| 17th Brigade | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 2/5th Battalion troops in action around Khalde, in Syria, July 1941 | |
| Active | 1917 1939–1946 |
| Country |  Australia |
| Branch | Australian Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | 6th Division |
| Engagements | World War I World War II |
| Insignia | |
| Headquarters unit colour patch |  |
The17th Brigade was an infantry brigade in theAustralian Army. First raised in 1912 as aMilitia formation to provide training under thecompulsory training scheme, the brigade was later re-raised as part of theFirst Australian Imperial Force duringWorld War I. Established in 1917 in the United Kingdom, it was broken up and disbanded without seeing action, and its personnel used as reinforcements for other formations. Reformed duringWorld War II, it took part in fighting inLibya,Greece,Crete,Syria in 1941–1942. Following Japan's entry into the war, the Australian government pressed for the 6th Division's return, and the 17th Brigade was subsequently brought back from the Middle East, viaCeylon where they undertook defensive duties until July 1942. Following the brigade's return to Australia, it was deployed toNew Guinea for two campaigns: theSalamaua–Lae campaign in 1943 and theAitape–Wewak campaign in 1944–1945. After the war, the brigade was disbanded in January 1946. Today, its name is perpetuated by the17th Sustainment Brigade, which was raised as a logistics formation in May 2006.
In 1912, when Australian introduced thecompulsory training scheme, a total of 23Militia brigades, mostly of four battalions, were planned for. These were assigned to six military districts around Australia. At this time, the 17th Brigade formed part of the3rd Military District. The brigade's constituent units had training depots in various locations aroundVictoria, includingFootscray,Castlemaine,Kyneton,Bendigo, andEchuca. The brigade's constituent battalions were sequentially numbered: 65th, 66th, 67th and 68th.[1]
During World War I, the 17th Brigade was formed as part of the all volunteerFirst Australian Imperial Force (AIF) inEngland, in theSalisbury Plain Training Area, as part of the6th Division on 25 April 1917. The brigade consisted of four infantry battalions, and supported by a machine gun company and a light trench mortar battery. By September 1917, the brigade's strength was just over 3,000 men. Heavy casualties amongst Australian forces on theWestern Front atBullecourt andMessines throughout 1917 resulted in a manpower shortage amongst the five divisions of the AIF. As a result, plans to raise the 6th Division were shelved and its constituent formations were disbanded without seeing any action.[2][3] The brigade's personnel were then used as reinforcements. The brigade's machine gun company was later re-designated as the 24th Machine Gun Company and eventually allocated to the4th Machine Gun Battalion, going to serve as part of the4th Division.[4] Only 15 infantry brigades were raised as part of the Militia during the interwar years, so the 17th Brigade was not re-raised during this time.[5]
Following the outbreak of World War II, the 17th Brigade was reformed as part of the all volunteerSecond Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). Once again it formed part of the 6th Division. Its headquarters was raised at theMelbourne Showgrounds on 13 October 1939, and upon formation it consisted of four infantry battalions –2/5th,2/6th,2/7th and2/8th – all of which were recruited from Victoria. Basic training was undertaken atPuckapunyal, after which the brigade embarked for overseas,[6] under the command of BrigadierStanley Savige.[7] They arrived in the Middle East in April 1940 and by May were stationed in Palestine.[7] That month, the 2/8th Infantry Battalion was transferred to the19th Brigade, as the 2nd AIF adopted the triangular brigade structure that was standard in the British Army. Further training was carried out in Egypt, at Helway, in September, at which point the 17th Brigade received the remainder of its war equipment. Divisional exercises were undertaken aroundIkingi Maryut in October and November, during which the 16th and 17th Brigades practised assault techniques, while the 19th Brigade assumed a defensive role.[8] After this, the 6th Division was deployed to Libya in preparation for their commitment to theWestern Desert Campaign.[6]
In January 1941, the Australians went into action for the first time aroundBardia. While the 16th Brigade led the assault, the 17th Brigade was assigned a supporting role. The 2/7th Infantry Battalion provided the division's reserve element, while the 2/6th carried out an advance to the south of the fortress to divert the defenders' attention. Following the initial phase of the operation, the 2/5th and 2/7th then pushed through the gap created by the 16th Brigade and advanced south-easterly against the Italian defences. The brigade struggled to make progress during this phase, though, and had to be reinforced by the2/11th Infantry Battalion from the 19th Brigade.[9] This was followed by thecapture of Tobruk, during which the 17th Brigade was again allocated a secondary role, providing reinforcements to the assaulting brigades. In the aftermath, the Italians began to fall back towardsTripoli. The 17th Brigade was pushed forward in pursuit, with the 2/7th Infantry Battalion capturingBarce and thenMarsa Brega before the20th Brigade arrived to relieve them, as part of preparations to redeploy the 6th Division toGreece in response to promises to defend the country against an expected German invasion. The brigade subsequently concentrated around Amiriya, in Egypt.[6]
The 6th Division deployed in stages, with the 16th deploying first, followed by the 19th. The 17th arrived in mid-April, disembarking atPiraeus along with the 2/11th Infantry Battalion, which had not deployed with the rest of the 19th Brigade. They arrived as the German invasion was in full swing and upon their arrival the troops were loaded into trucks and driven to the front line aroundLarissa with orders to form a blocking position.[10] While the 2/6th and 2/7th Infantry Battalions established rearguard positions aroundDomokos, the brigade's headquarters formed an ad hoc formation consisting of the 2/5th and 2/11th Infantry Battalions and took up positions on the Grevena–Kalabaka road. As the German advance pushed the Allies back, the brigade was pushed south in a series of withdrawals until they were ordered to evacuate fromKalamata in late April.[11][12]
While the majority of the brigade was evacuated back to Palestine, in the confusion the 2/7th was sent to Crete while several hundred men from the 2/5th and 2/6th were also landed after their troopship, theCosta Rica, was sunk en route to Alexandria.[13] The 2/7th was attached to the 19th Brigade at this time, while the two smaller battalions formed a 17th Brigade Composite Battalion, which was assigned to Cremor Force.[14] Cremor Force assumed defensive positions around the western end of the island, with the 17th Brigade Composite Battalion located around Suda Point,[15] while the 2/7th defended Georgiopolis. On 20 May, the Germans launched aninvasion of Crete, after which there was heavy fighting on the island as the British, Greek, New Zealand, and Australian defenders fought to repel the airborne assault. Despite inflicting heavy casualties, the Allies lost control of the airfield around Malame and were eventually pushed back towardsSfakia, from where only part of the garrison could be evacuated.[16] During the fighting on Crete, the 2/7th's most significant action came during theBattle of 42nd Street, when they took part in a bayonet assault alongside theMaori Battalion, inflicting heavy casualties on a battalion of the 141st Gebirgsjager Regiment.[17] After three days of rearguard fighting in the hills, plans were made to evacuate the 2/7th Battalion as the final combat unit to be withdrawn from the island, but heavy naval losses resulted in the attempt being cancelled.[18][19] Although some personnel managed to make their own way back to Allied lines, or escaped later, over 400 personnel from the 2/7th were taken prisoner, while the 17th Brigade Composite Battalion lost 198 men captured. In addition, there were around 100 battle casualties in both units.[20]
Meanwhile, the rest of the brigade concentrated in Palestine in May 1941 and was re-formed. The 2/5th Infantry Battalion was detached in June to take part in theSyria–Lebanon campaign, attached to the7th Division. Later in the campaign, the 17th Brigade's headquarters was also committed to the fighting, assuming control of the2/3rd and 2/5th Infantry Battalions, and the2/2nd Pioneers during theBattle of Damour, and then the advance towardsBeirut. An armistice ended the conflict in mid-July, after which the brigade was assigned to occupation duties, providing a garrison along the Turkish border aroundLatakia and then later aroundTripoli, in Lebanon. In November, the brigade was reconstituted with its original units, and the following month BrigadierMurray Moten took over command of the brigade.[21] In early in 1942 returned to Palestine. With Japan's entry into the war, the Australian government requested the return of the 6th and 7th Divisions to help meet the new threat. However, the 16th and 17th Brigades were diverted en route toCeylon where they undertook defensive duties amidst concerns of a Japanese invasion. The 17th Brigade was stationed aroundAkuressa during this time, before completing the voyage back to Australia in July 1942.[11]
After their return to Australia, a period of leave followed. After this, the brigade was re-constituted atSeymour, Victoria, in August 1942, before moving toSingleton, New South Wales a month later. The situation in New Guinea improved for the Allies as the Japanese advance towardsPort Moresby along theKokoda Track was halted following their defeat at theBattle of Milne Bay and following a reversal onGuadalcanal. The 17th Brigade was subsequently deployed to Milne Bay in October 1942, freeing up the18th Brigade to be deployed to northernPapua, to taking part in thefighting in the Buna–Gona area. As the Japanese began to shift their attention towards thecapture of Wau, in January 1943 the 17th Brigade was relieved by the29th Brigade and was redeployed to Port Moresby by sea, from where it was flown to Wau to reinforceKanga Force,[22] with Moten assuming command of Kanga Force. The move was delayed by bad weather and was not completed until late January, and aircraft bringing in reinforcements arrived under fire. Fighting commenced east of Wau on 28 January, when elements of the 2/6th Infantry Battalion, which had established an outpost, came under attack. This was followed two days later by the main attack on the airfield, which was held by the 2/5th and 2/7th Infantry Battalions. Several days of heavy fighting followed, and Wau came under air attack on 6 February; however, by 9 February the Australians had cleared the Japanese from the area, forcing them to withdraw.[23][24] In the following months, elements of the 17th Brigade took part in several actions aroundMubo,Bobdubi,Lababia Ridge,Nassau Bay, andMount Tambu. As the Australians advanced onSalamaua, the 2/7th was detached to support the15th Infantry Brigade.[25]
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Following the capture of Salamaua, the 17th Brigade embarked from Nassau Bay and returned to Australia, concentrating atWondecla, Queensland, where the 6th Division was reunited on theAtherton Tablelands. A long period of training followed for the 17th Brigade as the role of Australian troops in the Pacific was largely taken over by the US,[26] leaving the 6th Division without a role for a considerable period.[27] Finally, in late 1944, it was determined that Australian forces would relieve US troops aroundAitape, in order to free them up for redeployment to the Philippines. US troops had secured an airfield at Aitape, and established a strong base there; Australian troops were expected to hold this base and then push patrols east along the coast towardsWewak, while limiting offensive actions so as not to result in the need for the commitment of large scale forces.[28] The brigade began arriving at the US-held airfield at Aitape in November and while the 16th and 19th Brigades carried the advance along the coast, the 17th pushed up theSepik River inland from theTorricelli Range, rotating each battalion between defensive and offensive actions. In January 1945, the 2/5th moved towards Perimbul and Balif, while the following month the remainder of the brigade advanced to Ami, linking up with the 2/5th aroundMaprik. The 2/7th took over the advance in February, while flanking units from Hay Force pushed the Japanese into their path. The 2/6th took over from the commandos at Ami in March and the 2/5th took over from the 2/7th in June. Around this time, the2nd New Guinea Infantry Battalion was assigned to the 17th Brigade and undertook patrols between Hayfield and Gwalip, before the 2/7th took over. In July, they pushed towards Kiarivu, as the Australian advance moved into the mountain areas. The war ended shortly after this, in mid-August, by which time the brigade's four battalions were in action against the Japanese around Mount Irup.[27]
Following the conclusion of hostilities, by mid-October the 17th Brigade concentrated around Dallman Harbour. The demobilisation process began shortly after the war ended, with drafts of personnel being returned to Australia based on priority.[29] A series of cross postings also occurred at this time, with 17th Brigade units swapping personnel with units from the8th Brigade. Meanwhile, personnel undertook parades and occupation duties, overseeing the surrender of Japanese personnel. There was a shortage of shipping at the time, so the process of demobilisation was slow. The troops were kept occupied with other activities including vocational education and training, and sports. From November, Moten relinquished command of the brigade, taking over the 6th Division, while a series of administrative commanders temporarily took over the brigade. Cross postings came to an end in December, and that month the main body of the brigade began moving to Australia, with troops from the 2/5th embarking upon the troopshipDuntroon, and cadres from other units embarking upon the British aircraft carrier,Implacable, departing Wewak on 14 December 1945. After arriving atWoolloomooloo, the brigade concentrated atWallgrove, New South Wales, before a period of leave. In January 1946, at Puckapunyal, most of the brigade's personnel were demobilised while a small cadre remained to complete the administration necessary for the brigade to be disbanded.[30]
In the post war era, the 17th Brigade was not re-raised. Its numerical designation is perpetuated, though, by a logistics formation, the17th Sustainment Brigade, which was raised on 20 May 2006 as the 17th Combat Service Support Brigade.[31]
During World War I, the brigade consisted of the following units:[2][3][32]
During World War II, the brigade consisted of the following units:[5]
The following officers commanded the brigade during World War I:[33][34]
The following officers commanded the brigade during World War II:[21][30]
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