battalions deployed in different sectors or even different theatres.
This resulted in conflicts with British commanders, particularly the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck, most notably over the relief of Tobruk.

The 6th and 7th Divisions departed for the Far East in January 1942, followed by the 9th Division in February 1943.
The last AIF units, three forestry companies, returned via the United States in late 1943.
All units of the Second AIF were thereafter deployed to the South West Pacific theatre, although some individuals remained in other theatres on exchange or liaison duty, such as Vernon Sturdee, who was head of the Australian Military Mission in Washington, D.C. from 1942 to 1944.

A controversial decision of the Menzies government was that senior commands in Blamey's 6th Division would be restricted to Militia officers.
This upset many PMF officers.
However, when the 7th Division was formed in May 1940, a regular officer, Lieutenant General John Lavarack was appointed to command it.
Blamey appointed two regulars, Major Generals Vernon Sturdee and Henry Wynter to command the 8th and 9th Divisions, but Wynter became ill and Sturdee was appointed Chief of the General Staff following the death of General Sir Brudenell White in the 1940 Canberra air disaster.
The commands then went to two CMF soldiers, Major Generals Gordon Bennett and Leslie Morshead.
Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey was given command of the Second AIF on 13 October 1939 and retained it throughout the war. As such, he was answerable directly to the Minister of Defence, rather than to the Military Board. He was given a charter based on that given to Major General William Throsby Bridges in 1914. Part of his charter required the Second AIF to be kept together, but a series of political and military crises resulted in the divisions rarely fighting together, with individual divisions, brigades and even battalions deployed in different sectors or even different theatres. This resulted in conflicts with British commanders, particularly the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck, most notably over the relief of Tobruk.
The 6th and 7th Divisions departed for the Far East in January 1942, followed by the 9th Division in February 1943. The last AIF units, three forestry companies, returned via the United States in late 1943. All units of the Second AIF were thereafter deployed to the South West Pacific theatre, although some individuals remained in other theatres on exchange or liaison duty, such as Vernon Sturdee, who was head of the Australian Military Mission in Washington, D.C. from 1942 to 1944.
A controversial decision of the Menzies government was that senior commands in Blamey's 6th Division would be restricted to Militia officers. This upset many PMF officers. However, when the 7th Division was formed in May 1940, a regular officer, Lieutenant General John Lavarack was appointed to command it. Blamey appointed two regulars, Major Generals Vernon Sturdee and Henry Wynter to command the 8th and 9th Divisions, but Wynter became ill and Sturdee was appointed Chief of the General Staff following the death of General Sir Brudenell White in the 1940 Canberra air disaster. The commands then went to two CMF soldiers, Major Generals Gordon Bennett and Leslie Morshead.
Second Australian Imperial Force