2/14th Field Regiment (Australia)

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2/14th Field Regiment
Gunners from the 2/14th Field Regiment firing a Short 25-pounder, New Guinea, 1944
Active1940–46
Country Australia
BranchArmy
TypeArtillery
Size~ 600 personnel all ranks
Part of8th Division
9th Division
5th Division
EngagementsWorld War II
Unit colour patch

The 2/14th Field Regiment was an

Second World War. Raised in late 1940 as part of the 8th Division, the regiment remained in Australia as a garrison force in Darwin when the division's infantry brigades were sent to various places around Southeast Asia to meet the threat posed by Japan. As a result, it did not deploy overseas until late 1943. In New Guinea, the regiment supported the 5th Division's operations on the Huon Peninsula throughout 1944 before deploying with them to New Britain in early 1945. From then, until the end of the war, the regiment engaged in operations against the large Japanese garrison on the island. At the end of the war, the 2/14th briefly undertook garrison duties on Rabaul as part of the 11th Division
before returning to Australia and disbanding in January 1946.

History

The regiment was formed on 17 October 1940 from volunteers for overseas service as part of the

Victoria. The second battery, the 28th Battery, was formed at Woodside Camp, outside of Adelaide, from South Australians. The majority of the officers and non commissioned officers were drawn from the ranks of the Militia, specifically personnel who had previously served in the 2/2nd Medium Training Regiment and the 13th Field Brigade.[4]

Initial individual and collective training of the batteries was undertaken throughout the remainder of the year before the regiment concentrated at Puckapunyal early in 1941, by which time it consisted of 38 officers and 621 other ranks. The arrival of the South Australian battery enabled collective training on a regimental level as well as technical and specialist training on the

Winnellie Camp.[7]

At Winnellie, the regiment joined the

unit colour patch consisting of a perpendicular bar that ran down the centre of the patch representing the "Broken Eighth Division"; when the captured men of the 8th were finally released from captivity, the plan was to remove the bar.[1]

In March 1942, the Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Hone took over command of the regiment, which was also expanded to three batteries with the raising of the 64th Battery.

Illawarra, New South Wales. Later, in September the regiment was re-organised in sympathy with the newly formulated Australian Army jungle establishment, which resulted in it being issued 81 jeeps and 63 four-wheel drive vehicles. The following month, the regiment moved north to Kalinga, Queensland, to prepare for embarkation overseas.[10]

In December an advanced party from the regimental headquarters and the 64th Battery moved to

Alexishafen, where it remained until December 1944 when the 5th Division was dispatched to secure New Britain.[1][11]

Conceptualised as a "mopping up" operation, the 5th Division's campaign was limited to containing the large Japanese force – up to 100,000 men – in the Gazelle Peninsula. Prior to departure, the 64th Battery replaced its Short 25-pounders with standard guns and by January 1945 it had landed at Jacquinot Bay.[12][13] Over the course of the next eight months the regiment was heavily involved in supporting the 6th Infantry Brigade's operations around Waitavolo and Tol,[14] and then the 13th Infantry Brigade's advance towards Moondei, as part of the effort to clear the area around Wide Bay and Open Bay.[1][15] During the course of the campaign, a total of about 16,000 rounds were fired by the regiment's guns.[16] Casualties amounted to two killed in action and five wounded.[17]

Following the end of hostilities in August 1945, the regiment remained on New Britain until September when it was moved to Rabaul. While there it became part of the 11th Division, and undertook garrison duties guarding Japanese prisoners of war. Throughout November and December, the regiment's size fell as the demobilisation process saw members repatriated to Australia or transferred to other units for subsequent service. Finally, at the end of 1945, the regiment returned to Australia and on 17 January 1946 the regiment disbanded.[1][18]

During the course of its involvement in the war, the regiment lost 20 men killed in action or died on active service and had another 10 wounded. The following decorations were awarded to 2/14th members: one

Mentions in Despatches.[1]

Commanding officers

The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/14th:

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "2/14th Field Regiment". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  2. ^ Horner 1995, p. 230.
  3. ^ Kingswell 1986, p. 112.
  4. ^ Kingswell 1986, p. 113.
  5. ^ Kingswell 1986, pp. 113–114.
  6. ^ Horner 1995, p. 233.
  7. ^ Kingswell 1986, p. 114.
  8. ^ Kingswell 1986, pp. 115–116.
  9. ^ Kingswell 1986, pp. 117–119.
  10. ^ Kingswell 1986, pp. 120–121.
  11. ^ a b Kingswell 1986, p. 122.
  12. ^ Kingswell 1986, p. 123.
  13. ^ Long 1963, p. 250.
  14. ^ Long 1963, p. 252.
  15. ^ Kingswell 1986, pp. 123–126.
  16. ^ Kingswell 1986, p. 128.
  17. ^ Long 1963, p. 269.
  18. ^ Kingswell 1986, pp. 127–128.
  19. ^ Brook 1986, p. 303.

References

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