First World War The 29th Battalion was originally formed during the
First World War, being raised in
Victoria as part of the
Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 10 August 1915. Under the command of
Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Bennett, an officer with over 20 years service in the part-time military forces, the battalion undertook initial training at
Seymour and then later
Broadmeadows Camp along with the three other battalions of the
8th Brigade, to which it was assigned. In November 1915, the battalion embarked upon the
troopship HMAT
Ascanius in
Port Melbourne and departed Australian waters, disembarking at
Port Suez,
Egypt on 7 December 1915. The battalion arrived in the
Middle East too late to take part in the fighting at
Gallipoli, and as a result they were initially used to undertake defensive duties to protect the
Suez Canal from
Ottoman forces. They also undertook a comprehensive training program and by the time their orders arrived to transfer to Europe in June 1916, they had reached their peak. They subsequently embarked the troopship HMT
Tunisian in
Alexandria, bound for
France on 14 June. Upon the battalion's arrival in Egypt, the 8th Brigade had been unattached at divisional level, but in early 1916, it was assigned to the
5th Division, after a reorganisation that saw the AIF expanded from two infantry divisions to five. The battalion arrived at
Marseille on 23 June and afterwards was transported by rail to
Hazebrouck. On 8 July the 5th Division was called up to the front from training behind lines in order to replace the battalions of the
Australian 4th Division which were being transferred to the Somme. The 29th Battalion undertook a difficult two-day approach march over cobbled roads with loads of up to before arriving at the front on the night of 10/11 July. Taking up a position between Boutillerie and Condonerrie in the Bois Grenier, they relieved the
13th Battalion and on 19 July subsequently took part in an attack against the German positions around the "Delangre Farm" which was being held by the
21st Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. Following the attack, the battalion held the line for another 11 days, beating off a particularly heavy German counterattack on 20 July, before they were eventually relieved. During their introduction to
trench warfare, the 29th Battalion lost 52 men killed in action, and another 164 men wounded. For the next two and half years they fought in a number of major battles in the trenches along the
Western Front including
Polygon Wood,
Amiens and the
St Quentin Canal, as well as playing a supporting role in a number of others including
Bullecourt and
Morlancourt. The battalion fought its last battle of the war in late September alongside the
US 30th Infantry Division, when they breached the German defences along the
Hindenburg Line as part of the final Allied offensive of the war. Following this, they were withdrawn from the front line.—were only able to field between 300 and 400. As a result, the decision was made to reduce the number of infantry battalions in each brigade from four to three by disbanding one battalion and using its personnel to reinforce the others. The 29th Battalion was one of those chosen to be broken up and as a result on 19 October 1918, the 29th Battalion was disbanded. with the battalion becoming a part-time unit of the
Citizen Forces, assigned to the
4th Brigade,
3rd Division. Upon formation, the battalion drew its personnel from four previously existing Citizen Forces units: the 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment; the 5th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment; 5th Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment and part of the 29th Light Horse, and perpetuated the battle honours and traditions of its associated AIF battalion. The following year, however, the Army's budget was cut in half and the scope of the scheme reduced following the resolution of the
Washington Naval Treaty which arguably improved Australia's strategic outlook. As a result of this, the battalion's authorised strength was reduced to just 409 men of all ranks and training and recruitment were scaled back significantly. In 1927, territorial titles were introduced into the Australian Army and the battalion adopted the title of the "East Melbourne Regiment". At this time, the battalion was afforded the motto
Nulli Secundus. In order to reflect the change, the Citizen Forces was renamed the "Militia" at this time. The end of compulsory training and the fiscal austerity that followed with the economic downturn of the
Great Depression meant that the manpower available to many Militia units at this time dropped well below their authorised establishments and as a result the decision was made to amalgamate a number of units. Subsequently, the 29th Battalion was amalgamated with the
22nd in 1930, forming the 29th/22nd Battalion, although they were later split again in August 1939 and the 29th re-raised in its own right.
Second World War and beyond Following 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 precluded compelling the Militia to serve outside of Australian territory. This force was known as the
Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). Although the 2nd AIF would be raised upon a
cadre of trained officers and non-commissioned officers drawn from the Militia, the Militia's main role at this time was to provide training to the men called up as part of the compulsory training scheme that was readopted in early 1940. As a result of this decision, in August 1942, the 29th Battalion was amalgamated with the
46th Battalion to form the
29th/46th Battalion. This unit went on to serve overseas in
New Guinea and on
New Britain. but the 29th Battalion was not re-raised at the time. In 1961, although the battalion was in a state of suspended animation, it was entrusted with the four battle honours awarded to the
2/29th Battalion for its service in Malaya during World War II and the three earned by the 29th/46th Battalion. ==Battle honours==