Formation The 7th Division was the second
division raised as part of the 2nd AIF following the outbreak of
World War II. Approval for the formation of the new division was granted on 28 February 1940 and on 4 April its first commanding officer, Major General
John Lavarack, was appointed. Upon formation the division consisted of three
infantry brigades: the
19th,
20th and
21st. Of these, the 19th was formed in
Palestine and the other two were formed in Australia. In June 1940, however, the 19th Brigade was replaced in the division by the
18th Brigade, which was then based in the United Kingdom where they were undertaking garrison duties to defend against a possible invasion of that country by the Germans following the
Fall of France as part of the
6th Division. This was short lived, however, for the following month the division lost the 18th Brigade and gained the
26th Brigade which was still forming in Australia. This enabled the division to undertake training together prior to embarking for the Middle East in October 1940. In February 1941 further changes in the division's composition occurred. The 20th and 26th Brigades were transferred to the
9th Division and in exchange the division received the 18th and
25th Brigades.
North Africa and Middle East On arrival in the Middle East the division undertook training in
Palestine and Egypt before the 18th Brigade was sent to
capture an Italian position at Giarabub. The main assault was undertaken by the 2/9th Battalion on 21 March, although a company from the 2/10th and machine-gunners from the 2/12th provided support. For the loss of 15 killed and 71 wounded, In April, the 18th Brigade moved from
Alexandria to
Tobruk, where they later played a successful defensive role in the
Siege of Tobruk, from May to August 1941. In the actions around Tobruk, the division suffered 135 killed, 507 wounded and 29 captured. Meanwhile, the rest of the 7th Division formed the backbone of the
Allied invasion of Lebanon and Syria; with British, Indian,
Free French and Czechoslovak forces defeating
Vichy French land forces in the Middle East in June and July. Both brigades advanced in two columns. The initial phase of the attack came to an end on 15 June when the Vichy French launched a counterattack, striking at Merdjayoun and recapturing it and Fort Khiam. On 21 June, the 2/25th Battalion entered
Damascus and Fort Khiam and its adjacent village, were re-occupied by the Australians. By 30 June the Australians had recaptured the initiative and the 7th Division handed over the central sector to the British. Following this, the division concentrated around Jezzine before advancing towards
Damour. Once this was captured, the division continued on towards
Beirut, which fell on 12 July. In mid-July an
armistice came into effect and the division was employed on garrison duties along the coastal zone, headquartered in
Tripoli. The 18th Brigade rejoined the division in September, taking up defensive positions around
Aleppo, to defend against a possible invasion by German forces through Turkey. During the campaign, two 7th Division personnel earned the
Victoria Cross. Lieutenant
Arthur Roden Cutler, of the
2/5th Field Regiment, received the decoration for his exploits in June at Merdjayoun and in early July in the Damour area where he was seriously wounded. Corporal
Jim Gordon, of the
2/31st Battalion, was the second recipient of the campaign. The division's casualties in Syria and Lebanon included 305 killed, 796 wounded and 90 captured. as part of
Operation Stepsister. Spread across five convoys, the division's return was staggered. At this time, the British government requested that the division be sent to
Burma to help stem the tide of the
Japanese advance on Rangoon, but the Australian government declined the request. s of the 2/6th Armoured Regiment, shell Japanese pillboxes in the final
assault on Buna. An upward-firing machine gun is fitted to the tank, to clear treetops of snipers. (Photographer: George Silk). Nevertheless, elements of the division, consisting mainly of men from the
2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion, the
2/2nd Pioneer Battalion, and the 2/6th Field Company, as well as some transport and medic personnel, on the transport
Orcades were diverted to
Java, and fought alongside Dutch forces there, but were soon overwhelmed. Of these men, four were killed, while 206 became prisoners of war. The following month, the division was moved to
New South Wales where personnel were given a brief period of leave before moving on to
Queensland. There they undertook defensive duties and training in light of the perceived threat of Japanese invasion. In April, the division was assigned to
I Corps,
First Army. In August, as the situation in
New Guinea worsened, the decision was made to deploy the 7th Division. Simultaneously, the 18th Brigade, under the command of Brigadier
George Wootten was sent to
Milne Bay. Along with the
7th Brigade (a Militia formation),
Royal Australian Air Force planes and ground staff, and a US engineer regiment, they successfully defended an airfield at the eastern tip of
Papua from a major assault by
Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces. The fighting came to be known as the
Battle of Milne Bay, and was the first outright defeat of Japanese land forces in World War II.
Corporal John French, from the 2/9th Battalion, was awarded a posthumous VC for his actions on 4 September 1942. The division's casualties at Milne Bay were 126 killed and 182 wounded. The Australians withdrew from Isurava, taking part in further actions around
Templeton's Crossing and
Efogi. The 25th Brigade joined the 21st at
Ioribaiwa before the Australians made their final stand on
Imita Ridge in mid September. Having been successfully delayed, the Japanese supply lines were now over extended and in October the 25th Brigade took part in the hard-fought advance that finally pushed the Japanese out of the
Owen Stanley Range. During this stage of the fighting, actions were fought again at
Templeton's Crossing and
Oivi–Gorari before the Australians reached the
Kumusi River on 13 November. During the fighting around the Kokoda Track, 359 men from the division were killed and another 560 were wounded. the division was withdrawn back to Australia where, in early 1943, they were converted to the
Jungle Divisional establishment, which saw a reduction in the division's manpower by around 4,000 personnel. During 1943–1944, the whole 7th Division fought extensive and often bloody operations against Japanese forces in the north east of New Guinea. After the
airborne landings at Nadzab, west of Lae, divisional troops were flown to the
Ramu Valley and
Markham Valley between 7 and 12 September. Beginning at Nadzab, where
Private Richard Kelliher earned a VC, they successfully
advanced to Lae simultaneous with the 9th Division, which fell on 16 September. ,
Shaggy Ridge,
New Guinea. Following the fall of Lae, in late September 1943 the 7th Division was ordered to establish itself around Dumpu and Marawasa to guard the approaches to Lae and begin patrolling operations into the
Finisterre Ranges. Limited by a supply line that depended entirely upon air support, the division could only deploy two brigades, the 21st and 25th. After the
2/6th Commando Squadron captured
Kaipit, starting on 5 October, the 21st and 25th Brigades began the advance up with the 21st Brigade moving along the Faria River, aiming towards the Kankiryo Saddle, while the 25th Brigade advanced through the Ramu valley. Throughout October a number of battles were fought. On 8–10 October, the 2/27th captured the high ground around Beveridge's Post, Trevor's Ridge and Pallier's Hill. On 11 October, a single platoon from the 2/14th Battalion destroyed a Japanese
company at Pallier's Hill before a counterattack by 500 Japanese troops on the 2/27th's positions on
John's Knoll and Trevor's Ridge was turned back on 12 October. In November, as the Australians approached the Japanese positions around Shaggy Ridge, the 25th Brigade took over from the 21st as the division's main effort. In early December, the 21st Brigade took over from the 25th, and throughout late December 1943 and into January 1944 heavy fighting took place with attacks on the two Prothero features, Shaggy Ridge, Green Sniper's Pimple and the Kankiryo Saddle during the
Battle of Shaggy Ridge. On 4 January 1944, the 18th Brigade relieved the 21st. By February, following an attack on Crater Hill, the main Japanese positions had been captured and shortly afterwards, elements of the 7th Division began to return to Australia. The 25th Brigade departed throughout January and February, and the 21st followed in February and March. The 18th Brigade remained in New Guinea until May, although they were replaced around Shaggy Ridge in February by the
15th Brigade, a Victorian Militia formation transferred from command under the
3rd Division and brought under the 7th Division in January. As a show of gratitude to the assistance provided by locals, a memorial school was built at
Situm by the Australian 7th Division AIF Association in 1964.
Borneo In early 1944, the 7th Division returned to Australia in stages and, following a six-week period of leave, it toured the country conducting welcome home marches in a number of state capitals including
Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and
Melbourne. In April, the division began to re-form in north Queensland, where it undertook a long period of training in preparation for future operations, including
amphibious assault training and brigade-level and division-level manoeuvres. Future operations were perceived to involve a possible commitment to the fighting in the
Philippines in late 1944, but this did not eventuate. Finally, in May 1945, the division received orders to deploy overseas again and by 19 June they arrived on
Morotai Island, where they began to prepare for operations in
Borneo, as part of
Operation Oboe. In July 1945, the whole division, supported by the
2/1st Machine Gun Battalion and the Militia's
1st Armoured Regiment, was deployed in the
Borneo campaign, and undertook the
amphibious assault on Balikpapan, in
Dutch Borneo. The initial landing took place on the southern coast on 1 July, with the 18th and 21st Brigades conducting the assault while the 25th Brigade remained at sea in reserve. Following its initial success on the first day, the 21st Brigade began the advance east, capturing an airfield at Seppinggang and crossing the Batakan Ketjil river where they came up against a strong Japanese force on 3 July. Meanwhile, the 18th Brigade secured the high ground around Klandasan before capturing the town of Balikpapan on 3 July. They were then subsequently relieved by the 25th Brigade. On 4 July, the 21st Brigade, having overcome the Japanese resistance that it had encountered the previous day, resumed their advance to the east. They were subsequently engaged by Japanese coastal defence artillery near the Manggar Besar river; they were unable to overcome this until 9 July. The 21st then captured Sambodja, from Manggar, before sending out patrols in support of the 25th Brigade. As the
demobilisation process began, members of the division were slowly repatriated to Australia or transferred to other units for further service. Some personnel were used to form the
65th Battalion, which was formed to undertake occupation duties in Japan as part of the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force. The 7th Division was finally disbanded in 1946. This was done in stages, with the divisional headquarters disbanding in January–February, and the division's component units disbanding between December 1945 and March 1946. A total of 2,063 men from the division were killed during the war, while a further 4,356 were wounded. ==Structure==