The 2/9th was formed in July 1940, as part of the all-volunteer
Second Australian Imperial Force, the regiment was raised at
Holsworthy, New South Wales, from men largely drawn from that state. Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel G.R.L Adams, and it was initially assigned to the
8th Division. Upon establishment, the regiment initially consisted of two
batteries – the 17th and 18th – but was expanded to three in October 1941 with the addition of 59th Battery, while the regiment was deployed to Syria. Two of the regiment's
troops were equipped with
4.5-inch howitzers. The remainder of the regiment used
Ordnance QF 25-pounders, although the regiment's initial training took place on
Ordnance QF 18-pounders and some of these vintage guns were used by the regiment later in the war while undertaking garrison duties in
Dutch New Guinea. The regiment concentrated at
Ingleburn in September, but later moved back to Holsworthy. After a reorganisation of the 2nd AIF, and the creation of the
9th Division, in November 1940, the regiment subsequently became part of the corps artillery of the
1st Australian Corps. At this time, the regiment was redesignated as the "2/9th Army Field Regiment". Training was undertaken at Holsworthy before the regiment embarked for the
Middle East in April 1941. After concentrating in
Palestine in May, the regiment was redeployed to
Alexandria, in Egypt, and was used to support British troops on alert to defend against a possible German airborne invasion in the wake of
Battle of Crete. The following month, the regiment was deployed to the
Syria–Lebanon campaign where it was largely used to support British forces from the
23rd Infantry Brigade around
Merdjayoun, although the regiment's two 4.5-inch howitzer troops supported the Australian
7th Division. The campaign concluded with an armistice in July, after which the 23rd Infantry Brigade was relieved by the Australian
18th Infantry Brigade, and as a result the regiment was reassigned to the 7th Division with which it carried out occupation duties. Following Japan's entry into the war, the Australian government sought to bring a large number of troops back from the Middle East to meet the new threat. In February 1942, the regiment moved to Khassa, in Palestine, and it was subsequently brought back to Australia as part of Operation Stepsister. Landing in
Adelaide, South Australia, in March 1942, the regiment was slowly moved east, marrying up with their guns at Springbank the following month, and moving on to
Esk, Queensland, and then Arakoon, in June. In October 1942, it was reassigned to the
3rd Division for defensive duties in south-east Queensland, moving between
Buderim,
Maroochydore and
Caboolture. In mid-1943, it was allocated to
Merauke Force and sent to garrison
Merauke in Dutch New Guinea with the 17th and 59th Batteries, and
Cape York with the 18th Battery, and was reallocated the
4th Division. While deployed, the regiment's personnel were largely used to complete construction tasks. The regiment returned to its original designation of the "2/9th Field Regiment" in June 1944. The 18th Battery was redeployed from Cape York to
Wondecla on the
Atherton Tablelands in September by road, while the 17th and 59th Batteries departed Merauke by sea in October 1944. After a month-long interlude on
Thursday Island, they disembarked at
Brisbane in November. A period of leave followed, after which the regiment was reconstituted at Wondecla, returning to the control of the 1st Australian Corps. There were limited combat opportunities for Australian forces around this time, as US forces had taken over as the main combat force in the Pacific. The reduced artillery scale of the
jungle converted divisions also limited the opportunities for artillery regiments. The regiment was not deployed to
Borneo when 1st Corps deployed and it was subsequently reassigned to the
11th Division in April 1945. A further change of assignment came in July when it was transferred to the
5th Division, at which time the regiment moved to
Kairi, where it remained until war's end. The regiment was disbanded in late 1945. A total of 1,458 men served in the regiment throughout the war. One member was decorated, Major A.R. Blair, who received a
Mention in Despatches for service in Merauke. Three members of the regiment were killed in action while serving with other units. ==Commanding officers==