2/43rd Australian Infantry Battalion

Landing Vehicles carrying members of the 2/43rd Battalion rehearsing sea borne landings on 31 May 1945

Pte Leslie Starcevich VC

Brief History

The 2/43rd Battalion was formed at Woodside camp near Adelaide on 17 Jul 1940 as part of the 89th Division's 24th Brigade before being transferred to the 9th Division in December of the same year. As a result of this change they moved to Melbourne in December 1940 joining a convoy to the Middle East, and arrived at Port Tewfik, Egypt at the end of January 1941. From there they travelled by train to Palestine where they were to train, going into camp at Khassa, which is north of Gaza.

In March 1941 the 9th Division moved to Libya, with the 2/43th Battalion located at Tobruk along with the 2/28th and 2/32nd Battalions. With the German Africa Corps early success, the 9th Division withdrew to Tobruk and maintained its defence from April for six months. In the early morning of 17 Oct 1941 the 2/43rd Battalion was evacuated by sea to Alexandria, and from there moved by train to Kilo 89 in Palestine before moving into Syria and Lebanon to undertake garrison duties.

On 5 Jul 1942 the 2/43rd Battalion was in the front line at Alamein, and on 17 Jul 1942 the 24th Brigade including the 2/43rd Battalion moved inland fighting their way along a ridge from Trig 22 to what was to be known as Ruin Ridge. The battalion was held in reserve for much of the early fighting until 31 Oct 1942 when they moved forward to the Blockhouse area where the next day they suffered over a hundred casualties in fierce fighting. With the retreat of the Axis forces, the 9th Division moved back to Palestine in December, and in January 1943 left for Australia aboard HMT Queen Mary from Port Tewfik, reaching Sydney on 27 Feb 1943.

Re-organised and re-trained for jungle fighting, the 2/43rd Battalion participated in the amphibious landing at Red Beach to the north-west of Lae in New Guinea, landing during the night of 5 Sep 1943. For the next 11 days the battalion fought its way to the outskirts of Lae. Then on 30 Sep 1943 the battalion participated in another landing, this time at Scarlet Beach north of Finschhafen as support for the 20th Brigade which had gone ashore on the 22nd, defending the beach from a Japanese counter attack. From here the Brigade advanced along the coast, with the 2/43rd Battalion in reserve until it joined the 2/32 inland where they defended Pabu against strong Japanese counter attacks. Now quite severely depleted as a result of illness, the 2/43rd was withdrawn to a rest area near Scarlet beach for Christmas, and returned to Australia at the end of January 1944 for leave, and rebuilding.

Following their leave, the battalion reformed at Ravenshoe on the Atherton Tablelands for intensive training, until April 1945 when they were sent to Morotai, then being used as a staging area for the coming amphibious landings on Borneo and other islands in the region. The 24th Brigade (including the 2/43rd Battalion) landed on "Brown Beach" on Labuan Island of the coast of North Borneo on 10 Jun 1945 and within 11 days they had cleared the island. The battalions next landing was at Menumbok in North Borneo and advanced up the Klias and Padas Rivers to attack Beaufourt on 26 June with the 2/32nd Battalion, securing the town three days later. During this fighting Pte Leslie Starcevich was awarded a VC for his actions during this battle.

With the war over, the battalion rapidly thinned with men being discharged, transferred or joining the battalions to go to Japan as part of the Occupying Force. There were only 25 men on strength by Christmas Day, and they returned to Australia in January 1946 where the 2/43rd Battalion was disbanded at Puckapunyal on 22 Feb 1946. Two hundred and fifty nine men died while members of this battalion.

Battalion Personnel

• † David Robert Gerald Watts 16 Sep 1941 - 4 Oct 1943 - DOW
• Claude Raymond Anderson 29 Mar - 18 Jul 1942 - WIA
• Joseph Logan

Battle Honours

• Defence of Tobruk
• Tell el Makh Khad
• Defence of Alamein Line
• El Alamein
• Defence of Scarlet Beach
• Finschhafen
• Pabu
• Labuan
• Borneo
• Beaufort
• Busu River

Individual Honours

• 1 x Victoria Cross
• 2 x Distinguished Service Order
• 14 x Military Cross
• 3 x Distinguished Conduct Medal
• 23 x Military Medal & 1 x Bar
• 1 x Order of the British Empire
• 42 Mentioned in Despatches