2/4th Battalion (Australia)

2/4th Battalion
Carriers from the 2/4th in Syria, October 1941
Active	1939–45
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–900 all ranks[Note 1]
Part of	19th Brigade, 6th Division
Colours	White and Green
Engagements	World War II North African campaign Greek campaign New Guinea campaign Aitape–Wewak campaign
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

The 2/4th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that was raised for service during World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force. Deploying to the Middle East in early 1940, the battalion took part in the early fighting in North Africa in early 1941 along with the rest of the 6th Division, before being sent to Greece and then Crete, where it was heavily engaged and suffered heavy losses. Rebuilt in Palestine, the battalion undertook occupation duties in Syria. In early 1942, it returned to Australia in response to Japan's entry into the war, and subsequently undertook a long period of defensive duties and training in Darwin, and then north Queensland. While other elements of the 6th Division saw action in New Guinea in 1942–43, the 2/4th saw no combat again until late in the war, when it was committed to the Aitape–Wewak campaign in late 1944, fighting throughout the remainder of the war. Following the end of hostilities, the battalion was disbanded in Australia in November 1945.

History

The 2/4th Battalion^{[Note 2]} was raised on 3 November 1939 at Victoria Barracks, in Sydney, New South Wales, as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). Amongst the first batch of troops raised as part of the new force, the battalion was initially attached to the 16th Brigade, which was assigned to the 6th Division.^[3] Consisting of four rifle companies – designated 'A' to 'D' – under a headquarters company and a battalion headquarters, like other 2nd AIF infantry battalions raised at the time, the battalion had an authorised strength of around 900 personnel.^[1] The colours chosen for the battalion's Unit Colour Patch (UCP) were the same as those of the 4th Battalion, which had been raised for service during World War I as part of the First Australian Imperial Force, and had subsequently been re-raised as Militia battalion. These colours were white over green, in a horizontal rectangular shape, although a border of grey was added to the UCP to distinguish the battalion from its Militia counterpart.^[4]

Parade at Gaza, April 1940

Rudimentary training was undertaken at Ingleburn, New South Wales, before the 2/4th embarked for overseas on 10 January 1940. Departing from Sydney aboard the Strathnaver following a march through the city, they sailed via Fremantle and Colombo,^[5] the 2/4th arrived in mid-February. Following a re-organisation of the structure of the Australian Army, which saw each infantry brigade reduced from four infantry battalions to three, the battalion was re-allocated to the 19th Brigade.^[3] This change occurred while the 2/4th was at sea, and after arriving in the Middle East, it concentrated at a camp at Kilo 89, near Gaza, in Palestine where it joined the 2/8th and 2/11th Battalions.^[6] It undertook further exercises and training in Egypt and Palestine prior to the Australians being committed to the fighting against the Italians in the Libyan desert in January 1941 during Operation Compass. A series of actions were fought by the Australians around Bardia, Tobruk and Derna, before the 2/4th entered Benghazi in February. In reserve at Bardia,^[7] the battalion's main action came around Derna. In April 1941, as the Allies grew concerned about a German invasion of Greece, a combined force of British, Australian and New Zealand troops were deployed there from North Africa. It was a short lived campaign, as the Germans advanced quickly, rapidly pushing the Allies back. In freezing temperatures, the 2/4th was heavily engaged around Vevi, in northern Greece near the border with Yugoslavia,^[8] but also found itself being evacuated by the end of the month, departing from Megara.^[3]

Evacuated by sea to Crete, after the Germans launched an airborne invasion of the strategically important island on 20 May, the 2/4th fought around Heraklion airfield, but was withdrawn once again by the end of the month, being taken off the island aboard several British destroyers.^[9] After arriving in Alexandria, the battalion was rebuilt in Palestine, making up its losses from the earlier campaigns from new reinforcements in Palestine. In the wake of the Syria–Lebanon campaign, the battalion deployed to Syria as part of the Allied occupation force established there to defend against a possible German invasion through the Caucasus. They remained there until January 1942, when the 19th Brigade embarked for the return to Australia, following Japan's entry into the war.^[3]

While other elements of the 6th Division were sent to New Guinea in late 1942 and early 1943 and saw combat against the Japanese along the Kokoda Track and around Wau, the 19th Brigade was allocated to defensive duties in Darwin, Northern Territory. They remained there until June 1943, when the 19th Brigade was moved to northern Queensland as the 6th Division's other two brigades – the 16th and 17th – returned to Australia from New Guinea. As the division was brought back up to strength, a long period of training followed. Consequently, it was not until late in the war that the 2/4th was committed to its first, and only, campaign against the Japanese, deploying to Aitape–Wewak in November 1944,^[3] as the Australians took over from US forces in the region.^[10] The 19th Brigade was initially tasked with securing the area between around the Driniumor, Danmap and Danimul Rivers,^[11] and throughout the final months of the war, the battalion undertook an amphibious landing around But, before joining the advance towards Wewak, which fell on 10 May, before pushing into the Prince Alexander Range in the interior before the fighting came to an end in August 1945.^[3]

Following the end of hostilities, the 2/4th Battalion was disbanded in Chermside on 12 November 1945.^[3] During its service a total of 2,624 men served with the 2/4th Battalion of whom were 94 killed, 243 were wounded and 195 were captured.^[12] One of the unit's soldiers, Private Edward Kenna, received the Victoria Cross for his actions during an attack on the Wirui Mission in May 1945; in addition, members of the battalion also received the following decorations: one Distinguished Service Order, nine Military Crosses, six Distinguished Conduct Medals, 11 Military Medals, and 53 Mentions in Despatches. Two members of the 2/4th were invested as Members of the Order of the British Empire.^[3]

Battle honours

The 2/4th received the following battle honours for its involvement in the war:^[3]

• Bardia 1941, Capture of Tobruk, Veve, Soter, Heraklion, Wewak, Wirui Mission, and Mount Shiburangu – Mount Tazaki.

These honours were subsequently entrusted to the 4th Battalion in 1961,^[13] and through this link are maintained by the Royal New South Wales Regiment.^[14]

Commanding officers

The following officers commanded the 2/4th during the war:^[3][15]

• Lieutenant Colonel Percival Parsons (1939–40);
• Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Dougherty (1940–42);
• Lieutenant Colonel Nevis Farrell (1942–45); and
• Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Cox (1945).

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]
2. The numerical designation of 2nd AIF units was prefixed by "2/", which was used to set them apart from Militia units with corresponding numerical designations.^[2]

Citations

1. Palazzo 2004, p. 94.
2. Long 1952, p. 51.
3. Australian War Memorial.
4. Long 1952, pp. 321–323.
5. AWM52 8/3/4/2: January – February 1940.
6. Thompson 2010, p. 30.
7. Thompson 2010, p. 85.
8. Thompson 2010, p. 155.
9. Thompson 2010, p. 375.
10. Keogh 1965, p. 402.
11. Keogh 1965, p. 404.
12. Johnston 2008, p. 242.
13. Festberg 1972, pp. 61–62.
14. Festberg 1972, pp. 27–28.
15. Johnston 2008, p. 5.

References

• "2/4th Battalion". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
• "AWM52 8/3/4/2: January – February 1940: 2/4th Infantry Battalion". Unit war diaries. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
• Festberg, Alfred (1972). The Lineage of the Australian Army. Melbourne, Victoria: Allara Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85887-024-6.
• Johnston, Mark (2008). The Proud 6th: An Illustrated History of the 6th Australian Division 1939–1945. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-51411-8.
• Keogh, Eustace (1965). South West Pacific 1941–45. Melbourne, Victoria: Grayflower Publications. OCLC 7185705.
• Long, Gavin (1952). To Benghazi. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army I (1st ed.). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 18400892.
• 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.
• Thompson, Peter (2010). Anzac Fury: The Bloody Battle of Crete 1941. North Sydney, New South Wales: William Heinemann. ISBN 978-1-86471-131-8.

Further reading

• 2/4th Infantry Battalion Unit History Editorial Committee (1963). White Over Green: The 2/4th Battalion and Reference to the 4th Battalion. Sydney, New South Wales: Angus and Robertson. OCLC 19985329.
• Ewer, Peter (2008). Forgotten Anzacs: The Campaign in Greece, 1941. Carlton North, Victoria: Scribe Publications. ISBN 978-1-921215-29-2. OCLC 457093199.