50th Battalion (Australia)
50th Battalion (Australia) | |
---|---|
Active | 1916–1919 1921–1930 1930–1936 (10th/50th Battalion) 1936–1945 (12th/50th Battalion) |
Country | Australia |
Branch | Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | ~1,000 officers and men[1] |
Part of | 13th Brigade 4th Division |
Engagements | World War I |
The 50th Battalion was an
History
World War I
The 50th Battalion was originally raised in Egypt on 26 February 1916, as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the AIF following the Gallipoli campaign and prior to the transfer of the Australian infantry formations to the Western Front in Europe.[2] This expansion was achieved by transferring cadres of experienced personnel predominately from the 1st Division to the newly formed battalions and combining them with recently recruited personnel who had been dispatched as reinforcements from Australia.[3] With an authorised strength of just over 1,000,[1] the unit's first intake of personnel were drawn from men originating from South Australia, many of whom had already served with the 10th Battalion. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Hurcombe, the battalion became part of the 13th Brigade attached to the 4th Australian Division.[4]
After arriving in France on 11 June 1916, the battalion was committed to the fighting, moving up to front on 28 June.
In early 1918, it undertook a defensive role south of the Ancre, helping to repulse the German spring offensive, a major German offensive that was launched on the Western Front following the collapse of Russia. In early April, the battalion took part in the Second Battle of Dernancourt. Later that month, on the morning of 24/25 April 1918—Anzac Day—the battalion took part in an Allied counter-attack at Villers-Bretonneux, in Belgium. In August, the 50th joined the final Allied offensive of the war around Amiens, and continued fighting until 18 September when it fought its last battle of the war against the Hindenburg "Outpost Line", forming the divisional reserve. After the cessation of hostilities, the 50th Battalion was amalgamated with the 51st Battalion on 6 March 1919;[4] together they were later also amalgamated with the 49th Battalion.[11]
During the fighting, the battalion lost 720 men killed in action or died on active service and 1,557 wounded. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: one VC, one
Inter-war years and World War II
In 1921, the battalion was re-raised as part the re-organisation of the Australian military that took place at that time.[12] Assigned to the 4th Military District, the battalion was raised as a part-time unit in South Australia, drawing personnel from the Citizen Forces' 50th Infantry Regiment. In 1927, the battalion adopted the territorial designation of the "Barrier Regiment".[13] In 1930, amidst the austerity of the Great Depression and following the election of the Scullin Labor government and the subsequent suspension of the compulsory training scheme, the decision was made to amalgamate the battalion due to a decline in the numbers of volunteers. At this time it was merged with the 10th Battalion, with whom they had a shared history, to become the "10th/50th Battalion" assigned to the 3rd Brigade.[13][14]
These battalions remained linked until 1936 when,
During World War II, the two battalions remained linked, undertaking garrison duties in Australia. The 12th/50th Battalion served as part of
Battle honours
- World War I: Somme 1916, Somme 1918, Pozières, Bullecourt, Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele, Ancre 1918, Villers-Bretonneux, Hamel, Amiens, Albert 1918, Hindenburg Line 1917, Hindenburg Line 1918, Epehy, France and Flanders 1916–1918, Egypt 1915–1917.[4]
Notes
- ^ a b Kuring 2004, p. 47.
- ^ Bean 1941a, p. 42.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 99–100.
- ^ a b c d e Australian War Memorial.
- ^ Freeman 1993, p. 302.
- ^ Bean 1941a, p. 770.
- ^ Bean 1941b, pp. 669–672.
- ^ Bean 1941b, p. 677.
- ^ Bean 1941b, pp. 797 & 829.
- ^ Bean 1941b, p. 831.
- ^ Browning 2007, pp. 330–331.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 125.
- ^ a b c d e Festberg 1972, p. 108.
- ^ Kuring 2004, p. 112.
- ^ Keogh 1965, p. 44.
- ^ a b Land Forces of Britain, The Empire and Commonwealth.
- ^ Shaw 2010, p. 11.
- ^ Palazzo 2001, p. 278.
References
- "50th Battalion". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- "50th Battalion (Barrier Regiment)". Land Forces of Britain, The Empire and Commonwealth. Regiments.org (archived). Archived from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- OCLC 220623454.
- Bean, Charles (1941b). The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1917. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Vol. IV (11th ed.). Sydney, New South Wales: Angus and Robertson. OCLC 220898229.
- Browning, Neville (2007). For King and Cobbers: 51st Battalion AIF 1916–1919. Bassendean, Western Australia: Advance Press. ISBN 978-0-9580674-4-7.
- Festberg, Alfred (1972). The Lineage of the Australian Army. Melbourne, Victoria: Allara Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85887-024-6.
- Freeman, R. (1993). Hurcombe's Hungry Half Hundred: A Memorial History of the 50th Battalion AIF 1916–1919. Norwood, South Australia: Peacock Publications. ISBN 978-0-909209-61-2.
- ISBN 978-0-521-69791-0.
- OCLC 7185705.
- Kuring, Ian (2004). Redcoats to Cams: A History of Australian Infantry 1788–2001. Loftus, New South Wales: Australian Military History Publications. ISBN 1-876439-99-8.
- Palazzo, Albert (2001). The Australian Army. A History of its Organisation 1901–2001. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-551507-2.
- Shaw, Peter (2010). "The Evolution of the Infantry State Regiment System in the Army Reserve". Sabretache. LI (4 (December)). Garran, Australian Capital Territory: Military Historical Society of Australia: 5–12. ISSN 0048-8933.