2/15th Battalion (Australia)

2/15th Battalion
Signallers from the 2/15th Battalion prior to embarkation on the Queen Mary in Sydney, December 1940
Active	1940–46
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–900 personnel[Note 1]
Part of	20th Brigade, 7th Division 20th Brigade, 9th Division
Engagements	World War II Siege of Tobruk First Battle of El Alamein Second Battle of El Alamein Huon Peninsula campaign Borneo Campaign
Insignia
Unit Colour Patches

The 2/15th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, which served during the Second World War. Formed in May 1940 from primarily Queensland volunteers, the battalion served in North Africa in 1941–42 as part of the 20th Brigade, which was assigned to the 7th Division, before being reassigned to the 9th Division. While most of the 9th Division was withdrawn from Tobruk, during October 1942, the battalion remained and fought alongside the new garrison built around the British 70th Division. Following the lifting of the siege, the battalion returned to Australia during 1943. It later took part in campaigns against the Japanese in New Guinea in 1943–44 and Borneo in 1945, before being disbanded in 1946.^[2]

Battle honours

The 2/15th Battalion received the following battle honours:^[2]

• North Africa 1941–42, El Adem Road, Alam el Halfa, West Point 23, Finschhafen, Scarlet Beach, Bumi River, Defence of Scarlet Beach, Nongora, Borneo, Brunei, Miri, Defence of Tobruk, The Salient 1941, El Alamein, South-West Pacific 1943–45, Lae-Nadzab, Liberation of Australian New Guinea and Sio.

These honours were subsequently entrusted to the 15th Battalion in 1961, a Queensland-based part-time unit that was the successor to the unit of the same designation that had been raised during World War I.^[3]

Commanding officers

The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/15th:^[2]

• Lieutenant Colonel Raymond James Barham;
• Lieutenant Colonel Colin Henry Grace;
• Lieutenant Colonel Charles Keith Massy Magno;
• Lieutenant Colonel Robert Francis Marlan; and
• Lieutenant Colonel Robert William George Ogle.

Notes

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. "2/15th Battalion". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
3. Festberg 1972, p. 76.

References

• Festberg, Alfred (1972). The Lineage of the Australian Army. Melbourne, Victoria: Allara Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85887-024-6.
• Palazzo, Albert (2004). "Organising for Jungle Warfare". In Dennis, Peter; Grey, Jeffrey. The Foundations of Victory: The Pacific War 1943–1944. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Army History Unit. pp. 86–101. ISBN 978-0-646-43590-9.

Further reading

• Austin, Ronald (1995). Let Enemies Beware! "Caveant Hostes": The History of the 2/15th Battalion, 1940–1945. The 2/15th Battalion, AIF, Remembrance Club in association with Slouch Hat Publications.