Difference between revisions of "2/28th Australian Infantry Battalion"
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==Brief History== | ==Brief History== | ||
| + | The 2/28 Aust Infantry battalion was raised in Melville in July 1940 as part of the 24th Aust Infantry Brigade, 9th Infantry Division, and it moved to Northam in September to undergo training. The other two battalions of the brigade were already in England, and the 2/28th joined up with them in Khassa, Palestine in February 1941 having left Fremantle in January. | ||
| + | With the Italians driven back beyond Benghazi, the 9th Division relieved the 6th Division, and the 2/28th Battalion moved to Tobruk to complete their training and to provide support for the 9th Division. When the German attack on Tobruk commenced, the 2/28th were manning the western perimeter defences and turned back he first attacking forces. Over time they rotated through all the positions before being relieved on 23 Sep 1941, sailing to Alexandria. From here they transferred to Kilo 89 in Palestine, and from there to Haret Jedide, Syria and then Lebanon to rest and rebuild while performing Garrison duties. The German advance reached El Alamein by July and the 9th Division was rushed to the Alamein "box", and held the northern, coastal sector for four months until the British Army could be reinforced to undertake an offensive of their own. The 2/28th had initialy been left in Alexandria to defend it, and so it was 10 July before they arrived at El Alamein | ||
| − | Two men were captured in Malaya by the Japanese, and 269 others died while members of the unit. | + | Following the end of the war and Japan's surrender, the ranks of the 2/28th thinned, as men were discharged, transferred, or volunteered for the occupation force for Japan. They returned to Australia in January 1946, where the 2/28th was disbanded. Two men were captured in Malaya by the Japanese, and 269 others died while members of the unit. |
====Battalion personnel==== | ====Battalion personnel==== | ||
* [[Harold Baldwin]] | * [[Harold Baldwin]] | ||
Revision as of 16:21, 18 August 2020
 Beaufort. Borneo 27 Jun 1945. Members of the 2/28 Infantry Battalion using a hand railway trolley to move heavy gear to their new position AWM photo 110707. | |
 25 Jun 1943 The 2/28th practice a beach landing with the US 532nd Engineer Boat & Shore Regiment. AWM photo 052924 | |
Contents
Brief History
The 2/28 Aust Infantry battalion was raised in Melville in July 1940 as part of the 24th Aust Infantry Brigade, 9th Infantry Division, and it moved to Northam in September to undergo training. The other two battalions of the brigade were already in England, and the 2/28th joined up with them in Khassa, Palestine in February 1941 having left Fremantle in January.
With the Italians driven back beyond Benghazi, the 9th Division relieved the 6th Division, and the 2/28th Battalion moved to Tobruk to complete their training and to provide support for the 9th Division. When the German attack on Tobruk commenced, the 2/28th were manning the western perimeter defences and turned back he first attacking forces. Over time they rotated through all the positions before being relieved on 23 Sep 1941, sailing to Alexandria. From here they transferred to Kilo 89 in Palestine, and from there to Haret Jedide, Syria and then Lebanon to rest and rebuild while performing Garrison duties. The German advance reached El Alamein by July and the 9th Division was rushed to the Alamein "box", and held the northern, coastal sector for four months until the British Army could be reinforced to undertake an offensive of their own. The 2/28th had initialy been left in Alexandria to defend it, and so it was 10 July before they arrived at El Alamein
Following the end of the war and Japan's surrender, the ranks of the 2/28th thinned, as men were discharged, transferred, or volunteered for the occupation force for Japan. They returned to Australia in January 1946, where the 2/28th was disbanded. Two men were captured in Malaya by the Japanese, and 269 others died while members of the unit.
Battalion personnel
- Harold Baldwin
- George Brushmeyer
- Joseph James Burrows
- Albert William Chadwick
- Herbert James Collier
- Robert Gale
- Charles Henry Walter Hansen
- Stanley Rudolph Jarvis
- John Hector Russell MacDonald
- Robert Archibald Edwin Mack
- Lawrence Gerald McDonough
- Stanton Edward McKenna
- Andrew McKenzie
- Victor Henry Mead
- Thomas Stanley O'Meagher
- Walter Vivian Ernest Peters
- Frederick Joseph Powell
- George Lawrance Pryor
- John Peter Lewis Rymer
- Edward Arthur Sewell
- David John Sexty
- Norman Rees Willacott MID
Battle Honours
- Beaufort
- Borneo
- Busu River
- Defence of Alamein Line
- Defence of Scarlet Beach
- Defence of Tobruk
- El Alamein
- Finschhafen
- Gusika
- Labuan
- Qattara Track
- Sanyet el Miteirya
- Siki Cove
- Tell el Makh Khad
Individual Honours
- 2 x Distinguished Service Order
- 6 x Military Cross
- 4 x Distinguished Conduct Medal
- 15 x Military Medal
- 51 x Mentioned in Despatches
Notes
Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 2 - The Australian Army 1939-1945 - pages 2.327 to 2.329 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018; and the Australian War Memorial.