10th Battalion (Australia)
10th Battalion | |
---|---|
Active | 1914–1919 1921–1930 1936–1942 1948–1960 1965–1987 |
Country | Australia |
Branch | Australian Army |
Type | Infantry |
Part of | 3rd Brigade, 1st Division |
Nickname(s) | The Fighting 10th |
Motto(s) | Pro Patria |
Colours | Purple over light blue |
Engagements | World War I
World War II |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
The 10th Battalion was an
Following the war, the battalion was re-raised as a part-time unit based in South Australia, drawing personnel and lineage from a number of previously existing militia units. The unit served briefly during the inter-war years, before being merged with the 50th Battalion in 1930 as the size of Australia's part-time military forces was decreased following the conclusion of the compulsory service scheme. It was re-raised in its own right in the mid-1930s as the Australian military was reorganised as part of the country's war preparations. During World War II the 10th was mobilised for full-time service. Following Japan's entry into the war, the battalion was assigned to defend the New South Wales southern coast before being reassigned to the defence of Darwin and being amalgamated with the 48th Battalion in August 1942. In the post-war period, the 10th Battalion was re-raised in 1948 as part of the Citizens Military Force and throughout the 1950s served as a training unit for national servicemen. In 1960, it became part of the Royal South Australia Regiment (RSAR) and was reduced to several company-sized elements within that regiment's 1st Battalion, before being reformed as a full battalion within the RSAR in 1965. It remained on the Australian Army's order of battle until 1987, when it was amalgamated with the 27th Battalion to form the 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment.
History
World War I
The 10th Battalion was raised shortly after the outbreak of
After briefly stopping in Albany, where its convoy was delayed due to concerns over the presence of German warships en route,[7] the 10th Battalion departed Australian waters in November and proceeded towards Egypt.[3] Initially, the plan had been for the battalion to continue on the United Kingdom from where it would subsequently move to the Western Front. Poor conditions and overcrowding in training camps in the United Kingdom resulted in the decision to disembark the Australians in Alexandria instead.[8] Arriving there on 4 December 1914, the battalion was sent into camp at Mena, near Cairo.[9]
The 10th Battalion underwent desert training in January and February 1915, during which time it was reorganised around the four-company structure that had been adopted by the British. Designated 'A' to 'D', each company consisted of 228 men that were spread across four
Gallipoli campaign
On 24 April 1915, the 10th Battalion embarked for Gallipoli along with the rest of the 1st Division. Two companies and the battalion headquarters were allocated to the battleship
In early August, the Allies attempted to break out from the beach, launching an
Western Front
In March 1916, the 10th Battalion sailed to France along with the rest of the 1st Division and deployed to the
After the German withdrawal towards the
In early 1918, following the
On 8 August 1918, when the Allies launched the Hundred Days Offensive, the battalion participated in an attack on Amiens that has since been described as one of the most successful for the Allies on the Western Front and, in the words of Erich Ludendorff, the "... blackest day for the German Army".[3] The battalion was out of the line when the offensive began, but followed up the advance moving through Corbie to Harbonnieres. There, on 10 August, the battalion supported the 9th Battalion's attack on Crepey Wood, which was cleared and then occupied. Throughout the afternoon, the battalion endured a heavy artillery bombardment and then repulsed a strong German counter-attack. The next day, the 10th captured Lihons, with the support of the 12th Battalion. A period of rest out of the line followed, before the battalion was committed to another attack around Proyart on 23 August. The attack was very successful, resulting in the battalion advancing 6,000 yards (5,500 m) and securing important high features and woods around Cappy.[46]
The battalion remained at the front until late September 1918; its last battle took place at
Following the cessation of hostilities, the Australian government decided that it would not contribute to the proposed Allied occupation force in Germany and would begin the process of demobilisation of the AIF as soon as possible.[56] Owing to the large number of soldiers deployed overseas, this process took some time,[57] and it was decided to progressively return men from each battalion, rather than send them home as a formed unit. As numbers dwindled, units were amalgamated for administrative purposes, and as a consequence the 9th and 10th Battalions were merged on 5 February 1919; the final contingent of troops from the 10th Battalion did not return home until September 1919 when they disembarked in Adelaide from the transport SS Takada.[3][58]
'Twas not within a barrack yard they put us through our drill,
They licked us into soldier shape in camp at Morphettville;
So khaki-clad and Enfield-armed, we'll fight at Tommy's side,
To hold secure the fields of France against the German tide.Chorus
Left, right, left, right; keep the column swinging;
Every step our destination nears;
Long, long miles we'll shorten by our singing,
Kits are heavy but a chorus cheers—
All our help old Mother England's needing—
Soon we'll have to prove that we are men,
And the 10th Battalion will be leading;
We're Australians in Old Ten.We hail from busy Rundle Street and north of Goyder's line;
But far from there, beneath strange skies, our glinting bayonets shine.
For half the world is now between us and the crowded quay
Where to the strains of "Auld Lang Syne" our troopship puts to sea.We long to hear the maxim's purr and smell the cordite strong,
Across the busy firing line the crowded trench along;
The chatter that our rifles make, as down the line it runs
To swell that wartime music grand, the chorus of the guns.The magic of the new lands we see won't banish from our mind
Those bright-eyed, dear Australian maids, the best of all girlkind;
The grand old Jack, wind-blown, above, with all its colours bright,
Means them and home, and all we love; so we march out to fight.
– The battalion song, written by C.R. Beresford with music by H. Brewster-Jones.[59]
Inter-war years and World War II
In late 1918, while the AIF unit was still deployed, the part-time units of the Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) were reorganised. At this time, several battalions were raised as part of the 10th Infantry Regiment in South Australia.[55] This unit drew its lineage from the 78th Infantry Regiment, which could trace its history to two battalions of the Adelaide Rifles.[55] The act of merging these units was part of a larger Army-wide reorganisation that created a convoluted lineage in many units, which according to historian Peter Stanley has resulted in confusion among military historians.[60] In 1921, when the AIF was officially disbanded and the part-time military forces were reorganised to perpetuate the AIF's numerical designations,[61] the 10th Battalion was re-raised in its own right in Adelaide, drawing personnel from the 2nd Battalions of the 10th, 32nd, 48th, and 50th Infantry Regiments.[55] Through these links, the 10th Battalion inherited a battle honour from the Boer War.[55] At this time it was allocated to the 3rd Brigade, which was part of the 4th Military District.[62]
The battalion received a
The 10th and 50th remained linked until October 1936;
The reorganisation was the result of personnel shortages that had come about due to an over-mobilisation of the Australian military, and resulted in the amalgamation of several Militia units; however, it was largely an amalgamation in name only as most of the former 48th Battalion personnel were used to raise the 108th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment.
During the war, another battalion with a similar designation, the 2/10th Battalion, was raised as part of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF).[70] The units of the 2nd AIF were considered separate from those of the Militia, although many members of the Militia volunteered to join the 2nd AIF.[71] Recruited from South Australians, the 2/10th was raised in mid-October 1939 and formed part of the 18th Brigade that was initially assigned to the 6th Division before being transferred to the 7th. Over the course of the war it served in the United Kingdom, North Africa, New Guinea and Borneo before being disbanded in December 1945.[70]
After World War II
In 1948, when Australia's part-time military force was re-raised as the Citizens Military Force (CMF),[72] the 10th Battalion returned to the order of battle, readopting the designation of "The Adelaide Rifles". Throughout the 1950s, as part of Central Command,[73] the battalion provided training for national servicemen until 1960, when a widespread re-organisation of the CMF saw the creation of six state-based multi-battalion regiments as the smaller, regional regiments of the past were consolidated.[74] As a result, the 10th Battalion was subsumed into the pentropic 1st Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment, providing two companies: 'D' (The Adelaide Company) and 'E' (The Port Adelaide Company).[55] In 1961, the battalion, although technically off the Army's order of battle, was entrusted with the 12 battle honours that had been earned by the 2/10th Battalion during World War II.[55]
In 1965, the Australian Army ended its brief experiment with the pentropic divisional establishment, and on 1 July 1965 the 10th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment, was re-raised as a unit in its own right. This battalion remained on the order of battle as an Australian Army Reserve unit until 29 November 1987, when it was amalgamated with the 27th Battalion, to form the 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment (10/27 RSAR).[75] This battalion has adopted the 10th Battalion's Unit colour patch, carries the colours of both the 10th and 27th Battalions, and perpetuates the battle honours of both of these units and several South Australian battalions of the 2nd AIF that were raised for service during World War II; it also recruits from the same areas, being headquartered in Adelaide with depots across South Australia and in Broken Hill.[76]
Commanding officers
The 10th Battalion's commanding officers during World War I, listed in chronological order of the date they first commanded the battalion, were as follows:
Officer | Dates of command | Citations |
---|---|---|
Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Price Weir | 16 August – 31 October 1914 7 December 1914 – 25 August 1915 5 March – 8 May 1916 16 May – 23 August 1916 |
[77] |
Major Frederick William Hurcombe | 1 November – 6 December 1914 | [77] |
Major George Dorricutt Shaw | 25 August – 21 October 1915 8–16 May 1916 11–18 January 1918 23–31 January 1918 11 February – 30 March 1918 11–16 May 1918 28 June – 7 July 1918 |
[78] |
Lieutenant Colonel Miles Fitzroy Beevor | 21 October 1915 – 4 March 1916 | [77] |
Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Wilder-Neligan | 23 June – 5 July 1917 15 July – 25 September 1917 9 October 1917 – 11 January 1918 18–23 January 1918 31 January – 11 February 1918 20 May – 28 June 1918 7 July – 12 August 1918 16–27 August 1918 6–30 September 1918 4 October 1918 – 1 January 1919 |
[79] |
Lieutenant Colonel George Ernest Redburg[c] | 23 August – 27 September 1916 30 September – 19 November 1916 6–23 December 1916 |
[80] |
Lieutenant Colonel James Samuel Denton | 27–30 September 1916 | [80] |
Major Felix Gordon Giles[d] | 19 November – 6 December 1916 5–15 July 1917 |
[82] |
Major Rupert Anstice Rafferty | 23 December 1916 – 4 February 1917 | [80] |
Lieutenant Colonel Ross Blyth Jacob | 4 February – 27 April 1917 11 May – 23 June 1917 30 March – 11 May 1918 |
[83] |
Major Alexander Steele | 27 April – 11 May 1917 | [80] |
Captain Gordon Cathcart Campbell[e] | 25–28 June 1917 | [84] |
Major Clarence Rumball | 28 September – 9 October 1917 | [85] |
Captain Roy Kintore Hurcombe[f] | Several days between May and September 1918 | [86] |
Lieutenant Colonel John Newman | 16–20 May 1918 | [86] |
Major William Francis James McCann
|
27 August – 6 September 1918 30 September – 4 October 1918 1 January – 17 March 1919 |
[87] |
The 10th Battalion's commanding officers during the late 1930s and World War II, were as follows:
Officer | Dates of command | Citations |
---|---|---|
Lieutenant Colonel William Veale | 1 October 1936 to 1 June 1940 | [88] |
Lieutenant Colonel John Hill | 1 June 1940 to 1 June 1942 | [88] |
Lieutenant Colonel Lindsay Farquhar | 1 June 1942 to 22 July 1942 | [88] |
The 10th/48th Battalion's commanding officers during World War II were as follows:
Officer | Dates of command | Citations |
---|---|---|
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth McEwin | 11 August 1942 to 9 January 1943 | [88] |
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Davies | 9 January 1943 to 29 October 1945 | [88] |
Battle honours
The 10th Battalion received the following battle honours:[55]
- South Africa 1899–1902 (inherited);
- World War I: Egypt 1915–16.[3]
- World War II: Borneo, Balikpapan(inherited).
See also
Notes
- ^ The place of birth of the 10th Battalion's original members is recorded by Lock as follows: 615 in South Australia, 176 in other Australian states, 12 in New Zealand, 202 in various parts of the British Isles, 12 in various parts of the British Empire and 10 in "foreign" countries.[1]
- ^ Lock records that at least 180 of the battalion's original recruits were serving in the Australian Military Forces already prior to enlistment in the AIF, while others had also served previously in either the British or Australian forces.[1]
- ^ The Australian War Memorial website does not list Redburg as commanding the battalion,[3] but Lock lists Redburg commanding the battalion (as a temporary lieutenant colonel) during several periods.[80]
- ^ Son of explorer Alfred Giles.[81]
- Sir Samuel Way.[84]
- ^ The Australian War Memorial website does not list Hurcombe as commanding the battalion,[3] but Lock lists him commanding the battalion for a few days between May and September 1918, but the exact details are not clear.[86]
Footnotes
- ^ a b Lock 1936, p. 301.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 21–27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "10th Battalion". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 23 & 61.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 37.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 38.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 91.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 53.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 55–56.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 61.
- ^ Baldwin 1962, pp. 57–60.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 66–69.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 75.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 77.
- ^ Broadbent 2005, pp. 61 & 63.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 84–85.
- ^ Lock 1936, p. 45.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 157.
- ^ Bean 1941a, pp. 145–146.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 134–137.
- ^ Bean 1941a, p. 282.
- ^ Lock 1936, p. 50.
- ^ Cameron 2011, p. 131.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 146–148.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 154 & 160.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 148.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 98–100.
- ^ Bean 1941b, p. 42.
- ^ "50th Battalion". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- ^ Limb 1988, pp. 27 & 74.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark 1998, pp. 117–118.
- ^ Limb 1988, p. 74.
- ^ "Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, VC, CMG, CBE". People. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 23 & 185.
- ^ Limb 1988, p. 28.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 200–205.
- ^ Limb 1988, pp. 36–41.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 250.
- ^ Kelly 2010, pp. 63–67.
- ^ Limb 1988, pp. 53 & 78.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark 1998, pp. 137–138.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark 1998, pp. 142–143.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 308.
- ^ Kearney 2005, pp. 305–308.
- ^ Stevenson 2007, p. 192.
- ^ Limb 1988, pp. 62–65.
- ^ Limb 1988, p. 65.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 342.
- ^ Odgers 1994, p. 127.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 111–112.
- ^ Limb 1988, p. 81.
- ^ Kearney 2005, p. 344.
- ^ Lock 1936, p. 114.
- ^ Lock 1936, p. 273.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Festberg 1972, p. 69.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 120.
- ^ Scott 1941, p. 827.
- ^ Lock 1936, p. 103.
- ^ Lock 1936, p. 23.
- ^ Stanley, Peter. "Broken Lineage: The Australian Army's Heritage of Discontinuity" (PDF). A Century of Service. Army History Unit. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 125.
- ^ Kuring 2004, p. 110.
- ^ Kuring 2004, p. 112.
- ^ Keogh 1965, p. 44.
- ^ McKenzie-Smith 2018, p. 2111.
- ^ Rayner 1995, pp. 352 & 360.
- ^ McKenzie-Smith 2018, pp. 2203, 2248–2249.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 183–184.
- ^ McKenzie-Smith 2018, p. 2203.
- ^ a b "2/10th Battalion". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ^ Shaw 2010, p. 9.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 200.
- ^ Kuring 2004, p. 228.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 228.
- ^ Shaw 2010, pp. 10–11.
- ^ "10/27 RSAR History". Department of Defence (Australia). Archived from the original on 16 September 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ a b c Lock 1936, p. 117.
- ^ Lock 1936, pp. 117–119.
- ^ Lock 1936, pp. 119–121.
- ^ a b c d e Lock 1936, p. 118.
- ^ Lock 1936, p. 174.
- ^ Lock 1936, pp. 118–119.
- ^ Lock 1936, pp. 118–120.
- ^ a b Lock 1936, p. 164.
- ^ Lock 1936, p. 119.
- ^ a b c Lock 1936, p. 120.
- ^ Lock 1936, pp. 120–121.
- ^ a b c d e Pratten 2009, p. 315.
References
- Baldwin, Hanson (1962). World War I: An Outline History. London: Hutchinson. OCLC 793915761.
- OCLC 39157087.
- Bean, Charles (1941b). The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1916. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Vol. III (12th ed.). Sydney, New South Wales: Angus and Robertson. OCLC 1030966129.
- ISBN 0-670-04085-1.
- Cameron, David (2011). The August Offensive at Anzac, 1915. Australian Army Campaigns Series – 10. Sydney, New South Wales: Big Sky Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9870574-7-1.
- Coulthard-Clark, Chris (1998). Where Australians Fought: The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles (1st ed.). St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-611-2.
- 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.
- Kearney, Robert (2005). Silent Voices: The Story of the 10th Battalion, AIF, in Australia, Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Belgium During the Great War 1914–1918. Frenchs Forest, New South Wales: New Holland. ISBN 1-74110-175-1.
- Kelly, Michael (2010). "The Raid on Celtic Wood". Wartime (52). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Australian War Memorial: 63–67. ISSN 1328-2727.
- 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.
- Limb, Arthur (1988) [1919]. A History of the 10th Battalion, A.I.F. Swanbourne, Western Australia: J. Burridge Military Antiques. OCLC 220869756.
- Lock, Cecil (1936). The Fighting 10th: A South Australian Centenary Souvenir of the 10th Battalion, A.I.F. 1914–19. Adelaide, South Australia: Webb & Son. OCLC 220051389.
- ISBN 978-1-925675-146.
- OCLC 31743147.
- ISBN 978-0-521-76345-5.
- Rayner, Robert (1995). The Army and the Defence of Darwin Fortress. Plumpton, New South Wales: Rudder Press. ISBN 0-646-25058-2.
- OCLC 271462433.
- Shaw, Peter (2010). "The Evolution of the Infantry State Regiment System in the Army Reserve". Sabretache. LI (4 (December)). Garran, Australian Capital Territory: ISSN 0048-8933.
- Stevenson, Robert (2007). "The Forgotten First: The 1st Australian Division in the Great War and its Legacy" (PDF). Australian Army Journal. IV (1). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Land Warfare Studies Centre: 185–199. ISSN 1448-2843. Archived from the originalon 26 March 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
External links
- AWM4: 23/27/1-23/27/41—10th Battalion, AIF, War Diary. Retrieved on 3 June 2015.