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The 18th Brigade originally consisted
of four battalions: the 2/9th, recruited in Queensland; the 2/10th,
recruited in South Australia; the 2/11th recruited in Western Australia;
and the 2/12th, recruited in Tasmania and Queensland. In February 1941
the Second AIF was reorganised in accordance with the war establishments
of the British Army. This resulted in the reduction of Australian
infantry brigades from four to three battalions; shipping arrangements
meant that the 2/11th Battalion subsequently became part of the 19th
Brigade.
While en route to the Middle East the convoy carrying the 18th Brigade
was diverted to the United Kingdom to bolster the forces there following
the German conquest of France. This had several repercussions for the
organisation of the Second AIF. In the Middle East, the 19th Brigade
took the 18th Brigade's position in the 6th Division.
In the United Kingdom, the 18th
Brigade provided a nucleus for a new brigade, the 25th, and both
subsequently formed the basis of the 9th Division when it was raised in
October 1940. The 18th Brigade finally arrived in the Middle East in
early January 1941. One further reorganisation saw the 18th join the 7th
Division in February 1941, where it remained until the end of the
war.
The brigade fought in the siege of
Tobruk, the Syrian campaign, at Milne Bay and Buna in Papua, and at
Balikpapan in Borneo. AWM text. |
