Portal:Military history of Australia

Alfred John Shout, VC, MC (8 August 1882 – 11 August 1915) was a New Zealand–born soldier and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. Shout was posthumously awarded the VC for his actions at Lone Pine in August 1915, during the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War. After Ottoman forces had counterattacked and seized a large stretch of the Australians' front line, Shout gathered a small party of men and charged down one trench throwing bombs. He killed eight Turkish soldiers, and managed to clear others to retake the trench. In a similar action later that day, and supported by another officer, he recaptured further ground amid heavy fighting. In the final push forward, Shout simultaneously lit three bombs to lob at the enemy. He successfully threw two, but just as the third left his hand it detonated. Shout was severely wounded and died two days later.

Born in Wellington, Shout had served in the Second Boer War as a teenager. He rose to sergeant and was mentioned in despatches for saving a wounded man before being discharged in 1902. He remained in South Africa for the next five years, serving as an artilleryman in the Cape Colonial Forces from 1903. With his Australian-born wife and their daughter, Shout immigrated to Sydney in 1907. The family settled in Darlington, where Shout worked for Resch's Brewery as a carpenter and joiner. He was also active in the part-time Citizens' Forces, being commissioned just prior to the outbreak of the First World War. In August 1914, he joined in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for active service overseas and was appointed a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion. After training in Egypt, he took part in the Anzac landings at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. For his leadership during the invasion and its immediate aftermath, Shout was awarded the Military Cross and later mentioned in despatches. Shout's three gallantry awards at Gallipoli made him the most highly decorated member of the AIF for the campaign. (Full article...)

The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle of Savo Island (サボ島沖海戦), took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy. The naval battle was the second of four major surface engagements during the Guadalcanal campaign and took place at the entrance to the strait between Savo Island and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Cape Esperance () is the northernmost point on Guadalcanal, and the battle took its name from this point.

On the night of 11 October, Japanese naval forces in the Solomon Islands area—under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa—sent a major supply and reinforcement convoy to their forces on Guadalcanal. The convoy consisted of two seaplane tenders and six destroyers and was commanded by Rear Admiral Takatsugu Jojima. At the same time but in a separate operation, three heavy cruisers and two destroyers—under the command of Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō—were to bombard the Allied airfield on Guadalcanal (called Henderson Field by the Allies) with the object of destroying Allied aircraft and the airfield's facilities. (Full article...)

The Shrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to as The Shrine) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but now functions as a memorial to all Australians who have served in any war. It is a site of annual observances for Anzac Day (25 April) and Remembrance Day (11 November), and is one of the largest war memorials in Australia.

Designed by architects Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop, both World War I veterans, the Shrine is in classical style, based on the Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus and the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. The crowning element at the top of the ziggurat roof references the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates.
Built from Tynong granite, the Shrine originally consisted only of the central sanctuary surrounded by the ambulatory. The sanctuary contains the marble Stone of Remembrance, upon which is engraved the words "Greater love hath no man" (John 15:13); once per year, on 11 November at 11 a.m. (Remembrance Day), a ray of sunlight shines through an aperture in the roof to light up the word "Love" in the inscription. Beneath the sanctuary lies the crypt, which contains a bronze statue of a soldier father and son, and panels listing every unit of the Australian Imperial Force. (Full article...)

Air Marshal Sir James Anthony Rowland, AC, KBE, DFC, AFC (1 November 1922 – 27 May 1999) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), serving as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) from 1975 to 1979. He held office as Governor of New South Wales from 1981 to 1989, and was Chancellor of the University of Sydney from 1990 to 1991.

Born in rural New South Wales, Rowland cut short his aeronautical engineering studies at the University of Sydney to join the RAAF in 1942. He was posted to Britain and served as a bomber pilot with the Pathfinders in the air war over Europe, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944. The following year he was forced to bail out over Germany following a collision with another Allied aircraft, and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. (Full article...)

Air Marshal Sir John Patrick Joseph McCauley, KBE, CB (18 March 1899 – 3 February 1989) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1954 to 1957. A Duntroon graduate, McCauley spent four years in the Australian Military Forces before transferring to the RAAF in 1924. He was Director of Training from 1936 to 1938, and commanded engineering and flying training schools for the first eighteen months of World War II. Having been promoted to group captain in 1940, he was posted to Singapore in June 1941 to take charge of all RAAF units defending the area. He earned praise for his efforts in attacking invading Japanese forces before the fall of Singapore, and for his dedication in evacuating his men. After serving as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in 1942–1944, he was appointed to a senior operational role with the Royal Air Force's 2nd Tactical Air Force in Europe, where he saw out the rest of the war.

Following the end of hostilities, McCauley again became Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. In 1947 he was promoted to air vice marshal and appointed Chief of Staff at British Commonwealth Occupation Force Headquarters in Japan. Returning to Australia in June 1949, he served as the last Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Eastern Area and the inaugural AOC Home Command (now Air Command). Raised to air marshal, he took up the position of Chief of the Air Staff in January 1954, and was knighted a year later. During his tenure in the RAAF's senior role, McCauley focused on potential deployments to Southeast Asia—particularly Vietnam—and threats from the north, commencing redevelopment of RAAF Base Darwin and recommending purchase of a light supersonic bomber to replace the Air Force's English Electric Canberra. After retiring from military life in March 1957, he chaired community and welfare organisations, serving as Federal President of the Air Force Association for ten years. He died in Sydney in 1989, aged 89. (Full article...)

Issy Smith VC (18 September 1890 – 10 September 1940) was a British-Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to eligible forces of the Commonwealth and United Kingdom. In recognition of his VC, he was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre and Russian Cross of St. George (4th class) by the respective governments.

Born Ishroulch Shmeilowitz (and other renderings), to parents residing in Turkey, Smith travelled to Britain as a child stowaway and enlisted in the British Army in 1904. He emigrated to Australia after he had transferred to the reserve, where he remained until mobilised as a reservist in 1914. As a corporal in the 1st Battalion, The Manchester Regiment, Smith was engaged in the Second Battle of Ypres. On 26 April 1915, Smith, on his own initiative, recovered wounded soldiers while exposed to sustained fire and attended to them "with the greatest devotion to duty regardless of personal risk". His conduct secured a recommendation for the Victoria Cross, which was awarded to Smith in August 1915. (Full article...)

The Battle of Rennell Island (Japanese: レンネル島沖海戦, Hepburn: Renneru-shima oki kaisen) took place on 29–30 January 1943. It was the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. It occurred in the South Pacific between Rennell Island and Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon Islands.

In the battle, Japanese land-based torpedo bombers, seeking to provide protection for the impending evacuation of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal, made several attacks over two days on U.S. warships operating as a task force south of Rennell Island. In addition to approaching Guadalcanal with the objective of engaging any Japanese ships that might come into range, the U.S. task force was protecting an Allied transport ship convoy carrying replacement troops there. (Full article...)

No. 450 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) that operated during World War II. Established at RAAF Station Williamtown, New South Wales, in February 1941, it was the first Australian Article XV squadron formed under the Empire Air Training Scheme.

The squadron embarked for the Middle East in April 1941; its personnel initially consisted solely of ground crew, who joined the pilots of No. 260 Squadron RAF to form No. 260/450 Squadron, which briefly operated Hawker Hurricane fighters in Syria. It was not until February 1942 that No. 450 Squadron, now with its own pilots and equipped with Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, commenced operations in earnest. Over the next 15 months, it fought in the North African and Tunisian campaigns in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles, claiming 49 German and Italian aircraft destroyed in the air and earning the nickname "The Desert Harassers". (Full article...)

John Raeburn Balmer, OBE, DFC (3 July 1910 – 11 May 1944) was a senior officer and bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Bendigo, Victoria, he studied law before joining the RAAF as an air cadet in 1932. An instructor at Point Cook from 1935 to 1937, he achieved renown in Air Force circles when he reportedly parachuted from a training aircraft to motivate his pupil to land single-handedly. He also became known to the general public as a cross-country motorist, setting records for trans-Australia and round-Australia trips before World War II.

A flight lieutenant when war broke out, Balmer was promoted to squadron leader in June 1940, becoming the inaugural commanding officer of No. 13 Squadron, which operated Lockheed Hudsons out of Darwin, Northern Territory. He was raised to temporary wing commander in April 1941, and within a year had taken charge of the RAAF's first Bristol Beaufort unit, No. 100 Squadron. Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in June 1942, he led the Beauforts on bombing and torpedo missions against Japanese targets in the New Guinea campaign. (Full article...)

Phillip Davey, VC, MM (10 October 1896 – 21 December 1953) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time. Davey enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in December 1914 for service in World War I, and joined his unit, the 10th Battalion, on the island of Lemnos on 10 April 1915. Along with his battalion, he landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on 25 April. He fought at Anzac until he was evacuated sick in early November, returning to Australia the following January.

Davey embarked for England in June 1916, and rejoined his battalion on the Western Front in October. In January 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in rescuing a wounded man under fire. He was promoted to corporal in April. In the lead-up to the capture of Merris in June, he killed an eight-man German machine-gun crew, saving his platoon from annihilation, for which he was awarded the VC. During this action he was severely wounded. He returned to Australia to be discharged, and was employed by South Australian Railways over many years before dying in 1953, having suffered for years with bronchitis and emphysema. He was buried with full military honours in the AIF Cemetery, West Terrace. His medals are displayed in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial. (Full article...)

The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production models of the F-111 had roles that included attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons capabilities), reconnaissance and electronic warfare. Aardvark comes from a South African animal that has a long nose and hugs the terrain. It is an Afrikaans word that translates literally as "earth pig"—hence the aircraft's "Pig" nickname during its Australian service.

Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics under Robert McNamara's TFX Program, the F-111 pioneered variable-sweep wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and automated terrain-following radar for low-level, high-speed flight. Its design influenced later variable-sweep wing aircraft, and some of its advanced features have become commonplace. The F-111 suffered problems during initial development, largely related to the engines. A fighter variant intended for the United States Navy, the F-111B, was canceled before production; it was intended for aircraft carrier-based roles, including long-range interception. Several specialized models, such as the FB-111A strategic bomber and the EF-111A electronic warfare aircraft, were also developed. (Full article...)

John Kirkpatrick (6 July 1892 – 19 May 1915), commonly known as John Simpson, was a stretcher bearer with the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance during the Gallipoli campaign – the Allied attempt to capture Constantinople, capital of the Ottoman Empire, during the First World War.

After the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, Simpson used donkeys to provide first aid and carry wounded soldiers to the beach, from where they could be evacuated. He continued this work for three and a half weeks – often under fire – until he was killed by machine-gun fire during the third attack on Anzac Cove. Simpson and his donkey have become part of the Anzac legend. (Full article...)

Major General Joseph Maria Gordon CB (19 March 1856 – 6 September 1929) was a senior officer in the British Army, later holding the position of Commandant of the South Australian Military Forces and serving in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Gordon subsequently held the position of Chief of the General Staff in the Australian Army before commanding a number of reserve formations during the First World War. Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, he was the son of Carlos Pedro Gordon, of Scottish descent, and Elena Maria Prendergast, of Irish descent. He died in 1929. (Full article...)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Allan Grant "Angus" Houston, AK, AFC (born 9 June 1947) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2001 and then as the Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 2005. He retired from the military on 3 July 2011.

Since then Houston has been appointed to a number of positions, including chairman of Airservices Australia. In March 2014 he was appointed to head the Joint Agency Coordination Centre during the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, and in the Australia Day Honours of 2015, he was knighted for this service. (Full article...)

The Armidale class is a class of patrol boats built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Planning for a class of vessels to replace the fifteen Fremantle-class patrol boats began in 1993 as a joint project with the Royal Malaysian Navy, but was cancelled when Malaysia pulled out of the process. The project was reopened in 1999 under the designation SEA 1444, with the RAN as the sole participant. Of the seven proposals tendered, the Austal/Defence Maritime Services (DMS) proposal for twelve vessels based on an enlarged Bay-class patrol boat was selected. Two additional boats were ordered in 2005 to provide a dedicated patrol force for the North West Shelf Venture.

All fourteen vessels were constructed by Austal at Henderson, Western Australia. The first vessel, HMAS Armidale, was commissioned into the RAN in June 2005, and the last, HMAS Glenelg, entered service in February 2008. The Armidale-class ships are operated by the Australian Patrol Boat Group, and based in Cairns and Darwin. They are primarily tasked with border protection, fisheries patrols, and the interception of unauthorised arrivals by sea. The Armidales are longer and heavier than their Fremantle-class predecessors, with improved seakeeping ability and increased range, allowing them to reach Australia's offshore territories. (Full article...)

The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a coup d'état in the British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, its name derives from the illicit rum trade of early Sydney, over which the 'Rum Corps', as it became known, maintained a monopoly. During the first half of the 19th century, it was widely referred to in Australia as the Great Rebellion.

Bligh, a former Royal Navy captain known for his overthrow in the mutiny on the Bounty, had been appointed governor in 1805 to rein in the power of the Corps. Over the next two years, Bligh made enemies not only of Sydney's military elite, but several prominent civilians, notably John Macarthur, who joined Major George Johnston in organising an armed takeover. On 26 January 1808, 400 soldiers marched on Government House and arrested Bligh. He was kept in confinement in Sydney, then aboard a ship off Hobart, Van Diemen's Land, for the next two years while Johnston acted as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales. The military remained in control until the 1810 arrival from Britain of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, who took over as governor. (Full article...)

The Yeramba was an Australian self-propelled howitzer built after the end of the Second World War in the late-1940s. They were produced by mounting the 25 pounder gun-howitzer on an American M3A5 Grant tank hull, and were converted by the Ordnance Factory in Bendigo from 1950 to 1952. The Yeramba was withdrawn from service in 1957 after becoming obsolete and remains the only self-propelled artillery introduced into service by the Australian Army. The name is from the yeramba, an Aboriginal instrument for throwing spears. (Full article...)

The Owen gun, known officially as the Owen machine carbine, was an Australian submachine gun that was designed by Evelyn Owen in 1938. The Owen was the only entirely Australian-designed and constructed service submachine gun of World War II. It was used by the Australian Army from 1942 until 1971. (Full article...)

The Women's Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) was formed as an all women's corps of the Australian Army in April 1951. Its Colonel-in-Chief was Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. The purpose of the corps was to counter a personnel shortage that developed due to fighting during the Korean War and post-World War II full employment. At the time of its formation, many senior WRAAC personnel had previously served in the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS), which had been raised during World War II, and as a result the WRAAC is considered to have its origins in the AWAS. The corps consisted of both Regular and part-time personnel, and had commissioned officers, warrant officers, non commissioned officers and other ranks who filled a variety of roles including general duties, cooking, clerical work, instruction, warehousing, and signalling. There were also librarians, coders, projectionists, and psychologists.

Training was completed separately from male recruits at various locations including Queenscliff for soldiers and Georges Heights for officers. Personnel were posted either to formed WRAAC companies, or to male units to fill position vacancies. By the late 1970s female soldiers had begun to be integrated into the Army at large and in late 1984, the WRAAC was disbanded with personnel being transferred to other previously all male corps based on their trade specialty. At this time, female officer cadets began training at the Officer Cadet School, Portsea alongside male cadets, and when Portsea closed down at the end of 1985, they were integrated into the Royal Military College, Duntroon. Female soldiers began training alongside male recruits at the Army Recruit Training Centre at Kapooka in 1985. (Full article...)

Lieutenant General Henry John Coates, AC, MBE (28 December 1932 – 11 June 2018) was a senior officer in the Australian Army who served as Chief of the General Staff from 1990 to 1992. After retiring from the army, he became an author and a visiting fellow at the Australian Defence Force Academy branch of the University of New South Wales, pursuing aspects of Australia's military history. (Full article...)

Charles Curnow Scherf, DSO, DFC & Bar (17 May 1917 – 13 July 1949) was an Australian flying ace of the Second World War. Born in New South Wales, Scherf was working on his father's grazing property when he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941. On graduating as a pilot, he was sent to the United Kingdom for service in the European theatre. Flying de Havilland Mosquitos with No. 418 Squadron RCAF, Scherf was credited with the destruction of 7½ aircraft in the air and on the ground, and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Afterward, he was posted for duties with Headquarters Air Defence of Great Britain. He nevertheless returned occasionally to No. 418 Squadron and flew operational sorties with the unit, destroying a further 16 aircraft and earning two more decorations. By the end of the war, Scherf had achieved 14½ aerial victories in 38 operational sorties. He was also credited with destroying nine aircraft on the ground, and with damaging seven others. (Full article...)

No. 4 Operational Training Unit (No. 4 OTU) was an operational conversion unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during the Second World War. It was formed at Williamtown, New South Wales, in October 1942 to train pilots and wireless air gunners to operate Vultee Vengeance dive bombers. The school was equipped with Vengeances and CAC Wirraway aircraft. Accidents were common in operational conversion units and No. 4 OTU suffered several fatal crashes during its existence. It was disbanded in April 1944, handing Williamtown over to No. 5 Operational Training Unit. (Full article...)

The Battle of Gang Toi (8 November 1965) was fought during the Vietnam War between Australian troops and the Viet Cong. The battle was one of the first engagements between the two forces during the war and occurred when A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) struck a Viet Cong bunker system defended by Company 238 in the Gang Toi Hills, in northern Biên Hòa Province. It occurred during a major joint US-Australian operation codenamed Operation Hump, involving the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, to which 1 RAR was attached. During the latter part of the operation an Australian rifle company clashed with an entrenched company-sized Viet Cong force in well-prepared defensive positions. Meanwhile, an American paratroop battalion was also heavily engaged in fighting on the other side of the Đồng Nai River.

The Australians were unable to concentrate sufficient combat power to launch an assault on the position and consequently they were forced to withdraw after a fierce engagement during which both sides suffered casualties, reluctantly leaving behind two men who had been shot and could not be recovered due to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire. Although they were most likely dead, a battalion-attack to recover the missing soldiers was planned by the Australians for the next day, but this was cancelled by the American brigade commander due to rising casualties and the need to utilise all available helicopters for casualty evacuation. The bodies of the two missing Australian soldiers were subsequently recovered more than 40 years later, and were returned to Australia for burial. (Full article...)

The 2nd Armoured Brigade was a formation of the Australian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in July 1941, at Puckapunyal, Victoria, from Second Australian Imperial Force volunteers. It was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division in July 1941, with the intention of deploying it to the Middle East. However, it was reassigned to home defence following Japan's entry into the war, and was then transferred to the 3rd Armoured Division in October 1942. The brigade remained in Australia, undertaking defensive duties in Victoria and Queensland before being disbanded in January 1944. While it did not see any active service as a formation, some of its constituent units eventually took part in the campaigns on Tarakan, Labuan, Bougainville and around Aitape–Wewak in 1944–1945 after transferring to other brigades.

It was re-raised in the postwar period, serving as a part-time Citizens Military Force formation between 1948 and 1957. During this period, the 2nd Armoured Brigade was based in Victoria and formed part of Southern Command. Its headquarters was broken up when the Australian Army determined that there was no need for large scale armoured formations as the focus shifted to jungle operations and close infantry-armoured cooperation. Its constituent units were subsequently dispersed to other formations. (Full article...)

The 14th/32nd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army which served during the Second World War. It was formed in September 1942 by the amalgamation of the 14th and 32nd Battalions and was assigned to the 6th Brigade, 4th Division in Geraldton, Western Australia. The battalion served firstly in Australia and then later New Guinea, being employed mainly on garrison duties, before being transferred to the 5th Division and deployed to New Britain late in the war where it took part briefly in the Australian containment campaign on that island. In April 1945 it returned to Australia for rest and re-organisation and was disbanded later that year without seeing further combat. (Full article...)

The 61st Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1917 during the First World War but was disbanded the same year without seeing active service. Later it was re-raised as a part of the Militia in 1938 in Brisbane, Queensland. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War they initially undertook garrison duties in Australia, however, in 1942 they were deployed to New Guinea where they took part in the Battle of Milne Bay, during which the Japanese were defeated for the first time in a major land battle. In late 1943, the 61st Battalion was withdrawn back to Australia for a period of re-organisation and training before being deployed overseas again in late 1944. This time they were deployed to Bougainville, where the Australian 3rd Division had taken over from the American garrison and the battalion joined the drive towards the Japanese stronghold at Buin in the south of the island. Following the end of the war, the 61st Battalion was disbanded as part of the demobilisation process on 8 January 1946. (Full article...)

1st Armoured Regiment is an armoured regiment of the Australian Army and is the senior regiment of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. Formed as a tank unit in the new Australian Regular Army on 7 July 1949, the regiment subsequently saw service during the Vietnam War operating Centurion tanks. Currently the unit is based in Edinburgh, South Australia as part of the 9th Brigade. As part of the Plan Beersheba reorganisation, the unit has become one of three Armoured Cavalry Regiments (ACRs) assigned to the Army's multirole combat brigades in Brisbane, Darwin and Townsville. Each ACR is equipped with M1A1 tanks and ASLAV light armoured vehicles. (Full article...)

The 1st Armoured Brigade was a formation of the Australian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in July 1941, at Greta, New South Wales from volunteers for the Second Australian Imperial Force and was assigned to the 1st Armoured Division. Raised initially for service in the Middle East, following Japan's entry into the war, the brigade was assigned to the defence of Australia in case of an invasion. After garrison duties in New South Wales and Western Australia, it was disbanded in November 1944 without seeing active service, although some of its former units saw action later with other formations.

It was re-raised in the postwar period, serving in the Citizens Military Force between 1948 and 1957. During this period, the brigade was based in New South Wales and formed part of Eastern Command. The brigade's headquarters was broken up when the Australian Army determined that there was no need for large-scale armoured formations as the focus shifted to jungle operations and close infantry-armoured cooperation. Its constituent units were subsequently dispersed to other formations. (Full article...)

The Huon Peninsula campaign was a series of battles fought in north-eastern Papua New Guinea in 1943–1944 during the Second World War. The campaign formed the initial part of an offensive that the Allies launched in the Pacific in late 1943 and resulted in the Japanese being pushed north from Lae to Sio on the northern coast of New Guinea over the course of a four-month period. For the Australians, a significant advantage was gained through the technological edge that Allied industry had achieved over the Japanese by this phase of the war, while the Japanese were hampered by a lack of supplies and reinforcements due to Allied interdiction efforts at sea and in the air.

The campaign was preceded by an amphibious landing by troops from the Australian 9th Division east of Lae on 4 September 1943. This was followed by an advance west along the coast towards the town where they were to link up with 7th Division advancing from Nadzab. Meanwhile, Australian and US forces mounted diversionary attacks around Salamaua. Heavy rain and flooding slowed the 9th Division's advance, which had to cross several rivers along the way. The Japanese rear guard also put up a stiff defence and, as a result, Lae did not fall until 16 September, when troops from the 7th Division entered it ahead of the 9th, and the main body of the Japanese force escaped north. Less than a week later, the Huon Peninsula campaign was opened as the Australians undertook another amphibious landing further east, aimed at capturing Finschhafen. (Full article...)

The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the Australian Military Forces. In 1980, however, the current name—Australian Army Reserve—was officially adopted, and it now consists of a number of components based around the level of commitment and training obligation that its members are required to meet. (Full article...)