The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one infantry division and related auxiliary components. After considerable expansion of this force, three divisions were sent to the Middle East and North Africa, while the 8th Division was sent to garrison British Malaya and Singapore.
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force. The division was raised on the British establishment of nine infantry battalions per division and consisted of two new brigades and three of the original 12 battalions of the 6th Division forming the third brigade. The division is sometimes known by the nickname "The Silent Seventh", due to a perception that its achievements were unrecognised, in comparison to the other Australian divisions. The origin of this belief appears to be censorship of the part played by the 7th Division in the fierce fighting in the 1941 Syria-Lebanon campaign. The 7th Division along with the 6th and 9th Australian Divisions were the only divisions to serve in both the Middle East and the South West Pacific Area. It was disbanded in 1946, following the end of the war.
1st Brigade is a combined arms formation of the Australian Army. Formed in 1903 as a militia formation based in New South Wales, it was reconstituted as part of the Australian Imperial Force in 1914 for service during World War I, the brigade fought at Gallipoli and on the Western Front before being disbanded in mid-1919. In 1921, the 1st Brigade was re-raised as a unit of Australia's part-time military forces, based in New South Wales. During World War II the brigade undertook defensive duties before being disbanded. In 1948, it was re-raised as an integral part of the Australian Regular Army. Currently the brigade is based at Robertson Barracks in Darwin and at RAAF Base Edinburgh near Adelaide, South Australia. It is the first of the Australian Army brigades to be re-organised as a combat brigade under Plan Beersheba.
III Corps was an Australian Army unit during World War II. It was responsible for the defence of Western Australia in 1942–1944. The corps was formed in April 1942 from Western Command, which had been established in October 1939. Throughout the war, the formation's size expanded and contracted as available manpower, and the strategic situation, dictated. At its height, the corps consisted of two infantry divisions and one armoured division, which were deployed to defend against a Japanese invasion threat, which ultimately never eventuated. The corps ceased to exist in June 1944 when it was converted back into Western Command, which remained until the end of the war in 1945.
The Jungle division was a military organisation adopted in early 1943 by the Australian Army during the Second World War. This organisation was a much lighter version of the standard British-pattern infantry division used during previous campaigns in the deserts of the Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre fighting the Germans and Italians in 1940 and 1941 and was optimised to meet the needs of jungle warfare against the Japanese in the South West Pacific Area. Jungle divisions were smaller and had fewer heavy weapons, vehicles and support units than the British-pattern division previously used and had an establishment of just 13,118 men, approximately 4,000 fewer than a standard division. The bulk of the reduction occurred among the administrative, transport and artillery units. The conditions that prevailed in the South West Pacific Area led the Australian Army to initially convert five infantry divisions to Jungle divisions, although this was later increased to six. Divisions converted to the jungle organisation included three Militia divisions: the 3rd, 5th and 11th and the three Australian Imperial Force (AIF) divisions: the 6th, 7th, 9th. Despite some modifications, this re-organisation proved successful during later Australian operations in New Guinea, New Britain, Bougainville, Aitape-Wewak and Borneo in 1944–1945.
The 2nd Armoured Division was an armoured formation of the Australian Army during World War II. Originally raised in 1921 as the 2nd Cavalry Division, based in Victoria and South Australia, the formation had been converted into a motor division in early 1942, before adopting the armoured designation later in the year. A Militia formation, the division undertook garrison duties in Australia and did not see combat before being disbanded in mid-1943.
The 3rd Armoured Division was an armoured unit of the Australian Army during World War II. Originally raised in 1921 as the 1st Cavalry Division, the formation had been converted into a motor division in early 1942, before adopting the armoured designation in November 1942. A Militia formation, the division undertook garrison duties in New South Wales and then Queensland and did not see combat before being disbanded in late 1943 and early 1944.
The 3rd Brigade is a combined arms brigade of the Australian Army, principally made up of the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. Initially raised in 1903 as part of the post-Federation Australian Army, it was removed from the order of battle in 1906 following the restructure of the field force. It was re-formed in 1914 for service during World War I, taking part in the fighting at Gallipoli and on the Western Front in Europe. During World War II the brigade was used in a defensive role before it was disbanded in 1944. It was re-raised in 1967 for service during the Vietnam War and later went on to provide the nucleus of the deployment to East Timor during the Australian-led intervention in 1999. The brigade is currently based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville, Queensland.
Armoured units made a relatively small, but important, contribution to Australia’s war effort during World War II. While Australia formed three armoured divisions and two independent armoured brigades during the war, Australian armoured units only saw action as independent regiments and companies supporting larger infantry formations. Early actions were fought in the Middle East by the divisional carrier regiments that supported the 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions, fighting in Libya, Egypt and Syria in 1941–42, before the Australian divisions returned to Australia in 1942–43. During the early fighting in the Pacific, there was a limited role for armoured formations, although one armoured regiment – the 2/6th – took part in the fighting around Buna–Gona in late 1942. Later in the war, though, during the Huon Peninsula, Bougainville and Borneo campaigns of 1943–45, several armoured units were used by Australian forces in the infantry support role.
The 16th Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Australian Army. First raised in 1912 as a Militia formation to provide training under the compulsory training scheme, the brigade was later re-raised as part of the First Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Its existence was short-lived, as it was disbanded after about six months, before it could be committed to the fighting on the Western Front. Raised again in 1939 for service during World War II, the brigade was deployed to the Middle East in early 1940 and subsequently saw action in the Western Desert and in Greece in 1941. In 1942, it returned to Australia in response to Japan's entry into the war, and later the brigade played a prominent role in the Kokoda Track campaign and at Buna–Gona in Papua. Withdrawn to Australia in early 1943, the 16th Brigade was re-organised and received many replacements from disbanding formations, but it was not recommitted to combat operations until late in the war. In 1944–1945, the brigade was committed to the Aitape–Wewak campaign in New Guinea. After the war, the brigade was disbanded in 1946. Today, its name is perpetuated by the 16th Aviation Brigade which was raised on 2 April 2002.
I Corps was an Australian Army corps, one of three that were raised by the Army during World War II. It was the main Australian operational corps for much of the war. Various Australian and other Allied divisions came under its control at different times. In 1940–1942, the corps was based in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern theatres, and controlled forces in action against the Germans, Italians and later the Vichy French in North Africa, Greece and Syria–Lebanon.
The 9th Brigade is a Reserve formation of the Australian Army headquartered at Keswick Barracks in Keswick, South Australia, with elements located in New South Wales and South Australia. The brigade was first raised in 1912 in New South Wales following the introduction of the compulsory training scheme.
The 4th Brigade is a brigade-level formation of the Australian Army. Originally formed in 1912 as a Militia formation, the brigade was re-raised for service during World War I, elements of the brigade served at Gallipoli and in the trenches on the Western Front before being disbanded in 1919. In 1921, the brigade was re-raised as a unit of Australia's part-time military forces, based in the state of Victoria. During World War II the brigade served in the New Guinea and New Britain campaigns. Following the war, the brigade formed part of the 3rd Division, however, it was later reallocated to the 2nd Division, where it serves as a Reserve combined-arms formation including units and personnel from all corps of the Army including armoured, infantry, artillery, engineers, signals and ordnance.
The 18th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army. The brigade briefly existed as a Militia formation prior to the First World War, but this was short-lived. During the Second World War, the brigade was raised on 13 October 1939 and was one of the first three infantry brigades of the Second Australian Imperial Force to be formed. Initially commanded by Brigadier Leslie Morshead, it served in the United Kingdom in 1940–1941, where it helped bolster the British garrison in anticipation of a possible German invasion following the Fall of France. In early 1941, the brigade was transferred to the Middle East where it later took part in fighting against the Italians in Libya and then helped to defend the besieged port of Tobruk before fighting against the Vichy French in the Syria–Lebanon campaign. The 18th Brigade was withdrawn to Australia in early 1942, and it later took part in the fighting against the Japanese in Pacific fighting several campaigns in New Guinea between late 1942 and early 1944. Its final involvement of the war came in mid-1945 when it took part in re-taking Balikpapan. Following the end of hostilities, the 18th Brigade was disbanded on 3 January 1946.
The Australian Army was the largest service in the Australian military during World War II. Prior to the outbreak of war the Australian Army was split into the small full-time Permanent Military Forces (PMF) and the larger part-time Militia. Following the outbreak of war on the 3rd of September 1939, 11 days later, on 14 September 1939 Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced that 40,000 members of the Militia would be called up for training and a 20,000-strong expeditionary force, designated the Second Australian Imperial Force, would be formed for overseas service. Meanwhile, conscription was introduced in October 1939 to keep the Militia at strength as its members volunteered for the AIF. The Australian Army subsequently made an important contribution to the Allied campaigns in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa fighting the Germans, Italians and Vichy French during 1940 and 1941, and later in the jungles of the South West Pacific Area fighting the Japanese between late 1941 and 1945. Following the Japanese surrender Australian Army units were deployed as occupation forces across the South West Pacific. Meanwhile, the Army contributed troops to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in Japan from 1946.
The 2nd Health Brigade (2HB) is an Australian Army brigade. The 2nd Brigade was formed in 1903 as a militia infantry formation based in Victoria, the brigade later served during the First World War as part of the Australian Imperial Force, allocated to the 1st Division. During the war, the 2nd Brigade took part in the fighting at Gallipoli, including the Battle of Krithia where it lost almost a third of its strength. Later they took part in the Battle of Lone Pine before being withdrawn back to Egypt in December 1915. Following this the brigade was transferred to the Western Front in France and Belgium where, between March 1916 and the armistice in November 1918, they took part in most of the major Allied operations.
The 1st Armoured Brigade was a formation of the Australian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in July 1941, at Greta, New South Wales from volunteers for the Second Australian Imperial Force and was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division. Raised initially for service in the Middle East, following Japan's entry into the war, the brigade was assigned to the defence of Australia in case of an invasion. After garrison duties in New South Wales and Western Australia, it was disbanded in November 1944 without seeing active service, although some of its former units saw action later with other formations.
The 2nd Armoured Brigade was a formation of the Australian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in July 1941, at Puckapunyal, Victoria, from Second Australian Imperial Force volunteers. It was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division in July 1941, with the intention of deploying it to the Middle East. However, it was reassigned to home defence following Japan's entry into the war, and was then transferred to the 3rd Armoured Division in October 1942. The brigade remained in Australia, undertaking defensive duties in Victoria and Queensland before being disbanded in January 1944. While it did not see any active service as a formation, some of its constituent units eventually took part in the campaigns on Tarakan, Labuan, Bougainville and around Aitape–Wewak in 1944–1945 after transferring to other brigades.
The 19th Brigade was a formation of the Australian Army that was raised as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force for service during World War II. 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 established in April 1940 in Palestine as a triangular formation, the brigade was created by transferring one infantry battalion from three other brigades. It was subsequently assigned to the 6th Division. Throughout 1941, the brigade fought in North Africa, Greece and on Crete, before undertaking garrison duties in Syria, remaining there until January 1942. Following the Japanese entry into the war, the 19th Brigade was withdrawn to Australia and subsequently undertook garrison duties in Darwin. It did not see combat again until late in the war, when it was committed to the Aitape–Wewak campaign in 1944–1945. The brigade was disbanded in December 1945 in Puckapunyal.
The structure of the Australian Army changed considerably during World War II. At the outbreak of war the Army comprised a small regular component and a large, but ill-trained and equipped, militia force. In September 1939 the government authorised the establishment of the Second Australian Imperial Force for overseas service; this force eventually reached a strength of four infantry divisions, an armoured division and various headquarters and support units. The militia force, which remained in Australia, was neglected until the outbreak of the Pacific War.
