Formation Formed on 13 November 1939 at
Redbank Camp,
Brisbane, the 2/9th Battalion was the first of four infantry
battalions raised in
Queensland for the all-volunteer
Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). Initially assigned to the
6th Division, the battalion formed part of the
18th Brigade, along with the
2/10th,
2/11th and
2/12th Battalions. Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel James Eric Gifford Martin, formerly of the
42nd Battalion, a
Militia battalion based in
Rockhampton. The majority of the battalion's officers were drawn from the Militia; although, like many of the 2nd AIF units, it was initially supplied with a Regular officer to serve in the role as
adjutant. In terms of structure, the early months of the battalion's existence was a period of flux. The early 2nd AIF infantry battalions were established with a structure that was unique to the Australian Army; however, shortly after formation it was decided that they would adopt the British Army battalion structure. Thus, by December 1940, the 2/9th had an authorised strength of around 900 personnel and consisted of four rifle
companies (each consisting of three platoons with three
sections), a battalion headquarters, a support company, and a headquarters company consisting of six platoons performing specialist roles including signals,
mortar, and anti-tank. The four rifle companies were designated 'A' through to 'D'. The colours chosen for the battalion's
unit colour patch (UCP) were the same as those of the
9th Battalion, a unit which had served during World War I before being raised as a Militia formation in 1921. These colours were black over light blue, in a horizontal rectangular shape, although a border of gray was added to the UCP to distinguish the battalion from its Militia counterpart. Following training at Redbank and then later in
New South Wales at
Rutherford and
Ingleburn, the 2/9th was among the force of 8,000 Australians sent to the
United Kingdom in early 1940. It had been planned to send this force to France to serve alongside the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF), but
France had fallen by the time the Australians arrived in Scotland on 16 June 1940, so they
remained in the United Kingdom to help defend against a possible German cross-Channel invasion, which was feared following the capture of part of the BEF in France and the loss of much of its equipment. After their arrival in the United Kingdom, the battalion was transported by rail to the south of England where it set up a camp at Lopcombe Corner, on
Salisbury Plain in
Wiltshire. Amidst the backdrop of the
Battle of Britain, the battalion's personnel used their integral
Vickers machine-guns and
Bren guns to provide self-defence against air attack and to bolster the anti-aircraft defences of local areas. They also undertook training exercises and formed a mobile striking force tasked with rapidly responding in the event of an invasion. In September, the 18th Brigade was transferred to the
9th Division. On 14 October the battalion moved to Meeanee Barracks in
Colchester,
Essex, where it took over responsibility for a defence sector from a British officer training battalion. The 2/9th remained in Colchester until 10 November when orders came for the 18th Brigade to hand over to the
25th Brigade, and the 2/9th was relieved by the
2/31st Battalion. With the threat of invasion passing as winter came, the decision was made to redeploy the Australians to
North Africa where they might be actively employed in combat operations. Following this, preparations for embarkation began as orders were received for the battalion to entrain for
Glasgow where, on 15 November 1940, it boarded
HMT Strathaird.
Middle East Sailing via the longer, but safer southern route, on the way to the Middle East the convoy carrying the Australians made a port call at
Durban,
South Africa. While there, the battalion marched through the city under arms on 13 December 1940, before re-embarking. Disembarking in
Alexandria,
Egypt, on 31 December 1940, the battalion went into camp at
Ikingi Maryut with 33 officers and 707 men. In February 1941, the battalion was transferred once more, as the 18th Brigade was reassigned to the
7th Division. Around the same time, the brigade was reduced to only three infantry battalions as part of an Army-wide re-organization, and the 2/11th Battalion was transferred to the
19th Brigade. With the 7th Division the battalion fought its first major engagement of the war on 21 March 1941, when it led the
18th Brigade's assault on the Italian fortress at
Giarabub, which was held by about 1,500 Italians. Advancing from
Siwa in Egypt, the battalion, supported by elements of the 2/10th and 2/12th Battalions, attacked from the south across marshland, while cavalry from the
6th Division Cavalry Regiment feigned an attack against the strongest point of the fortress. Amidst a sandstorm that limited visibility, heavy fighting ensued and the garrison surrendered at around 2:00 pm; 250 Italians were killed, while 1,300 were taken as prisoners of war. A total of 17 Australians were killed and 77 were wounded, with the majority of these being men from the 2/9th Battalion. Afterwards, the battalion was sent to
Ikingi Maryut and the following month the 2/9th was transported to
Tobruk by road and sea to reinforce the garrison there as German forces surrounded the strategic port in an effort to capture it. The 2/9th would remain in there for the next five months as
Tobruk fell under siege. After capturing a number of positions and inflicting heavy losses upon the defenders, the Australians were eventually forced to withdraw at around 3:00 am on 4 May when it became apparent that they would not be able to complete the advance before daylight. Having lost three men killed, three missing and 51 wounded, at dawn the 2/9th Battalion returned to the "Blue Line", where it took over a defensive position south of Bianca. Here a series of small skirmishes ensued during which time the battalion was able to extend their lines by about . For the rest of May the battalion undertook defensive construction tasks and raids into "
no man's land" south-west of Bianca before being relieved by the
2/17th Battalion on the night of 4/5 June 1941. Following this, the 18th Brigade went into reserve and the battalion saw little action for the next month as it was moved back to the Bardia–El Adem Road junction. In July, the battalion returned to "the Salient", where it spent a period of time in brigade reserve in the Pilastino sector. Later, it was moved back up to the "Red Line" in the El Adem sector where the battalion's personnel undertook aggressive patrols into ''no man's land'', penetrating a number of minefields and moving booby traps. On 23 July, the battalion launched a major raid in their sector in an effort to gauge German responses, penetrating over through the German lines, but after finding their objective unoccupied, the raiders withdrew. Following this the battalion went back into reserve for a period, before briefly returning to the "Red Line" at the start of August. This was short-lived, though, for later in the month the decision was made to withdraw the 18th Brigade from Tobruk and the 2/9th Battalion was subsequently sent to
Palestine to undertake training. Later the battalion was transferred to Syria where it was employed on occupation duties following the defeat of the
Vichy French forces in that country in the recently concluded
Syria–Lebanon campaign.
Pacific In February 1942, along with the majority of the 2nd AIF, the 2/9th was withdrawn to Australia in response to the threat posed by
Japan's entry into the war following the
attacks on Pearl Harbor and in
Malaya. Returning via
Bombay and
Colombo, the 2/9th arrived in Australia, landing in
Port Adelaide, South Australia, in March 1942 and from there proceeded to camp in Sandy Creek, near
Gawler. The battalion remained there until April when it was moved to
Tenterfield, New South Wales, and then
Kilcoy, Queensland, where it carried out training prior to departure overseas. bound for
Milne Bay in
New Guinea where the 2/9th arrived on 21 August to help reinforce the garrison there, due concerns about a possible Japanese landing there to secure the adjacent airfields. From the beginning of August the Japanese had been bombing the troops of the
7th Brigade which had initially been sent to garrison the Milne Bay area, and as a Japanese invasion force was expected, the three battalions of the 18th Brigade were quickly placed into positions where they could be most effective. The 2/9th was assigned the task of defending Milne Force Headquarters at Hagita House and the Number 1 Strip (also known as Gurney Field). Upon arrival, the 2/9th Battalion was used to construct roads and lay steel matting on the airstrip as well as unloading stores from ships as they arrived, and carrying out patrolling operations. Following the Japanese landing on 25 August, the battalion was placed on alert and increased its patrolling operations around the airfield; however, for five days no contact was made. On 3 September, the battalion moved from Gili Gili to KB Mission and alongside the 2/12th Battalion, which had launched a counteroffensive along the north coast of the bay, went into battle with the Japanese for the first time. Over the course of the next two days the Japanese were beaten back and eventually a withdrawal was ordered by the Japanese commanders. This represented the first full-scale defeat of the Japanese on land during the war; it came at a cost for the 2/9th, though, with the battalion losing 29 men killed and a further 86 wounded in action, seven of whom later died of wounds. Disease took a far greater toll, with a further 308 men being hospitalised due to illness. As the tide in the New Guinea campaign began to turn in favour of the Allies, the Japanese, having reached the zenith of their advance in New Guinea, were forced to withdraw back towards
Buna and Gona. Fierce fighting subsequently followed as Australian and US troops fought to reduce the Japanese beachhead. After taking part in defeating the Japanese at Milne Bay, the 18th Brigade was transferred to Buna. The 2/9th arrived at
Oro Bay aboard
HMAS Broome on 14 December. It was the first battalion of the brigade committed to this battle. Leading the attack of 18 December, with support of
M3 Stuart tanks from the
2/6th Armoured Regiment, it made significant gains. The 18th Brigade (and the 2/9th) continued to fight, attached to the
US 32nd Division until the fall of Buna at the start of January 1943. It was returned to command of the Australian 7th Division in time to participate in an attack on 12 January against Japanese positions on the Sanananda Track that had been holding up the Australian advance there. The battalion continued fighting in the
Sanananda area until it concluded with an Allied victory on 22 January. By this time its strength had fallen from over 600 to just under 100 men due to the effects of tropical diseases and heavy fighting; combat losses were recorded as 95 killed in action or died of wounds, 32 missing, and 247 wounded. These losses were offset by the arrival of 300 reinforcements during the battle, but nevertheless losses were so heavy, particularly from disease, that in February the 2/9th Battalion was transported back to Port Moresby, before returning to Australia the next month. In August 1943, after embarking at
Townsville the 2/9th returned to Port Moresby, where it continued further training in the areas surrounding the port. It remained there until 31 December when the battalion deployed into the Finisterre Range, being flown into
Dumpu and joining the Allied advance inland. In early January 1944, the battalion took part in the
Battle of Shaggy Ridge, capturing "Green Sniper's Pimple" on 21 January as part of a brigade-level operation to carry the ridge. Following the conclusion of the fighting around Shaggy Ridge in February, the battalion occupied a position around the western side of the saddle before being relieved by the
57th/60th Battalion, as the
15th Brigade relieved the 18th and continued the advance on
Bogadjim as the Australians linked up with US forces on the coast, prior to capturing
Madang and securing the
Huon Peninsula in late April. During this period the battalion occupied a defended locality about downstream from Dumpu, from which they conducted patrols long-range fighting patrols to prevent the Japanese from infiltrating back into the
Ramu Valley over the months which followed. Training activities and work parties were also conducted. In May 1944, the battalion was brought back to Australia, while the United States military assumed primary responsibility for combat operations in the Pacific. In December 1944, the battalion participated in a divisional exercise. During this period the unit was also introduced to several new weapons, including
flame throwers and the
PIAT anti-tank weapon, and undertook training in infantry/tank co-operation. A range of training exercises, competitions, sporting events, and recreational activities continued early in the new year to keep the men busy and combat possible feelings of "anti-climax" and "boredom" that may have been associated with the granting of limited local leave after the delay of their expected deployment overseas. captured by soldiers of the 2/9th Battalion, 1 July 1945. In the final months of the war, the battalion was committed to the
Borneo campaign. Embarking from Cairns in May on several tank landing ships, the battalion concentrated on
Morotai Island. On 1 July 1945, the 2/9th took part in the
landing at Balikpapan, the final Australian amphibious operation of the war. however, by mid-morning on the opening day it was ordered forward to relieve the 2/10th Battalion, taking
Klandasan before noon, and commencing house-to-house clearances in concert with a troop of tanks. From there it forced a small Japanese force off Santosa Hill, before tying in its positions at 6:00 pm and digging-in for the night. By 12 August, posts had been established astride the Pamaluan–Bandjermasin Road, and a detachment from 'C' Company had reached Pamaluan, where the 2/9th linked up with elements from the
2/1st Pioneer Battalion.
Disbandment Finally, in mid-August, the fighting on Borneo came to an end following the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent
surrender of Japan. After this the 2/9th Battalion carried out various garrison duties such as guarding prisoners of war and maintaining internal security while the
demobilisation process took place. During the course of the war, a total of 4,107 men served with the 2/9th Battalion of whom 319 were killed in action or died on active service, and a further 726 wounded. Other decorations that men of the 2/9th received were: four
Distinguished Service Orders, nine
Military Crosses, three
Distinguished Conduct Medals, nineteen
Military Medals and sixty-eight
mentions in despatches; in addition, one member of the battalion was appointed as a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire, one was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire, and one was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire. ==Battle honours==