10th Battalion (Australia)

2/10th Battalion (Australia) Australian Army infantry battalion November 2020 February 2013 10th Battalion Australian 9th and 10th battalions Egypt December 1914 AWM C02588.jpeg 300px Lines of the 9th and 10th Battalions at Mena Camp, Egypt, December 1914, looking towards the pyramids. The soldier in the foreground is playing with a kangaroo, the regimental mascot A soldier with a kangaroo amidst a military camp in front of the pyramids 1914–19191921–19301936–19421948–19601965–1987 Australia Australian Army Infantry 3rd Brigade, 1st Division The Fighting 10th Pro Patria Purple over light blue Colours World War I Gallipoli campaign Western Front World War II Home front Stanley Price WeirMaurice Wilder-Neligan 100px|alt=A two-toned rectangular organisational symbol Unit colour patch The 10th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Among the first units raised in Australia during the war, the battalion was recruited from South Australia in August 1914 and formed part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. After basic training, the battalion embarked for Egypt where further training was undertaken until the battalion was committed to the Gallipoli campaign. During the landing at Anzac Cove, it came ashore as part of the initial covering force. Members of the 10th Battalion penetrated the furthest inland of any Australian troops during the initial fighting, before the Allied advance inland was checked. After this, the battalion helped defend the beachhead against a heavy counter-attack in May, before joining the failed August Offensive. Casualties were heavy throughout the campaign and in November 1915, the surviving members were withdrawn from the peninsula. In early 1916, the battalion was reorganised in Egypt at which time it provided a cadre staff to the newly formed 50th Battalion. It was transferred to the Western Front in March 1916, and for the next two-and-a-half years took part in trench warfare in France and Belgium until the Armistice in 1918. The last detachment of men from the 10th Battalion returned to Australia in September 1919. Following the war, the battalion was re-raised as a part-time unit based in South Australia, drawing personnel and lineage from a number of previously existing militia units. The unit served briefly during the inter-war years, before being merged with the 50th Battalion in 1930 as the size of Australia's part-time military forces was decreased following the conclusion of the compulsory service scheme. It was re-raised in its own right in the mid-1930s as the Australian military was reorganised as part of the country's war preparations. During World War II the 10th was mobilised for full-time service. Following Japan's entry into the war, the battalion was assigned to defend the New South Wales southern coast before being reassigned to the defence of Darwin and being amalgamated with the 48th Battalion in August 1942. In the post-war period, the 10th Battalion was re-raised in 1948 as part of the Citizens Military Force and throughout the 1950s served as a training unit for national servicemen. In 1960, it became part of the Royal South Australia Regiment (RSAR) and was reduced to several company-sized elements within that regiment's 1st Battalion, before being reformed as a full battalion within the RSAR in 1965. It remained on the Australian Army's order of battle until 1987, when it was amalgamated with the 27th Battalion to form the 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment. 2 History World War I The 10th Battalion was raised shortly after the outbreak of World War I as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), an all-volunteer force established for overseas service. Recruited in South Australia, the battalion came into being on 17 August 1914 at the Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide, drawing volunteers mainly from the local population as well as some from Broken Hill in outback New South Wales.lower-alpha The place of birth of the 10th Battalion's original members is recorded by Lock as follows: 615 in South Australia, 176 in other Australian states, 12 in New Zealand, 202 in various parts of the British Isles, 12 in various parts of the British Empire and 10 in "foreign" countries.Lock 1936 301. Volunteers included men who had previously served in the part-time forces before the war,lower-alpha Lock records that at least 180 of the battalion's original recruits were serving in the Australian Military Forces already prior to enlistment in the AIF, while others had also served previously in either the British or Australian forces. coming from a variety of units including the 10th Australian Infantry Regiment, which had formerly been known as the "Adelaide Rifles".Kearney 2005 21–27. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Price Weir, after formation the battalion was attached to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, along with the 9th, 11th and 12th Battalions,http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11197.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20140714125244/http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11197.asp 14 July 2014 10th Battalion First World War, 1914–1918 units Australian War Memorial 5 March 2009 live and was one of the first units of the AIF raised for the war. With an establishment of 31 officers and 974 other ranks spread across eight companies,Kearney 2005 23 & 61. the battalion's personnel received a short period of individual basic training, culminating in the presentation of the regimental colours on 17 September and a march past the state Parliament House on 21 September.Kearney 2005 37. The following month, collective training at company and battalion level took place at Belair National Park and at Glenelg, South Australia. On 20 October, the battalion embarked on the ex-passenger liner, HMAT Ascanius, bound for the Middle East; it was the first South Australian infantry unit to leave Australia during the war.Kearney 2005 38. thumb|left|Troops from the 10th Battalion at Gallipoli, August 1915|alt=Soldiers with rifles, bush hates and service caps in the field After briefly stopping in Albany, where its convoy was delayed due to concerns over the presence of German warships en route,Grey 2008 91. the 10th Battalion departed Australian waters in November and proceeded towards Egypt. Initially, the plan had been for the battalion to continue on the United Kingdom from where it would subsequently move to the Western Front. Poor conditions and overcrowding in training camps in the United Kingdom resulted in the decision to disembark the Australians in Alexandria instead.Kearney 2005 53. Arriving there on 4 December 1914, the battalion was sent into camp at Mena, near Cairo.Kearney 2005 55–56. The 10th Battalion underwent desert training in January and February 1915, during which time it was reorganised around the four-company structure that had been adopted by the British. Designated 'A' to 'D', each company consisted of 228 men that were spread across four platoons.Kearney 2005 61. In late February, the 3rd Brigade received orders that it was being committed to an operation to seize the Dardanelles Strait near where it enters the Mediterranean Sea, to secure passage through to the Black Sea via the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara in the wake of a failed naval operation to force the straits.Baldwin 1962 57–60. After moving by rail to Alexandria, on 1 March the battalion boarded the Ionian, a Greek steamer.Kearney 2005 66–69. After reaching Lemnos, a shortage of fresh water on the island meant that the battalion was accommodated on the ship for the next seven weeks, although they spent their days ashore conducting exercises and mounting guard duty. Planning for a landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula began in early April; while this proceeded, on 15 April the battalion was issued its distinctive blue and purple unit colour patch.Kearney 2005 75. Gallipoli campaign On 24 April 1915, the 10th Battalion embarked for Gallipoli along with the rest of the 1st Division. Two companies and the battalion headquarters were allocated to the battleship Prince of Wales 1902 6, while the other two companies embarked on two destroyers, Scourge 1910 2 and Foxhound 1909 2.Kearney 2005 77. At approximately 4:30 am on 25 April, the 10th Battalion was one of the first units to come ashore at Anzac Cove as part of the covering force – drawn from Colonel Ewen Sinclair-Maclagan's 3rd Brigade – for the main Anzac landing. Troops from the battalion landed near the centre of the cove and, ascending the Ariburnu Ridge, attempted to push inland towards the Sari Bair Range.Broadbent 2005 61 & 63. According to the Australian War Memorial, scouts from the battalion are "believed to have penetrated further inland than any other Australians". Peter Stanley’s 2014 book, Lost Boys of Anzac, substantiates and elaborates on this claim. Amid the chaos of the landing, they quickly found themselves isolated and had to withdraw back to the main concentration of Australian troops around the 400 Plateau.Kearney 2005 84–85. Following the initial landing, the battalion was in action for the next four days, holding the line until relieved by a battalion of Royal Marines. The rest was brief, as the 10th were recommitted to the fighting on 1 May.Lock 1936 45. Casualties in the first weeks of the campaign were heavy, with the battalion losing 397 men killed or wounded between 25 April and 9 May.Kearney 2005 157. The advance stalled as Turkish resistance grew, and the Turks launched a heavy counter-attack on 19 May. By this time, the 3rd Brigade was located around Bolton's Ridge, with the brigade's four battalions occupying the line abreast; the 10th Battalion occupying a position south of Lone Pine, overlooking a wheat field through which the Turkish attack came. Caught in deadly crossfire, the attack was turned back with heavy losses.Bean 1941a 145–146. Following this, as both sides dug in, the campaign ground to a stalemate, and the battalion undertook mainly defensive duties along the perimeter around Anzac Cove. On 8 July, the remnants of the battalion, which now consisted of just over 500 personnel, was withdrawn to Imbros Island for a brief rest period out of the line, before returning to Anzac Cove on 11 July;Kearney 2005 134–137. after this, the 10th Battalion relieved the 11th, occupying a position around Silt Spur, opposite Lone Pine.Bean 1941a 282. thumb|The key positions around Anzac Cove, as named by the Allies|alt=A map depicting key locations around Anzac Cove including plateaus and ridges In early August, the Allies attempted to break out from the beach, launching an offensive around Anzac Cove in the centre of the Allied position, as well as Suvla Bay to the north, and Cape Helles to the south; the 10th Battalion played a support role during the offensive, providing reinforcement parties and machine-gun crews to support the 1st Brigade during the Battle of Lone Pine.Lock 1936 50. The offensive was a costly failure and afterwards stalemate returned to the battlefield.Cameron 2011 131. As winter approached, conditions on the peninsula grew harsher and a large number of personnel had to be evacuated sick as a wave of dysentery swept through the battalion. In September, the 2nd Division arrived to reinforce the forces at Anzac.Kearney 2005 146–148. In mid-November, as the Allied commanders debated the future of the campaign, the 3rd Brigade received orders to pull back from the frontline, so that it could be withdrawn to Lemnos for rest. On 16 November, the 10th Battalion took up reserve positions on the beach, before embarking on the transport Princess Ena 1906 2. It landed at Mudros, and spent the rest of November and December there. Meanwhile, the main Allied force was evacuated from the peninsula, with the last Australian troops withdrawing on 20 December. On Boxing Day 1915, the 10th Battalion sailed for Egypt, arriving in Alexandria on 29 December.Kearney 2005 154 & 160. Losses on Gallipoli had been heavy – 711 casualties were reported in the battalion between April and September 1915Kearney 2005 148. – and the AIF underwent a period of reorganisation as it was expanded in preparation for its deployment to the European battlefield.Grey 2008 98–100. As a part of this process, the 10th Battalion provided a cadre of experienced personnel to the newly raised 50th Battalion, which was assigned to the 13th Brigade, 4th Division, and was brought up to strength with fresh recruits from Australia.Bean 1941b 42.http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11237.asp 50th Battalion Australian War Memorial https://web.archive.org/web/20120202095256/http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11237.asp 2 February 2012 First World War, 1914–1918 units 17 July 2011 live Western Front In March 1916, the 10th Battalion sailed to France along with the rest of the 1st Division and deployed to the Somme. Arriving at Marseilles in early April, the battalion undertook training at Strazeele before moving by train to Godewaersvelde and then Sailly-sur-la-Lys. In mid-May, the battalion occupied billets in the Petillon Sector; on 19 May the billets were shelled resulting in losses amounting to three killed and seven wounded. On 6 June, the battalion entered the front line for the first time on the Western Front, occupying positions around Fleurbaix.Limb 1988 27 & 74. The battalion's first significant action on the Western Front came in late July 1916 when it was involved in the Battle of Pozières, an effort to secure the village of Pozières and the high ground beyond it as part of the wider Battle of the Somme;Coulthard-Clark 1998 117–118. the battalion's casualties during this battle were around 350.Limb 1988 74. For his actions during this battle, Second Lieutenant Arthur Blackburn, an original member of the battalion who had served with it during the Gallipoli campaign, was awarded the Victoria Cross.http://www.awm.gov.au/units/people_530.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20160308044604/https://www.awm.gov.au/people/P10676227/ 8 March 2016 Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, VC, CMG, CBE People Australian War Memorial 7 November 2009 live Kearney 2005 23 & 185. A month later, the 10th took part in the fighting around Mouquet Farm, incurring over 100 more casualties.Limb 1988 28. Later, the 10th Battalion fought around Ypres, in Belgium, in front of Hill 60, before being transferred back to the Somme trenches in the winter, during which time they occupied positions around Guedecourt, Cardonette and Bazentin.Kearney 2005 200–205. thumb|left|Group portrait of the officers of the 10th Battalion, AIF at Neuve Eglise, Belgium, February 1918. After the German withdrawal towards the Hindenburg Line in early 1917, the battalion took part in several actions as the Allied line was advanced. The first came around the railway switch at Le Barque in late February. Another attack was made at Lourverval on 8 and 9 April, before undertaking a defensive role during the German attack on Lagnicourt on 15 April. This was followed in early May by the Second Battle of Bullecourt.Limb 1988 36–41. Later, it was again moved to Belgium to take part in the Third Battle of Ypres, where it was committed to fighting around the Menin Road in September. During an attack around Polygon Wood, Private Roy Inwood's actions resulted in him being awarded the battalion's second Victoria Cross.Kearney 2005 250. The battalion suffered heavily during its early involvement in the Ypres fighting and was briefly withdrawn before being recommitted to support operations around Broodseinde at the beginning of October. In the early hours of 9 October 1917, a force of 88 men from the 10th Battalion carried out a raid on German positions in what became known as the "Mystery of Celtic Wood"; 32 men were killed during the raid, and a further 37 were wounded.Kelly 2010 63–67. In November, the battalion was withdrawn to the Boulogne area for rest, before returning to Belgium in December, occupying positions around Messines.Limb 1988 53 & 78. thumb|right|Roy Inwood, who received the Victoria Cross for his actions during the fighting around Polygon Wood|alt=Portrait of a soldier wearing a slouch hat In early 1918, following the collapse of Russia, the Germans were able to transfer many troops to the Western Front. In March, they launched the Spring Offensive, attacking the southern part of the British sector in the Somme. As the Allies were pushed back towards Amiens, the Australian divisions were brought south to help blunt the attack.Coulthard-Clark 1998 137–138. Throughout late March and into April 1918, the 10th Battalion took part in a series of defensive actions, including fighting around Hazebrouck,Coulthard-Clark 1998 142–143. as the German offensive was halted, before joining in the preliminary operations before the Allied Hundred Days Offensive that ultimately brought about an end to the war. It was at this stage in the fighting, in late June, during fighting around Merris in France, that Corporal Phillip Davey earned the battalion's third Victoria Cross.Kearney 2005 308. A peaceful penetration operation planned by Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Wilder-Neligan, the attack began as a demonstration to cover an attack by British units to the south. Through a series of patrols and small-scale raids, the battalion secured 450 m of ground, captured a large quantity of weapons and equipment and 35 prisoners, and inflicted over 100 casualties for just seven of its own killed, and 37 wounded.Kearney 2005 305–308. The effort so impressed the British Inspector General that he described it as "the best show ever done by a battalion in France".Stevenson 2007 192. On 8 August 1918, when the Allies launched the Hundred Days Offensive, the battalion participated in an attack on Amiens that has since been described as one of the most successful for the Allies on the Western Front and, in the words of Erich Ludendorff, the "... blackest day for the German Army". The battalion was out of the line when the offensive began, but followed up the advance moving through Corbie to Harbonnieres. There, on 10 August, the battalion supported the 9th Battalion's attack on Crepey Wood, which was cleared and then occupied. Throughout the afternoon, the battalion endured a heavy artillery bombardment and then repulsed a strong German counter-attack. The next day, the 10th captured Lihons, with the support of the 12th Battalion. A period of rest out of the line followed, before the battalion was committed to another attack around Proyart on 23 August. The attack was very successful, resulting in the battalion advancing 6000 yd m and securing important high features and woods around Cappy.Limb 1988 62–65. The battalion remained at the front until late September 1918; its last battle took place at Jeancourt on 18 September,Limb 1988 65. during which it suffered a further 140 casualties.Kearney 2005 342. Later in the month, the Australian Corps, having been severely depleted due to heavy casualties and the dwindling supply of reinforcements from Australia, was withdrawn from the line for rest and re-organisation.Odgers 1994 127.Grey 2008 111–112. As a result, the battalion took no further part in the fighting and when the Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918 it was moving by train from Brucamps to Ephey to return to the front.Limb 1988 81. Over 9,000 men served in the battalion's ranks during the war,Kearney 2005 344. including over 25 full drafts of reinforcements, and miscellaneous transfers from other units and general service reinforcements.Lock 1936 114. Casualties totalled 1,015 men killed and 2,136 wounded. In addition to the three Victoria Crosses, members of the battalion were awarded one Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, nine Distinguished Service Orders and one Bar, 34 Military Crosses and four Bars, sixteen Distinguished Conduct Medals, 149 Military Medals plus 11 Bars and one second Bar, and nine Meritorious Service Medals.Lock 1936 273. In 1927, the battalion was awarded a total of 24 battle honours for its war service. Following the cessation of hostilities, the Australian government decided that it would not contribute to the proposed Allied occupation force in Germany and would begin the process of demobilisation of the AIF as soon as possible.Grey 2008 120. Owing to the large number of soldiers deployed overseas, this process took some time,Scott 1941 827. and it was decided to progressively return men from each battalion, rather than send them home as a formed unit. As numbers dwindled, units were amalgamated for administrative purposes, and as a consequence the 9th and 10th Battalions were merged on 5 February 1919; the final contingent of troops from the 10th Battalion did not return home until September 1919 when they disembarked in Adelaide from the transport Takada.Lock 1936 103. 22em right 'Twas not within a barrack yard they put us through our drill,They licked us into soldier shape in camp at Morphettville;So khaki-clad and Enfield-armed, we'll fight at Tommy's side,To hold secure the fields of France against the German tide. Chorus Left, right, left, right; keep the column swinging; Every step our destination nears; Long, long miles we'll shorten by our singing, Kits are heavy but a chorus cheers— All our help old Mother England's needing— Soon we'll have to prove that we are men, And the 10th Battalion will be leading; We're Australians in Old Ten. We hail from busy Rundle Street and north of Goyder's line; But far from there, beneath strange skies, our glinting bayonets shine. For half the world is now between us and the crowded quay Where to the strains of "Auld Lang Syne" our troopship puts to sea. We long to hear the maxim's purr and smell the cordite strong, Across the busy firing line the crowded trench along; The chatter that our rifles make, as down the line it runs To swell that wartime music grand, the chorus of the guns. The magic of the new lands we see won't banish from our mind Those bright-eyed, dear Australian maids, the best of all girlkind; The grand old Jack, wind-blown, above, with all its colours bright, Means them and home, and all we love; so we march out to fight. – The battalion song, written by C.R. Beresford with music by H. Brewster-Jones.Lock 1936 23. Inter-war years In late 1918, while the AIF unit was still deployed, the part-time units of the Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) were reorganised. At this time, several battalions were raised as part of the 10th Infantry Regiment in South Australia. This unit drew its lineage from the 78th Infantry Regiment, which could trace its history to two battalions of the Adelaide Rifles. The act of merging these units was part of a larger Army-wide reorganisation that created a convoluted lineage in many units, which according to historian Peter Stanley has resulted in confusion among military historians.http://www.army.gov.au/AHU/docs/A_Century_of_Service_Stanley.pdf Stanley, Peter Broken Lineage: The Australian Army's Heritage of Discontinuity Army History Unit A Century of Service 2 December 2015 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110321213116/http://www.army.gov.au/AHU/docs/A_Century_of_Service_Stanley.pdf 21 March 2011 In 1921, when the AIF was officially disbanded and the part-time military forces were reorganised to perpetuate the AIF's numerical designations,Grey 2008 125. the 10th Battalion was re-raised in its own right in Adelaide, drawing personnel from the 2nd Battalions of the 10th, 32nd, 48th, and 50th Infantry Regiments. Through these links, the 10th Battalion inherited a battle honour from the Boer War. At this time it was allocated to the 3rd Brigade, which was part of the 4th Military District.Kuring 2004 110. The battalion received a King's Colour in 1925 in recognition of its service during World War I. Two years later, in 1927, territorial titles were introduced and the battalion assumed the designation of "The Adelaide Rifles". The motto Pro Patria was adopted at this time.Festberg 1972 69. In 1930, amid the austerity of the Great Depression and following the election of the Scullin Labor government and the subsequent suspension of the compulsory training scheme, the decision was made to amalgamate the battalion due to a decline in the numbers of volunteers. It was merged with the 50th Battalion, with whom it shared history, to become the 10th/50th Battalion. Again the unit was assigned to the 3rd Brigade.Kuring 2004 112. thumb|Band members from the 10th/48th Battalion on parade in Darwin, September 1944. |alt=A military band on parade as a group of soldiers marches past The 10th and 50th remained linked until October 1936; at that time, in response to fears of a possible war in Europe following the reoccupation of the Rhineland, it was decided to expand the size of the Militia.Keogh 1965 44. As a result, on 1 October 1936, the 10th/50th Battalion was split and the 10th Battalion was re-raised as a separate unit, and was once again assigned to the 3rd Brigade. World War II After Japan's entry into World War II in December 1941, the 10th Battalion mobilised at Warradale to undertake garrison duties in Australia. While the 3rd Brigade's two other battalions – the 27th and 43rd – were sent to Darwin, the 10th was detached to the 28th Brigade,McKenzie-Smith 2018 2111. and initially deployed to Warrawong on the New South Wales south coast, defending the strategically important industrial area around Wollongong, but in August it was ordered to join Northern Territory Force and moved to Darwin to defend the port against a possible Japanese invasion. Before it arrived, though, an Army-wide reorganisation resulted in the 10th being amalgamated with the 48th Battalion, to form the 10th/48th Battalion on 27 August 1942.Rayner 1995 352 & 360. The reorganisation was the result of personnel shortages that had come about due to an over-mobilisation of the Australian military, and resulted in the amalgamation of several Militia units; however, it was largely an amalgamation in name only as most of the former 48th Battalion personnel were used to raise the 108th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment.McKenzie-Smith 2018 2203, 2248–2249. In 1943, the 10th/48th Australian Infantry Battalion was gazetted as an "AIF" unit; as more than three-quarters of the unit volunteered for overseas service, this status meant that the battalion could be deployed outside Australian territory.Grey 2008 183–184. Nevertheless, it remained in the Northern Territory, undertaking garrison duties in Darwin and its surrounding areas. As the threat to the port diminished, the garrison was reduced to a single brigade in July 1944, at which time the 10th/48th was reassigned to the 12th Brigade. The battalion remained in Darwin until June 1945 when it was moved to Brisbane, Queensland. It was disbanded on 8 August 1945, having never served outside Australia during the war.McKenzie-Smith 2018 2203. During the war, another battalion with a similar designation, the 2/10th Battalion, was raised as part of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF).http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11261.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20120403101154/http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11261.asp 3 April 2012 2/10th Battalion Second World War, 1939–1945 units Australian War Memorial 22 August 2014 live The units of the 2nd AIF were considered separate from those of the Militia, although many members of the Militia volunteered to join the 2nd AIF.Shaw 2010 9. Recruited from South Australians, the 2/10th was raised in mid-October 1939 and formed part of the 18th Brigade that was initially assigned to the 6th Division before being transferred to the 7th. Over the course of the war it served in the United Kingdom, North Africa, New Guinea and Borneo before being disbanded in December 1945. Post World War II In 1948, when Australia's part-time military force was re-raised as the Citizens Military Force (CMF),Grey 2008 200. the 10th Battalion returned to the order of battle, readopting the designation of "The Adelaide Rifles". Throughout the 1950s, as part of Central Command,Kuring 2004 228. the battalion provided training for national servicemen until 1960, when a widespread re-organisation of the CMF saw the creation of six state-based multi-battalion regiments as the smaller, regional regiments of the past were consolidated.Grey 2008 228. As a result, the 10th Battalion was subsumed into the pentropic 1st Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment, providing two companies: 'D' (The Adelaide Company) and 'E' (The Port Adelaide Company). In 1961, the battalion, although technically off the Army's order of battle, was entrusted with the 12 battle honours that had been earned by the 2/10th Battalion during World War II. In 1965, the Australian Army ended its brief experiment with the pentropic divisional establishment, and on 1 July 1965 the 10th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment, was re-raised as a unit in its own right. This battalion remained on the order of battle as an Australian Army Reserve unit until 29 November 1987, when it was amalgamated with the 27th Battalion, to form the 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment (10/27 RSAR).Shaw 2010 10–11. This battalion has adopted the 10th Battalion's Unit colour patch, carries the colours of both the 10th and 27th Battalions, and perpetuates the battle honours of both of these units and several South Australian battalions of the 2nd AIF that were raised for service during World War II; it also recruits from the same areas, being headquartered in Adelaide with depots across South Australia and in Broken Hill.https://web.archive.org/web/20070916063930/http://www.defence.gov.au/army/10_27rsar/history.htm http://www.defence.gov.au/army/10_27rsar/history.htm 10/27 RSAR History Department of Defence (Australia) 16 July 2011 16 September 2007 Commanding officers thumb|Stanley Price Weir commanded the battalion at Gallipoli and during 1916 on the Western Front|alt=Portrait of a military officer with a moustache thumb|Maurice Wilder-Neligan commanded the battalion for most of the last 18 months of World War I |alt=A military officer in service dress uniform The 10th Battalion's commanding officers during World War I, listed in chronological order of the date they first commanded the battalion, were as follows: Officer Dates of command Citations Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Price Weir 16 August – 31 October 1914 7 December 1914 – 25 August 1915 5 March – 8 May 1916 16 May – 23 August 1916 Lock 1936 117. Major Frederick William Hurcombe 1 November – 6 December 1914 Major George Dorricutt Shaw 25 August – 21 October 1915 8–16 May 1916 11–18 January 1918 23–31 January 1918 11 February – 30 March 1918 11–16 May 1918 28 June – 7 July 1918Lock 1936 117–119. Lieutenant Colonel Miles Fitzroy Beevor 21 October 1915 – 4 March 1916 Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Wilder-Neligan 23 June – 5 July 1917 15 July – 25 September 1917 9 October 1917 – 11 January 1918 18–23 January 1918 31 January – 11 February 1918 20 May – 28 June 1918 7 July – 12 August 1918 16–27 August 1918 6–30 September 1918 4 October 1918 – 1 January 1919 Lock 1936 119–121. Lieutenant Colonel George Ernest Redburglower-alpha The Australian War Memorial website does not list Redburg as commanding the battalion, but Lock lists Redburg commanding the battalion (as a temporary lieutenant colonel) during several periods. 23 August – 27 September 1916 30 September – 19 November 1916 6–23 December 1916 Lock 1936 118. Lieutenant Colonel James Samuel Denton 27–30 September 1916 Major Felix Gordon Gileslower-alpha Son of explorer Alfred Giles.Lock 1936 174. 19 November – 6 December 1916 5–15 July 1917 Lock 1936 118–119. Major Rupert Anstice Rafferty 23 December 1916 – 4 February 1917 Lieutenant Colonel Ross Blyth Jacob 4 February – 27 April 1917 11 May – 23 June 1917 30 March – 11 May 1918 Lock 1936 118–120. Major Alexander Steele 27 April – 11 May 1917 Captain Gordon Cathcart Campbelllower-alpha Nephew of Chief Justice of South Australia Sir Samuel Way.Lock 1936 164. 25–28 June 1917 Major Clarence Rumball 28 September – 9 October 1917 Lock 1936 119. Captain Roy Kintore Hurcombelower-alpha The Australian War Memorial website does not list Hurcombe as commanding the battalion, but Lock lists him commanding the battalion for a few days between May and September 1918, but the exact details are not clear. Several days between May and September 1918Lock 1936 120. Lieutenant Colonel John Newman 16–20 May 1918 Major William Francis James McCann 27 August – 6 September 1918 30 September – 4 October 1918 1 January – 17 March 1919 Lock 1936 120–121. The 10th Battalion's commanding officers during the late 1930s and World War II, were as follows: Officer Dates of command Citations Lieutenant Colonel William Veale 1 October 1936 to 1 June 1940 Pratten 2009 315. Lieutenant Colonel John Hill 1 June 1940 to 1 June 1942 Lieutenant Colonel Lindsay Farquhar 1 June 1942 to 22 July 1942 The 10th/48th Battalion's commanding officers during World War II were as follows: Officer Dates of command Citations Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth McEwin 11 August 1942 to 9 January 1943 Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Davies 9 January 1943 to 29 October 1945 Battle honours The 10th Battalion received the following battle honours: South Africa 1899–1902 (inherited); World War I: Somme 1916–18, Pozières, Bullecourt, Ypres, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Lys, Hazebrouck, Kemmel, Amiens, Albert 1918, Hindenburg Line, Epehy, France and Flanders 1916–18, ANZAC, Landing at ANZAC, Defence at ANZAC, Suvla, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915, Egypt 1915–16. World War II: North Africa 1941, Defence of Tobruk, The Salient 1941, South West Pacific 1942–45, Buna–Gona, Cape Endaiadere–Sinemi Creek, Sanananda–Cape Killerton, Milne Bay, Liberation of Australian New Guinea, Shaggy Ridge, Borneo, Balikpapan (inherited). See also List of Australian Victoria Cross recipients Notes lower-alpha Footnotes References 40em World War I: An Outline History Baldwin Hanson Hutchinson 1962 London 793915761 Bean Charles Charles Bean The Story of ANZAC from 4 May, 1915, to the Evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 II 11th 1941a Angus and Robertson Sydney, New South Wales https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1069751/ 39157087 Bean Charles The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1916 Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 III 12th 1941b Angus and Robertson Sydney, New South Wales https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1069752/ 1030966129 Broadbent Harvey Harvey Broadbent Gallipoli: The Fatal Shore 2005 Viking Camberwell, Victoria 0-670-04085-1 Cameron David The August Offensive at Anzac, 1915 2011 Australian Army Campaigns Series – 10 Big Sky Publishing Sydney, New South Wales 978-0-9870574-7-1 Coulthard-Clark Chris Where Australians Fought: The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles 1998 1st Allen & Unwin St Leonards, New South Wales 1-86448-611-2 Festberg Alfred The Lineage of the Australian Army 1972 Allara Publishing Melbourne, Victoria 978-0-85887-024-6 Grey Jeffrey Jeffrey Grey 2008 A Military History of Australia 3rd Cambridge University Press Melbourne, Victoria 978-0-521-69791-0 Kearney Robert Silent Voices: The Story of the 10th Battalion, AIF, in Australia, Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Belgium During the Great War 1914–1918 2005 New Holland Frenchs Forest, New South Wales 1-74110-175-1 Kelly Michael The Raid on Celtic Wood Wartime 2010 52 Australian War Memorial Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 63–67 1328-2727 Keogh Eustace Eustace Graham Keogh South West Pacific 1941–45 1965 Grayflower Publications Melbourne, Victoria 7185705 Kuring Ian Redcoats to Cams: A History of Australian Infantry 1788–2001 2004 Australian Military History Publications Loftus, New South Wales 1-876439-99-8 Limb Arthur A History of the 10th Battalion, A.I.F 1919 1988 Swanbourne, Western Australia J. Burridge Military Antiques 220869756 Lock Cecil The Fighting 10th: A South Australian Centenary Souvenir of the 10th Battalion, A.I.F. 1914–19 1936 Adelaide, South Australia Webb & Son 220051389 McKenzie-Smith Graham Graham McKenzie-Smith 2018 The Unit Guide: The Australian Army 1939–1945, Volume 2 Big Sky Publishing Warriewood, New South Wales 978-1-925675-146 Odgers George George Odgers Diggers: The Australian Army, Navy and Air Force in Eleven Wars Lansdowne London 1994 1 978-1-86302-385-6 31743147 Pratten Garth Garth Pratten 2009 Australian Battalion Commanders in the Second World War Cambridge Port Melbourne, Victoria 978-0-521-76345-5 Rayner Robert The Army and the Defence of Darwin Fortress 1995 Rudder Press Plumpton, New South Wales 0-646-25058-2 Scott Ernest Ernest Scott 1941 Australia During the War 7th Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 XI Angus and Robertson Sydney, New South Wales https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1069950/ 271462433 Shaw Peter The Evolution of the Infantry State Regiment System in the Army Reserve Sabretache Military Historical Society of Australia Garran, Australian Capital Territory LI 4 (December) 2010 0048-8933 5–12 Stevenson Robert The Forgotten First: The 1st Australian Division in the Great War and its Legacy Australian Army Journal Land Warfare Studies Centre Canberra, Australian Capital Territory IV 1 http://www.army.gov.au/Our-future/Publications/Australian-Army-Journal/Archive 2007 185–199 1448-2843 3 June 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150326125211/http://www.army.gov.au/~/media/Content/Our%20future/Publications/AAJ/2000s/2007/AAJ_2007_1.pdf 26 March 2015 dead External links AWM4: 23/27/1-23/27/41—10th Battalion, AIF, War Diary. Retrieved on 3 June 2015. collapsed 10 10 10 10 Category:1914 establishments in Australia Category:Military units and formations established in 1921 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1930 Category:Military units and formations established in 1936 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1942 Category:Military units and formations established in 1948 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1960 Category:Military units and formations established in 1965