The 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment (16 RWAR) is an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

reserve infantry battalion located in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and one of the two battalions of the

Royal Western Australia Regiment The Royal Western Australia Regiment is a reserve infantry regiment of the Australian Army consisting of two battalions, the 11th/28th Battalion and the 16th Battalion. The regiment was raised in July 1960 as part of the reorganisation of the Aust ...

. The battalion was first formed during the First World War, during which it fought during the Gallipoli Campaign and on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in France and Belgium as part of the Australian Imperial Force. It was re-formed as a part-time unit in Western Australia during the inter-war years, and served in the New Britain Campaign against the Japanese during the Second World War. In the post war years, the battalion became part of the

and currently forms part of the 13th Brigade.

History

First World War

The 16th Battalion was originally raised in September 1914 as part of the all volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF), which was raised for overseas service during the First World War. Assigned to the 4th Brigade, the battalion drew the majority of its personnel from the state of

, while the remainder came from

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. After completing rudimentary training in Western Australia and South Australia followed by further basic training in Victoria, the battalion embarked for

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Upon arrival, the 4th Brigade was assigned to the New Zealand and Australian Division, with whom it subsequently participated in the Gallipoli Campaign between April and December 1915. After returning to Egypt, in early 1916 the AIF underwent a period of expansion and reorganisation, during which the 16th Battalion was split to provide an experienced

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

of personnel to the newly formed

48th Battalion 48th Battalion or 48th Infantry Battalion may refer to: * 48th Battalion (Australia), a unit of the Australian Army * 2/48th Battalion (Australia), a unit of the Australian Army that served during World War II * 48th Battalion (British Columbia), ...

. At the same time, the 4th Brigade was reassigned to the 4th Division and in mid-1916 the AIF's infantry divisions were transferred to Europe to take part in the fighting on the

. For the next two-and-a-half years, the 16th Battalion was involved in several significant battles, including the

Battle of Pozières The Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916) took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the v ...

Battle of Mouquet Farm The Battle of Mouquet Farm, also known as the Fighting for Mouquet Farm was part of the Battle of the Somme and began during the Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September). The fighting began on 23 July with attacks by the British Reserve A ...

Battle of Bullecourt The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the W ...

, the German spring offensive, the

Battle of Hamel The Battle of Hamel was a successful attack by Australian Army and US Army infantry, supported by British tanks, against German positions in and around the town of Le Hamel, in northern France, during World War I. The attack was planned and co ...

and the Allied

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

. During the war, the battalion's casualties amounted to 1,127 killed and 1,955 wounded. Three of its members received the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for their actions: Martin O'Meara,

Thomas Axford Thomas Leslie "Jack" Axford, (18 June 1894 – 11 October 1983) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life Thomas Axf ...

and

Dominic McCarthy Lawrence Dominic McCarthy, VC (21 January 1892 – 25 May 1975) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life ...

Inter-war years

The battalion was disbanded at the end of the war, then re-raised as a Citizens Force unit after a reorganisation of Australia's part-time military forces in 1921 to perpetuate the numerical designations of the AIF, forming part of the 13th Brigade and based in Western Australia. It was amalgamated with the 11th Battalion in 1930, after the suspension of the compulsory training scheme reduced the size of the part-time military force. A new 16th Battalion was raised in 1936 as the "Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia", as part of an expansion of the Militia following concerns about the strategic situation in Europe.

Second World War

During the Second World War, this battalion was mobilised for war service and gazetted as an AIF battalion. Throughout the early war years, it formed part of the garrison of Western Australia, before moving north to

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

in 1943. In late 1944, the 13th Brigade was reassigned to the

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *5th Division (Australia) * 5th Division (People's Republic of China) *5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) *5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Moto ...

and subsequently took part in the New Britain Campaign from November 1944 until the end of the war. The campaign was limited to containing the larger Japanese force, and the battalion's involvement was focused primarily around undertaking long range patrols. Only limited combat occurred before the end of the war, and the battalion's casualties were light, amounting to 10 killed and 14 wounded. After undertaking further garrison duties at

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

, the 16th Battalion returned to Australia in early 1946 and was disbanded at

Puckapunyal, Victoria Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Vi ...

, in February.

Since 1945

The part-time military forces were re-formed in 1948 following the conclusion of the demobilisation process, at which time the battalion was re-raised as an amalgamated unit with the 28th Battalion. The two units remained linked until 1952 when they were split and re-raised in their own right as full battalions. This state of affairs continued until 1960 when a reorganisation saw the raising of larger State-based regiments that subsumed the old regionally-based regiments, at which point the battalion was reduced to a company-level formation within the Pentropic 1st Battalion,

(1 RWAR), forming 'B' Company. In 1965, the Pentropic divisional structure was abolished and 1 RWAR was split to form two new battalions: 1 RWAR and 2 RWAR; the following year 1 RWAR was redesignated 16 RWAR. 16 RWAR currently forms part of the 13th Brigade, and maintains the battle honours of all the previous 16th Battalions, including the 16th Battalion, AIF, which served in the First World War, and the 16th Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia) and 2/16th Battalion, both of which served in the Second World War. The battalion has provided personnel to provide reinforcements for Regular Army units deploying to various conflicts or operations including those in

Border Protection Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

, 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Solomon Islands, East Timor, Malaysia, Bougainville, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Battle honours

* First World War: Somme, 1916, '18; Pozières; Bullecourt; Messines, 1917; Ypres, 1917; Menin Road; Polygon Wood; Passchendaele; Arras, 1918; Ancre, 1918; Hamel; Amiens; Albert, 1918; Hindenburg Line; Epéhy; France and Flanders, 1916–18; Anzac; Landing at Anzac; Defence of Anzac; Suvla; Sari Bair; Gallipoli, 1915; and Egypt, 1915–16. * Second World War: Liberation of Australian New Guinea; Waitavolo; North Africa; Syria 1941; Syrian Frontier; The Litani; Wadi Zeini; Damour; South-West Pacific 1942–1945; Kokoda Trail; Isurava; Eora Creek–Templeton's Crossing I; Efogi–Menari; Ioribaiwa; Buna–Gona; Gona; Ramu Valley; Shaggy Ridge; Borneo 1945; and Balikpapan.

References

Citations

Bibliography