2/22nd Battalion (Australia)

22nd Battalion (Australia) January 2017 January 2017 2/22nd Battalion AWM P04017064 Australian POWs at Shikoku Japan c 1945.PNG Australian prisoners of war, including members of the 2/22nd Battalion, in Japan c. 1942–45. 1940–1942 Australia Australian Army Infantry ~900 menAt the start of World War II, the authorised strength of an Australian infantry battalion was 910 men all ranks.Palazzo 2004 94. Note 23rd Brigade, 8th Division World War II Battle of Rabaul (1942) 100px Unit colour patch The 2/22nd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force for service during World War II, the battalion formed part of the 23rd Brigade, attached to the 8th Division. It was captured by the Japanese during the Battle of Rabaul in 1942. After being captured, the battalion was not re-raised and a large number of its personnel died in captivity; those that did not were returned to Australia at the end of the war in 1945. History Formation and training Formed on 1 July 1940 at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, the 2/22nd Battalion formed part of the 23rd Brigade, attached to the 8th Division. The battalion's personnel were drawn from the state of Victoria, and included a number of veterans of the World War I.Gamble 2006 14. The colours chosen for the battalion's unit colour patch (UCP) were the same as those of the 22nd Battalion, a unit which had served during World War I before being raised as a Militia formation in 1921. These colours were purple over red, in a diamond shape, although a border of gray in an oval shape was added to the UCP to distinguish the battalion from its Militia counterpart; the oval border denoted that the battalion was an 8th Division unit.Long 1952 321–323 With an authorised strength of around 900 personnel, like other Australian infantry battalions of the time, the battalion was formed around a nucleus of four rifle companies – designated 'A' through to 'D' – each consisting of three platoons.Long 1952 52 Shortly after being raised it moved to Trawool, Victoria, to undertake infantry training on 11 July. In September, the battalion was then required to march 235 km mi to Bonegilla,Gamble 2006 17. arriving on 4 October. There they undertook further training before being sent to Sydney in April 1941 to begin the move to New Britain,2/22nd BattalionWigmore 1957 394. where they were to form part of a garrison force being established in response to concerns about war with Japan in the Pacific.Johnson 2004 17 Upon formation, the 2/22nd's commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Howard Carr; he would remain in command of the battalion throughout its brief existence.2/22nd Battalion Rabaul Embarking upon the troopship Zealandia, on 18 April 1941,AWM52 8/3/22/6: April – June 1941 2–3 on 26 April 1941, the 2/22nd arrived at Rabaul, New Britain, where they formed the main element of Lark Force, along with a few artillery units, a field ambulance, a detachment from the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles and No. 24 Squadron RAAF.2/22nd Battalion They were tasked with protecting the seaplane base at Rabaul, the Lakunai and Vunakanau aerodromes and to delay any proposed Japanese advance towards Australia. The battalion formed an extra company, 'Y', from elements of the HQ company. Between April 1941 and January 1942, the battalion helped construct defences and acclimatised to the tropical environment.2/22nd Battalion The Imperial Japanese started bombing Rabaul in early January 1942,Wigmore 1957 398. in advance of an invasion. By 22 January, No. 24 Squadron had only three aircraft remaining and was forced to withdraw back to New Guinea, so the decision was made to crater both aerodromes in order to prevent the Japanese from landing aircraft.2/22nd Battalion In anticipation of the coming invasion, the battalion withdrew from around Rabaul and set up defences on the western shores of Blanche Bay,Wigmore 1957 401. only hours before the Japanese landings commenced at 01:00 on 23 January. A series of desperate actions followed near the beaches around Simpson Harbour, Keravia Bay and Raluana Point as the Australians attempted to turn back the attack.Gamble 2006 95–104. As they were pushed back by overwhelming Japanese forces, the commander of Lark Force, Colonel John Scanlan, issued an order to withdraw.Wigmore 1957 408. Elements of the 2/22nd that had not been captured escaped along New Britain's north and south coasts, moving in groups of varying sizes up to company-strength, with about 300 men from the battalion managing to escape to Australia via New Guinea.2/22nd Battalion A small number of these men were sent to Salamaua where they took part in a brief defence following the Japanese landing at Salamaua in March 1942.McCarthy 1959 58. The battalion was not re-raised at this time and those personnel that made it back to Australia were absorbed into the amalgamated 3rd/22nd Battalion, which was formed from the 2/22nd survivors along with volunteers for overseas service from the 3rd Battalion,Wigmore 1957 490 which was ordered to disband following its return from New Guinea. Later, this battalion was also disbanded and its personnel transferred to the 2/3rd Battalion.3rd Battalion (Werriwa Regiment) Some of the battalion who surrendered or were captured by the Japanese on New Britain were massacred at Tol Plantation, where around 160 Australians were killed.2/22nd BattalionGamble 2006 157. Their bodies would later be discovered by gunners from the 2/14th Field Regiment during the Australian campaign to secure the island in 1945.Kingswell 1986 124–128. Those that were not killed at Tol were interned as prisoners of war.Wigmore 1957 410. In June 1942 they were embarked upon the Montevideo Maru for transport to Hainan Island. While at sea, however, on 1 July, the ship was sunk by the submarine USS Sturgeon off the Philippines, with 1,053 prisoners and civilian internees losing their lives.2/22nd BattalionWigmore 1957 593; 674. Those members of the 2/22nd that had remained at Rabaul were later transported aboard the Natuno Maru to Japan where they remained in captivity until they were released in September 1945, following the end of hostilities.2/22nd Battalion The battalion lost 608 men who died or were killed in captivity and one man wounded. Members of the 2/22nd received the following decorations: one Military Cross, one Military Medal and 16 Mentioned in Despatches.2/22nd Battalion Battle honours The 2/22nd received only one battle honour during the war, that of "Rabaul 1942".2/22nd Battalion Commanding officers The following officers commanded the 2/22nd Battalion during the war:Pratten 2009 326 Lieutenant Colonel Howard Carr (1940–1942). Notes Footnotes Note Citations 2 References http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11964.asp 3rd Battalion (Werriwa Regiment) Second World War, 1939–1945 Units Australian War Memorial 26 November 2011 3rd Battalion (Werriwa Regiment) https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U56065?search 2/22nd Battalion Second World War, 1939–1945 Units Australian War Memorial 9 July 2017 2/22nd Battalion https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1365166?image=1 AWM52 8/3/22/6: April – June 1941 2nd AIF (Australian Imperial Force) and CMF (Citizen Military Forces) Unit War Diaries, 1939–45 War Australian War Memorial 9 August 2017 AWM52 8/3/22/6: April – June 1941 Gamble Bruce Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul—Australia's Worst Military Disaster of World War II 2006 Zenith Press St. Paul, Minnesota 0-7603-2349-6 Johnson Carl Little Hell: The Story of the 2/22nd Battalion and Lark Force 2004 History House Blackburn, Victoria 9780958106016 Kingswell S.G 2/14th Australian Field Regiment AIF Brook, David 1986 Roundshot to Rapier: Artillery in South Australia 1840–1984 Investigator Press for the Royal Australian Artillery Association of South Australia Hawthorndene, South Australia 9780858640986 112–128 Long Gavin Gavin Long To Benghazi 1952 Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army I 1st Australian War Memorial Canberra, Australian Capital Territory https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070200/ 22 December 2015 18400892 McCarthy Dudley 1959 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1417310 South–West Pacific Area – First Year: Kokoda to Wau Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army V 1st Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australian War Memorial 929528494 Palazzo Albert Organising for Jungle Warfare The Foundations of Victory: The Pacific War 1943–1944 2004 Dennis, Peter Grey, Jeffrey Jeffrey Grey Army History Unit Canberra, Australian Capital Territory http://www.army.gov.au/Our-history/Army-History-Unit/Chief-of-Army-History-Conference/Previous-Conference-Proceedings/~/media/Files/Our%20history/AAHU/Conference%20Papers%20and%20Images/2003/2003-The_Pacific_War_1943-1944_Part_1.ashx 978-0-646-43590-9 86–102 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20160309213301/http://army.gov.au/our-history/army-history-unit/chief-of-army-history-conference/previous-conference-proceedings/~/media/files/our%20history/aahu/conference%20papers%20and%20images/2003/2003-the_pacific_war_1943-1944_part_1.ashx 9 March 2016 Pratten Garth Garth Pratten Australian Battalion Commanders in the Second World War 2009 Cambridge University Press Port Melbourne, Victoria 978-0-521-76345-5 Wigmore Lionel The Japanese Thrust Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army, Volume 4 1957 Australian War Memorial Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 3134219 Further reading Aplin Douglas Arthur Rabaul 1942 1980 2/22nd Battalion A.I.F Lark Force Association Melbourne, Victoria 978-1-875150-02-1 Mitchell Rob One Bloke's Story, 1937 to 1946: Henry Mitchell MM's Escape from Rabaul 1998 Development and Advisory Publications Australia Dubbo, New South Wales 978-0-949696-27-4 Moyle Jack Escape from Rabaul and the Moyles of Spring Creek: The Diary of VX19428, Corporal J.T. Moyle, 2/22nd Battalion, 8th Division 2000 Jack and Thelma Moyle Spring Creek, Victoria 978-0-646-36679-1 External links https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1360745 AWM52/8/3/22: 2/22 Infantry Battalion unit diary Australian War Memorial 9 August 2017 collapsed 22 22 22 22