The 2/29th Battalion was an infantrybattalion of the Australian Army, which served during the Second World War. Formed in October 1940, the battalion served in Malaya as part of the 27th Brigade, which was assigned to the 8th Division. Recruited mainly from volunteers drawn from the state of Victoria, after completing its training around Bonegilla and then Bathurst, the 2/29th Battalion was sent to Malaya in August 1941 along with the rest of the 27th Brigade to bolster the Australian force there and subsequently fought in the Malayan Campaign following the Japanese attack in December 1941. The battalion fought several delaying actions along the west coast, including fighting around Bakri and Muar, and in Johore, before Allied forces withdrew across the Causeway to Singapore. The battalion later took part in the defence of Singapore in February 1942, but was captured after the garrison capitulated on 15 February. They spent the remainder of the war as prisoners of war, with many dying in captivity.
Raised on 17 October 1940[2] amidst an expansion of the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) following an escalation of hostilities in Europe, the 2/29th Battalion was established with volunteers drawn mainly from Victoria. Together with the 2/26th and 2/30th Battalions, it formed part of the 27th Brigade, the third and final brigade raised as part of the 8th Division,[3] and the final brigade raised as part of the 2nd AIF.[4] The colours chosen for the battalion's unit colour patch (UCP) were the same as those of the 29th Battalion, a unit which had served during World War I before being raised as a Militia formation in 1921. These colours were black and yellow, in an upright rectangle, although a border of gray in an oval shape was added to the UCP to distinguish the battalion from its Militia counterpart; the oval border denoted that the battalion was an 8th Division unit.[5]
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.[6] Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson,[7] the battalion's initial personnel drafts concentrated at Bonegilla where they conducted rudimentary training, prior to the battalion moving to Bathurst, where it joined the other two battalions of the 27th Brigade, which moved its headquarters from Sydney at this time.[3][4] Around the same time as the 2/29th moved to Bathurst, the 22nd Brigade was deployed to Malaya to form part of the British garrison forces there, and in mid-1941, as concerns grew about a Japanese attack in the Pacific, it was decided that the 27th Brigade would be despatched to join the 22nd. They subsequently embarked in July, having completed five months of further training at Bathurst during the Australian winter, and arrived in Singapore the following month.[8][9]
In early September, the battalion moved into Malaya, establishing itself in dispersed locations around Kahang and Kluang, before moving to Segamat later in the month,[4] where further training took place to prepare them for the rigours of jungle warfare.[10] When the Japanese launched their invasion of Malaya in early December 1941, the force of the attack initially fell on the British and Indian forces stationed on the north-east coast and around the Thai–Malayan border,[11] and as a result the 2/29th Battalion did not see action until the middle of January when the Japanese began to advance into Johore. As the situation on the western side of the peninsula worsened, the 2/29th, along with the 2/19th Battalion, were sent to reinforce the 45th Indian Infantry Brigade who were fighting around Muar.[4]
Lieutenant Ben Hackney of the 2/29th Battalion, one of only two men to survive the massacre at Parit Sulong.Personnel of C Company, 2/29th Battalion, in their hut at the rear of Changi Gaol, 20 Sept 1945
Arriving at Bakri on 17 January, the Australians established strong defensive positions and the following day, with assistance from an anti-tank regiment, repulsed a heavy Japanese attack that had been supported by armour. As the Japanese felt for the 2/29th Battalion's flanks, their position grew increasing tenuous and they were in danger of being surrounded. The arrival of the 2/19th allowed the 2/29th to withdraw, but further flanking moves by the Japanese cut off the withdrawal route. Fighting their way through several Japanese road blocks and almost constant air attack, they found the river crossing at Parit Sulong in Japanese hands and despite several efforts to wrest control of it, the combined Australian and Indian force had to break track and head into the jungle in an effort to reach Yong Peng, which was still in British hands. In the process, they had to leave their wounded behind with a handful of medical personnel, trusting that they would be cared for by the Japanese. In the end, all but two of the 135 men were executed by their captors.[4][12] Of the two survivors, one was Lieutenant Ben Hackney of the 2/29th Battalion, who was later captured by the Japanese, but who survived the war as a prisoner.[13]
Heavily depleted by the withdrawal, the 2/29th was withdrawn back to Singapore; the 130 men that successfully completed the trek back to Yong Peng were joined by a draft of 500 fresh replacements,[4] many of whom were very inexperienced having been rushed from in Australia with very little training.[14][Note 2] The battalion's commanding officer, Robertson, had been among those killed in action around Muar,[16] and he was subsequently replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Pond, previously the brigade major on the staff of the 27th Brigade, who subsequently led the battalion through the remainder of the short campaign.[17] As the battalion was reconstituted with 19 new officers amongst the reinforcements, Pond sought to implement a hasty training program, in the short time available.[15]
Meanwhile, the fighting in Johore continued until 31 January when the Allied forces withdrew across the Causeway, which was subsequently blown up to delay Japanese forces from crossing the Strait of Johore. In anticipation of a Japanese assault across the strait, the Australian forces took up defensive positions in the north-western side of Singapore island, with the 27th Brigade assuming a position west of the Causeway.[14] Despite the battalion's inexperience, it was assigned the role of divisional reserve and given additional tasks related to rear-area security.[18]
When the Japanese assault came on 8 February, the main thrust initially on the 22nd Brigade's positions further west,[19] but as the situation worsened the 2/29th was sent to Tengah airfield to bolster the 22nd Brigade's defence of the north-west sector. Plans were made to launch a counter-attack to re-capture the village of Ama Keng, but these were cancelled when further Japanese advances made this impossible.[20] Throughout 9 February, the battalion fought to hold the airfield against growing Japanese attacks before the defenders were forced to withdraw further back to the Bulim line, positioned on the Choa Chu Kang Road in between the 2/18th Battalion and a composite unit.[21] There, the battalion turned back a Japanese attack on 10 February, but after neighbouring units withdrew amidst the confusion, the 2/29th were also forced back. Withdrawing in contact, elements of the battalion became separated until they were regrouped at Bukit Panjang.[22]
Over the course of the week, further fighting pushed them back to the Kranji–Jurong line where the 2/29th experienced the main force of a further Japanese thrust after the 12th Indian Infantry Brigade was pushed back by two Japanese divisions. Lacking supporting fires following obfuscation from higher headquarters, the battalion was nearly split in half as it withdrew in contact again towards high ground around Bukit Timah. In the process of the withdrawal, individual platoons were forced to fight their way back to Allied lines.[22] At Bukit Timah, the battalion again regrouped minus one company which found itself detached and subsequently fought alongside the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Further fighting saw the Allied forces withdraw towards Singapore City's suburbs, where elements of the 2/29th were used to shore up the line along the Reformatory Road along with part of the 2/20th Battalion and the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion.[23] The Australian forces subsequently formed a perimeter around Tanglin Barracks where they were making preparations for a counter-attack by the time the garrison surrendered on 15 February following the loss of the city's main water reservoirs.[14][24]
The battalion's remaining personnel were subsequently ordered to congregate around Changi prison where they were captured. They remained prisoners of war for over three years. During this time, they were moved to camps across south-east Asia, including Japan, Burma, Thailand, and the Dutch East Indies where they were pressed into hard labour and subjected to harsh conditions. A total of 582 personnel from the 2/29th were killed in action or died in captivity, while 143 were wounded in action. Personnel from the battalion received the following decorations: one Officer of the Order of the British Empire, two Military Crosses, one Distinguished Conduct Medal, one Military Medal and 13 Mentions in Despatches.[4]
Battle honours
The 2/29th Battalion received the following battle honours:
Malaya 1941–1942, Johore, The Muar, Singapore Island.[4]
Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Austin Frank Pond (1942).
Notes
Footnotes
↑ By the start of World War II, the authorised strength of an Australian infantry battalion was 910 men all ranks, however, later in the war it fell to 803.[1]
↑ Wigmore recounts that some of these reinforcements had only been enlisted in Australia a fortnight earlier and had not even received basic small arms qualifications.[15]
The 8th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army, formed during World War II as part of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force. The 8th Division was raised from volunteers for overseas service from July 1940 onwards. Consisting of three infantry brigades, the intention had been to deploy the division to the Middle East to join the other Australian divisions, but as war with Japan loomed in 1941, the division was divided into four separate forces, which were deployed in different parts of the Asia-Pacific region. All of these formations were destroyed as fighting forces by the end of February 1942 during the fighting for Singapore, and in Rabaul, Ambon, and Timor. Most members of the division became prisoners of war, waiting until the war ended in late 1945 to be liberated. One in three died in captivity.
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Groves Wright Anderson, VC, MC was a South African-born soldier, Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, a member of the Australian House of Representatives, and a farmer. After growing up in Africa and being schooled in England, Anderson served as an officer during the East African campaign against the Germans during the First World War, reaching the rank of captain and being awarded the Military Cross.
Lieutenant General Henry Gordon Bennett, was a senior Australian Army officer who served in both World War I and World War II. Despite highly decorated achievements during World War I, during which he commanded at both battalion and brigade level and became the youngest general in the Australian Army, Bennett is best remembered for his role in the Battle of Singapore in February 1942 in the Pacific War. As commander of the 8th Australian Division, he escaped while his men became prisoners of the Imperial Japanese Army. After this, Bennett's military career waned and, although he rose to command a corps, he never again commanded troops in battle. In 1945, his escape caused controversy and resulted in a Royal Commission and military enquiry. Both found that he had been unjustified in relinquishing his command.
The Battle of Singapore, also known as the Fall of Singapore, was fought in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War when the Empire of Japan invaded the British stronghold of Singapore—nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East". Prior to the invasion, Singapore was a major British military base and economic trading port in South–East Asia and was the key to British imperial interwar defence planning for South-East Asia and the South-West Pacific, then known as the "Far East". The fighting in Singapore lasted for about a week from 8 to 15 February 1942, after the two months during which Japanese forces advanced down the Malayan Peninsula.
The 18th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army which fought briefly in the Malayan Campaign of the Second World War. In March 1939, after the re-emergence of Germany as a European power and its occupation of Czechoslovakia, the British Army increased the number of divisions in the Territorial Army (TA) by duplicating existing units. The 18th Infantry Division was formed in September 1939 as a second-line duplicate of the 54th Infantry Division, with men from Essex and the East Anglian counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
The 2/18th Battalion was an Australian Army infantry unit that served during World War II. Formed in June 1940, the battalion was assigned to the 22nd Brigade, which formed part of the Australian 8th Division. After completing basic training, the 2/18th was sent to Singapore and Malaya to strengthen the defences of the British colonies in February 1941 against a possible Japanese attack. The 2/18th Battalion subsequently undertook garrison duties throughout the year at various locations in Malaya, where it conducted jungle training and constructed defences along the eastern coast.
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Lionel Colin Matthews, was an Australian Army officer in World War II. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross, the highest award for heroism or courage not in the face of the enemy, that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time. Matthews was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and was schooled there before moving to Victoria. He trained as a signalman in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve before joining the Militia in April 1939. Commissioned as an officer in the Australian Corps of Signals, Matthews transferred to the 8th Division of the Second Australian Imperial Force after the outbreak of World War II.
The Battle of Gemas—part of the wider Battle of Muar—took place during the Japanese invasion of Malaya in the Pacific Campaign of the Second World War. The action occurred on 14 January 1942 at the Gemencheh Bridge near Gemas and saw around 1,000 troops of the Japanese 5th Division killed or wounded during a fierce ambush initiated by Australian soldiers from 2/30th Battalion, assigned to the 27th Brigade of the 8th Division.
The 2/30th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served during World War II. Raised in late 1940 as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force, the battalion formed part of the 27th Brigade, which was assigned to the 8th Division. In mid-1941, the battalion was deployed to Malaya, as the garrison there was increased amidst rising tensions in the Pacific. In early1942, it fought against the Japanese during the Malayan Campaign and the Battle of Singapore, where it was captured in February 1942. Many of the 2/30th's personnel died in captivity before the war ended in August 1945.
The 44th Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in June 1941, at Poona in India and assigned to the 17th Indian Infantry Division. Under the command of Brigadier George Ballentine, on establishment the brigade drew a mix of regular soldiers, reservists and new recruits to form three infantry battalions; various supporting units were formed between August and September. A signals section was formed in late December. Due to the rapid expansion of the Indian Army, the brigade suffered from a shortage of experienced leaders, with each infantry battalion having on average only three British officers and also lacking Indian viceroy-commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers. The brigade's manpower problems were made worse in late 1941 when an experienced cadre of 250 personnel were transferred from the brigade in order to form another unit. They were replaced by a large number of inexperienced soldiers, many of whom were under 18 years old.
The 2/40th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Formed in mid-1940 from personnel recruited from Tasmania, the battalion was assigned to the 23rd Brigade, which formed part of the 8th Division. After completing basic training, the 2/40th was sent to Darwin to form part of the defensive garrison there as tensions with the Japanese grew throughout 1941. Following Japan's entry into the war, the battalion was deployed to Timor as part of Sparrow Force and in early 1942 they took part in the fighting on the island against the Japanese. Outnumbered and lacking supplies, the majority of the 2/40th's personnel were captured and spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war, although some were able to wage a guerrilla campaign across the island before being withdrawn by the end of year.
The 27th Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. The brigade was the last Second Australian Imperial Force infantry brigade raised for service during World War II. Initially assigned to the 9th Division, the brigade was transferred to the 8th Division shortly after it was raised. Training was undertaken around Bathurst, New South Wales throughout early 1941, before the brigade was sent to British Malaya in August 1941 to reinforce the 22nd Brigade, which had been dispatched earlier in the year. Following the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the brigade went into action in January 1942, taking part in the fighting along the western side of the Malay Peninsula. Its main action during this period came around Muar before the withdrawal to Singapore. In February, the brigade took part in the short lived Battle of Singapore. When the garrison surrendered on 15 February, the majority of the brigade's personnel were taken prisoner. They subsequently spent the remainder of the war in captivity before being released in August 1945.
The 22nd Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. It was briefly raised in 1912 as a Militia formation providing training as part of the compulsory training scheme. Later, during World War II, the brigade was raised as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force in April 1940. Assigned to the 8th Division, in early 1941 the brigade was deployed to British Malaya where it formed part of the defensive garrison that was established there by the British, eventually establishing its headquarters in the Mersing–Endau area.
The 2/26th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in late 1940 for service during the Second World War, the battalion undertook garrison duties in Malaya and Singapore prior to the start of the Pacific War. In 1941–42, following the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the battalion fought during the Malayan campaign. After the fall of the island, however, many of its soldiers became prisoners of war, remaining in captivity until being liberated at the end of the war in 1945. The battalion was never re-raised.
The 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion was an Australian Army unit raised for service with the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War. Formed in late 1940 as part of the 8th Division, the battalion was established to provide direct fire support to the division's infantry brigades. It was the fourth, and last, such unit raised within the 2nd AIF. The unit's personnel were largely drawn from the state of Western Australia and after formation, the battalion concentrated near Perth for basic individual training before moving to the Adelaide Hills to complete more advance manouevres.
The 2/19th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, which was raised for service during the Second World War as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force. After being formed in mid-1940, the battalion was allocated to the 22nd Brigade, which was part of the 8th Division. After completing training in Australia, in early 1941 the 2/19th deployed to Malaya, as part of the Australian force despatched to help bolster the British garrison there as tensions with Japan heightened. Following the commencement of hostilities against Japan, the 2/19th fought several actions in Johore, before withdrawing across the Causeway to Singapore. There, the battalion was involved in the Battle of Singapore in early February 1942, during which it suffered heavy casualties before being captured following the capitulation of the British garrison. The battalion's personnel subsequently spent the next three-and-a-half years as prisoners of war, before being released at the end of the conflict.
The 2/20th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in mid-1940 as part of the 8th Division, the battalion was recruited from Second Australian Imperial Force volunteers drawn from the state of New South Wales. In early 1941, the 2/20th Battalion deployed to Malaya, where they formed part of the garrison there until December when the Japanese invaded. The battalion subsequently fought a brief campaign along the east coast of the Malay Peninsula before being withdrawn back to Singapore in early 1942. They were heavily engaged after the Japanese landed on the island, and were eventually captured following the Fall of Singapore. Most members of the battalion became prisoners of war, and a large number died in captivity.
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, 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.
Lieutenant Colonel John Charles Robertson was a senior officer in the Australian Army who served in both the First and Second World Wars.
References
Lack, John (2005). No Lost Battalion: An Oral History of the 2/29th Battalion AIF. McCrae, Victoria: Slouch Hat Publications. ISBN0-9579752-8-7.
Long, Gavin (1952). To Benghazi. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1– Army. I (1sted.). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Australian War Memorial. OCLC18400892. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
Morgan, Joseph (2013). "A Burning Legacy: The Broken 8th Division". Sabretache. Military Historical Society of Australia. LIV (3, September): 4–14. ISSN0048-8933.
Wigmore, Lionel (1957). The Japanese Thrust. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1– Army. IV (1sted.). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Australian War Memorial. OCLC3134219.
Pratten, Garth (2009). Australian Battalion Commanders in the Second World War. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-76345-5.
Further reading
Christie, Robert W. (1983). A History of the 2/29 Battalion, 8th Australian Division AIF. Malvern, Victoria: 2/29 Battalion AIF Association. ISBN978-0-9592465-0-6.
Infantry formations of the Second Australian Imperial Force
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