The 4th Motor Brigade was a formation 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 ...

during the interwar years and the early part of the

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 ...

. A formation of the part-time

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 ...

, the brigade was formed in 1921 as the 4th Cavalry Brigade. At this time, it consisted of three light horse regiments based in southern and western

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. During World War II, the brigade was mobilised for defensive duties in December 1941, and assumed positions along the southern New South Wales coast to defend against a possible invasion. It was converted into the 4th Motor Brigade in March 1942 when it was motorised. As a motor brigade, the 4th undertook defensive duties on the south coast of New South Wales before it was converted into an armoured formation, designated the 3rd Army Tank Brigade in May 1942.

History

The 4th Cavalry Brigade was raised as a formation of the part-time

in 1921. Its headquarters was established in

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

with the brigade's area of responsibility stretching across southern and western

. At the time, it consisted of 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 ...

, 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 21st Light Horse Regiments. By 1927, the brigade consisted of the 1st, 6th and 7th Light Horse, as the 21st had been reassigned as divisional cavalry. These regiments were based in

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victor ...

, with troops being drawn from areas previously assigned to the disbanded

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

and

4th Light Horse Brigade The 4th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force, Australian Imperial Force (AIF) serving in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time Australian Ar ...

s. By 1938, the 21st had returned to the brigade, and the 1st Light Horse had been converted to a machine gun regiment. During

, the brigade was assigned to the 1st Australian Cavalry Division. Following Japan's entry into the war in December 1941, the brigade was mobilised for full time service. It was concentrated at

Cowra Cowra () is a town in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 8,254. Cowra is located approximate ...

, initially but moved to

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It is south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and the Southern Highl ...

, in February 1942. There, the brigade was assigned a defensive role to cover the southern New South Wales coast and in the event of an invasion was to prevent an enemy force from advancing towards the

Central Tablelands The Central Tablelands in New South Wales is a geographic area that lies between the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Central Western Slopes and Plains. The Great Dividing Range passes in a north–south direction through the Central Tablelands ...

. At this time, the brigade's constituent units were the 6th Motor Regiment based at

Nowra Nowra () is a city in the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated po ...

, the 7th Light Horse Regiment at

Dapto Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering . As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,954. History The name Dapto is said to be an Abor ...

, the 14th Machine Gun Regiment at Berrima, and the 3rd Armoured Regiment at

and

Moruya Moruya ( ) is a town located on the South Coast (New South Wales), far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , ...

. The brigade did not see any active service and was converted into the 4th Australian Motor Brigade in March 1942, as part of ongoing efforts to motorise or mechanise Australia's mounted forces in the early war years. As a result of this, the brigade's three light horse regiments – the 6th, 7th and 14th – were converted into motor regiments; each regiment was authorised to operate 14 scout cars and 44

Universal carrier The Universal Carrier, a development of the earlier Bren Gun Carrier from its light machine gun armament, was one of a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other companies. The first carriers – the Br ...

s. It also possessed a single armoured regiment: the 3rd. They continued their previously assigned defensive role on the south coast of

. The brigade was assigned to the 1st Australian Motor Division on formation and did not see any active service. In May 1942, the brigade was converted again, this time becoming the 3rd Army Tank Brigade. When it was converted to an armoured role, one the brigade's motor regiments – the 14th – was disbanded while the 6th and 7th transferred to the 2nd Motor Brigade. The 3rd Armoured Regiment was converted into the 3rd Army Tank Battalion, and joined two other such battalions, which were formed to provide close support to infantry in combat. The 3rd Army Tank Brigade moved to

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

, and the brigade's positions on the southern New South Wales coast were reassigned to the 2nd Infantry Division.

Brigade units

The following units served with the brigade as a cavalry formation during the war: * 3rd Armoured Regiment * 1st Light Horse (Machine Gun) * 6th Light Horse Regiment * 7th Light Horse Regiment *

14th Light Horse Regiment The 14th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry or light horse unit of the Australian Army. The unit takes its lineage from units raised as part of the colonial forces of the state of Queensland in 1860 and served during the Second Boer War ...

(Machine Gun) * 21st Light Horse Regiment * 6th Motor Regiment The following units served with the brigade as a motorised formation during the war: *3rd Armoured Regiment * 6th Motor Regiment * 7th Motor Regiment * 14th Motor Regiment

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{cite book , last=McKenzie-Smith , first=Graham , year= 2018, title=The Unit Guide: The Australian Army 1939–1945, Volume 2 , publisher=Big Sky Publishing , location=Warriewood, New South Wales , isbn=978-1-925675-146 Brigades of Australia Military units and formations established in 1921 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942 1921 establishments in Australia 1942 disestablishments in Australia

History

Brigade units

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography