2/7th Battalion (Australia)

2/7th Battalion

Members of the 2/7th Battalion with a Bren Carrier in October 1940
Active 25 October 1939–? February 1946
Country Australia
Branch Army
Type Infantry
Size ~800–900 officers and men[Note 1]
Part of 17th Brigade, 6th Division
Colours Brown over Red
Engagements

World War II

Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

The 2/7th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised on 25 October 1939 at Puckapunyal, Victoria, it was raised as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force for service during the Second World War.[2] Attached to the 17th Brigade, 6th Division the 2/7th fought in Egypt, Libya, Greece and Crete during 1940–41 before returning to Australia to fight the Japanese in New Guinea in 1943–45. The troops of the 2/7th gave themselves the nickname "Mud over Blood", after the brown over red of their insignia. After the end of the war, the battalion embarked to return to Australia on 18 December 1945 and disbanded at Puckapunyal in February 1946. For most of the war, the battalion's commanding officer was Colonel Henry Guinn, who led the 2/7th from its escape from Greece to the Pacific theatre.[2] During the war the battalion suffered 699 casualties, of which 226 were killed.[2]

Battle honours

References

Footnotes
  1. ↑ By the start of World War II, the authorised strength of an Australian infantry battalion was 910 men all ranks, however, later in the war it fell to 803.[1]
Citations
  1. ↑ Palazzo 2004, p. 94.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "2/7th Battalion". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 7 July 2009.

References

Further reading


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