2/26th Battalion (Australia)

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see 26th Battalion (Australia).

2/26th Battalion
Second World War
Insignia
Unit colour patch

The 2/26th Battalion was an

prisoners of war
, remaining in captivity until being liberated at the end of the war in 1945. The battalion was never re-raised.

History

Formed as part of the

unit colour patch (UCP) were the same as those of the 26th Battalion, a unit which had served during World War I before being raised as a Militia formation in 1921. These colours were purple over blue, in a diamond shape, although a border of gray in an oval shape was added to the UCP to distinguish the battalion from its Militia counterpart; the oval border denoted that the battalion was an 8th Division unit.[5]

With an authorised strength of around 900 personnel,[1] like other Australian infantry battalions of the time, the battalion was formed around a nucleus of four rifle companies – designated 'A' through to 'D' – each consisting of three platoons.[6] The majority of the 2/26th's personnel were drawn from Queensland and northern New South Wales, and arrived at the battalion in December 1940 after having completed basic training elsewhere, while the officers were hand-picked by Boyes.[7]

In early 1941, the battalion moved to

Melbourne.[10] Although initially it had been intended that the 2/26th, and indeed the entire 8th Division, would be sent to the Middle East to join the 7th and 9th Divisions in the campaign against the Germans and Italians,[11] concerns about Japanese intentions in the Pacific led to the decision to deploy them in Southeast-Asia instead.[12] Embarking upon the Marnix Van St Aldegonde, a Dutch ship of approximately 20,000 tons displacement, their ultimate destination was Singapore.[10][13]

Sailing via

Strait of Johore onto the mainland, to build up defences and carry out jungle training, and undertake patrols onto the peninsula to check the accuracy of maps and locate tracks.[16] During this time they were based at Kota Tinggi and Jasin.[4]

On 6 December 1941, the battalion received the code word to adopt battle stations and adopted a defensive position to the north of Kota Tinggi. In the early hours of 8 December, fighting began as the Japanese launched their

Muar, after the 2/30th Battalion conducted a successful ambush, Westforce began the withdrawal back to Singapore Island, during which the 2/26th Battalion took part in a number of rearguard actions.[4] Actions were fought at the Namazi Estate, Forty-Mile Peg and the Thirty-One Mile Peg. Of these, perhaps the most significant came at the Thirty-One Mile Peg, where 16 Platoon, under Lieutenant William Magarry, conducted a bayonet charge near Ayer Hitam.[20] They crossed the Strait on 30 January and along with the rest of the 27th Brigade took up positions in the defence of the Causeway in anticipation of the Japanese assault which came a week later on 8 February 1942.[4]

The position occupied by 'B' Company on Singapore in late January and early February 1942.

After being subjected to heavy aerial and artillery bombardment, the following day the battalion's commanding officer, Arthur Boyes, handed over command to Lieutenant Colonel Roland Oakes,

second in command of the 2/19th Battalion. Boyes was called away to help organise the island's rear area defence and was subsequently given command of 'X' Battalion, a composite unit made up of reinforcements that had been separated from their units. Shortly after taking up this appointment, however, Boyes was killed along with a number of his men when the battalion was ambushed while attempting to fill a gap in the lines that had resulted from a Japanese breakthrough.[22]

On 10 February, the 2/26th Battalion moved into position on 4,000 yards (3,700 m) frontage between Bukit Mandai and Bukit Panjang, with each of its

Burma, Thailand, Borneo and Japan—where they were used as slave labour by the Japanese.[24] They spent the next three and a half years as prisoners of war until the war came to an end, when they were liberated and repatriated back to Australia.[4]

Casualties included 432 men killed in action or died in captivity, 136 wounded and 1,157 prisoners of war. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: one

Mentions in Despatches.[4]

Battle honours

For its service during the Second World War, the 2/26th Battalion was awarded the following battle honours:

  • Malaya 1941–1942, Johore and Singapore Island.[4]

Commanding officers

The following officers commanded the 2/26th during the war:[4]

  • Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Harold 'Sapper' Boyes
  • Major Charles Patrick Tracey

Notes

  1. ^ a b Kuring 2004, p. 47.
  2. ^ a b Magarry 1994, p. 5
  3. ^ Morgan 2013, p. 4.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "2/26th Battalion". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  5. ^ Long 1952, pp. 321–323.
  6. ^ Long 1952, p. 52.
  7. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 3
  8. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 7
  9. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 25
  10. ^ a b Magarry 1994, p. 26
  11. ^ Morgan 2013, pp. 6–7.
  12. ^ Wigmore 1957, p. 59
  13. ^ Wigmore 1957, p. 84
  14. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 27
  15. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 30
  16. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 39
  17. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 54
  18. ^ Wigmore 1957, p. 138
  19. ^ Wigmore 1957, p. 211
  20. ^ Magarry 1994, pp. 118–120
  21. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 130
  22. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 131
  23. ^ Wigmore 1957, p. 338
  24. ^ Magarry 1994, p. 157

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2/26th_Battalion_(Australia)&oldid=1048153169"