| 32nd Battalion 32nd Battalion (Footscray Regiment) |
|
|---|---|
Map reading class conducted by members of the 8th Brigade, on the Somme in July 1918 |
|
| Active | 1915–1919 1921–1942 |
| Country | Australia |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line Infantry |
| Size | ~800 – 1,000 officers and men[Note 1] |
| Garrison/HQ | 1914–1919 South Australia & Western Australia 1921–1942 Victoria. |
| Engagements | First World War |
| Insignia | |
| Unit colour patch | |
The 32nd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was first raised in 1915 as part of the First Australian Imperial Force and was initially made up of personnel from South Australia and Western Australia. The battalion served in France and Belgium during the First World War before being disbanded in 1919.
It was re-raised in 1921 as the "32nd Battalion (Footscray Regiment)", a unit of the part-time Militia, between the wars the battalion served as a home defence unit in Victoria. During the Second World War the battalion was merged with the 14th Battalion to become the 14th/32nd Battalion (Prahran/Footscray Regiment), serving firstly as garrison troops in Australia and New Guinea before taking part in the fighting during the New Britain campaign. In July 1945 that battalion was disbanded.
After the war, the battalion was not re-raised in its own right when the Citizens Military Force (the forerunner to the Australian Army Reserve) was formed in 1948, however, it was raised as an amalgamated unit known as the "58th/32nd Battalion (City of Essendon Regiment)". This unit remained in existence until 1960 when it was subsumed into the Royal Victoria Regiment. Today, the battalion's honours and traditions are maintained by the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.
Contents |
The 32nd Battalion was officially formed on 9 August 1915 in Adelaide, for service with the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF). While "A" and "B" Companies were made up of recent recruits from South Australia, "C" and "D" Companies were formed in Perth, Western Australia, and underwent training at the Blackboy Hill Training Camp before joining the rest of the battalion.[3]
As part of the 8th Brigade, attached to the 5th Division, the battalion was first sent to Egypt before being dispatched to the European theatre of operations where served in the trenches on the Western Front in France and Belgium from 1916 until the war ended in November 1918.[3]
The battalion was committed to the front for the first time on 16 July 1916, having arrived in France from Egypt the previous month.[3] Three days after taking up position in the trenches they were committed to the fighting around Fromelles and suffered 718 casualties—a third of the battalion's total casualties for the entire war—which equalled roughly 90% of its effective strength.[3] As a result the 32nd Battalion took no further part in any of the other offensives that took place in 1916. During 1917 they took part in the operations in pursuit of the German forces as they retreated towards the Hindenburg Line, but found itself in the flank protection role during the Second Battle of Bullecourt. On 26 September 1917, however, the battalion took part in the fighting around Polygon Wood near Ypres in Belgium during the Battle of Passchendaele.[3]
For the remainder of 1917 and the first half of 1918 the 5th Division undertook mainly a reserve role and as a result the 32nd Battalion had little involvement during the German Spring Offensive.[3] After the German advance stalled the Allies launched their own offensive at around Amiens beginning on 8 August 1918. During this offensive the 32nd Battalion took part in operations through August and September, fighting its final engagement of the war between 29 September and 1 October 1918 as part of the joint Australian and American attack at the St Quentin Canal.[3] After this the Australian Corps was removed from the line for rest and training. It was still out of the line with the Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918.[3]
Throughout the conflict the battalion suffered 2,079 casualties of which 613 were killed.[3] In March 1919, after most of its personnel had been repatriated to Australia, the battalion merged with the 30th Battalion before subsequently being disbanded.[3]
In 1921, when the part time Citizens Force was re-organised to perpetuate the numerical designations of the wartime AIF battalions, the 32nd Battalion was re-formed in Melbourne, Victoria,[4] through an amalgamation of 5th Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment with part of the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, and part of the 29th (Port Philip) Light Horse Regiment.[5] The battalion drew most of its personnel from the south-west and western suburbs of Melbourne and in 1927, when territorial designations were adopted, the unit came to be known as the 32nd Battalion (Footscray Regiment). During this time it was part of the 4th Brigade, 3rd Division and was based on the Mornington Peninsula.[4]
Following Japan's entry into the Second World War the battalion was called up for defensive duties attached to the 2nd Brigade, providing garrison troops to vital installations around Melbourne until August 1942 when they were transferred to Western Australia, being attached to the 6th Brigade which was based around Geraldton.[4]
In September 1942 the battalion was amalgamated with the 14th Battalion to become the 14th/32nd Battalion (Prahran/Footscray Regiment).[4]
In early 1943 the battalion carried out amphibious warfare training in Queensland before being deployed to the Buna–Gona area in New Guinea in July.[4] The battalion would remain in mainland New Guinea and New Britain for the next two years, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Caldwell.[6] The New Britain campaign was a campaign of containment against the much larger Japanese forces in the area. On 18 March 1945 the battalion took part in its only major battle of the war when it launched an assault on Bacon Hill and captured it.[4]
In April 1945 the 14th/32nd Battalion was withdrawn back to Australia in preparation for involvement in future operations, however, in July the decision was made to disband the unit as the end of the war became apparent.[7]
During the course of the conflict the battalion suffered 77 casualties, of which 31 were killed in action or died of wounds or other causes. Members of the battalion received the following decorations for their service: one DSO, one OBE, two MCs, one BEM, one DCM, one MM and seven MIDs.[4]
In 1948, when Australia's part time military force was re-raised under the guise of the Citizens Military Force,[8] the battalion was re-raised albeit as an amalgamated unit. It was linked with the 58th Battalion to become the 58th/32nd Battalion and was known variously as the Melbourne Rifles, the West Melbourne Regiment and the City of Essendon Regiment.[9][10]
In 1960 the Australian Army was reorganised around pentropic divisions.[11] As a result of this reorganisation the CMF was greatly reduced, as 14 infantry battalions were disbanded altogether, while the 17 that remained gave up their old regional regimental ties and were reformed as part of the six newly-raised State based regiments.[11] As a result of this, the 58th/32nd was absorbed by the pentropic 1st Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment, forming 'E' Company, which was also known as "The Footscray Company".
After the abolition of pentropic divisions in 1965, the unit's honours and traditions became bound up in the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment, a unit which remains in existence today.[9] The 32nd Battalion's colours were laid up at St John's Anglican Church in Footscray in August 1970.[10]