HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 6th Machine Gun Battalion was a
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
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 ...
that was raised for service during World War II. Formed in late 1942 from the machine gun companies of several infantry battalions, the 6th Machine Gun Battalion undertook training on the
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 ...
south coast before being deployed to
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
where they took part in the
Markham and Ramu Valley – Finisterre Range campaign The Markham Valley, Ramu Valley and Finisterre Range campaigns were a series of battles within the broader New Guinea campaign of World War II. The campaigns began with an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive in the Ramu Valley, from 19 Sep ...
, defending the airfield at Gusap, and undertaking patrols. In early 1944, the battalion returned to Australia and over the course of the year was disbanded, with its personnel being sent to other units as reinforcements. Many of these personnel then saw combat in
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
in 1945.


History

The 6th Machine Gun Battalion was raised on 22 August 1942, at
Narellan, New South Wales Narellan is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. Narellan is located 60 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of Camden Council (New South Wales), Camden Council ...
. This was part of a reorganisation of 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 ...
infantry battalions, which saw them lose their integral machine gun companies, so that they could be grouped together under a single battalion headquarters. The relevant companies came from several units assigned to the 1st Division, specifically: 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 ...
,
13th In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the Musical note, note thirteen scale degrees from the root (chord), root of a chord (music), chord and also the interval (music), interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is m ...
, 17th, 18th, 20th/19th, and 34th Infantry Battalions. In addition, a small number of personnel were received from the
2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...
and 41st Infantry Battalions. Assigned at divisional level, the role of the machine gun battalion was to provide direct fire support in addition to the machine guns that were organic to infantry battalions. With an authorised strength of 700 to 800 men, the battalion was equipped with 48
Vickers medium machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more men to move and ...
s that were spread between four main
companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...
. These companies were supported by assorted service support soldiers including signallers, stretcher bearers, administration clerks, caterers and quartermasters. The battalion was highly mobile and included many different types of vehicles. The battalion's commanding officer on establishment was Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Hearne. Shortly after the companies came together at Narellan, the battalion moved to Wallgrove for training. The battalion was sent to
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 ...
, on the New South Wales coast, in October 1942, to carry out defensive duties. The move was carried out on foot over several days. Training was completed around
Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
and
Shellharbour, New South Wales Shellharbour (also known as Shellharbour Village) is a suburb located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the Local government in Australia, local government area, City of Shellharbour, and its centr ...
. While at Shellharbour, on 16 May 1943, the battalion took part in rescuing the crew of a US tanker, the ''Cities Service Boston'', which sunk near Bass Point after running aground. Four personnel from the 6th Machine Gun Battalion drowned during the rescue effort. They were later commemorated in a memorial that was established in 1968 near the wreck site, and were also decorated posthumously by the United States for their efforts. Several months later, the 6th Machine Gun Battalion was sent to
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
, where the Australians were fighting against the Japanese. Relieving the 7th Machine Gun Battalion, the battalion was attached to the 3rd Division and undertook defensive duties in
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 ...
, mainly located at Ward's Airfield, starting in July. Two months later, the battalion was sent to Donadabu, where they were attached to the 7th Infantry Brigade. The 6th Machine Gun Battalion came under the command of the 7th Division, in October 1943, and, less one company which stayed in Port Moresby, it joined the
Markham and Ramu Valley – Finisterre Range campaign The Markham Valley, Ramu Valley and Finisterre Range campaigns were a series of battles within the broader New Guinea campaign of World War II. The campaigns began with an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive in the Ramu Valley, from 19 Sep ...
. Its role during this period was to defend
Gusap Airfield Gusap Airport is a general aviation airport in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. located at the base of the Finisterre Range. It has no scheduled commercial airline service. It is currently in use, and maintained by Ramu Agri Industries Ltd. ( ...
, amidst heavy fighting around Shaggy Ridge. Conditions around the airfield were highly malarial and the machine gunners were subjected to a number of aerial attacks. As personnel were evacuated due to illness, the Port Moresby company was used as a reinforcement pool until it was disbanded. The battalion was relieved around Gusap in March 1944, and returned to Dobodura by air. Later, they moved to Semina where they established a camp until shipping became available for the return to Australia. The battalion subsequently returned in two contingents, both aboard the ''
Katoomba Katoomba is the main town and council seat of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and is the administrative centre of Blue Mountains City Council. Situated on the Great Western Highway and the Great Western Railway, Kato ...
''. The main element arrived in Townsville in March, but one company was sent to Sydney. A period of leave followed, after which personnel concentrated at Wallgrove. In June 1944, the battalion began disbanding as its personnel were needed as reinforcements for other operational units. By December, the unit ceased to exist. Most of its personnel volunteered to serve overseas with the
Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...
and later served in
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
in 1945 with several other infantry, pioneer and machine gun battalions, including the 2/24th Infantry Battalion, with which they saw further action on
Tarakan Tarakan is an island and co-extensively the sole city within the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. The island city is the largest urban area in North Kalimantan population-wise and is located in northern Borneo, midway along the coast of ...
.


Battle honours

The battalion received one
battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...
for its service in New Guinea: "Liberation of Australian New Guinea".


References

Citations Bibliography * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:6th Machine Gun Battalion (Australia) 6 6 6 6 6