51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment
51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment | |
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Abbreviation | 51 FNQR |
The 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment (51 FNQR) is an
Soldiers in the unit are cross-trained in a variety of "low-visibility" skills such as weapons, survival, sniping, medic, small boat handling, driving, tracking, air operations. It is the only battalion of the Far North Queensland Regiment, and draws its lineage from an Australian Imperial Force (AIF) light infantry battalion, which was raised for service during World War I.
History
World War I
The 51st Battalion was originally raised in Egypt in early 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the AIF following the Gallipoli campaign.[1] This was achieved by transferring cadres of experienced personnel predominately from units of the 1st Division to the newly formed battalions and combining them with recently recruited personnel who had been dispatched as reinforcements from Australia.[2] The unit's first intake of personnel were drawn from men originating from Western Australia, many of whom had already served with the 11th Battalion during the fighting in Turkey.[3] As a result, at the time of its formation, it inherited the battle honour awarded to the mounted infantry from Western Australia who served during the Second Boer War.[4]
Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Murray Ross, a regular
Following this, it moved to Belgium where it saw service on the Hindenburg Line, participating in the battles at Messines and Polygon Wood in 1917.[6] In early 1918, it assisted in the repulse of the major German offensive on the Western Front following the collapse of Russia.[6] On the morning of 24/25 April 1918—Anzac Day—the battalion took part in an Allied counter-attack at Villers-Bretonneux, in France,[7] where they suffered 389 casualties in two days of fighting.[4] Following this, the 51st Battalion took part in the last major Allied offensive of the war—the Hundred Days Offensive—between August and September 1918.[6] After that the battalion, along with the rest of the Australian Corps, was removed from the line having been severely depleted and suffering manpower shortages[8] and it was out of the line training when the Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918, effectively bring an end to the war.[6]
After the end of the war, as the demobilisation process took place the 51st Battalion was amalgamated first with the 50th Battalion and then also with the 49th,[9] before being disbanded on 5 May 1919.[6] During the fighting, it suffered lost 34 officers and 851 other ranks killed in action or died on active service[Note 1] and 50 officers and 1,643 other ranks wounded or captured.[Note 2][10]
Members of the battalion received the following decorations: one
Inter war years
In 1921, Australia's part-time military force was reorganised.
World War II
The battalion was a
In 1941, following Japan's entrance into the war, the battalion was mobilised for war and placed on full-time duty with the task of defending the area between
The new 31st/51st Battalion was deployed to New Guinea with the 11th Brigade, where it formed part of Merauke Force and was subsequently designated as an AIF battalion in 1944.[Note 4] Following this, and a return to Australia, the battalion was then deployed to the Solomon Islands, where it saw its heaviest fighting of the war at Tsimba Ridge and Porton Plantation, on Bougainville.[18] The battalion was finally disbanded on 4 July 1946.[18] During the course of the war, the 31st/51st Battalion lost 61 men killed in action or died on active service, while a further 168 men were wounded. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: one DSO, one DCM, three MCs, 10 MMs, one British Empire Medal (BEM) and 27 MIDs.[18]
Post war
The 51st Battalion, FNQR was raised again in 1950, this time being presented with
RFSU
In the late 1970s, the Australian government decided that an increased military presence was needed in the far north of the country to provide early warning in the event of incursions in to Australian territory. To achieve this, three Regional Force Surveillance Units (RFSUs) were established to carry out ground reconnaissance and surveillance. The first two units, the North-West Mobile Force and the Pilbara Regiment, were raised for service in Western Australia and the Northern Territory in 1981–1982.[21] To extend this to the northern regions of Queensland, it was decided to reform the 51st Battalion. In 1985, the 51st Independent Rifle Company was removed from the order of battle of the Royal Queensland Regiment to become the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment once again.[4][22] The inaugural commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel (Kel)vin Ryan.[4]
The current mission of the 51st Battalion, FNQR is that of an RFSU, with the unit tasked with conducting land based and littoral surveillance and reconnaissance in support of national security operations in the inhospitable areas along the northern coast of Australia. As the regiment's name suggests, it is responsible for patrolling the north of Queensland, with its Area of Responsibility covering from Cardwell in north Queensland, north to the Torres Strait, including Cape York and the Gulf Country and west to the Northern Territory border; in total some 640,000 square kilometres (250,000 sq mi).[23]
On 1 March 2010, 51FNQR became part of the re-raised 6th Brigade.[24] It is currently manned by reservists supported by a cadre of regular personnel.[23] A high proportion of the regiment's personnel are Indigenous Australians.[25] On 4 October 2018, all three RFSUs were grouped together as part of a new formation headquarters, the Regional Force Surveillance Group. The new formation came into being at a parade held at Larrakeyah Barracks in Darwin.[26]
Battle honours
- South Africa 1899–1902;[4]
- World War I: Bullecourt, Messines 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele, Ancre 1918, Villers-Bretonneux, Hamel, Amiens, Albert 1918, Hindenburg Line, Épehy;[6]
- World War II: Liberation of Australian New Guinea, Tsimba Ridge, Bonis–Porton, South West Pacific 1943–45.[18]
Commanding officers
The following officers commanded the 51st Battalion during the World Wars:[27]
See also
Notes
- Footnotes
- ^ This includes killed in action, died of wounds, disease, gas or other causes.
- ^ This includes wounded in action, gassed or prisoners of war.
- ^ Browning states that there were actually nine foreign awards, detailing them as follows: three Croix de Guerre (Belgium), three Croix de Guerre (France), one Order of the Crown of Rumania, one Medal of St George 4th Class (Russia) and one Serbian Order of the White Eagle 5th Class (with Swords). See Appendix D.
- ^ Under the terms of the Defence Act (1903) there were limitations placed on where units of the Militia were allowed to be deployed. However, changes to the law were made during the war under the Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Act 1943 which allowed for the transfer of Militia units to the AIF if sixty-five percent or more of their personnel had volunteered for overseas service.
- ^ Christie later joined the Royal Australian Air Force and reached the rank of air commodore.
- Citations
- ^ Bean 1941, p. 42.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 99–100.
- ^ Browning 2000, p. 9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "51 Far North Queensland Regiment". Digger History. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- ^ Browning 2000, p. 10.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "51st Battalion". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 31 March 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ^ Browning 2000, pp. 149–176.
- ^ Odgers 1994, p. 127.
- ^ Browning 2007, pp. 330–331.
- ^ Browning 2000, Appendix A, p. I.
- ^ Browning 2000, p. 159.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 125.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 138.
- ^ a b Festberg 1972, p. 109.
- ^ "World War I and Inter War Years". Official Website for the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment Association. 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment Association. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ^ a b "51 Infantry Battalion: Appointments". Orders of Battle.com. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "51 Infantry Battalion: Superiors". Orders of Battle.com. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "31st/51st Battalion (Kennedy/Far North Queensland Regiment)". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 27 July 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 183–184.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 228.
- ^ Kuring 2004, p. 390.
- ^ Shaw 2010, pp. 10–11.
- ^ a b "CO's Welcome: 51st Battalion, The Far North Queensland Regiment". Department of Defence. 28 July 2009. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ Gaze, Jillian (18 March 2010). "Key to Adaptability". Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. Australian Army. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
- ^ O'Connell, Garth. "Indigenous Soldiers Today". Indigenous Australians at War. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
- ^ Beurich, Sebastian (1 November 2018). "Power of three as spears go on parade". Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1431 ed.). p. 3.
- ^ "History of 51 Far North Queensland Regiment". Australian Army. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ "Air Commodore Robert Christie, DSO and bar". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ "VX22 Geoffrey Hutton Brock, DSO". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
References
- OCLC 220623454.
- Browning, Neville (2007). For King and Cobbers: 51st Battalion AIF 1916–1919. Bassendean, Western Australia: Advance Press. ISBN 978-0-9580674-4-7.
- Browning, Neville (2000). Fix Bayonets: The Unit History of the 51st Battalion. Bayswater, Western Australia: Neville Browning. ISBN 0-646-49906-8.
- Festberg, Alfred (1972). The Lineage of the Australian Army. Melbourne, Victoria: Allara Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85887-024-6.
- ISBN 978-0-521-69791-0.
- Kuring, Ian (2004). Redcoats to Cams: A History of Australian Infantry 1788–2001. Loftus, New South Wales: Australian Military Historical Publications. ISBN 1-876439-99-8.
- ISBN 1-86302-385-2.
- 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.