The 2/3rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised for service during the Second World War as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF), it was formed in October 1939 in Sydney and was attached to the 16th Brigade, 6th Division, the first formation raised as part of the 2nd AIF during the war. Deploying to the Middle East in early 1940, it saw action in North Africa, Greece, Crete, and Syria in 1941–1942 before returning to Australia following Japan's entry into the war, and was one of only two Australian infantry battalions to fight against all the major Axis powers of the war: the Germans, Italians, Japanese and Vichy French.
In 1942–1943, the battalion took part in fighting along the Kokoda Track before returning to Australia where it spent over a year training and being rebuilt. In December 1944, the 2/3rd returned to New Guinea to take part in the Aitape–Wewak campaign and remained there until the war ended. Following the end of hostilities, the battalion was disbanded on 8 February 1946 in Brisbane. The battalion's battle honours are perpetuated by the Royal New South Wales Regiment.
History
Formation Upon the outbreak of the Second World War the Australian government decided to raise an all-volunteer force for service overseas, due to the provisions of the Defence Act (1903) which restricted the deployment of the part-time Militia to only those areas considered to be Australian territory. This force was known as the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF), and the 6th Division was the first to be raised. As a unit of this formation, the 2/3rd Battalion was formed at Victoria Barracks, Sydney, on 24 October 1939. Along with the 2/1st, 2/2nd and 2/4th Battalions, the 2/3rd was assigned to the 16th Brigade.
Although initially the infantry battalions of the 6th Division adopted the Australian battalion structure of two rifle companies, a support company, a light machine gun platoon and an administrative headquarters, they soon switched to the British structure with four rifle companies – each consisting of three platoons with three sections – and a headquarters company consisting of signals, carrier, pioneer, anti-aircraft, transport, administrative and mortar platoons.
The battalion's first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Vivian England, an officer who had fought in the First World War and had continued to serve in the Militia after the war, commanding the 55th Battalion. Personnel for the battalion were raised from an area around New South Wales that is known by the Aboriginal name of "The Werriwa". This area is bounded by a line from Sydney to Bega in the south, and from Bega, west to the Snowy Mountains, Cooma, Canberra, Yass, then north to Sydney through the Goulburn and Liverpool areas. The men were enlisted from 20 October onwards, and by 3 November 1939 the battalion was formed. The colours chosen for the unit colour patch (UCP) were the same as those of the 3rd Battalion, a unit which had served during the First World War before being raised as a Militia formation in 1921. These colours were chocolate over green, in a horizontal rectangle, although a 3 mm border of gray was added to the UCP to distinguish the battalion from its Militia counterpart, which would also go on to serve with distinction during the war.
Following a brief period of training at Liverpool and Ingleburn, the battalion took part in a farewell march through Sydney. The Sydney Morning Herald of 4 January 1940 gave an account of their farewell march: "The long khaki columns thrilled the hearts of Sydney as it had not been so moved for a quarter of a century since that still, spring day in 1914 when the first A.I.F. marched through the same streets on its way to Anzac and imperishable glory; the marching was magnificent." Afterwards, the battalion sailed in the first troop convoy to leave Australia on 9–10 January 1940, embarking upon the transport Orcades. They disembarked at El Kantara on the Suez Canal on 14 February 1940, and from there they were trucked to their camp at Julis in Palestine, where they undertook further training.
First actions: North Africa, 1941
The first engagement that Australian troops were involved in during the Second World War came at Bardia, a major Italian military outpost in the north of Libya. The 16th Brigade broke through Bardia's western defensive perimeter at dawn on 3 January 1941, when the 2/1st Battalion breached the wire defences and swung left before advancing. The 2/2nd Battalion followed suit, swinging to the right, and the 2/3rd then moved straight through the breach. Late in the day, a counter-attack by Italian tanks threatened the 2/3rd Battalion's headquarters, until a hastily organised defensive action led by the commanding officer, England, and a platoon of anti-tank guns restored the situation. Meanwhile, the 17th Brigade led a diversion to the south. Although the 16th Brigade was able to capture Bardia in the late afternoon of 4 January, resistance continued, and fighting did not cease until the next morning. Over 40,000 Italians were captured along with significant amounts of equipment and material – including food and ammunition – which was in short supply. A significant amount of alcohol was also captured by the Australians in Italian dugouts inside the 2/3rd's position around Wadi-el-Ghereida. During this period, the 2/3rd lost five officers and 56 men killed or wounded.
After this, the Allied forces advanced to the fortified naval outpost of Tobruk. The 6th Division attacked the perimeter defences early on 21 January, following a week of continuous bombardment from both land and sea. The 2/3rd Battalion was tasked with breaching the outer Italian defences for the 2/1st Battalion to pass through. Following the initial breakthrough, the 2/3rd then advanced west along the inner ring of defences, attacking a number of Italian posts as they went. Tobruk fell the next day, with the Italians surrendering to Brigadier Horace Robertson, the commander of the 19th Brigade. The Italian flag was taken down and in the absence of an Australian flag, a signaler from the 2/4th Battalion tied his slouch hat to the flag staff and hauled it up to the top. The battalion's losses during the fighting for Tobruk were seven officers and 50 men killed or wounded.
Following the capture of the town, the 2/3rd garrisoned Tobruk, although B Company was detached to the 19th Brigade for its assault on Derna, and remained there after its capture on 30 January. Prime Minister Robert Menzies interrupted his journey from Australia to England to address the troops after the capture of Tobruk. On 7 March 1941, the battalion left Tobruk, along with the rest of the 6th Division, to bolster the Allied defences in Greece. On the eve of the battalion's next campaign, Lieutenant Colonel Donald Lamb assumed command from England, who had been criticised for his handling of the battalion during the fighting around Bardia.
Reverses in Greece and Crete, 1941 On 18 March 1941, the 2/3rd Battalion sailed from Alexandria aboard HMS Gloucester, arriving in Greece and landing in the port of Piraeus on the following day, after a 22-hour voyage during which their convoy had been attacked numerous times by Axis aircraft. After the invasion of the country on 6 April, they were moved north to attempt to turn back the German forces. The following day they occupied Veria, and on 12 April the 6th Division was grouped together with the 2nd New Zealand Division and a lone British brigade to form an Anzac Corps. This formation did not last long, however, as the Greek government requested Allied forces withdraw from Greece on 16 April before ceasing organised resistance on 18 April. Due to a series of withdrawals elsewhere, the battalion was forced to pull back from its positions at Veria and did not come into contact with the Germans until 18 April when they attempted to block passage of the Tempe Gorge. Fighting alongside the 2/2nd Battalion and New Zealanders, the rearguard action was successful and enabled the Allies to withdraw to the south. Brigadier Arthur Allen, commander of the 16th Brigade, later wrote of this encounter: "it was a fantastic battle. Everyone was on top, with no time to dig in, and all in the front line, including artillery, Bren carriers and infantry, as well as headquarters, with transport only yards in the rear. Some confusion could be expected in the circumstances, with every weapon firing and aircraft almost continually strafing from above. If you saw it in the cinema you would say the author had never seen battle."
With the Germans enjoying numerical superiority on the ground, and with the Luftwaffe in total control of the skies, they then captured the township of Tempe. Although fierce rearguard fighting continued while the Australian and New Zealand forces withdrew to a new defensive line at Thermopylae, the situation deteriorated. An official evacuation plan was issued on 21 April, and on 25 April – Anzac Day – parties of evacuating Allied troops marched through Athens on their way to the coast. The 2/3rd Battalion embarked from Kalamata on 27 April. The 2/3rd's casualties during the campaign amounted to 14 killed, 31 wounded and 62 captured.
While the majority of the 2/3rd Battalion was successfully evacuated to Egypt, a small force of 141 men were evacuated to the island of Crete instead, after the transport ship they were on was sunk. Having formed the rearguard during the withdrawal from Greece, they had embarked separately from the main body, being taken aboard the Costa Rica. During the voyage to Alexandria, the transport had been attacked by German aircraft, and as it sank, they were ordered to abandon ship. After being rescued by Royal Navy destroyers, the troops were transported to Crete, where they were formed into a composite battalion with men from other units of the 16th Brigade, and together the unit became known as the 16th Brigade Composite Battalion.
With only limited small arms and ammunition they moved to positions above Kalives on the shores of Suda Bay to undertake garrison duties in anticipation of a German attack on the island. Following the German invasion on 20 May 1941, some of these troops saw direct action against German paratroopers. After the Allied evacuation from the island a week later, they undertook active patrols around the island before being evacuated on 31 May 1941 aboard HMS Phoebe. They arrived in Alexandria on 1 June 1941. Two 2/3rd Battalion men were killed during the fighting on Crete, and one was wounded. Fifty became prisoners of war. Meanwhile, the rest of the battalion had concentrated in Palestine, where it was rebuilt in advance of its next campaign.
Securing Syria and Lebanon, 1941–1942
Australian troops from the 7th Division were already fighting in the Syria–Lebanon Campaign when the re-formed 2/3rd Battalion, along with the 2/5th Battalion and the 6th Division Cavalry Regiment, were committed as reinforcements, to help bring the 7th Division up to strength. In a bitter campaign that lasted 28 days, Vichy French forces attempted to resist the Allied invasion, which had been launched to deny the Germans the use of Vichy territory to launch attacks against Egypt. Against a modest Allied force with only limited armour and artillery, the well-equipped French force outnumbered the attackers and had the advantage of holding the mountainous terrain. Having contributed a company to garrison duties around Sidon in Lebanon, and provided 100 men to help re-form the shattered 2/1st Battalion, the 2/3rd was understrength – consisting of only 21 officers and 385 other ranks – when it entrained at Majdal in Palestine on 18 June 1941 to join the campaign.