2/12th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
The battalion moved to Tenterfield, New South Wales in early May after which personnel from Queensland and New South Wales were granted home leave. Later in the month, a further move to Kilcoy, Queensland, occurred after which jungle training began. In August 1942, the 2/12th Battalion was transported to Brisbane where it embarked upon the transports Anshun and Jacob, bound for New Guinea. They were subsequently deployed to Milne Bay, where they took part in the Australian counterattack following the Japanese landing, which resulted in the first major defeat of the Japanese of the war.


2/12th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
In October, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Arnold, the battalion was selected to invade Goodenough Island. Transported aboard the destroyers HMAS Stuart and Arunta, after a short fight the battalion secured the island. They subsequently remained on Goodenough Island until December. In late December, they were re-committed to the fighting, as the understrength 18th Brigade was sent to Buna, where the 2/12th successfully attacked Giropa Point on New Years Day 1943, despite losing 63 men killed and 122 wounded.


2/12th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
After this, the battalion took part in further actions around Sanananda, where they suffered a further 61 men killed in action. The battalion's involvement in the fighting lasted until late January 1943 when it was withdrawn to Soputa by road, and then by air to Port Moresby. In early March, the battalion returned to Australia aboard the transports Taroona and Maetsuycker.


2/12th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
Disembarking in Cairns, Queensland, the battalion subsequently made camp at Ravenshoe, Queensland. Following a period of rest, training and re-organisation, in July 1943 the battalion received a batch of reinforcements from the 5th Motor Regiment, which had been disbanded. A small batch of reinforcements also came from 2/40th Battalion personnel who had evaded capture in Timor. In August 1943, the 2/12th were sent to Port Moresby, where the 18th Brigade was being held in divisional reserve, while the rest of the 7th Division defended the approaches to Lae as part of the Finisterre Range campaign.


2/12th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
On the last day of the year, the battalion was committed to the fighting in Finisterre Mountains. They were subsequently joined by the rest of the brigade on 4 January 1944 when it was airlifted to Dumpu to relieve the 21st Brigade. Throughout early 1944, the 2/12th was involved in the fighting around Shaggy Ridge, where they undertook several attacks to the north of the ridge, around the Protheroe I and II features between 21 and 24 January. Between February and April, they continued operations in the Ramu Valley, undertaking patrols before returning to Australia aboard the transport Pahud in May 1944.


2/12th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
A long period of training in Queensland, around Brisbane and then on the Atherton Tablelands, followed before they were dispatched along with the rest of the 7th Division to take part in the landing on Balikpapan in July 1945, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bourne. The battalion's involvement in the fighting on Borneo was only brief, however.


2/12th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
Despite being landed in the wrong position on 1 July, the 2/12th secured its objectives with very few casualties—losing three killed and 13 wounded and inflicting 103 killed on the opposing Japanese forces on the first day—helping the 18th Brigade secure the high ground overlooking the landing beach at Klandasan before continuing on towards their main objectives. By 3 July Balikpapan had fallen, and two days later the battalion ceased active operations. They remained on Borneo until the end of the war. When the demobilisation process began, members of the battalion were progressively returned to Australia for discharge, or were transferred elsewhere for further service. Those that were not, remained with the battalion undertaking garrison duties until the 2/12th was finally disbanded on 1 January 1946.


2/12th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
During the course of the war, a total of 3,491 men served with the 2/12th Battalion of whom 292 were killed in action or died on active service, while a further 590 were wounded. Its members received the following decorations: three Distinguished Service Orders, seven Military Crosses, three Distinguished Conduct Medals, 18 Military Medals and 50 Mentions in Despatches. In addition, two members of the battalion were appointed as Officers of the Order of the British Empire.


2/12th Battalion (Australia), Battle honours
In 1961, these battle honours were entrusted to the 12th Battalion, and are now maintained by the 12th/40th Battalion, the Royal Tasmania Regiment.


2/12th Battalion (Australia), Commanding officers
The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/12th Battalion:


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia)
The 2/12th Commando Squadron was a commando unit raised by the Australian Army for service in World War II. Raised in 1944 following a re-organisation of Australia's military forces, the unit participated in the Borneo campaign in 1945 but played only a limited role before hostilities ended. Following the end of the war, the squadron returned to Australia and was disbanded in early 1946.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Formation
In 1941–42, the Australian Army raised a number of independent companies to carry out irregular warfare type operations in the mould of the British commandos. These units later became known as commando squadrons. Initially they were intended to be sent overseas as part of Australia's commitment to the fighting against the Germans and Italians in North Africa and the Middle East, however, following Japan's entry into the war these units were hastily deployed to the islands to the north of Australia to act first as an observation and early warning force.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Formation
Following the outbreak of hostilities and the arrival of Japanese forces on the Pacific islands, these units were mainly used to carry out delaying and harassment operations and to act as stay-behind forces conducting a guerilla style of warfare. As the war progressed, Australia's strategic focus shifted away from the Middle East to the Pacific and as a result, in 1943–44 the Australian Army was restructured in order to prepare itself for the campaigns in this theatre.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Formation
One of the main changes that occurred at this time affected the divisional cavalry regiments of three Australian divisions—the 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions—which were largely disbanded and used to form the headquarters of three new cavalry commando regiments. As a result of this, the previously independent commando squadrons were re-organised into a regimental system and a number of new units were also raised.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Formation
The 2/12th Commando Squadron was one of these new units. Formed in January 1944, the unit was raised from volunteers from the 9th Divisional Cavalry Regiment which had been redesignated as the 2/9th Cavalry (Commando) Regiment and re-roled as a commando unit, as well as from men of the disbanded 1st Armoured Division and other men who had volunteered for commando training. Along with the 2/4th and 2/11th Commando Squadrons, they formed the 2/9th Cavalry (Commando) Regiment, which was attached to the 9th Division.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Formation
Following the unit's formation, the squadron began training on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland where they were based throughout 1944 and into 1945, along with the rest of the 9th Division until they finally received orders to embark for overseas.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Borneo campaign 1945
The 2/12th Commando Squadron embarked from Townsville, Queensland in April 1945 bound for Morotai as part of the buildup of Australian forces in preparation for operations in the Netherlands East Indies and Borneo. These operations were known collectively as "Operation Oboe", whilst the landings on Borneo were known as Operation Oboe Six.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Borneo campaign 1945
Whilst the 26th Brigade and the 2/4th Commando Squadron were in the mopping up stages of the fighting on Tarakan, the rest of the 9th Division and the 2/9th Cavalry (Commando) Regiment carried out an assault landing on Labuan Island and at Brunei Bay on the north-west coast of Borneo. The plan was to secure the island's oil and rubber resources and to establish an advanced fleet base.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Borneo campaign 1945
During the early phase of the campaign the 2/12th Commando Squadron was held back as the divisional reserve and as such did not take part in the main fighting on Labuan Island. As the Japanese resistance on the island was coming to an end and the focus of Australian operations moved towards the mainland of Borneo, the squadron was finally committed to operations when it was given the task of carrying out mopping up operations on the island.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Borneo campaign 1945
Placed under the command of the 2/32nd Battalion the squadron landed on 12 June and began patrol operations nine days later. In the following eleven days the squadron was involved in a number of contacts, suffering one man killed and two wounded, while capturing one Japanese soldier and killing 27 others.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Borneo campaign 1945
The most notable incident occurred on 26 June 1945, when, following a Japanese raid on the British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit (BBCAU) area two days earlier, a section from the 2/12th contacted the group that had been responsible for the raid and in a quick engagement 14 Japanese were killed and two Australians wounded.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Borneo campaign 1945
The fighting on Labuan Island came to an end by the middle of July and while the rest of the 9th Division was committed to action on the mainland, the 2/12th remained there and were used to carry out survey work, helping to improve the accuracy of the maps of Labuan Island.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Disbandment
Following the end of hostilities in the Pacific, the size of the squadron was slowly reduced as men who had enough points to do so were returned to Australia for demobilisation, whilst others were transferred to other units for occupation duties. In this time the squadron was transferred to Kuching in Sarawak, where they joined Kutching Force and carried out ceremonial duties. In January 1946, the squadron finally returned to Australia and the following month, while at Puckapunyal, Victoria it was disbanded.


2/12th Commando Squadron (Australia), History, Disbandment
During the course of its service during the war, the 2/12th lost one man killed in action and two men wounded. One member of the squadron received a Mention in Despatches.


2/12th Field Ambulance
The 2/12th Field Ambulance was an Australian military unit of the Second Australian Imperial Force, serving during World War II. During their six years of service, over 200 soldiers were killed, the highest figure for a non-combatant unit in Australian history. The majority of the unit's casualties were suffered during the sinking of the hospital ship Centaur in May 1943. During the war, the 2/12th deployed personnel in support of Australian combat operations against the Japanese on Ambon, Timor and in Borneo before being disbanded in 1946.


2/12th Field Ambulance, History
The 2/12th was founded at Sydney Showground on 22 November 1940. Consisting of a headquarters company and two deployable companies, the unit consisted of 12 officers and 250 soldiers and had the capacity to provide medical support at brigade-level including battlefield casualty collection and initial wound treatment. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Barton, who had previously served as commanding officer of the 6th Light Horse Regiment, the unit was attached to the 23rd Infantry Brigade, 8th Division. Most of the recruits were from rural New South Wales. During their training in the Northern Territory, the members of the 2/12th provided medical support for the 23rd Brigade, participated in the construction of five small medical hospitals, and assisted sappers and pioneer assault units, earning the unit the nickname "2/12th Pioneers".


2/12th Field Ambulance, History
Following the beginning of the Pacific War, 50 members of the 2/12th were each attached to Gull Force and Sparrow Force, and sent to defend the islands of Ambon and Timor respectively. All of the members of the 2/12th serving with Gull Force were captured or killed by the Japanese on 1 February 1942, with many dying as prisoners of war on Ambon or Hainan. Many of those serving with Sparrow Force were also captured.


2/12th Field Ambulance, History
After this, the half-strength unit was reinforced and rebuilt in Darwin, where the unit remained until January 1943, continuing to support the 23rd Brigade. After being relieved by the 2/13th Field Ambulance, the 2/12th moved to the Wollongong–Illawarra area, to support the 9th Brigade while more personnel were posted into the unit from the 1st Division's medical units to bring it up to full strength.


2/12th Field Ambulance, History
Finally, the unit was ready to deploy overseas and on 10 May 1943, the 195 members of the 2/12th boarded hospital ship Centaur to be transported to New Guinea, where they were scheduled to relieve the 3rd Field Ambulance in Port Moresby. On 14 May 1943, at 4:00 a.m., Centaur was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-177, and sank in less than three minutes. Of the 332 aboard, there were only 64 survivors, including 15 members of the 2/12th. It was 13 hours before they were rescued by USS Mugford.


2/12th Field Ambulance, History
The  survivors were reinforced by men from the 4th Light Field Ambulance, and was the 2/12th briefly attached to the 1st Division around Belgownie before being attached at corps-level to I Corps on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland, arriving there on November 1943. In early 1944, the unit re-established itself at Wongabel in preparation for deployment to New Guinea where Australian forces were fighting around the Huon Peninsula. In the end, the unit was not deployed there and had to wait until 1945 before it would be sent overseas again, when it was committed to the Borneo campaign.


2/12th Field Ambulance, History
In February, the unit was despatched to Morotai from where it would eventually detach elements to Tarakan, Lutong, and Kuching to support the 26th and 20th Brigades, both part of the 9th Division. The unit was disbanded in 1946, having served past the war's end, working with the retrieval and care of Allied prisoners of war. During the war, according to author Graham McKenzie-Smith, the unit had the "highest casualty rate of a non-combatant unit in the Australian Army".


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia)
The 2/12th Field Regiment was an Australian Army artillery regiment formed as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force for overseas during World War II. Recruited in the state of Victoria in early 1940, the 2/12th was initially formed as a medium artillery regiment, but was later converted to a field regiment due to a lack of medium guns. As a field regiment, the 2/12th deployed to the Middle East where they supported the 9th Division in several battles during the North African Campaign in 1941–42, and undertook garrison duty in Lebanon. In early 1943, the regiment returned to Australia and subsequently fought in New Guinea, seeing action against the Japanese during the Huon Peninsula Campaign in 1943–44 and then the Borneo Campaign in 1945.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Because of the Australian government's decision to raise a second infantry division – the 7th – as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) there was a need to raise a corps headquarters element and supporting troops. Part of the corps' support requirements was a medium artillery unit and, as a result, in May 1940 the regiment was initially formed with the designation of the "2/2nd Medium Regiment".


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Shirley Goodwin, the regiment was formed with a cadre of regular engineer and artillery personnel drawn from the coastal artillery units around Port Phillip Bay, as well as part-time artillerymen from the Victorian-based Militia 2nd Medium Brigade. It was intended that the regiment would be equipped with 60-pounder medium guns, and throughout their initial training the regiment's recruits were trained on weapons borrowed from Militia units; however, the weapons were scarce and in October 1940, because of the lack of appropriate guns, it was decided to convert the regiment into a field artillery unit.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
It was consequently redesignated as the "2/12th Field Regiment", and at the same time it was reallocated from I Australian Corps to the 9th Division, although it would not come under its control until it had moved to the Middle East in early 1941. Upon conversion to a field unit, the regiment's two batteries were redesignated: No. 3 became 23 Battery and No. 4 became 24 Battery.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
No guns were received following its conversion to the field artillery establishment, as the regiment was to be equipped upon its arrival overseas, so training was undertaken at Puckapunyal using 18-pounders borrowed from the 2/8th Field Regiment. After completing training  at Puckapunyal in mid-November, the regiment embarked upon the transport Stratheden and deployed to the Middle East, with a war establishment of just over 700 personnel. They arrived in Palestine in December 1940 and until March 1941, they were based at Qastina. That month, the regiment was reorganised into three batteries, each of two troops. The third battery was initially designated as 'Z' Battery, but it later came to be redesignated as 62 Battery.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
The regiment subsequently undertook three major battles in the North African campaign, seeing action during the Siege of Tobruk and then the First and Second Battles of El Alamein. These were punctuated by a period of garrison duty in Lebanon between January and June 1942, where the regiment formed part of the occupation force established there after the defeat of Vichy French forces during the Syria-Lebanon Campaign, tasked with defending against a possible German attack over the Caucacus towards the strategically important Middle East oilfields.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
During the regiment's involvement in the fighting around Tobruk, it arrived at the port on HMAS Vampire in mid-May without any guns, and was allocated to the western sector, where they took over an assortment of British and captured Italian guns. This included several 60-pounders and 4.5-inch howitzers. According to The Mercury newspaper, during the siege the regiment "spent more days in action than any other Australian artillery unit".


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
When they were finally relieved and evacuated from the besieged port – around September as part of the 24th Infantry Brigade – the regiment left its motley assortment of equipment to the British unit that replaced them – the 144th Field Regiment – and subsequently adopted the 144th's complete set of twenty-four 25-pounders and 36 tractors.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
In January 1943, the regiment returned to Australia aboard the transport Ile de France as part of the final of the transference of Australian ground troops from the Middle East to the Pacific. After leave, the 2/12th re-formed at Kairi, on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland in April 1943. A period of reorganisation and training followed as the 2/12th was prepared for the rigours of jungle warfare.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
In late July, they embarked by detachments at Cairns upon several transports including  HMAS Manoora, Van Heutz, W Ellery Channing, USS Henry T Allen and the Van Der Lijn, bound for New Guinea where they were to join the fighting against the Japanese. After arriving at Milne Bay in August, they subsequently took part in landings around Lae and then Finschhafen in September, and saw action during the Huon Peninsula campaign.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Supporting the 20th Infantry Brigade during the initial landing around Scarlet Beach, once Finschhafen was secured, the regiment's guns support the attack on Sattelberg from the coastal plain, before supporting further advances north as part of the drive towards Sio before returning to Australia in early 1944. After a year-long interlude training around Ravenshoe, Queensland, the regiment undertook its final campaign of the war in 1945, providing fire support during the Battle of North Borneo.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Assigned to support the 24th Infantry Brigade, during the landing on Labuan two troops of the 2/12th came ashore alongside the assaulting infantry in LVTs, something the Australian Army had not done before. Later, during June, 14 guns from the regiment were moved by barge to support operations around Weston and Beaufort. The swampy ground in the area posed problems for the gunners, who had to shore up the ground with coconut palms. At the end of the war, the regiment was disbanded with its last war diary entry being made on 1 March 1946.


2/12th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Throughout its existence, the regiment used a variety of guns including captured Italian pieces as well as Allied equipment. The British and American guns used by the regiment were: 60-pounder medium guns, 18-pounder field guns, 4.5-inch howitzers, 4.2-inch mortars, 25-pounders, and 75mm pack howitzers. Over 2,000 personnel served in the regiment during the six years it existed. Of these, a total of 71 members of the regiment were killed in action or died on active service, either from wounds sustained or as the result of an accident. A further 138 wounded are recorded on the regiment's casualty list. Members of the regiment received the following decorations: three Distinguished Service Orders, four Members of the Order of the British Empire, six Military Crosses, six Military Medals, and 44 Mentions in Despatches. A plaque commemorating the regiment's personnel is included in Anzac Square in Brisbane.


2/13th Battalion (Australia)
The 2/13th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, which served during World War II. Formed in April 1940 from volunteers drawn primarily from New South Wales, as part of the 20th Brigade of the 7th Division, the battalion served in North Africa in 1941–1942, after being reassigned to the 9th Division. While most of the 9th Division was withdrawn from Tobruk, during October 1942, the battalion remained and fought alongside the new garrison built around the British 70th Division. Following the lifting of the siege, the battalion returned to Australia during 1943. It later took part in campaigns against the Japanese in New Guinea in 1943–1944 and Borneo in 1945, before being disbanded in 1946.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
The 2/13th Battalion  was established in April 1940, from Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) volunteers drawn primarily from the state of New South Wales, the 2/13th Battalion. Along with the 2/15th and 2/17th Battalions, it formed part of the 20th Brigade, which was assigned on formation to the 7th Division. With an authorised strength of around 900 personnel, like other Australian infantry battalions of the time, the 2/13th was formed around a nucleus of four rifle companies, each consisting of three platoons.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
Throughout the war, the 2/13th had six different unit colour patches (UCPs). The colours initially chosen for the battalion's UCP were the same as those of the 13th Battalion, a unit which had served during World War I before being raised as a Militia formation in 1921. These colours were light blue over dark blue, in a horizontal rectangle shape, with a border of gray in a diamond shape was later added to the UCP to distinguish the battalion from its Militia counterpart.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
Later, as the 7th Division was formed, it was decided that the division's colour patches would utilise a diamond shape to set them apart from the battalions of the 6th Division, so the battalion's colour patch was changed to a light blue over dark blue diamond.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
This was later changed to a black and red diamond inside a gray diamond border to conform with regulations that stipulated that the 20th Brigade's defining colour was to be red, although this did not last long, with the light blue over dark blue rectangle being restored shortly afterwards, being presented inside a gray diamond. A further change occurred when the battalion was transferred to the 9th Division, at which point it adopted a light blue over dark blue rectangle inside a gray circle. This remained the battalion's UCP until after the fighting at Tobruk, when it adopted a 'T'-shaped UCP.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
Individual training was undertaken at Ingleburn Army Camp, before the battalion marched in mid-August to Bathurst Army Camp where collective training was completed. By October the battalion was ready to deploy overseas and, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Burrows, previously commanding officer of the 36th Battalion embarked along with the rest of the brigade from Sydney, bound for the Middle East on board the Queen Mary. While at sea, a reorganisation of the 7th and 9th Divisions resulted in several brigades being reallocated, and as a consequence the 2/13th, was reassigned to the 9th Division, along with the rest of the 20th Brigade.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Sailing via Bombay, in India, where the battalion briefly camped at Deolali before transferring to the transport Christiaan Huygens on 12 November 1940. The battalion arrived in Egypt at the end of the month, disembarking at El Kantara on 26 November. After moving into camp at Kilo 89, on Gaza Ridge, they then spent several months completing further training in Palestine before the partially trained 9th Division was deployed to Cyrenaica in March 1941 following the departure of the 6th Division to Greece.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Following the arrival of German forces in North Africa, the British were pushed onto the defensive and they were forced to withdraw from Benghazi to the strategic port of Tobruk, which subsequently fell under siege; the 2/13th formed part of the rearguard during the withdrawal during which it gained the distinction of being the first Australian Army unit to see action against the Germans,  fighting a short, but sharp delaying action at Er Regima on 4 April 1941 against a force three times their size.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
At the time, the 2/13th had not yet completed its training, and was hastily equipped with captured Italian heavy weapons, mortars and signals equipment as it was put into the line on the rocky high ground around the Benina airfield. With one company guarding prisoners around Barce, the remainder of the 2/13th first went into action in the afternoon of 4 April 1941, as German infantry and tanks attacked their position over several hours. With support from a British artillery regiment, the 2/13th held their ground until late in the evening, until captured Italian vehicles were brought up to withdraw the battalion. The fighting cost the 2/13th Battalion 98 casualties.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Following this, the 2/13th joined the Tobruk garrison, as the port was surrounded. During the siege, the battalion occupied the perimeter and undertook defensive duties, remaining there for eight months, with the distinction of being the only Australian infantry battalion to see out the length of the siege, remaining alongside the new garrison built around the British 70th Division.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
The other Australian units were withdrawn earlier by sea and the intention had been to do the same for the 2/13th in October 1941, but the convoy scheduled to take the 2/13th out of Tobruk had been repelled by an Axis air attack and the British later asked for the battalion, less its advanced party which had already been evacuated, to remain for the subsequent break out attempt.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
In November, the British launched Operation Crusader, to relieve the garrison at Tobruk. As part of this effort, the 2/13th Battalion was tasked with recapturing El Duda in late November after a battalion of the Essex Regiment was forced off the position. Supported by British armour and artillery, two companies totalling 160 men assaulted the position which was held by force of around 450 Germans. In the fighting that followed heavy casualties were inflicted on the defenders who were forced from the position, leaving 167 men who were taken prisoner. Following the capture of El Duda, the 2/13th undertook patrol actions in their sector, and endured a heavy bombardment, which resulted in further casualties, including the commanding officer, Burrows, after which Major George Colvin temporarily assumed command of the battalion in the field.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
After the relief of Tobruk, in December 1941, the battalion moved to Palestine where it rejoined the rest of the 9th Division and subsequently undertook garrison duty in Syria, as part of the Allied occupation force that had been established there following the conclusion of the fighting against the Vichy French forces in the Syria–Lebanon campaign. During this period, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Turner took over command of the battalion.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
The 2/13th remained in Syria, based around Tripoli initially before moving to Aleppo, until July 1942 when the situation in North Africa became critical and the 9th Division was hurriedly moved west to El Alamein as the German Afrika Korps  and Italian forces advanced towards Egypt. For the next four months, the battalion defended the northern sector of the Allied line, occupying Tel el Eisa in August, and then taking part in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October and November 1942. During the height of the battle, Turner was mortally wounded and command of the 2/13th fell to Colvin once again; he was subsequently confirmed in the position in later October 1942 and would command the 2/13th for the remainder of the war.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
The fighting around Tel el Eisa was the 2/13th's last involvement in the fighting in North Africa as the 9th Division was recalled to Australia in early 1943 to take part in the fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific, joining the other two 2nd AIF divisions – the 6th and 7th – which had been transported back the year before. Departing Egypt in January 1943 aboard the Acquitania, the 2/13th reached Sydney the following month.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
The battalion's personnel were given a long period of leave, before it was reconstituted on the Atherton Tablelands, in Queensland, where it was re-organised for jungle warfare and undertook amphibious training. Its next combat assignment came in early September 1943, when the 9th Division took part in a two-pronged assault on Lae, along with the 7th Division, with the 9th conducting an amphibious landing to the east of the town while the 7th advanced overland from Nadzab. After sailing from Cairns in late July, the battalion staged out of Milne Bay. During the landing, the 2/13th was tasked with coming ashore on "Yellow Beach", and then securing the beachhead for the follow on forces; it later sent out patrols to link up with the 2/15th Battalion and secure the right flank before the main advance west began.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
Lae fell more quickly than the Allies expected and as a result a follow up operation was mounted to secure the Huon Peninsula later in the month. Landing at Scarlet Beach in the first wave, two companies from the 2/13th secured the main beachhead while two others were also landed around Siki Cove on the first day of the operation. By October, the battalion occupied a position north of Langemak Bay which stretched in a dog-leg from Simbang north to Tirimoro. They were later involved in defending the beachhead against a Japanese counter-attack, and then the subsequent Australian advance inland as the Japanese withdrew towards Sio.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
They were withdrawn from the front in March 1944, for rest and re-organisation, subsequently returning to the Atherton Tablelands to concentrate near Ravenshoe where a long period of training followed. The battalion's final involvement in the war came when they were committed to Operation Oboe, the Allied operation to re-capture Borneo.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Pacific
Embarking upon the transport Frederick Lykes, the battalion concentrated on Morotai Island in April 1945, along with the rest of the 7th and 9th Divisions, the 2/13th Battalion was committed to the Battle of North Borneo on 20 June when it conducted an unopposed amphibious landing at  Lutong on 20 June, before undertaking another landing and continuing their advance down the south-western coast, passing through Miri on 23 June, before continuing on to Seria on their way towards Kuching, securing several airfields and oilfields, and conducting patrols, as they went. The campaign ended with news of the Japanese surrender, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, by which time the 2/13th had established itself around Lobang.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Disbandment
After the conclusion of hostilities, the 2/13th Battalion carried out various garrison duties such as guarding prisoners of war and maintaining internal security while the demobilisation process took place. Personnel were repatriated back to Australia or transferred to other units for further service; meanwhile, in November, the battalion was transferred to  Luban, before finally being brought back to Australia in December 1945 for disbandment. During the course of the war, a total of 2,706 men served with the 2/13th Battalion of whom 245 were killed in action or died on active service, 87 were captured, and a further 630 wounded.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), History, Disbandment
Members of the battalion received the following decorations: three Distinguished Service Orders including one Bar, ten Military Crosses, one Member of the Order of the British Empire, six Distinguished Conduct Medals; 12 Military Medals including one Bar, one British Empire Medal, and 40 Mentions in Despatches. One former member of the battalion, Lieutenant Albert Chowne, who served with the 2/13th before being commissioned in 1944, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions while serving with the 2/2nd Battalion during the Aitape–Wewak campaign in 1945.


2/13th Battalion (Australia), Commanding officers
The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/13th:


2/14th Battalion (Australia)
The 2/14th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served during World War II. Part of the 21st Brigade, 7th Division, the battalion was raised from Second Australian Imperial Force volunteers drawn mainly from the state of Victoria. After completing training in Australia in 1940, the battalion deployed to the Middle East where it was stationed in Egypt and Palestine before it saw action against the Vichy French in Syria in June and July 1941, in a short lived campaign. Garrison duties in Lebanon followed before the battalion was withdrawn to Australia in early 1942 as Australian forces were concentrated in the Pacific to respond to the threat posed by Japan's entry into the war.


2/14th Battalion (Australia)
After a short period of re-training in Australia to prepare for jungle warfare, the battalion was deployed to New Guinea in August 1942 as the Australians sent reinforcements to the Kokoda Track to fight against Japanese forces that had been advancing towards Port Moresby. After the Japanese were forced to exhaust their supplies they began to fall back towards their beachheads on the north coast. The 2/14th was part of the Australian advance that then saw further action around Gona.


2/14th Battalion (Australia)
In September 1943, after a period of re-organisation in Australia, the battalion took part in the advance on Lae as the Allies went on the offensive in New Guinea, before taking part in the fighting in the Markham and Ramu Valleys of the Finisterre Range campaign. The battalion's final involvement in the war came in the landing on Balikpapan in 1945. The 2/14th was disbanded after the war, in early 1946.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
The 2/14th Battalion was raised on 26 April 1940 at Puckapunyal, Victoria, shortly after the start of World War II as part of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF), which was established at the time from personnel that had volunteered to serve in combat overseas. The battalion was assigned to the 21st Brigade, 7th Division, and would remain part of this formation throughout its existence. It had an authorised strength of around 900 personnel, and most of those were drawn from the state of Victoria, although some were allocated from other states later as reinforcements.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
Many of the battalion's initial recruits had previous military experience, having served in the Militia prior to volunteering for the 2nd AIF, with the majority having to relinquish rank to transfer. Officially the battalion's average age on formation was 29, although the battalion historian, William Russell, asserts that this is not necessarily accurate as men were found to have altered their ages both up (from as young as 15) and down (from as old as 55) upon recruitment. In keeping with 2nd AIF recruitment practices, there were many pairs of brothers who were early recruits; there was even one case of a father and son who served in the same platoon.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
Soon after battalion headquarters was established, the battalion's first commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel William Cannon, began choosing his officers, who then set about the task of forming their own companies and platoons, as the unit structure was built up around four rifle companies – designated 'A' through to 'D' – with a battalion headquarters and a headquarters company consisting of several specialist platoons including signals, pioneer, anti-aircraft, transport, administration and mortars.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
The battalion's companies were formed largely along territorial lines, with 'A' Company being drawn mainly from the Mildura and north-eastern regions of Victoria, while 'B' Company was drawn from Geelong, the Western District, Prahran, Brighton and the Mornington Peninsula. 'C' Company consisted largely of men from Ballarat and Melbourne's inner suburbs, and men of Scottish ancestry, while those of Irish ancestry formed 'D' Company. Once the battalion's complement of men had arrived at Puckapunyal and formation was complete, basic training began in May 1940.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
On 18 August, the battalion was presented its regimental colours in a ceremony by members of the 14th Battalion, who had served during World War I. This was done in order to establish links with the units of the First Australian Imperial Force, and later, in early October, the 2/14th Battalion changed its unit colour patch from a black over blue diamond to the yellow and blue rectangle of its earlier counterpart. Shortly after this, although still only partially trained, the battalion received orders to deploy overseas, and on 18 October the men embarked upon the Aquitania in Sydney, New South Wales, bound for the Middle East.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Travelling via India, where they camped at Deolali, near Bombay, the battalion arrived at Kantara, in Egypt on 25 November 1940 and were transported to Julius Camp in Palestine, where the soldiers undertook further training. Later, they were moved to Dimra in January 1941, before being sent in April to Mersa Matruh, in Egypt, to defend against a possible German attack there during the siege of Tobruk. Although no German attack came there, during their time at Maaten Bagush the battalion was subjected to aerial attack.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
It remained there until the end of May when the battalion was relieved by a South African battalion. The 21st Brigade then returned to Palestine to begin preparations for operations in Syria and Lebanon against the Vichy French in order to prevent the area from falling into the hands of the Germans who could then have launched an attack on the Suez Canal from there, or captured the oilfields in Persia (present-day Iran).


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
The 2/14th Battalion's involvement in the Syria–Lebanon campaign began on the night of 7/8 June when the unit advanced across the Palestine border from Hanita and attacked Vichy outposts around the village of Alma Chaab. Following this, the battalion advanced along the coast towards Tyre, from where it evicted the French defenders before forcing a crossing over the Litani River. On 11 June, the 21st Brigade's advance towards Sidon came up against determined resistance around the Zahrani River, at Merdjayoun. The 2/14th Battalion found themselves up against troops from the French Foreign Legion's 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
For the next few days the battalion came under attack from Vichy French aircraft and artillery before being committed to a flanking action on 15 June. Conducting a 30-kilometre (19 mi) march during the heat of the day, the Australians approached Sidon through the mountains but arrived just after the town fell to the 2/27th Battalion.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Following this, on 17 June, the battalion was moved to the central sector of the Allied advance in order to reinforce the 2/31st Battalion, attached to the 25th Brigade, which was holding off a Vichy French counter-attack at Jezzine. After Damascus was captured on 22 June, the 2/14th Battalion was committed to the fighting to secure a number of features on Mount Kharatt, high ground north-east of the town which dominated the surrounding area. These attacks proved unsuccessful, and quite costly for the 2/14th, with 12 killed and 47 wounded on 24 June.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
The fighting around Jezzine continued until 29 June when the French began to withdraw. After this, the Australians regained the initiative and on 2 July the 2/14th Battalion left Jezzine to begin preparations for the Battle of Damour, to which it was committed on 5 July 1941. Between then and 9 July, the 2/14th were involved in a number of attacks, capturing French positions on Hills 243 and 567.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
On 12 July, an armistice came into effect, ending the fighting. Following this, the 2/14th Battalion was initially used to conduct battlefield clearance tasks before moving to Beirut where the men were used as garrison troops overseeing the repatriation of captured Vichy soldiers to France. Later, in September, the battalion was transferred to the north to construct defensive positions near Tripoli in Lebanon. In December 1941, following the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor and in Malaya, the decision was made to bring the 6th and 7th Divisions back to Australia.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
In early January 1942, the 7th Division left Syria, where it had been undertaking garrison duties, and returned to Palestine. The 2/14th were moved to a camp near Jerusalem, and during this time command of the battalion passed to Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Key, who had previously commanded the 2/8th Battalion. On 30 January 1942 the 2/14th Battalion embarked on the transport Ile de France from Port Tewfik in Egypt, bound for Australia. The 2/14th's casualties during its deployment to the Middle East were 21 killed, 94 wounded and 11 captured.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Kokoda Track
The battalion returned to Australia via Bombay, where the infantrymen were transferred to the troopship City of Paris in early February. They arrived in Adelaide, South Australia, on 24 March 1942. After this a period of leave followed, and then the battalion undertook defensive duties and training around Yandina, Queensland, before being dispatched along with the rest of the 7th Division to New Guinea where the situation on the Kokoda Track was becoming critical for the Australians as the Japanese advanced towards Port Moresby.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Kokoda Track
On 13 August 1942, the 21st Brigade, including the 2/14th Battalion, disembarked in Port Moresby. Three days later, 16 August, the battalion was transported on trucks to Ilolo before marching to Uberi, reaching Myola on 21 August. On 25 August, the battalion received orders to relieve the severely depleted 39th Battalion, which was holding the Japanese at Isurava.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Kokoda Track
Due to a shortage of supplies it was only possible for one company to move at a time, and as a result 'C' Company was dispatched to Isurava first, while 'B' and 'D' Companies were dispatched to Alola and 'A' Company moved to Templeton's Crossing. 'C' Company subsequently reached the 39th's position late in the evening of 26 August. The following day, the Japanese launched a fresh offensive with three battalions from the 144th Infantry Regiment, and throughout the day a number of minor engagements took place. On 27 August, the Japanese offensive began in earnest as the 39th Battalion's positions around Isurava were subjected to heavy mortar and artillery fire. Japanese infantry broke into the position through the gaps between one of company's depleted platoons, but the situation was restored by two Australian counter-attacks.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Kokoda Track
The rest of the 2/14th Battalion arrived on 28 August amidst continuing fighting, bringing with them a 3-inch (76 mm) mortar for indirect fire support. The 39th Battalion then moved to the rear, but remained in support of the 2/14th in order to help repel the next wave of the Japanese attack. By 29 August, the Japanese had about six battalions around Isurava, and in the morning fresh attacks succeeded in breaking into the 2/14th's position with 'C' Company, on the battalion's right, being forced to give ground. With the situation critical, the Australians launched a counter-attack.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Kokoda Track
As a part of this attack, Private Bruce Kingsbury charged the Japanese, firing his Bren light machine gun from the hip, killing at least 30 of them and forcing others to withdraw. Although Kingsbury was subsequently killed by a sniper, his actions allowed the Australians to briefly regain their positions and later he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, Australia's highest military decoration. Further attacks during the day, however, forced the battalion to fall back 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) down the track.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Kokoda Track
On 30 August, the Japanese began threatening the 2/14th's left flank from the high ground situated there, and as another attack put the battalion's rear in jeopardy, the battalion was forced to give more ground. At this point, the brigade commander, Brigadier Arnold Potts, authorised a withdrawal to Alola. With the Japanese pressing against their rear guard, over the course of the following fortnight, the battalion fought a series of delaying actions and fighting withdrawals towards Ioribaiwa and Imita Ridge.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Kokoda Track
By the time it reached Imita Ridge, the 2/14th was so depleted that it was amalgamated with the 2/16th Battalion to form a composite battalion of just over 300 men, and as the 21st Brigade prepared to make a final stand, the battalions of the 25th Brigade arrived to relieve them. Following this, the composite battalion was withdrawn from the line on 16 September. The 2/14th Battalion had begun the Kokoda campaign with 546 men, but upon arriving at Uberi, where they had been placed in reserve, there were only 88 men available, of whom only three were officers. Casualties were high, with 110 men being killed in action, with two more dying of their wounds and another four being killed in accidents. A further 132 were also wounded.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Gona
Following the 21st Brigade's relief, the fighting in New Guinea began to turn in favour of the Allies,  as the Japanese, having exhausted their supplies, began to fall back towards their beachheads on the north coast. By November 1942, although the 2/14th had been reformed at Koitaki, near Port Moresby, it was still not up to full strength, with a total of only 341 men of all ranks. Nevertheless, the situation in New Guinea meant that the 21st Brigade was needed to help capture the Japanese beachhead around Gona on the north-eastern coast.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Gona
The 2/14th Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Challen who had replaced Key in late September, after the latter had been captured and executed by the Japanese following the fighting around Isurava, was placed in the vanguard of the brigade's move, being air transported to Popondetta on 25 November.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Gona
Organised into three half-strength companies, the following day the battalion began the 32-kilometre (20 mi) march towards Gona. On 29 November, the 2/14th attacked along the coast to the east of Gona. The Japanese positions were well-concealed and amidst strong resistance the 2/14th suffered heavy casualties, losing 13 killed and 23 wounded. Early in the morning on 30 November the battalion lost another three killed before it launched a well-planned deliberate attack on the remaining Japanese fortified position. For only two minor casualties, the 2/14th forced the Japanese defenders to abandon their positions and managed to break through to the beach, securing about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) along the coast.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Gona
On 8 December, a reinforced platoon from the 2/14th was ordered to conduct a reconnaissance around Haddy's Village, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of Gona, where the Japanese had landed reinforcements on 6 December. Under the command of Lieutenant Bob Dougherty, the platoon launched a surprise attack against the numerically superior force. In the hand-to-hand fighting that followed over 90 Japanese were killed or wounded, while six men from the 2/14th were wounded. The attack proved a success and enabled the Australians around Gona to attack without concern about being engaged by the Japanese reinforcements.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Gona
Gona was subsequently taken on 9 December. Dougherty was killed leading a patrol around the village on 11 December. The battalion remained in the area until 8 January 1943, by which time there were only 21 fit personnel left. They were subsequently returned to Australia. Casualties during the fighting around Buna, Gona and Sanananda amounted to 50 killed in action or died of wounds or accidentally, as well as 88 wounded.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Lae and the Finisterres
By the time that the 21st Brigade arrived back in Australia, it was heavily depleted, with only 44 per cent of its authorised strength. The 2/14th subsequently underwent a period of rebuilding around Ravenshoe, in Queensland, in preparation for further operations. During this time the units of the 7th Division were converted to the "jungle" divisional establishment, which saw a reduction in the 2/14th Battalion's authorised strength to just over 800 men. As the battalion was brought back up to strength, in July there was a change of command.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Lae and the Finisterres
On 5 July, Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Honner, who had previously commanded the 39th Battalion during the fighting on the Kokoda Track, replaced Challen as commanding officer. In August, along with the rest of the 21st Brigade the battalion moved to Port Moresby where it undertook training for the next month in preparation for the Salamaua–Lae campaign. However, the battalion was destined to only take a limited role in the campaign, and on 15 September it was dispatched to the airfields at Nadzab to relieve the US Army's 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment and defend the vital airfields from possible Japanese attack.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Lae and the Finisterres
After this, the 2/14th was committed to the advance into the Markham Valley and Finisterre Range, in the vanguard of the 21st Brigade's advance from Kaiapit to Dumpu in late September and early October. Moving through the 2/16th Battalion's position and advancing on to Marawasa, the 2/14th left the Markham Valley and proceeded into the Ramu Valley. The 2/14th then moved on the 2/16th's right flank, protecting it from any Japanese attacks that might have eventuated from the north. On 4 October 1943, the battalion reached Wampun village.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Lae and the Finisterres
It was there that the battalion's commanding officer, Honner, was seriously wounded when he moved beyond the main defensive position in order to personally carry out a reconnaissance of the surrounding area. A platoon was sent in to extricate Honner as the Japanese began advancing on his position, and after directing a company-level attack against the Japanese, Honner handed over command to Captain Ian Hamilton, commander of 'C' Company, who served as acting commander briefly until Major Mert Lee arrived from brigade headquarters. Lee remained in acting command until the battalion second-in-command, Major Philip Rhoden, returned from a staff course to officially take over command of the battalion as a lieutenant colonel in December.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Lae and the Finisterres
Throughout early 1944, the battalion was mainly involved in patrol operations in support of the 21st Brigade's advance up the Faria River to capture the Japanese positions on the Kankiryo Saddle during the Battle of Shaggy Ridge. As a part of this effort, the battalion's most significant engagement came on 11 October 1943 when 9 Platoon, under Lieutenant Noel Pallier, destroyed a Japanese company in capturing a ridge that overlooked the valley.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Lae and the Finisterres
The Japanese company had been threatening to cut off the supply line of the 2/27th Battalion, which was leading the 21st Brigade's advance and the following day, heavy fighting took place around John's Knoll and Trevor's Ridge. After this, the battalion undertook mainly patrol actions in the following weeks, these actions varied in size from small groups to company-sized forces, and varied in length from one day to up to a week. In late November, the battalion relieve the 2/25th Battalion around John's Knoll, marching 17 miles (27 km).


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Lae and the Finisterres
From there, they occupied an outpost position opposite a strong Japanese position, against which they clashed several times throughout December until being withdrawn to the rear around the Lakes area in late December, and then Port Moresby in early January 1944. Although there were only limited engagements with the Japanese during the four months that the 2/14th were involved in the campaign, the battalion still suffered heavily with 958 men being evacuated due to illness or accidental injury during this time. Of these, four died and a further 546 were permanently removed from the theatre. In contrast, battle casualties during this time amounted to seven killed in action, three died of wounds and 25 wounded.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Borneo
After being withdrawn back to Australia in March 1944, the units of the 7th Division received six weeks' leave before reforming on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland. Following this the 2/14th Battalion undertook a period of training before finally being committed to their last campaign of the war in mid-1945. This campaign saw them take part in the amphibious landings at Balikpapan on 1 July 1945. During the initial landings early on 1 July, the 2/14th came ashore at the wrong place, landing at Yellow Beach when it had been scheduled to land at Green Beach.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Borneo
Nevertheless, the landing was largely unopposed and after 45 minutes of reorganisation the Australians were able to establish themselves at their correct form up point and begin the advance to their first objective: the bridge over the Klandasan Besar. Advancing unopposed they crossed the bridge and at nightfall dug-in in front of the Stalkudo ridge, along the Vasey Highway. The following day, the battalion captured the Sepinggang airstrip as the 21st Brigade began the advance to the east. The 2/27th Battalion subsequently relieved the 2/14th at Sepinggang and on 3 July, the battalion began to move towards the Manggar airstrip. The 21st Brigade then came up against stronger opposition near the Batakan Ketjil River, which held them up until the evening.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Borneo
The following day the 2/14th resumed its advance towards Manggar and after crossing the river and beginning to move across the strip the battalion's lead company began to receive artillery fire from Japanese coastal defence guns. Naval gunfire support was called in to provide counter-battery fire, but this was only partially effective and the following day air support and tanks were brought it. For the next three days minor infantry actions were undertaken around the periphery of the position while direct and indirect fire support was used to reduce the position, with a view to limiting casualties amongst the infantry.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Borneo
Finally, on 9 July, the battalion attacked the two remaining Japanese positions, which had been named "Frost" and "Brown" by the Australians. Supported by a naval bombardment and Liberator heavy bombers which dropped napalm, two companies from the 2/14th Battalion captured the position where it found over 100 Japanese dead along with a number of artillery pieces including two 120 mm naval guns and four 75 mm high-angle guns, as well as numerous heavy mortars and machine-guns. This represented the last of the 2/14th Battalion's major combat actions of the war.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Borneo
The 21st Brigade subsequently captured Sambodja and then as the tempo of operations wound down in anticipation of the end of the war, the Australians began conducting patrol operations in the interior, stretching towards the 25th Brigade's area along the Milford Highway. The battalion's casualties in its final campaign of the war amounted to 21 killed and 41 wounded.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Disbandment
Following the cessation of hostilities in August 1945, the 2/14th Battalion remained on Borneo until October 1945 when it was moved to Makassar in the Celebes Islands (present-day Sulawesi, Indonesia). The battalion's personnel arrived there on 1 October 1945 but shortly thereafter the 2/14th was transported by sea to Pare-Pare, arriving there on 5 October. While there the battalion undertook garrison duties, guarding Japanese prisoners of war and maintaining administration and law and order until the Dutch were in a position to re-assert colonial rule.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Disbandment
Despite the complex political situation, the 2/14th Battalion managed to achieve this without violence and on 5 January 1946 the 50th Battalion, Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, began to arrive to relieve them. This was completed by 17 January. On 22 January 1946 the battalion embarked on HMAS Kanimbla, bound for Australia. Upon arrival in Brisbane, Queensland, the demobilisation process began and the battalion's ranks were quickly reduced. Finally, on 22 February 1946, at Victoria Barracks the final paperwork was signed off and the battalion was disbanded.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Disbandment
During the course of the war, a total of 2,990 men served in the battalion; of these 222 were killed in action or died of wounds, or of illness or accident on active service. A further 378 men from the 2/14th were wounded in action, while 11 men became prisoners of war. The vast majority of these casualties came during the fighting around Kokoda where the battalion suffered 248 battle casualties.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), History, Disbandment
For their service during the war, members of the 2/14th received the following gallantry and distinguished service decorations: one Victoria Cross, four Military Crosses, three Distinguished Conduct Medals, 19 Military Medals, one British Empire Medal and 44 Mentions in Despatches. In addition, one member was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. One section from the battalion, 7 Section from 9 Platoon, 'A' Company, is believed to be, according to Dornan, "the most highly decorated section in Australian and British military history". Of the 11 men that were assigned to 7 Section when it was first formed in 1940, one of them received the Victoria Cross, one received a Distinguished Conduct Medal and four received the Military Medal.


2/14th Battalion (Australia), Commanders
The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/14th Battalion:


2/14th Battalion (Australia), Battle honours
The 2/14th Battalion received the following battle honours for its service during the war:


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia)
The 2/14th Field Regiment was an Australian Army artillery unit that served during the Second World War. Raised in late 1940 as part of the 8th Division, the regiment remained in Australia as a garrison force in Darwin when the division's infantry brigades were sent to various places around Southeast Asia to meet the threat posed by Japan. As a result, it did not deploy overseas until late 1943. In New Guinea, the regiment supported the 5th Division's operations on the Huon Peninsula throughout 1944 before deploying with them to New Britain in early 1945. From then, until the end of the war, the regiment engaged in operations against the large Japanese garrison on the island. At the end of the war, the 2/14th briefly undertook garrison duties on Rabaul as part of the 11th Division before returning to Australia and disbanding in January 1946.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
The regiment was formed on 17 October 1940 from volunteers for overseas service as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force. Assigned to the 8th Division as its second artillery regiment, the 2/14th's first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Harry Sewell, a regular Army officer who had previously commanded the School of Artillery and 'A' Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery. Regimental headquarters was established at Puckapunyal, Victoria, as was one of its two batteries: the 27th Battery, which was raised from personnel drawn from the state of Victoria.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
The second battery, the 28th Battery, was formed at Woodside Camp, outside of Adelaide, from South Australians. The majority of the officers and non commissioned officers were drawn from the ranks of the Militia, specifically personnel who had previously served in the 2/2nd Medium Training Regiment and the 13th Field Brigade.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Initial individual and collective training of the batteries was undertaken throughout the remainder of the year before the regiment concentrated at Puckapunyal early in 1941, by which time it consisted of 38 officers and 621 other ranks. The arrival of the South Australian battery enabled collective training on a regimental level as well as technical and specialist training on the Ordnance QF 18-pounder and 4.5-inch howitzer artillery pieces, and the assorted vehicles that the regiment was allocated. In June 1941, Lieutenant Colonel William Christie took over command of the regiment and the following month it was moved to Darwin, Northern Territory, moving via rail through Adelaide to Alice Springs and then to Winnellie Camp.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
At Winnellie, the regiment joined the 23rd Infantry Brigade, which was the only part of the 8th Division that remained in Australia at that time; the other two brigades  had already been deployed to Malaya where they were undertaking garrison duties. As such, it was believed that the regiment would soon be deployed and the arrival in Darwin was initially treated as a period of acclimatisation.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Later, as war with Japan became likely, the brigade's three infantry battalions were deployed to the islands to Australia's north: the 2/21st to Ambon, the 2/22nd was sent to Rabaul and the 2/40th to Timor. The 2/14th, however, remained behind and stayed in the Darwin area for the next year-and-a-half undertaking training and garrison duties. As a result, after the Japanese overwhelmed these garrisons, the regiment became the only unit of the 8th Division that was not destroyed. Acknowledging this, the regiment adopted a modified, albeit temporary, unit colour patch consisting of a perpendicular bar that ran down the centre of the patch representing the "Broken Eighth Division"; when the captured men of the 8th were finally released from captivity, the plan was to remove the bar.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
In March 1942, the Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Hone took over command of the regiment, which was also expanded to three batteries with the raising of the 64th Battery. In January 1943, the regiment moved to Loftus, New South Wales, handing over its garrison duties to the 2/11th Field Regiment. Following the 2/14th's arrival in Loftus in February, a period of leave followed, after which the regiment was re-equipped with the Ordnance QF 25-pounder gun and later throughout the year the regiment undertook familiarisation training, building towards two regimental exercises in June and July around Illawarra, New South Wales. Later, in September the regiment was re-organised in sympathy with the newly formulated Australian Army jungle establishment, which resulted in it being issued 81 jeeps and 63 four-wheel drive vehicles. The following month, the regiment moved north to Kalinga, Queensland, to prepare for embarkation overseas.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
In December an advanced party from the regimental headquarters and the 64th Battery moved to Lae and after preparing a regimental area, moved on eight LCMs to Finschhafen where it joined the 9th Division. In January 1944, the 27th and 28th Batteries embarked upon the USS Stephen Girard at Townsville and joined the 64th in New Guinea. After establishing itself at Kelanoa, the regiment took over from the 2/12th Field Regiment, from which it acquired a number of Ordnance QF 25-pounder Short artillery pieces.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
As the fighting in the Huon Peninsula tailed off, the 9th Division handed over to the Militia 5th Division, which was tasked with completing the task of clearing the peninsula, and the regiment supported the 4th Infantry Brigade around Madang and then Alexishafen, where it remained until December 1944 when the 5th Division was dispatched to secure New Britain.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Conceptualised as a "mopping up" operation, the 5th Division's campaign was limited to containing the large Japanese force – up to 100,000 men – in the Gazelle Peninsula. Prior to departure, the 64th Battery replaced its Short 25-pounders with standard guns and by January 1945 it had landed at Jacquinot Bay. Over the course of the next eight months the regiment was heavily involved in supporting the 6th Infantry Brigade's operations around Waitavolo and Tol, and then the 13th Infantry Brigade's advance towards Moondei, as part of the effort to clear the area around Wide Bay and Open Bay. During the course of the campaign, a total of about 16,000 rounds were fired by the regiment's guns. Casualties amounted to two killed in action and five wounded.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Following the end of hostilities in August 1945, the regiment remained on New Britain until September when it was moved to Rabaul. While there it became part of the 11th Division, and undertook garrison duties guarding Japanese prisoners of war. Throughout November and December, the regiment's size fell as the demobilisation process saw members repatriated to Australia or transferred to other units for subsequent service. Finally, at the end of 1945, the regiment returned to Australia and on 17 January 1946 the regiment disbanded.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), History
During the course of its involvement in the war, the regiment lost 20 men killed in action or died on active service and had another 10 wounded. The following decorations were awarded to 2/14th members: one Member of the Order of the British Empire, three Military Medals, one British Empire Medal and 31 Mentions in Despatches.


2/14th Field Regiment (Australia), Commanding officers
The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/14th:


2/15th Battalion (Australia)
The 2/15th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served during World War II. Formed in May 1940 primarily from Queensland volunteers, the battalion saw action in North Africa in 1941–1942 as part of the 20th Brigade, which was part of the 7th Division before being reassigned to the 9th Division.


2/15th Battalion (Australia)
After completing training in Palestine, in early 1941, the 2/15th took up positions along the front line in the Western Desert, before being pushed back to Tobruk. Between April and October 1941, along with a garrison of British and other Australian personnel, the battalion helped to hold the strategically important port, which had been surrounded following the landing of German troops at Tripoli. It was withdrawn by sea in late October 1941 as the 9th Division was relieved by the British 70th Division. Following its withdrawal from Tobruk, the battalion re-formed at Gaza before undertaking garrison duties in Syria. In mid-1942, the 2/15th returned to North Africa to fight in the First and Second Battles of El Alamein.


2/15th Battalion (Australia)
In early 1943, the 2/15th returned to Australia and was re-organised and re-trained for jungle warfare. It took part in campaigns against the Japanese in New Guinea in 1943–1944 and Borneo in 1945, before being disbanded in 1946.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
The 2/15th Battalion was raised at Victoria Barracks in Brisbane on 26 April 1940 from Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) volunteers. It was one of three infantry battalions assigned to the 20th Brigade that were initially part of the 7th Division, the other two being the 2/13th and 2/17th Battalions.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
The battalion had an authorised strength of around 900 personnel like other Australian infantry battalions of the time, and was organised into four rifle companies – designated 'A' through to 'D' – each consisting of three platoons; these were supported by a battalion headquarters and a headquarters company with six specialist platoons: signals, pioneer, anti-aircraft, transport, administrative and mortars.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
Upon formation, the 2/15th was placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Marlan, an Australian Staff Corps officer of the Permanent Military Forces who arrived on promotion from major, having previously served in World War I with the 20th Battalion. The colours initially chosen for the battalion's unit colour patch (UCP) were the same as those of the 15th Battalion, a unit that had served during World War I before being raised as a Militia formation in 1921.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
These colours were initially purple and red in a diamond shape, but after representations from World War I veterans the colour patch was changed to brown over dark blue, in a rectangle shape. The patch was placed inside a grey diamond border added to distinguish the battalion from its Militia counterpart; this would change following the unit's involvement in the fighting at Tobruk, when it adopted a 'T'-shaped UCP consisting of blue and green.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
Following the battalion's establishment, Marlan set about choosing a cadre of senior commissioned and non-commissioned personnel around which to build the battalion. These personnel included the battalion second-in-command, the quartermaster and adjutant, as well as senior enlisted soldiers to undertake administrative and instructional work. These were recruited from several of the existing Queensland-based Militia battalions including the 25th, 42nd and 47th Battalions. One member recruited at the time had served with the 15th Battalion that had been raised as part of the First Australian Imperial Force, during World War I.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
After the first groups of personnel began arriving at Redbank, in south-east Queensland, in the middle of May, the battalion's headquarters moved to the camp and basic training commenced in June under instructors from the Australian Instructional Corps. In early July, the majority of the battalion was transported by train to Pinkenba, and from there to Darwin, in Australia's north, aboard the troopship Zealandia.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
Tasked with defending the port and its surrounds, the battalion was based around Vestey's meatworks near Mindil Beach, and in the months that followed was occupied with vital asset protection and area defence in between individual and collective training exercises. Personnel were joined by the majority of their vehicles, including 14 tracked Bren carriers in August, as well as a group of reinforcements. In October, elements of the battalion were used as stevedores during a wharf labourers' strike.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
In the absence of the Darwin personnel, the battalion's rear details shifted from Redbank to Grovely where route marches were carried out in the Samford Valley. In late October, the rear details personnel returned to Redbank at the end of the month where more equipment was received. The main body of the battalion remained in Darwin, forming part of the town's defensive garrison. They were relieved by the 2/25th Battalion in late October 1940, and embarked again on the Zealandia.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation
Sailing via Bowen where shore leave was granted, the 2/15th reached Hamilton, in Brisbane, in early November to marry up with the rear details at Redbank. Further training was undertaken at Redbank at this time before the whole battalion entrained for Brisbane on Christmas Day, embarking aboard the Queen Mary bound for Sydney. There, the ship joined up with a larger convoy that was bound for the Middle East theatre.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Sailing via Colombo, the battalion disembarked in Bombay, transferring to the Rohna for the remainder of the journey. Transitting the Suez Canal, it disembarked at El Kantara, in Egypt, in February 1941. En route to the Middle East, the 20th Brigade was reassigned to the 9th Division, as part of a reorganisation of the Australian divisions in the Middle East prior to I Corps' deployment to Greece.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Upon arrival in Egypt, the battalion moved to a base in Gaza dubbed Kilo 89, where it concentrated with the 2/13th and 2/17th Battalions, which had arrived earlier in Palestine as the 9th Division attempted to make good its equipment and training deficiencies. The battalion's war equipment, including vehicles, arrived in mid-February and throughout the month the troops were introduced to the Bren light machine gun, firing it for the first time at the Jaffa Range and practicing constructing defensive systems in preparation for desert warfare. Individual training undertaken at this time was aimed at identifying those who would be unfit for the coming battle, and many were subsequently transferred to the divisional guard battalion.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
In early March 1941, the 2/15th entrained at Gaza and moved to Mersa Matruh, as the 9th Division began to relieve the 6th Division along the front line in the Western Desert so that the latter could be transferred to Greece, where a German invasion was expected. A few days later the battalion was moved to Tobruk. From there it moved by road in captured Italian vehicles to Derna and on to Tochra, then Benghazi, and eventually Barce.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Throughout early April, the 2/15th became involved in the large-scale withdrawal that followed the landing of German forces around Tripoli as part of Axis efforts to reinforce the Italians in North Africa following British gains in  western Egypt and Cyrenaica during Operation Compass in 1940–41. The battalion subsequently fell back east along the coast towards Tobruk. During the retreat about 180 men, including the battalion's commanding officer, Marlan, were taken prisoner when their headquarters was surrounded by a force of 18 tanks and unsuccessfully attempted to fight their way out.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
These men spent several years in captivity, being held initially in camps in North Africa before moving to Italy and later Germany; some managed to escape either in North Africa, or from Italy; several eventually rejoined the battalion, while others linked up with Italian or Yugoslavian partisans with whom they fought against German forces later in the war.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ogle took over command of the battalion following Marlan's capture. It subsequently joined the defence of Tobruk, as part of the defensive garrison that held the strategically important port after it was placed under siege by the advancing German and Italian forces. The battalion remained there for over six months conducting patrols and raids, and holding positions around the perimeter until late October 1941, when the bulk of the 9th Division, less the 2/13th Battalion and two companies from the 2/15th, were withdrawn by sea and replaced by British troops from the 70th Division. The 2/15th's casualties during the withdrawal from Benghazi and the siege of Torbuk amounted to 45 killed in action or died of wounds, one accidentally killed, 103 wounded in action and 205 captured.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
The 2/15th was subsequently withdrawn to Gaza, where it stayed into the new year, before moving to Syria, where it formed part of the Allied occupation force established there at the end of the Syria–Lebanon campaign. In July 1942, in the face of a heavy German onslaught that threatened to break through to Suez, the 9th Division was hurriedly moved back to North Africa. The 2/15th subsequently took part in the First and Second Battles of El Alamein during the remainder of the year.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Throughout August, the 2/15th subsequently held a position in the north-east sector of the line from Hill 33 to the coast. On 1 September, the 2/15th participated in the 9th Division's diversionary attack south of Tel-el-Eisa, codenamed Operation Bulimba, which was planned as a response to German offensive actions further south during the lead-up to the final assault in late October and early November 1942.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
In heavy fighting near Point 23, a low rocky outcrop, the battalion lost about half of its fighting strength, sustaining 183 casualties, amidst heavy hand-to-hand fighting as the battalion came up against heavy resistance after penetrating a German minefield. Ogle's carrier struck a mine during the operation, and he was seriously wounded. The battalion's role in the September attack, including the efforts of Corporal Horton McLachlan, who received the Distinguished Conduct Medal, was later depicted in a painting by Ivor Hele.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Middle East
Among the casualties at El Alamein was the 2/15th's recently appointed replacement commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Keith Magno, who was mortally wounded by artillery fire after the battalion was heavily shelled while forming up during an attack around Trig 29 – a valuable piece of high ground south-west of Tel-el-Eisa – on 28 October. Casualties over both periods the battalion fought around Alamein totaled 81 killed, 23 died of wounds, 276 wounded and seven captured.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
By early 1943 the Australian Army's focus had shifted to operations in the Pacific theatre against the Japanese, and the 9th Division received orders to return to Australia to join the other two 2nd AIF divisions, the 6th and 7th, which had departed earlier in 1942. A divisional parade was held in Gaza, after which the 2/15th embarked upon the transport Acquitania and sailed with a large convoy established under Operation Pamphlet as part of the final stage in the withdrawal of the 2nd AIF divisions from the Middle East. After a journey of just over a month, the Acquitania berthed at Sydney in late February 1943. During this time the battalion was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Barham.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
After disembarking in Sydney, the troops received three weeks of leave during which time they were allowed to return to their homes. The 9th Division then carried out welcome home marches across Australia, with the 2/15th taking part in the march through Brisbane. After this, the division was transported to Kairi on the Atherton Tableland in north Queensland where it was converted to the jungle establishment and began training for operations against the Japanese. The reorganisation saw the battalion establishment drop to around 800 men, and the loss of many vehicles and heavy equipment. Lieutenant Colonel Colin Henry Grace was appointed to command the battalion in May 1943 and would do so for the rest of the war. Amphibious training was carried out at Trinity Beach, near Cairns, with the US 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment in July 1943.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
Following training, the battalion was deployed to New Guinea, arriving in Milne Bay in early August 1943. It saw action in the final stages of the Salamaua–Lae campaign in September 1943. The 2/15 took part in the landing at Lae, the first amphibious operation undertaken by Australian forces since the failed Gallipoli campaign in 1915. During the operation, the 2/15th was initially assigned the task of securing the beachhead following the 20th Brigade's landing. After being relieved it joined the advance west towards the town, slowed by heavy rains that turned the many creeks in the area into raging torrents, which were invariably covered by heavy Japanese fire from the opposite bank.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
Later in September, after Lae had fallen to troops of the 7th Division advancing from Nadzab, the 20th Brigade undertook a follow-up operation further east, an opposed amphibious landing at Scarlet Beach, as part of Allied efforts to secure the Huon Peninsula. During the landing, the 2/15th formed the 20th Brigade's reserve force, coming ashore around Katika due to a navigational error; here it fought to dislodge strongly entrenched Japanese forces as the Australians established a beachhead. This was followed by the capture of Finschhafen, during which the 2/15th advanced alongside the 2/17th Battalion.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
The battalion's main effort was focused around securing a crossing over the Bumi River northwest of Finschhafen. After the town had been captured, it was tasked with expanding the Australian beachhead further west towards Kumawa as part of the drive on Sattelberg. For his actions during the battalion's attack around Kumawa on 13 October 1944, Corporal William Woods – who had destroyed two machine gun positions singlehandedly after most of his section had been wiped out – was recommended for the Victoria Cross, the only member of the battalion to be nominated for the award. It was subsequently downgraded to a Distinguished Conduct Medal.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
After a short period of rest while Sattelberg was captured by the 26th Brigade, in late November the 2/15th joined the advance to Wareo, capturing Nongora village, crossing the Song River, and then undertaking patrols through the Christmas Hills until relieved by elements of the 4th Brigade, which pushed the Australian advance along the coast, forcing the Japanese north towards Sio as the Australians sought to secure the Huon Peninsula.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
In late December, the 20th Brigade rotated back into the lead, and the 2/15th took over from the 22nd Battalion around the Tunom River, where the battalion headquarters came under aerial attack. After a brief pause near the flood swollen Tunom, the advance continued throughout December and into January 1944 with minor skirmishes punctuating the battalion's advance. Finally, on 21 January, at the edge of the Sazomu River, the order arrived for the 2/15th to be withdrawn to Finschhafen for rest prior to repatriation to Australia. The fighting in New Guinea cost the battalion 30 killed in action, six dead from wounds, four dead from accidents and 119 wounded.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
The 2/15th Battalion returned to Australia in mid-March 1944 aboard the Klipfontein. After docking in Brisbane, a 42-day leave period followed before the battalion came together again at Ravenshoe to begin the process of rebuilding in preparation for the next phase of the war. Between June and August, training progressed from individual instruction up to brigade-level exercises as the unit was re-constituted for its next campaign.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
During training it experienced a high turnover of personnel and a large influx of reinforcements, including several officers, was received in the middle of 1944 from the disbanded 62nd Battalion, a Queensland-based Militia battalion that had previously been assigned to Merauke Force. A long period of training followed the battalion's return to Australia in early 1944, as there was a degree of uncertainty about the Australian Army's role in future operations in the Pacific after the US military assumed primary responsibility for combat operations in the theatre. Nevertheless, in the final months of the war the 2/15th took part in efforts to recapture North Borneo as part of Operation Oboe Six. After a battalion-level exercise in early 1945, the 2/15th sailed from Australia aboard the Charles Lummis in early May.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
Staging out of Morotai Island, a detachment of the battalion landed on Muara Island on 10 June 1945, disembarking from US-operated LVTs and securing the island without opposition, while later, other elements from the 2/15th were put ashore on the peninsula around Brunei Town, as part of Allied operations to secure northern Borneo.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
While the main Australian force advanced towards Kuching and the oil fields around Seria, two companies of the 2/15th served as a "floating reserve" for the 2/13th Battalion's landing around Lutong, while the main body of the 2/15th subsequently moved inland towards Limbang, and began patrolling along the Limbang and Pandaruan Rivers that forked inland from the bay, using landing craft for mobility, and securing several small villages around the edge of the bay. Limbang was taken on 18 June, and two days later the two detached companies rejoined the battalion.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, New Guinea and Borneo
Subsequently, several engagements were fought with the Japanese during patrols in June and July, but these were mainly small-scale; two members of the battalion were killed in an ambush around Brunei in late June, the heaviest fighting occurring in early July, when a patrol killed over 20 Japanese in a short but sharp encounter. By the end of July, a draft of 170 long-service personnel were released to return to Australia in early August, just as the war came to an end. Casualties for the 20th Brigade were light; the 2/15th suffered five battle casualties during its last campaign, two killed and three wounded.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Disbandment
After the war, the 2/15th remained on Brunei until November when it moved to Mempakul as personnel were returned to Australia in drafts based on priority of discharge. A small group of personnel volunteered at this time to undertake occupation duties in Japan and were subsequently transferred to the 66th or 67th Battalions. In early December, the battalion's vehicles were returned and after the appropriate clearances were received, the remaining cadre was transported to Labuan. From there, they sailed back to Australia aboard the Pachaug Victory, arriving at Brett's Wharf, in Brisbane on 19 December.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Disbandment
The cadre moved into a camp at Chermside, where they completed unloading of stores and equipment before a short Christmas leave. Early in the new year, the final administrative tasks were completed and the last group of personnel were posted for demobilisation and discharge. Finally, the 2/15th was officially disbanded on 21 January 1946.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), History, Disbandment
During its service a total of 2,758 men served with the 2/15th Battalion, of whom 191 were killed or died of wounds, another 25 died on active service, 501 were wounded, and 212 were captured. Members of the 2/15th received three Distinguished Service Orders, 10 Military Crosses, seven Distinguished Conduct Medals, 18 Military Medals, one British Empire Medal, 47 Mentions in Despatches and nine Commander-In-Chief Commendation Cards. In addition, four were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), Battle honours
These honours were subsequently entrusted in 1961 to the 15th Battalion, a Queensland-based part-time unit that was the successor to the unit of the same designation that had been raised during World War I.


2/15th Battalion (Australia), Commanding officers
The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/15th:


2/15th Field Regiment (Australia)
The 2/15th Field Regiment was an Australian Army field artillery regiment that served during the Second World War. Raised in late 1940 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF), the regiment was assigned to the 8th Division. In late 1941, it was sent to Singapore and subsequently fought in the Malayan Campaign before being captured after the Fall of Singapore.


2/15th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Formed in November 1940 in Sydney, New South Wales, the regiment was assigned to the 8th Division and initially consisted of two batteries – the 29th and 30th. Each battery consisted of two troops, designated 'A' to 'D', and then later – when a third battery was raised – 'A' to 'E'. The regiment had an authorised strength of 42 officers and 385 other ranks in early 1941. Each battery eventually consisted of eight guns.


2/15th Field Regiment (Australia), History
After training with antiquated Ordnance QF 18-pounders, the regiment was re-equipped with 3-inch mortars due to a shortage of field pieces, and deployed to Malaya and Singapore along with the 27th Brigade in August 1941 to reinforce the 22nd Brigade, which had been deployed to Malaya earlier in the year following a request from the British government for Australian troops to help bolster the garrison amidst rising concerns about Japanese intentions in the Pacific. The regiment's first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel John O'Neil, but on 11 November 1941 Lieutenant Colonel John Wright, who had previously served in the Australian Flying Corps during the First World War, took over after O'Neill was killed in a car accident.


2/15th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Shortly after arriving in Singapore, the regiment began training, taking up a position around Tampines in September. In November, it was re-equipped with Ordnance QF 25-pounders and raised its third battery – designated as the 65th Battery – by which time the regiment's strength grew to around 600 personnel. In early December 1941, the regiment moved north into Malaya and shortly afterwards the Japanese invaded. The regiment was assigned to the 22nd Brigade on the east coast and established its headquarters around Kluang.


2/15th Field Regiment (Australia), History
The initial onslaught of the Japanese thrust was directed against the British and Indian units in the northern part of peninsula, and so it was not until January that the Australians went into action. When they did, the regiment's batteries were split up: the 65th supported the 45th Indian Brigade, while the 29th and 30th were sent to help the Australian 27th Brigade.


2/15th Field Regiment (Australia), History
Throughout January they had a heavy workload, taking part in significant actions at Gemas, Muar and around Ayer Hitam and the Namazie Estate, firing thousands of rounds as they conducted rearguard actions over a distance of 150 miles (240 km), as the Allied forces were pushed south towards Johore and then across the Causeway to Singapore island. During the campaign in Malaya, the regiment suffered numerous casualties as they were frequently called upon to provide support in close contact; the 30th Battery suffered particularly heavy casualties around Muar, with 24 men out of the battery's strength of 98 being wounded.


2/15th Field Regiment (Australia), History
A brief lull in the fighting followed, during which the regiment continued to fire support missions, attacking Japanese positions in Johore, as the Allied forces prepared for a Japanese attack on Singapore. On 8 February, the Japanese launched a strike across the Strait of Johore, concentrating several divisions on the 22nd Brigade's position in the north-west sector of the island.


2/15th Field Regiment (Australia), History
As the only artillery regiment positioned in support of the 22nd Brigade, the 2/15th was heavily engaged, attacking Japanese barges and assaulting troops, but as the defenders were stretched thinly, their lines were soon penetrated and they were forced to withdraw to prevent encirclement. During the withdrawal, a large number of guns were lost after the 30th Battery's transport became bogged. Over the course of a week, they were pushed back to Singapore city, and by 15 February, the garrison commander, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival gave the order for Allied forces to surrender. A total of 556 personnel from the 2/15th were captured; they would spend three-and-a-half years in Japanese captivity, during which 294 men died. After the war ended in August 1945, the surviving members of the regiment were repatriated to Australia and the regiment was disbanded.


2/16th Battalion (Australia)
The 2/16th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, serving during World War II. Attached to the 21st Brigade that was assigned to the 7th Division, the 2/16th was raised in 1940 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force from volunteers drawn mainly from the state of Western Australia. After training in Australia, the battalion was deployed to the Middle East where it undertook defensive duties along the Egyptian–Libyan border in early 1941 before taking part in the Syria–Lebanon campaign, fighting against Vichy French forces in June and July.


2/16th Battalion (Australia)
At the conclusion of the campaign, the 2/16th remained in Lebanon, contributing to the Allied occupation force there, before returning to Australia in early 1942 following Japan's entry into the war. In August 1942, they were committed to the fighting along the Kokoda Track and then later fought around Buna and Gona. After a period of rest and reorganisation in Australia, the battalion fought around Lae and then took part in the Finisterre Range campaign in 1943–44. Its final campaign of the war came in Borneo in July 1945. At the end of the war, the 2/16th were disbanded in January 1946.


2/16th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation and service in the Middle East
The 2/16th Battalion was recruited in Perth, in the state of Western Australia in early 1940, with its first war diary entry being made on 20 April 1940. Raised from volunteers from the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF), which was established for overseas service at the start of the war, many of the battalion's early recruits were from the goldfields of Western Australia.


2/16th Battalion (Australia), History, Formation and service in the Middle East
After the concentration and training of the battalion's initial cadre in Perth, the battalion was moved to Northam where on 30 April the first draft of recruits arrived and the process of forming the battalion's subunits began. With an authorised strength of around 900 personnel, like other Australian infantry battalions of the time, the battalion was formed around a nucleus of four rifle companies – designated 'A' through to 'D' – each consisting of three platoons.