1st Battalion (Australia)
1st Battalion, AIF later 1st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment | |
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The 1st Battalion was an
In 1921, the battalion was reformed as part of the
History
Lineage
Although the 1st Battalion was not technically established until 1914, the unit takes its lineage from units that were raised in
In 1885, the 1st Regiment provided a detachment of one officer and 75 men to serve in Sudan during the Mahdist War, for which they received the battle honour "Suakin 1885".[4] During the Second Boer War 12 officers and 91 men from the regiment served in South Africa as part of the New South Wales contingent, for which they were later recognised with the battle honour of "South Africa 1899–1902".[4] Following Federation the regiment became the 1st Australian Infantry Regiment.[3] A system of universal training was introduced in 1911. Due to the large increase in the size of the Army the existing regiments were reorganised and redesignated. As a result, the regiment was split into three units—the 21st, 24th and 26th Infantry.[4]
First World War
Following the outbreak of the
Among the units raised by the AIF, the 1st Battalion was one of the first infantry units raised in New South Wales, being formed at
After undertaking further training and serving in a static defence role around the
In August, the Allies went on the offensive on the Gallipoli peninsula launching the August Offensive. As part of this offensive, the 1st Division was called upon to launch a diversionary attack with the Battle of Lone Pine. It was during this battle that the battalion took part in arguably its most notable engagement of the campaign.[7] The attack began early on 6 August and after only an hour, the Australians had captured the Turkish positions at Lone Pine. The Turks counterattacked almost immediately and for the course of the next three days the fighting continued, during which time two members of the battalion, Alfred Shout and Leonard Keysor, performed acts of valour for which they were later awarded the Victoria Cross.[7][10] The Allies evacuated Gallipoli in December 1915 and the 1st Battalion returned to Egypt.[7] While in Egypt the AIF underwent a period of expansion and re-organisation, during which time a number of men from the 1st Battalion were transferred to the newly formed 53rd Battalion. In early 1916, the AIF's infantry divisions were sent to France where over the course of the next two-and-a-half years they would take part in the fighting against the Germans on the Western Front.[7]
The battalion's first major action in France was at
Throughout the course of the war, the 1st Battalion suffered a total of 1,165 men killed and 2,363 wounded. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: three Victoria Crosses, two Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George, seven Distinguished Service Orders with one Bar, 40 Military Crosses with one Bar, 29 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 131 Military Medals, nine Meritorious Service Medal and 57 Mentions in Despatches.[7]
Inter war years
In 1918, the pre-war Militia units were re-organised once more into multi-battalion regiments.[3] It was decided that the reconstituted regiments would be numbered after AIF battalions and that each would comprise three to six battalions with the first battalion being formed from inactive ex-AIF soldiers, members of the Citizen Military Force forming the second and senior cadets forming the third.[3] As a result of this, the 21st Infantry Regiment was re-designated as the 1st Infantry Regiment.[3] A further review of defence requirements was carried out in 1920, after which it was determined that the Militia should be further reorganised to perpetuate the battle honours and designations of the AIF.[12] On 1 April 1921 the AIF was officially disbanded and a month later the new organisation of the Militia was adopted.[12] As a part of this reorganisation, the Citizen Force battalion of each regiment was separated and adopted the numerical designation of the AIF battalion with which it was associated, as well as its unit colour patch and battle honours.[3]
As a result of this the 5th Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment was redesignated the 1st Battalion[3] and was attached to the 9th Brigade, 2nd Division.[13] In 1927, territorial titles were introduced and the battalion officially adopted the designation of 1st Battalion (East Sydney Regiment), which it had unofficially used since 1921.[3][4] In 1929, following the election of the Scullin Labor government, the compulsory training scheme was abolished and in its place a new system was introduced whereby the Citizens Forces would be maintained on a part-time, voluntary basis only.[14] It was also renamed the "Militia" at this time.[15] The decision to suspend compulsory training, coupled with the economic downturn of the Great Depression meant that the manpower of many Militia units dropped considerably and as a result the decision was made to amalgamate a number of units.[16] On 1 July 1930, the 1st Battalion was amalgamated with the 19th Battalion, later adopting the title of the 1st/19th Battalion (City of Sydney's Own Regiment).[4] The two battalions remained linked until 1939 when due to the prospects of war a number of Militia battalions were delinked in preparation for an expansion of the Army. For a brief period after this the battalion was known as the 1st Battalion (City of Sydney Regiment), however, this was short lived as it was soon amalgamated once more, this time with the 45th Battalion.[3][17]
Second World War and later
With the outbreak of the
After World War II the Citizens Military Force was reformed in 1948, although the 1st Battalion was not re-raised at that time. In 1957, it was decided to expand the 1st Commando Company as a full battalion named the 1st Infantry Battalion (Commando), City of Sydney's Own Regiment.
Battle honours
The 1st Battalion carried the following battle honours:[17]
- Suakin 1885.[1]
- Boer War: South Africa 1899–1902.[1]
- First World War: Hazebrouck, Amiens, Albert 1918 (Chuignes), Hindenburg Line (twice), Epehy, France and Flanders 1916–1918, ANZAC, Landing at ANZAC, Suvla, Sari Bair–Lone Pine, Somme 1916, Somme 1918, Pozieres, Bullecourt, Ypres 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Lys.[7]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f "The 1st/19th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment History". Department of Defence. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ^ a b "RNSWR Battalions off Orbat". Digger History.info. Archived from the original on 2 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Lineage of 1 RNSWR". Digger History.info. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The 1st/19th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment Lineage". Department of Defence. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 85.
- ^ Scott 1941, p. 197.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "1st Battalion". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ^ "No. 29215". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 July 1915. p. 6541.
- ^ "No. 29251". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 August 1915. p. 7668.
- ^ McCarthy 1983, pp. 582–583.
- ^ Stanley 2010, p. 209
- ^ a b Grey 2008, p. 125.
- ^ Tanner, Mark. "Brief History of the 2nd Division" (PDF). Department of Defence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 138.
- ^ Palazzo 2001, p. 110.
- ^ Keogh 1965, p. 44.
- ^ a b Festberg 1972, p. 58.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 146.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 145–147.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 178–184.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 183.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 184.
- ^ Morgan 2019, p. 5.
- ^ Shaw 2010, p. 11.
References
- 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.
- OCLC 7185705.
- McCarthy, Dudley (1983). "Keysor, Leonard Maurice (1885–1951)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 9. Melbourne University Press. pp. 582–583. ISBN 978-0-522-84273-9. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- Morgan, Joseph (2019). "They Also Served: The 6th and 7th Machine Gun Battalions During World War II". Sabretache. LX (1). ISSN 0048-8933.
- Palazzo, Albert (2001). The Australian Army. A History of its Organisation 1901–2001. South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-551507-2.
- OCLC 220898894.
- 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.
- ISBN 9781741964806.
Further reading
- Blair, Dale (2001). Dinkum Diggers: An Australian Battalion at War. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 978-0-522-84944-8.
- Stacy, B.; Kindon, F.; Chedgey, H. (1931). The History of the First Battalion, A.I.F., 1914–1919. Sydney, New South Wales: James J. Lee. OCLC 36644006.