2/30th Battalion (Australia)

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For other uses, see 30th Battalion (Australia).

2/30th Battalion
The cutting near Gemas, Malaya, where the 2/30th Battalion carried out an ambush in January 1942
Active1940–45
CountryAustralia
BranchAustralian Army
TypeInfantry
Size~900 men all ranks
Part of27th Brigade, 8th Division
EngagementsWorld War II
Insignia
Unit colour patch

The 2/30th Battalion was an

Battle of Singapore
, where it was captured in February 1942. Many of the 2/30th's personnel died in captivity before the war ended in August 1945.

History

Formation and training

Formed on 22 November 1940 at

unit colour patch (UCP) were the same as those of the 30th Battalion, a unit which had served during World War I before being raised as a Militia formation in 1921. These colours were purple and yellow, in an upright rectangle 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.[4]

With an authorised strength of around 900 men,

Bren carriers, sedans and trucks.[8] Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Galleghan, a former Militia officer who had commanded the 17th Battalion,[1] the battalion completed its training around Bathurst, New South Wales, after moving there in early 1941 after commencing training at Tamworth, which was focused upon preparing the battalion for warfare in the Middle East,[9] as it was believed that the 8th Division would ultimately join the other 2nd AIF divisions in the desert.[10]

Malaya and Singapore

As concerns about Japanese intentions in the Pacific grew, it was dispatched to

Johore, establishing themselves around Batu Pahat.[11] Further training was undertaken in Johore, including a large scale exercise around Kluang.[12]

Following Japan's entry into the war in December 1941 and the

Singapore. The fighting around the Gemencheh Bridge was their most significant action. Taking place on 14 January 1942, it was the first major action undertaken by Australian forces during the fighting in Malaya. As the Japanese streamed south towards Johore, the battalion was tasked with carrying out an ambush around a cutting on the Gemas–Tampin Road, to inflict heavy casualties before withdrawing. The ambush proved a considerable success, resulting in between 600 and 1,000 casualties for the Japanese and the destruction of several tanks and armoured vehicles.[14] Nevertheless, the British and Commonwealth forces were steadily forced back off the Malay Peninsula and withdrew across the Causeway to Singapore Island.[2]

After the withdrawal to Singapore, the 2/30th Battalion took up a defensive position near the Causeway, as the Australian forces were assigned to the north-west sector of the island. Within this area, the 27th Brigade adopted a position east of the Kranji River, with the 22nd on its left.[15] When the Japanese attack came on early in the morning on 8 February, the main thrust fell on the 22nd Brigade's position and they were steadily forced back.[16] On 10 February, the Japanese launched a second wave against the 27th Brigade's sector,[17] and after a brief, but futile fight the 2/30th was forced to withdraw from the Causeway back towards Bukit Mandai as its flanks became exposed.[18][19]

The fighting continued for another week, during which the British and Commonwealth forces were pushed back south through Bukit Timah towards the urban area on the island's south-east coast.

prisoners of war, although some were able to escape and return to Australia. They remained in Japanese captivity for the next three-and-a-half years, during which over 300 members of the battalion died from disease or brutality.[2] The battalion's final commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel George Ramsay, who took over command of the 2/30th on 9 February after Galleghan was hospitalised.[23] While the battalion was not officially disbanded until the end of the war, it was not reformed after the Malayan campaign.[2]

During the course of the war the 2/30th Battalion lost 433 men killed in action or died in captivity, while a further 136 were wounded. The following decorations were bestowed upon 2/30th Battalion personnel: one

Butterworth, Malaysia, which conducts training for forces deployed as part of Rifle Company Butterworth. This unit also uses the same Unit colour patch as the 2/30th Battalion.[24]

Battle honours

The 2/30th Battalion received the following battle honours:

  • Malaya 1941–1942, Johore, Singapore Island, and Gemas.[2]

Commanding officers

The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/30th Battalion:[25]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Penfold, Bayliss & Crispin 1979, p. xv.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "2/30th Battalion". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  3. ^ Penfold, Bayliss & Crispin 1979, p. xvi.
  4. ^ Long 1952, pp. 321–323.
  5. ^ Kuring 2004, p. 47.
  6. ^ Long 1952, p. 52.
  7. ^ Kuring 2004, p. 464.
  8. ^ Penfold, Bayliss & Crispin 1979, p. 10.
  9. ^ Penfold, Bayliss & Crispin 1979, p. 12.
  10. ^ Morgan 2013, p. 6.
  11. ^ Penfold, Bayliss & Crispin 1979, pp. 22–37.
  12. ^ Penfold, Bayliss & Crispin 1979, pp. 37–54.
  13. ^ Penfold, Bayliss & Crispin 1979, pp. 62–63.
  14. ^ Morgan 2013, pp. 7–8.
  15. ^ Hall 1983, pp. 171–172.
  16. ^ Hall 1983, p. 163.
  17. ^ Coulthard-Clark 1998, p. 202.
  18. ^ Hall 1983, p. 172.
  19. ^ Wigmore 1957, p. 330.
  20. ^ Coulthard-Clark 1998, pp. 202–203.
  21. ^ Hall 1983, pp. 186–187.
  22. ^ Coulthard-Clark 1998, p. 203.
  23. ^ Wigmore 1957, p. 229.
  24. ^ Blackwell 2008, pp. 64 & 76.
  25. ^ Pratten 2009, p. 327.
  26. ^ "2/30 Infantry Battalion: Appointments". Orders of Battle.com. Retrieved 25 April 2011.

References

External links
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