13th Field Regiment (Australia)

Australian Army field artillery unit November 2019 13th Field Regiment 13th Field Regiment at Cairns 1944 (AWM image 085204).JPG 250px Gunners from the 13th Field Regiment load a 25-pounder on a landing craft near Cairns, January 1944 1916–1975 Australia Australian Military Forces Regiment Artillery Mice of Moresby World War I Sinai and Palestine Campaign Western Front World War II Battle of Buna–Gona 100px Unit colour patch https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C332431 Nuriootpa, SA. Studio portrait of S11440 Private Elliot Lawrence Cundy, 13th Australian Field Regiment. Australian War Memorial 8 April 2019 The 13th Field Regiment was an Australian Army artillery regiment. During World War I the unit was formed in early 1916 as the 13th Field Artillery Brigade, and fought as part of the 5th Division in Egypt, the Sinai and on the Western Front. After the war, it was re-raised as a part-time unit based in the state of South Australia. It was redesignated as the 13th Field Regiment during the early years of World War II, and following Japan's entry into the war it was mobilised and later deployed to New Guinea, where a detachment fought during the Battle of Buna–Gona in 1942–1943, returning to Australia in late 1943. After the war, the regiment was re-formed in 1948 in South Australia and remained in existence until being disbanded in 1975. History During World War I, the regiment was designated the 13th Field Artillery Brigade, and was assigned to the 5th Division. Formed in February 1916, it served in Egypt, the Sinai and on the Western Front. Its recruits were mainly drawn from the state of Victoria.http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8888/Artillery.html Artillery AIF Project Mallett, Ross Australian Defence Force Academy 21 December 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20150228203046/http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8888/Artillery.html 28 February 2015 dead After the war, when Australia's part-time military forces were reorganised in 1921 to replicate the divisional structure and numerical designations of the First Australian Imperial Force, the unit was re-raised in South Australia as part of the 4th Military District, adopting the designation of the 13th Field Brigade. It was one of three field brigades assigned to the 4th Division at this time. In 1940–1941, the regimental system was introduced for militia artillery units, with the previously existing field brigades being redesignated as regiments,http://artilleryvic.org.au/History_of_Artillery_in_Vic_Pt2.pdf A Brief History of Artillery in Victoria: Part 2 (Federation to 1948) The Royal Australian Artillery Association (Victoria) 21 December 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20150228022534/http://artilleryvic.org.au/History_of_Artillery_in_Vic_Pt2.pdf 28 February 2015 dead and the designation of the 13th Field Regiment was adopted.http://www.ordersofbattle.com/Units/UnitHistory?UniX=10432 13 Field Brigade RAA Orders of Battle 21 December 2014 Following Japan's entry into World War II, the regiment was mobilised as part of the 3rd Brigade.http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/ww2/pages-2aif-cmf/order_of_battle.htm Order of Battle in World War II, Australia (AIF & Militia) Digger History 21 December 2014Harvey 1986 63 Its component batteries during the early war years were the 48th, 49th, 50th and 113th Field Batteries.http://www.ordersofbattle.com/Units/UnitSubordinates?UniX=10432 13 Field Brigade RAA: Subordinates Orders of Battle 21 December 2014 The regiment was initially a unit of the AMF, but militia units with more than 75% volunteers could be identified as AIF units,Long 1963 20 and the 13th was subsequently redesignated as such.Hollow 1986 129 After being mobilised for war service on 15 December 1941, the regiment was moved to Sydney, entraining at Oakbank on 25 December 1941. Embarking on the transport Aquitania at Woolloomooloo two days later, the regiment sailed for New Guinea.Hollow 1986 129–130 Initially they were used in the garrison role, but after the Japanese landed in New Guinea, the regiment became involved in the fighting. During the Battle of Buna–Gona which took place in late 1942 and early 1943, the regiment deployed a troop of four guns under command of Captain N.R. Stokes. These were QF 4.5-inch howitzers. Two of these guns were flown to Dobodura on 20 December. Two were transported by sea and landed at Hariko on 23 December.McCarthy 1959 474Milner gives the arrival of the first two guns as 18 December.Milner 1957 265 notes The troop was initially positioned on the Dobodura–Buna track. This was about 2,500 yards (2,200 m) south of the bridge between the two strips.McCarthy identifies the position of the 1st Mountain Battery as 2,000 yards south of the bridgeMcCarthy 1959 382 and the position of the 13th Field Regiment troop a further 500 yards south.McCarthy 1959 474 notes The troop fired in support of the US 32nd Division during fighting at Buna. The troop later moved to a position near Giropa Point to support the Allied attacks to take the final Japanese positions at Sanananda and Giruwa.McCarthy 1959 512 The 13th Field Regiment remained in New Guinea until October 1943, when it was withdrawn back to Australia. Throughout 1944, the regiment undertook training on the Atherton Tablelands and was reassigned to the 11th Division. It remained in Australia until the end of the war, when the regiment's personnel were demobilised and the regiment disbanded.Hollow 1986 142–144 Following the war, Australia's part-time military force was re-raised in 1948 at which time the 13th Field Regiment was re-formed in South Australia.Turner 1986 153 The 48th Battery returned to the 13th Field Regiment's order of battle in June 1966 when the regiment's battery designations were changed.Turner 1986 164 In 1975, the 13th Field Regiment was disbanded and some of its component batteries, such as the 48th, which was based in Adelaide, became independent.Brooks 1986 170 In 1988, the 6th/13th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery was formed by merging the 6th and 13th Field Regiments, but this unit was disbanded in 1997, with its components being absorbed into the 16th and 48th Field Batteries.Blackwell 2008 37 In mid-2013, these batteries were reduced to troop-sized elements and the 6th/13th Light Battery was formed.Parliamentary Secretary for Defence – Paterson Barracks remains vital http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2013/06/11/parliamentary-secretary-for-defence-paterson-barracks-remains-vital/ Media release Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Senator The Hon. David Feeney 13 June 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20140202044225/http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2013/06/11/parliamentary-secretary-for-defence-paterson-barracks-remains-vital/ 2 February 2014 deadhttp://www.examiner.com.au/story/570478/gunning-for-our-barracks/ Machen, Mary Gunning for our barracks The Examiner 2 November 2012 21 December 2014 In mid-2017, this battery became part of the 9th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery.Formation of 9th Regiment Royal Australian Artillery http://anzaccentenary.sa.gov.au/2017/06/formation-of-9th-regiment-royal-australian-artillery/ 17 August 2017 18 August 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170818005357/http://anzaccentenary.sa.gov.au/2017/06/formation-of-9th-regiment-royal-australian-artillery/ dead Footnotes notes Citations 2 References Blackwell Phillip 2008 Australian Army Unit Colour Patches 1987–2008: A Guide to Usage in the Modern Australian Army Australian Military History Publications Loftus, New South Wales 978-0-9578280-0-1 Brooks David 48th Field Battery 1975–1982 Brooks, David Roundshot to Rapier: Artillery in South Australia 1840–1984 1986 Investigator Press Hawthorndene, South Australia 0-85864-098-8 170–174 Harvey R.J 48th Field Battery 1921–1943 Brooks, David Roundshot to Rapier: Artillery in South Australia 1840–1984 1986 Investigator Press Hawthorndene, South Australia 0-85864-098-8 59–66 Hollow K.C.W 13th Australian Field Regiment (AIF) 1941–1946 Brooks, David Roundshot to Rapier: Artillery in South Australia 1840–1984 1986 Investigator Press Hawthorndene, South Australia 0-85864-098-8 129–146 Long Gavin 1963 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070206/ The Final Campaigns Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army 7 Canberra Australian War Memorial 1297619 McCarthy Dudley South – West Pacific Area – First Year: Kokoda to Wau Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 1—Army. Volume V 1959 1st Australian War Memorial Canberra https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070204/ 3134247 Milner Samuel 1957 Victory in Papua http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Papua/ United States Army In World War II Washington, DC Center of Military History, United States Army 56-60004 Turner G.H 13th Field Regiment RAA 1948–1975 Brooks, David Roundshot to Rapier: Artillery in South Australia 1840–1984 1986 Investigator Press Hawthorndene, South Australia 0-85864-098-8 153–169 Further reading Anderson Charles Papua The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II 11 1992 United States Army Center of Military History Washington, D.C. 978-0-16-035883-8 http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-C-Papua/index.html The Gunners: A History of Australian Artillery Horner David David Horner 1995 Allen & Unwin Sydney, New South Wales 1-86373-917-3 External links 13 Field Regiment AMF, on the Virtual Australian War Memorial website Category:Artillery regiments of Australia Category:Military units and formations established in 1916 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1975