2/13th Battalion (Australia)
2/13th Battalion | |
---|---|
Active | 1940–1946 |
Country | Australia |
Branch | Australian Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | ~800–900 personnel[Note 1] |
Part of | 20th Brigade, 7th Division 20th Brigade, 9th Division |
Nickname(s) | "Devil's Own"[2] |
Engagements | World War II |
Insignia | |
Unit colour patch (1940–1942) | |
(1942–1946) |
The 2/13th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, which served during World War II. Formed in April 1940 from volunteers drawn primarily from New South Wales, as part of the 20th Brigade of the 7th Division, the battalion served in North Africa in 1941–1942, after being reassigned to the 9th Division. While most of the 9th Division was withdrawn from Tobruk, during October 1942, the battalion remained and fought alongside the new garrison built around the British 70th Division. Following the lifting of the siege, the battalion returned to Australia during 1943. It later took part in campaigns against the Japanese in New Guinea in 1943–1944 and Borneo in 1945, before being disbanded in 1946.
History
Formation
The 2/13th Battalion[Note 2] was established in April 1940, from Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) volunteers drawn primarily from the state of New South Wales, the 2/13th Battalion. Along with the 2/15th and 2/17th Battalions, it formed part of the 20th Brigade, which was assigned on formation to the 7th Division. With an authorised strength of around 900 personnel, like other Australian infantry battalions of the time, the 2/13th was formed around a nucleus of four rifle companies, each consisting of three platoons.[4]
Throughout the war, the 2/13th had six different
Individual training was undertaken at Ingleburn Army Camp, before the battalion marched in mid-August to Bathurst Army Camp where collective training was completed. By October the battalion was ready to deploy overseas and, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Burrows, previously commanding officer of the 36th Battalion[7] embarked along with the rest of the brigade from Sydney, bound for the Middle East on board the Queen Mary.[8] While at sea, a reorganisation of the 7th and 9th Divisions resulted in several brigades being reallocated, and as a consequence the 2/13th, was reassigned to the 9th Division, along with the rest of the 20th Brigade.[2]
Middle East
Sailing via Bombay, in India, where the battalion briefly camped at
Following this, the 2/13th joined the Tobruk garrison, as the port was surrounded. During the siege, the battalion occupied the perimeter and undertook defensive duties, remaining there for eight months, with the distinction of being the only Australian infantry battalion to see out the length of the siege,[2] remaining alongside the new garrison built around the British 70th Division. The other Australian units were withdrawn earlier by sea and the intention had been to do the same for the 2/13th in October 1941, but the convoy scheduled to take the 2/13th out of Tobruk had been repelled by an Axis air attack and the British later asked for the battalion, less its advanced party which had already been evacuated,[13] to remain for the subsequent break out attempt.[14]
In November, the British launched Operation Crusader, to relieve the garrison at Tobruk. As part of this effort, the 2/13th Battalion was tasked with recapturing El Duda in late November after a battalion of the Essex Regiment was forced off the position.[15] Supported by British armour and artillery, two companies totalling 160 men assaulted the position which was held by force of around 450 Germans. In the fighting that followed heavy casualties were inflicted on the defenders who were forced from the position, leaving 167 men who were taken prisoner.[16] Following the capture of El Duda, the 2/13th undertook patrol actions in their sector, and endured a heavy bombardment, which resulted in further casualties, including the commanding officer, Burrows, after which Major George Colvin temporarily assumed command of the battalion in the field.[17]
After the relief of Tobruk, in December 1941, the battalion moved to Palestine where it rejoined the rest of the 9th Division and subsequently undertook garrison duty in Syria, as part of the Allied occupation force that had been established there following the conclusion of the fighting against the Vichy French forces in the Syria–Lebanon campaign. During this period, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Turner took over command of the battalion.[18] The 2/13th remained in Syria, based around Tripoli initially before moving to Aleppo,[19] until July 1942 when the situation in North Africa became critical and the 9th Division was hurriedly moved west to El Alamein as the German Afrika Korps and Italian forces advanced towards Egypt. For the next four months, the battalion defended the northern sector of the Allied line, occupying Tel el Eisa in August, and then taking part in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October and November 1942.[2] During the height of the battle, Turner was mortally wounded and command of the 2/13th fell to Colvin once again; he was subsequently confirmed in the position in later October 1942 and would command the 2/13th for the remainder of the war.[13]
Pacific
The fighting around Tel el Eisa was the 2/13th's last involvement in the fighting in North Africa as the 9th Division was recalled to Australia in early 1943 to take part in the fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific, joining the other two 2nd AIF divisions – the 6th and 7th – which had been transported back the year before. Departing Egypt in January 1943 aboard the Acquitania,
Lae fell more quickly than the Allies expected and as a result a follow-up operation was mounted to secure the
They were withdrawn from the front in March 1944, for rest and re-organisation, subsequently returning to the Atherton Tablelands to concentrate near
Disbandment
After the conclusion of hostilities, the 2/13th Battalion carried out various garrison duties such as guarding prisoners of war and maintaining internal security while the
Battle honours
The 2/13th Battalion received the following battle honours:[2]
- .
Commanding officers
The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/13th:[2][32]
- Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Alexander Burrows (1940–1941);
- Lieutenant Colonel Robert William Newton Turner (1941–1942);
- Lieutenant Colonel George Edward Colvin (1942–1945).
Notes
- Footnotes
- ^ By the start of World War II, the authorised strength of an Australian infantry battalion was 910 men all ranks, however, later in the war it fell to 803 when the Australian Army converted to the jungle divisional establishment.[1]
- ^ The numerical designation of 2nd AIF units was prefixed by "2/", which was used to set them apart from Militia units with corresponding numerical designations.[3]
- Citations
- ^ Palazzo 2004, p. 94.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "2/13th Battalion". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
- ^ Long 1952, p. 51.
- ^ Long 1952, p. 52.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, pp. 39–40.
- ^ Long 1952, pp. 321–323.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, p. 1.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, p. 21.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, pp. 25–30.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, p. 31.
- ^ Wilmot 1993, pp. 71–72.
- ^ Hill 2004, pp. 38–40.
- ^ a b Fearnside 1993, p. 289.
- ^ Wilmot 1993, pp. 240 & 289.
- ^ Wilmot 1993, p. 306.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, pp. 151–152.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, pp. 154–155 & 289.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, p. 177.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, pp. 186–192.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, p. 313.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, p. 328.
- ^ Keogh 1965, pp. 306–307.
- ^ Keogh 1965, p. 315.
- ^ Keogh 1965, p. 317.
- ^ Keogh 1965, Map p. 321.
- ^ Keogh 1965, p. 332.
- ^ Fearnside 1993, p. 383.
- ^ Keogh 1965, p. 453.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark 1998, pp. 252–253.
- ^ Johnston 2002, p. 247.
- ^ Barter 1993, pp. 424–425.
- ^ Johnston 2002, p. xv.
References
- Barter, Margaret (1993). "Chowne, Albert Edward (1920–1945)". ISBN 0522845126.
- Coulthard-Clark, Chris (1998). Where Australians Fought: The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-611-2.
- Fearnside, G.H (1993) [1953]. Bayonets Abroad: A History of the 2/13 Battalion, A.I.F. in the Second World War (2nd ed.). Swanbourne, Western Australia: John Burridge Military Antiques. OCLC 38342928.
- OCLC 723983584.
- ISBN 1-86508-654-1.
- OCLC 7185705.
- OCLC 18400892.
- Palazzo, Albert (2004). "Organising for Jungle Warfare". In Dennis, Peter; ISBN 978-0-646-43590-9. Archived from the original(PDF) on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
- ISBN 0-14-017584-9.
Further reading
- Gillan, Hugh (1985). We Had Some Bother: Tales From the Infantry. Sydney, New South Wales: Hale & Iremonger. ISBN 978-0-9595540-1-4.
- Watch (Director), John; Jackson (Producer), Dean; Fogarty, Bill (c. 2001). Bayonets Abroad, 2/13th Infantry Battalion At War (Videotape). Sydney, New South Wales: 2/13th Battalion Association. OCLC 223765090.