10th Division (Australia)

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Two Australian Army divisions during World War II were known as the 10th Division.

[edit] Militia unit

In early 1942, after the Pacific War began, the Newcastle Covering Force, a Militia formation comprised of the 1st and 32nd Brigades, was renamed the 10th Division. It was led by Maj. Gen. John Murray. Later that year, personnel shortages caused the division to be disbanded. Australian Prime Minister John Curtin referred to this in a letter to Winston Churchill in October 1942, saying:

The Army's minimum need for replacement of wastage is 7,000 to 8,000 a month, against an estimated monthly intake in the coming year of 1,100 (youths turning 18). This does not enable existing army formations to be maintained. Eight infantry battalions have already been disbanded and absorbed into other units. This has involved the disbandment of the 10th Division and the absorption of its units into other formations. A further decrease in the number of battalions up to a total decrease of eleven battalions is contemplated.[1]

[edit] AIF unit

Much later in the war, as Allied forces approached the Japanese home islands, planning began for a Commonwealth Corps, including an Australian Imperial Force (AIF) unit, the 10th Division. The division was to be made up of experienced personnel from the existing divisions. The corps would have included British and Canadian divisions, and was to be part of a landing on Honshū in 1946. The landing would have been dominated by US forces, and was known as Operation Coronet. However, the introduction of nuclear weapons, and their use at Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused Japan to surrender before the invasion took place.