World War I The 10th Battalion was raised shortly after the outbreak of
World War I as part of the
Australian Imperial Force (AIF), an all-volunteer force established for overseas service. Recruited in
South Australia, the battalion came into being on 17 August 1914 at the
Morphettville Racecourse in
Adelaide, drawing volunteers mainly from the local population as well as some from
Broken Hill in outback
New South Wales. Volunteers included men who had previously served in the part-time forces before the war, coming from a variety of units including the 10th Australian Infantry Regiment, which had formerly been known as the "Adelaide Rifles". Commanded by
Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Price Weir, after formation the
battalion was attached to the
3rd Brigade,
1st Division, along with the
9th,
11th and
12th Battalions, and was one of the first units of the AIF raised for the war. With an establishment of 31 officers and 974 other ranks spread across eight
companies, the battalion's personnel received a short period of individual basic training, culminating in the presentation of the regimental colours on 17 September and a march past the state Parliament House on 21 September. The following month, collective training at company and battalion level took place at
Belair National Park and at
Glenelg, South Australia. On 20 October, the battalion embarked on the ex-passenger liner,
HMAT Ascanius, bound for the
Middle East; it was the first South Australian infantry unit to leave Australia during the war. After briefly stopping in
Albany, where its convoy was delayed due to concerns over the presence of
German warships en route, the 10th Battalion departed Australian waters in November and proceeded towards
Egypt. Arriving there on 4 December 1914, the battalion was sent into camp at Mena, near
Cairo. The 10th Battalion underwent desert training in January and February 1915, during which time it was reorganised around the four-company structure that had been adopted by the British. Designated 'A' to 'D', each company consisted of 228 men that were spread across four
platoons. In late February, the 3rd Brigade received orders that it was being committed to an operation to seize the
Dardanelles Strait near where it enters the
Mediterranean Sea, to secure passage through to the
Black Sea via the
Aegean Sea and the
Sea of Marmara in the wake of a failed
naval operation to force the straits. After moving by rail to Alexandria, on 1 March the battalion boarded the
Ionian, a Greek steamer. After reaching
Lemnos, a shortage of fresh water on the island meant that the battalion was accommodated on the ship for the next seven weeks, although they spent their days ashore conducting exercises and mounting guard duty. Planning for a landing on the
Gallipoli Peninsula began in early April; while this proceeded, on 15 April the battalion was issued its distinctive blue and purple
unit colour patch.
Gallipoli campaign On 24 April 1915, the 10th Battalion embarked for Gallipoli along with the rest of the 1st Division. Two companies and the battalion headquarters were allocated to the battleship , while the other two companies embarked on two destroyers, and . At approximately 4:30 am on 25 April, the 10th Battalion was one of the first units to come ashore at
Anzac Cove as part of the covering force – drawn from Colonel
Ewen Sinclair-Maclagan's 3rd Brigade – for the main
Anzac landing. According to the
Australian War Memorial, scouts from the battalion are "believed to have penetrated further inland than any other Australians". Following the initial landing, the battalion was in action for the next four days, holding the line until relieved by a battalion of
Royal Marines. The rest was brief, as the 10th were recommitted to the fighting on 1 May. Casualties in the first weeks of the campaign were heavy, with the battalion losing 397 men killed or wounded between 25 April and 9 May. The advance stalled as
Turkish resistance grew, and the Turks launched a
heavy counter-attack on 19 May. By this time, the 3rd Brigade was located around Bolton's Ridge, with the brigade's four battalions occupying the line abreast; the 10th Battalion occupying a position south of Lone Pine, overlooking a wheat field through which the Turkish attack came. Caught in deadly crossfire, the attack was turned back with heavy losses. Following this, as both sides dug in, the campaign ground to a stalemate, and the battalion undertook mainly defensive duties along the perimeter around Anzac Cove. after this, the 10th Battalion relieved the 11th, occupying a position around Silt Spur, opposite Lone Pine. In early August, the Allies attempted to break out from the beach, launching an
offensive around Anzac Cove in the centre of the Allied position, as well as Suvla Bay to the north, and
Cape Helles to the south; the 10th Battalion played a support role during the offensive, providing reinforcement parties and machine-gun crews to support the
1st Brigade during the
Battle of Lone Pine. The offensive was a costly failure and afterwards stalemate returned to the battlefield. As winter approached, conditions on the peninsula grew harsher and a large number of personnel had to be evacuated sick as a wave of
dysentery swept through the battalion. In September, the
2nd Division arrived to reinforce the forces at Anzac. In mid-November, as the Allied commanders debated the future of the campaign, the 3rd Brigade received orders to pull back from the frontline, so that it could be withdrawn to Lemnos for rest. On 16 November, the 10th Battalion took up reserve positions on the beach, before embarking on the transport . It landed at
Mudros, and spent the rest of November and December there. Meanwhile, the main Allied force was evacuated from the peninsula, with the last Australian troops withdrawing on 20 December. On Boxing Day 1915, the 10th Battalion sailed for Egypt, arriving in Alexandria on 29 December. Losses on Gallipoli had been heavy – 711 casualties were reported in the battalion between April and September 1915 – and the AIF underwent a period of reorganisation as it was expanded in preparation for its deployment to the European battlefield. As a part of this process, the 10th Battalion provided a
cadre of experienced personnel to the newly raised
50th Battalion, which was assigned to the
13th Brigade,
4th Division, and was brought up to strength with fresh recruits from Australia.
Western Front In March 1916, the 10th Battalion sailed to France along with the rest of the 1st Division and deployed to the
Somme. The battalion's first significant action on the Western Front came in late July 1916 when it was involved in the
Battle of Pozières, an effort to secure the village of Pozières and the high ground beyond it as part of the wider
Battle of the Somme; the battalion's casualties during this battle were around 350. For his actions during this battle, Second Lieutenant
Arthur Blackburn, an original member of the battalion who had served with it during the Gallipoli campaign, was awarded the
Victoria Cross. A month later, the 10th took part in the
fighting around Mouquet Farm, incurring over 100 more casualties. Later, the 10th Battalion fought around
Ypres, in Belgium, in front of Hill 60, before being transferred back to the Somme trenches in the winter, during which time they occupied positions around Guedecourt, Cardonette and Bazentin. After the German withdrawal towards the
Hindenburg Line in early 1917, the battalion took part in several actions as the Allied line was advanced. The first came around the railway switch at Le
Barque in late February. Another attack was made at Lourverval on 8 and 9 April, before undertaking a defensive role during the
German attack on Lagnicourt on 15 April. This was followed in early May by the
Second Battle of Bullecourt. Later, it was again moved to Belgium to take part in the
Third Battle of Ypres, where it was committed to
fighting around the Menin Road in September. During an
attack around Polygon Wood, Private
Roy Inwood's actions resulted in him being awarded the battalion's second Victoria Cross. The battalion suffered heavily during its early involvement in the Ypres fighting and was briefly withdrawn before being recommitted to support
operations around Broodseinde at the beginning of October. In the early hours of 9 October 1917, a force of 88 men from the 10th Battalion carried out a raid on German positions in what became known as the "
Mystery of Celtic Wood"; 32 men were killed during the raid, and a further 37 were wounded. In November, the battalion was withdrawn to the
Boulogne area for rest, before returning to Belgium in December, occupying positions around
Messines. In early 1918, following the
collapse of Russia, the Germans were able to transfer many troops to the Western Front. In March, they launched the
Spring Offensive, attacking the southern part of the British sector in the Somme. As the Allies were pushed back towards Amiens, the Australian divisions were brought south to help blunt the attack. Throughout late March and into April 1918, the 10th Battalion took part in a series of defensive actions, including
fighting around Hazebrouck, as the German offensive was halted, before joining in the preliminary operations before the Allied
Hundred Days Offensive that ultimately brought about an end to the war. It was at this stage in the fighting, in late June, during fighting around
Merris in France, that Corporal
Phillip Davey earned the battalion's third Victoria Cross. A
peaceful penetration operation planned by Lieutenant Colonel
Maurice Wilder-Neligan, the attack began as a demonstration to cover an attack by British units to the south. Through a series of patrols and small-scale raids, the battalion secured of ground, captured a large quantity of weapons and equipment and 35 prisoners, and inflicted over 100 casualties for just seven of its own killed, and 37 wounded. The effort so impressed the British Inspector General that he described it as "the best show ever done by a battalion in France". On 8 August 1918, when the Allies launched the Hundred Days Offensive, the battalion participated in an
attack on Amiens that has since been described as one of the most successful for the Allies on the Western Front and, in the words of
Erich Ludendorff, the "... blackest day for the German Army". The battalion remained at the front until late September 1918; its last battle took place at
Jeancourt on 18 September, during which it suffered a further 140 casualties. Later in the month, the
Australian Corps, having been severely depleted due to heavy casualties and the dwindling supply of reinforcements from Australia, was withdrawn from the line for rest and re-organisation. As a result, the battalion took no further part in the fighting and when the Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918 it was moving by train from Brucamps to Ephey to return to the front. Over 9,000 men served in the battalion's ranks during the war, including over 25 full drafts of reinforcements, and miscellaneous transfers from other units and general service reinforcements. Casualties totalled 1,015 men killed and 2,136 wounded. In 1927, the battalion was awarded a total of 24
battle honours for its war service. Owing to the large number of soldiers deployed overseas, this process took some time, and it was decided to progressively return men from each battalion, rather than send them home as a formed unit. As numbers dwindled, units were amalgamated for administrative purposes, and as a consequence the 9th and 10th Battalions were merged on 5 February 1919; the final contingent of troops from the 10th Battalion did not return home until September 1919 when they disembarked in Adelaide from the transport .
Inter-war years In late 1918, while the AIF unit was still deployed, the part-time units of the
Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) were reorganised. At this time, several battalions were raised as part of the 10th Infantry Regiment in South Australia. In 1921, when the AIF was officially disbanded and the part-time military forces were reorganised to perpetuate the AIF's numerical designations, the 10th Battalion was re-raised in its own right in Adelaide, drawing personnel from the 2nd Battalions of the 10th, 32nd, 48th, and 50th Infantry Regiments. The battalion received a
King's Colour in 1925 in recognition of its service during World War I. Two years later, in 1927, territorial titles were introduced and the battalion assumed the designation of "The Adelaide Rifles". The motto
Pro Patria was adopted at this time. In 1930, amid the austerity of the
Great Depression and following the election of the
Scullin Labor government and the subsequent suspension of the
compulsory training scheme, the decision was made to amalgamate the battalion due to a decline in the numbers of volunteers. It was merged with the 50th Battalion, with whom it shared history, to become the 10th/50th Battalion. The 10th and 50th remained linked until October 1936; As a result, on 1 October 1936, the 10th/50th Battalion was split and the 10th Battalion was re-raised as a separate unit, and initially deployed to
Warrawong on the New South Wales south coast, defending the strategically important industrial area around Wollongong, but in August it was ordered to join
Northern Territory Force and moved to Darwin to defend the port against a possible Japanese invasion. Before it arrived, though, an Army-wide reorganisation resulted in the 10th being amalgamated with the
48th Battalion, to form the 10th/48th Battalion on 27 August 1942. The reorganisation was the result of personnel shortages that had come about due to an over-mobilisation of the Australian military, and resulted in the amalgamation of several Militia units; however, it was largely an amalgamation in name only as most of the former 48th Battalion personnel were used to raise the 108th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. In 1943, the 10th/48th Australian Infantry Battalion was gazetted as an "AIF" unit; Nevertheless, it remained in the Northern Territory, undertaking garrison duties in Darwin and its surrounding areas. As the threat to the port diminished, the garrison was reduced to a single brigade in July 1944, at which time the 10th/48th was reassigned to the
12th Brigade. The battalion remained in Darwin until June 1945 when it was moved to
Brisbane, Queensland. It was disbanded on 8 August 1945, having never served outside Australia during the war. During the war, another battalion with a similar designation, the
2/10th Battalion, was raised as part of the all-volunteer
Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). The units of the 2nd AIF were considered separate from those of the Militia, although many members of the Militia volunteered to join the 2nd AIF. Recruited from South Australians, the 2/10th was raised in mid-October 1939 and formed part of the
18th Brigade that was initially assigned to the
6th Division before being transferred to the
7th. Over the course of the war it served in the United Kingdom,
North Africa,
New Guinea and
Borneo before being disbanded in December 1945. the 10th Battalion returned to the
order of battle, readopting the designation of "The Adelaide Rifles". Throughout the 1950s, as part of Central Command, the battalion provided training for
national servicemen until 1960, when a widespread re-organisation of the CMF saw the creation of six state-based multi-battalion regiments as the smaller, regional regiments of the past were consolidated. As a result, the 10th Battalion was subsumed into the
pentropic 1st Battalion,
Royal South Australia Regiment, providing two companies: 'D' (The Adelaide Company) and 'E' (The Port Adelaide Company). This battalion has adopted the 10th Battalion's Unit colour patch, carries the colours of both the 10th and 27th Battalions, and perpetuates the battle honours of both of these units and several South Australian battalions of the 2nd AIF that were raised for service during World War II; it also recruits from the same areas, being headquartered in Adelaide with depots across South Australia and in Broken Hill. ==Commanding officers==