10th Division (Australia)
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The 10th Division was a division of the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is 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 ...
, which served briefly during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It was initially formed on 15 April 1942 from the
Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
units of the
Newcastle Covering Force The Newcastle Covering Force was an Australian militia force responsible for protecting the strategically important Newcastle region in New South Wales and its approaches during World War II. Established on 8 April 1941, the formation's composit ...
. However, personnel shortages led to the division being disbanded in August that year. In 1945, as plans were being made for an invasion of the Japanese home islands, the name 10th Division was revived for a proposed Australian contingent. It was to use personnel drawn from existing units of the Australian Imperial Force. The war ended before the invasion took place and the division was not formally re-raised.


History


Formation and disbandment

In April 1941, the
Newcastle Covering Force The Newcastle Covering Force was an Australian militia force responsible for protecting the strategically important Newcastle region in New South Wales and its approaches during World War II. Established on 8 April 1941, the formation's composit ...
was formed, taking over responsibility for the defence of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
from the 1st Division.McKenzie-Smith 2018, pp. 2049–2050. A
Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
formation's main element was initially the
1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
, although the 32nd Brigade was raised in January 1942 at Warners Bay, and given control of the elements defending the area south of the
Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...
. The formation was commanded by Major General John Murray. Following the start of the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
in December 1941, the Newcastle Covering Force, was mobilised.McCarthy 1959, p. 26. After this, its headquarters moved from
Fort Scratchley Fort Scratchley, a former coastal defence installation, is now a museum. It is located in Newcastle East, New South Wales, Newcastle East, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales in Australia. It was built in 1882 to defend the city against a pos ...
to
Broadmeadow Broadmeadow is a locality in the Hunter region of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is the geographic centre of the Newcastle city and suburban area. Its main commercial hub is located at the "Nineways".
. The 1st Brigade was detached to the command of the 2nd Division in March 1942 and moved to
Greta Greta may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Greta'' (2018 film), a thriller film directed by Neil Jordan * ''Greta'' (2020 film), a documentary film about activist Greta Thunberg Music * Greta (band), hard rock band * Greta (song), ...
to undertake a period of training; during this time the 14th Brigade was attached to the force. The covering force was renamed the 10th Division on 15 April 1942 following a complete re-organisation of the higher command of the Australian Army. The divisional headquarters moved to New Lambton at this time. The 14th Brigade was deployed to
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
in May 1942, and the 1st Brigade returned to the
Newcastle Bight Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
. As the situation in New Guinea turned in favour of the Allies, the threat to Australia reduced. This, coupled with personnel shortages, resulted in the Army deciding to disband or amalgamate a number of units. In September, the division was disbanded, along with the 32nd Brigade, and responsibility for the defence of Newcastle given solely to the 1st Brigade, which was transferred to the 1st Division. Australian Prime Minister
John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having been most ...
referred to the disbandment of the division in a letter to
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
in October 1942, saying:


Plans to re-raise

Much later in the war, as Allied forces approached the Japanese home islands, planning began for a
Commonwealth Corps The Commonwealth Corps was the name given to a proposed British Commonwealth army formation, which was scheduled to take part in the planned Allied invasion of Japan during 1945 and 1946. The corps was never formed, however, as the Japanese sur ...
, including an Australian Imperial Force (AIF) division,Day 2003, p. 689. to be the re-raised 10th Division. The division was to be made up of experienced personnel from the existing divisions. The
corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...
would have included British and Canadian divisions, and was to be part of a landing on
Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...
in 1946. Regardless, the planned landing would have been dominated by US forces, and was known as Operation Coronet. However, the introduction of the
atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
, and its use at
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
and
Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
caused Japan to surrender before the invasion took place. As a result, the 10th Division was never re-raised. Instead, the decision was made to raise the 34th Brigade for occupation duties in Japan as part of the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian, and New Zealander military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its pe ...
. This formation consisted of volunteers from the three remaining AIF divisions—the 6th,
7th Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...
and 9th Divisions.Grey 2008, p. 203.


Subordinate units

* 1st Infantry Brigade (15 April – 27 August 1942) ** 13th Infantry Battalion ** 41st Infantry Battalion ** 2nd Infantry Battalion * 32nd Infantry Brigade (15 April – 27 August 1942) ** 33rd Infantry Battalion **8th Garrison Battalion ** 4th Infantry Battalion (15 April – 1 June 1942)


Commanding officers

*Major General John Murray (6 April – 7 August 1942)


Notes


References

* * * * * {{Australian WW2 Divs 10 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942 1942 establishments in Australia