54th Battalion (Australia)
54th Battalion (Australia) | |
---|---|
Active | 1916–1919 1921–1929 1939–1944 |
Country | Australia |
Branch | Australian Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | ~900–1,000 officers and men |
Part of | 14th Brigade, 5th Division (WWI) 5th Brigade, 2nd Division (WWII) |
Engagements | World War I |
The 54th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1916 for service during World War I and took part in the fighting in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Belgium before being amalgamated with the 56th Battalion in late 1918 following the German spring offensive that reduced the numbers in both battalions. The battalion was re-raised in 1921 as a part-time unit in New South Wales before being amalgamated with the 20th Battalion in 1929. At the outbreak of World War II, the battalion was reformed in its own right, undertaking garrison duties in Australia until being disbanded in 1944.
History
World War I
The 54th Battalion was originally raised on 16 February 1916 during a reorganisation and expansion of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) that took place in Egypt following the Gallipoli campaign.[1] This was achieved by transferring cadres of experienced personnel predominately from the 1st Division to the newly formed battalions and combining them with recently recruited personnel who had been dispatched as reinforcements from Australia.[2] With an authorised strength of 1,023 men,[3] the unit's first intake of personnel were drawn from men originating from New South Wales, many of whom had already served with the 2nd Battalion. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Walter Edmund Hutchinson Cass – a veteran of the Boer War who had commanded the 2nd Battalion at Gallipoli[4] – the battalion became part of the 14th Brigade attached to the 5th Australian Division.[5]
After concentrating at
After a month of rest, the battalion returned to the Somme in October, occupying the trenches around Flers, where they suffered further losses before being moved to the trenches around Le Transloy and Beaulencourt.
In early 1918, the capitulation of Tsarist Russia allowed the Germans to concentrate their strength on the Western Front, and they subsequently launched a
During late September and early October the battalion took part in the
Inter-war years and World War II
The battalion was reformed in 1921 as a unit of the Citizens Forces, Australia's part-time military force, following a re-organisation of the Army to perpetuate the numerical designations of the AIF.[16] Based in New South Wales, it drew personnel from the 2nd Battalion, 54th Infantry Regiment and the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment. In 1927, when territorial titles were adopted by the Army, the battalion became known as the "Lachlan-Macquarie Regiment", due to its location in the New South Wales region of the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers,[17] which were named after Lachlan Macquarie, a former governor of New South Wales; at the same time the battalion adopted the motto of Deo Patriae Tigi.[15] Upon formation, the Citizen Forces battalions were maintained through a mixture of voluntary and compulsory service; however, in 1929, the Universal Training Scheme was abolished by the Scullin Labor government.[18] As a result, in a decline in numbers, on 1 July 1929, the battalion was amalgamated with the 20th Battalion, forming the 20th/54th Battalion,[15] as Australia's part-time military force was re-organised as an all volunteer force called the "Militia".[19] Later, as the Australian military was hastily expanded on the eve of World War II,[20] the 20th/54th Battalion was delinked and the 54th Battalion raised in its own right.[15] This occurred on 1 September 1939.[21]
During World War II, the battalion was mobilised for full-time service as part of the 5th Brigade of the 2nd Division.[22][23] Initially, due to the provisions of the Defence Act, it was precluded from being sent overseas to fight,[24] but in 1943 it was gazetted as an AIF unit.[15] This meant that it could be sent outside the South West Pacific Area;[25] regardless, the battalion remained in Australia and undertook garrison duties in New South Wales and Western Australia to defend against a possible invasion.[22] The invasion never came and, on 9 January 1944, the battalion was disbanded,[15] as part of a partial demobilisation of the Australian military that took place at that time as manpower was redirected back towards industry.[26]
Battle honours
The 54th Battalion received the following battle honours:
- World War I:
Notes
- Citations
- ^ Bean 1941, p. 42.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 99–100.
- ^ Kuring 2004, p. 47.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dickinson 1939, p. 22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h 54th Battalion.
- ^ Stevenson 2007, p. 190.
- ^ McMullin 2006.
- ^ Stevenson 2007, p. 191.
- ^ Baldwin 1962, pp. 127 & 141.
- ^ a b c d Dickinson 1939, p. 23.
- ^ Cox 1982, p. 24.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 109 & 111.
- ^ Dickinson 1939, p. 24.
- ^ 56th Battalion.
- ^ a b c d e f g Festberg 1972, p. 111.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 125.
- ^ Northern Star & 13 July 1929, p. 3.
- ^ Grey 2008, pp. 125 & 138.
- ^ Keogh 1965, p. 44.
- ^ Keogh 1965, pp. 48–49.
- ^ Australian Infantry Colour Patches.
- ^ a b Orders of Battle.
- ^ Brief History of the 2nd Division.
- ^ Johnston 2007, p. 5.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 183.
- ^ Grey 2008, p. 188.
References
- "54th Battalion". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- "56th Battalion". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- "5 Australian Infantry Brigade". Orders of Battle.com. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
- "Australian Infantry Unit Colour Patches 1929–1949". Digger History. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- "Brief History of the 2nd Division" (PDF). Army History Unit. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- Baldwin, Hanson (1962). World War I: An Outline History. London: Hutchinson. OCLC 988365.
- OCLC 220623454.
- Cox, Reginald (1982). Military Badges of the British Empire 1914–18. London: E. Benn. ISBN 9780510000820.
- Dickinson, G.A. (1939). "The Fifty-Fourth Battalion, A.I.F.: An Outline of its History". Reveille. 13 (3): 22–24. OCLC 220041646.
- 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.
- ISBN 978-1-84603-123-6.
- OCLC 7185705.
- Kuring, Ian (2004). Redcoats to Cams: A History of Australian Infantry 1788–2001. Loftus, New South Wales: Australian Military History Publications. ISBN 1-876439-99-8.
- McMullin, R. (2006). "Disaster at Fromelles". Wartime Magazine. 36. Australian War Memorial. ISSN 1328-2727. Archived from the originalon 9 June 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2007.
- "Military Changes". Northern Star (Lismore, NSW: 1876–1954). Lismore, New South Wales: National Library of Australia. 13 July 1929. p. 3. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- Stevenson, Robert (2007). "The Forgotten First: The 1st Australian Division in the Great War and its Legacy". Australian Army Journal. IV (1): 185–199. OCLC 30798241. Archived from the originalon 1 April 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.