| The
2/11th was the first Western Australian battalion raised for service
overseas during the Second World War. Its formation began with the
appointment of its first commanding officer on 13 October 1939 and by 7
November it was assembling at the newly-built Northam Camp to begin
training. On 30 November it left Northam to join the 18th Brigade of the
6th Australian Division, a journey that would end at another new camp at
Greta in New South Wales. The battalion returned to Western Australia in
the middle of March and embarked at Fremantle for service overseas on 20
April 1940.
After arriving in the Middle East on
18 May, the 2/11th trained in Palestine and Egypt. A decision to
reorganise Australian infantry brigades along British lines, with three
battalions instead of four, meant the 2/11th was now part of the 19th
Brigade, but it remained part of the 6th Division. The battalion went
into action for the first time at Bardia on 5 January 1941 and, as part
of the Allied advance into Italian-occupied Libya, subsequently fought
at Tobruk on 21–22 January, and to secure Derna airfield on 25
January. It was advancing to the south of Benghazi when the Italians
surrendered on 7 February.
In early April 1941 the 2/11th were
deployed to assist in the defence of Greece. The Allied forces, however,
were unable to hold back the attacking Germans. The 2/11th withdrew from
its initial positions at Kalabaka and remained on the move until it
occupied rearguard positions at Brallos Pass a week later. It fought and
slowed the Germans there on 24 April and then continued its withdrawal
to Megara, where it was evacuated by sea on the night of 25 April. The
battalion landed on Crete the next day. It was subsequently deployed
with the 2/1st Battalion to defend Retimo airfield, which was held
tenaciously for ten days following the landing of German paratroops on
20 May. German successes elsewhere on Crete, however, made surrender
inevitable. Many 2/11th soldiers attempted to escape from Crete but only
a relatively small number ultimately succeeded; most were taken
prisoner.
The battalion was rebuilt in
Palestine, and between mid-September 1941 and late January 1942 joined
the force garrisoning Syria. It left the Middle East on 16 February 1942
and arrived at Adelaide on 16 March. The next month it was attached to
the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Division to assist in defence of Western
Australia. The battalion rejoined the 19th Brigade in northern
Queensland in July 1943, but another 18 months would pass before it saw
action again.
The 2/11th landed at Aitape in New
Guinea on 13 November 1944 to undertake its only campaign against the
Japanese. Patrolling, often arduous in nature, constituted the bulk of
its operations. Its main areas of operation were east of the Danmap
River (January 1945), and in the foothills of the Prince Alexander Range
to the south of Wewak (April–July 1945). Following the Japanese
surrender on 15 August, drafts of 2/11th men began returning to
Australia for discharge. The remainder of the battalion departed Wewak
on 10 November, and disbanded at Puckapunyal on 7 December 1945. Text
from AWM |
