The 2/14th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served during World War II. Part of the 21st Brigade, 7th Division, the battalion was raised from Second Australian Imperial Force volunteers drawn mainly from the state of Victoria. After completing training in Australia in 1940, the battalion deployed to the Middle East where it was stationed in Egypt and Palestine before it saw action against the Vichy French in Syria in June and July 1941, in a short lived campaign. Garrison duties in Lebanon followed before the battalion was withdrawn to Australia in early 1942 as Australian forces were concentrated in the Pacific to respond to the threat posed by Japan's entry into the war.

After a short period of re-training in Australia to prepare for jungle warfare, the battalion was deployed to New Guinea in August 1942 as the Australians sent reinforcements to the Kokoda Track to fight against Japanese forces that had been advancing towards Port Moresby. After the Japanese were forced to exhaust their supplies they began to fall back towards their beachheads on the north coast. The 2/14th was part of the Australian advance that then saw further action around Gona. In September 1943, after a period of re-organisation in Australia, the battalion took part in the advance on Lae as the Allies went on the offensive in New Guinea, before taking part in the fighting in the Markham and Ramu Valleys of the Finisterre Range campaign. The battalion's final involvement in the war came in the landing on Balikpapan in 1945. The 2/14th was disbanded after the war, in early 1946.

History

Formation The 2/14th Battalion was raised on 26 April 1940 at Puckapunyal, Victoria, shortly after the start of World War II as part of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF), which was established at the time from personnel that had volunteered to serve in combat overseas. The battalion was assigned to the 21st Brigade, 7th Division, and would remain part of this formation throughout its existence. It had an authorised strength of around 900 personnel, and most of those were drawn from the state of Victoria, although some were allocated from other states later as reinforcements. Many of the battalion's initial recruits had previous military experience, having served in the Militia prior to volunteering for the 2nd AIF, with the majority having to relinquish rank to transfer. Officially the battalion's average age on formation was 29, although the battalion historian, William Russell, asserts that this is not necessarily accurate as men were found to have altered their ages both up (from as young as 15) and down (from as old as 55) upon recruitment. In keeping with 2nd AIF recruitment practices, there were many pairs of brothers who were early recruits; there was even one case of a father and son who served in the same platoon.

Soon after battalion headquarters was established, the battalion's first commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel William Cannon, began choosing his officers, who then set about the task of forming their own companies and platoons, as the unit structure was built up around four rifle companies – designated 'A' through to 'D' – with a battalion headquarters and a headquarters company consisting of several specialist platoons including signals, pioneer, anti-aircraft, transport, administration and mortars. The battalion's companies were formed largely along territorial lines, with 'A' Company being drawn mainly from the Mildura and north-eastern regions of Victoria, while 'B' Company was drawn from Geelong, the Western District, Prahran, Brighton and the Mornington Peninsula. 'C' Company consisted largely of men from Ballarat and Melbourne's inner suburbs, and men of Scottish ancestry, while those of Irish ancestry formed 'D' Company. Once the battalion's complement of men had arrived at Puckapunyal and formation was complete, basic training began in May 1940. On 18 August, the battalion was presented its regimental colours in a ceremony by members of the 14th Battalion, who had served during World War I. This was done to establish links with the units of the First Australian Imperial Force, and later, in early October, the 2/14th Battalion changed its unit colour patch from a black over blue diamond to the yellow and blue rectangle of its earlier counterpart. Shortly after this, although still only partially trained, the battalion received orders to deploy overseas, and on 18 October the men embarked upon the Aquitania in Sydney, bound for the Middle East.

Middle East Travelling via India, where they camped at Deolali, near Bombay, the battalion arrived at Kantara, in Egypt on 25 November 1940 and were transported to Julius Camp in Palestine, where the soldiers undertook further training. Later, they were moved to Dimra in March 1941, before being sent in April to Mersa Matruh, in Egypt, to defend against a possible German attack there during the siege of Tobruk. Although no German attack came there, during their time at Maaten Bagush the battalion was subjected to aerial attack. It remained there until the end of May when the battalion was relieved by a South African battalion. The 21st Brigade then returned to Palestine to begin preparations for operations in Syria and Lebanon against the Vichy French to prevent the area from falling into the hands of the Germans who could then have launched an attack on the Suez Canal from there, or captured the oilfields in Persia (present-day Iran).

The 2/14th Battalion's involvement in the Syria–Lebanon campaign began on the night of 7/8 June when the unit advanced across the Palestine border from Hanita and attacked Vichy outposts around the village of Alma Chaab. Following this, the battalion advanced along the coast towards Tyre, from where it evicted the French defenders before forcing a crossing over the Litani River. On 11 June, the 21st Brigade's advance towards Sidon came up against determined resistance around the Zahrani River, at Merdjayoun. The 2/14th Battalion found themselves up against troops from the French Foreign Legion's 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment. For the next few days the battalion came under attack from Vichy French aircraft and artillery before being committed to a flanking action on 15 June. Conducting a march during the heat of the day, the Australians approached Sidon through the mountains but arrived just after the town fell to the 2/27th Battalion.

Following this, on 17 June, the battalion was moved to the central sector of the Allied advance to reinforce the 2/31st Battalion, attached to the 25th Brigade, which was holding off a Vichy French counter-attack at Jezzine. After Damascus was captured on 22 June, the 2/14th Battalion was committed to the fighting to secure a number of features on Mount Kharatt, high ground north-east of the town which dominated the surrounding area. These attacks proved unsuccessful, and quite costly for the 2/14th, with 12 killed and 47 wounded on 24 June. The fighting around Jezzine continued until 29 June when the French began to withdraw. After this, the Australians regained the initiative and on 2 July the 2/14th Battalion left Jezzine to begin preparations for the Battle of Damour, to which it was committed on 5 July 1941. Between then and 9 July, the 2/14th were involved in a number of attacks, capturing French positions on Hills 243 and 567.

On 12 July, an armistice came into effect, ending the fighting. Following this, the 2/14th Battalion was initially used to conduct battlefield clearance tasks before moving to Beirut where the men were used as garrison troops overseeing the repatriation of captured Vichy soldiers to France. Later, in September, the battalion was transferred to the north to construct defensive positions near Tripoli in Lebanon. In December 1941, following the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor and in Malaya, the decision was made to bring the 6th and 7th Divisions back to Australia. In early January 1942, the 7th Division left Syria, where it had been undertaking garrison duties, and returned to Palestine. The 2/14th were moved to a camp near Jerusalem, and during this time command of the battalion passed to Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Key, who had previously commanded the 2/8th Battalion. On 30 January 1942 the 2/14th Battalion embarked on the transport Ile de France from Port Tewfik in Egypt, bound for Australia. The 2/14th's casualties during its deployment to the Middle East were 21 killed, 94 wounded and 11 captured.

Kokoda Track The battalion returned to Australia via Bombay, where the infantrymen were transferred to the troopship City of Paris in early February. They arrived in Adelaide, South Australia, on 24 March 1942. After this a period of leave followed, and then the battalion undertook defensive duties and training around Yandina, Queensland, before being dispatched along with the rest of the 7th Division to New Guinea where the situation on the Kokoda Track was becoming critical for the Australians as the Japanese advanced towards Port Moresby.

On 13 August 1942, the 21st Brigade, including the 2/14th Battalion, disembarked in Port Moresby. Three days later, 16 August, the battalion was transported on trucks to Ilolo before marching to Uberi, reaching Myola on 21 August. On 25 August, the battalion received orders to relieve the severely depleted 39th Battalion, which was holding the Japanese at Isurava. Due to a shortage of supplies it was only possible for one company to move at a time, and as a result 'C' Company was dispatched to Isurava first, while 'B' and 'D' Companies were dispatched to Alola and 'A' Company moved to Templeton's Crossing. 'C' Company subsequently reached the 39th's position late in the evening of 26 August. The following day, the Japanese launched a fresh offensive with three battalions from the 144th Infantry Regiment, and throughout the day a number of minor engagements took place. On 27 August, the Japanese offensive began in earnest as the 39th Battalion's positions around Isurava were subjected to heavy mortar and artillery fire. Japanese infantry broke into the position through the gaps between one of company's depleted platoons, but the situation was restored by two Australian counter-attacks.

The rest of the 2/14th Battalion arrived on 28 August amidst continuing fighting, bringing with them a mortar for indirect fire support. The 39th Battalion then moved to the rear, but remained in support of the 2/14th to help repel the next wave of the Japanese attack. By 29 August, the Japanese had about six battalions around Isurava, and in the morning fresh attacks succeeded in breaking into the 2/14th's position with 'C' Company, on the battalion's right, being forced to give ground. With the situation critical, the Australians launched a counter-attack. As a part of this attack, Private Bruce Kingsbury charged the Japanese, firing his Bren light machine gun from the hip, killing at least 30 of them and forcing others to withdraw. Although Kingsbury was subsequently killed by a sniper, his actions allowed the Australians to briefly regain their positions and later he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, Australia's highest military decoration. Further attacks during the day, however, forced the battalion to fall back down the track.