Australian 5th Battalion
Encyclopedia
The 5th Battalion was an infantry
battalion
of the Australian Army
. Raised in Victoria as part of the First Australian Imperial Force
for service during World War I
, the battalion formed part of the 2nd Brigade
, attached to the 1st Division
. It participated in the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, coming ashore in the second wave, before taking part in the fighting at Krithia and then at Lone Pine. In December 1915 the battalion was withdrawn from the peninsula and returned to Egypt where it was involved in defending the Suez Canal
until being transferred to the Western Front
in France in early 1916. After that, over the course of the next two and a half years the 5th Battalion was rotated in and out of the front line and took part in a number of significant battles including at Pozieres, Ypres, Amiens and the Hindenburg Line. Following the end of the war, the battalion was disbanded and its personnel returned to Australia.
—a Melbourne-based militia unit—including the battalion's first commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel David Stanley Wanliss, who would later go on to become the Chief Justice of New Guinea after the war.
Such was the enthusiasm with which Australians volunteered at the start of the war, that the battalion was raised within two weeks. After a period of just two months basic training, they left Australia and proceeded to Egypt
, arriving on 2 December 1914. It took part in the Landing at Anzac Cove
on 25 April 1915, as part of the second wave. Ten days after the landing the 2nd Brigade was transferred from Anzac Cove
to Cape Helles
to assist in the attack on Krithia
. In August, the battalion took part in the Battle of Lone Pine
. The battalion continued to serve at Gallipoli
until the evacuation in December when the battalion returned to Egypt
.
During this time the AIF underwent an expansion from two infantry divisions, to five and many members of the 5th Battalion were used to raise the 57th Battalion
. In March 1916, the battalion sailed to France
and deployed to the Somme, seeing action at Pozières
in July 1916, followed by Ypres
, in Belgium
, before returning to the Somme in winter.
Throughout 1917 the 5th Battalion was involved in operations against the Hindenburg Line
, before being involved in the Battle of Passchendaele between June and November 1917. In 1918 the battalion helped to stop the German spring offensive in March and April. The battalion subsequently participated in the greatest Allied offensive of 1918, launched near Amiens on 8 August 1918. The battalion continued operations to late September 1918, when the Australian Corps
was withdrawn from the front line for a period of rest and training. Consequently, when the armistice
came into effect on 11 November 1918, the battalion was out of the line.
Soon after the fighting ended the long process of demobilisation and repatriation began and men from the battalion began marching out to begin the journey back to Australia. Slowly the 5th Battalion's numbers dwindled and by April 1919, it was amalgamated with the 8th Battalion. This battalion was then later amalgamated with another, formed from the 6th and 7th Battalions, to form the 2nd Brigade Battalion.
The demobilisation process was finally completed by early 1920 and in April 1921 the AIF was officially disbanded. After this it was decided to preserve the honours of the AIF units by bestowing their battle honours and unit designations upon the militia units with which they had been affiliated. As a result of this, the Victorian Scottish Regiment was redesignated the 5th Battalion (Victorian Scottish Regiment) and was entrusted with the 5th Battalion's battle honours. Later, in 1960, this regiment was absorbed into the Royal Victoria Regiment
and its colours laid up in Scots' Church, Melbourne
. As a result the 5th Battalion's honours are now held by the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment
.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
. Raised in Victoria as part of the First Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
for service during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the battalion formed part of the 2nd Brigade
2nd Brigade (Australia)
The 2nd Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army.Formed in 1903 as militia formation based in Victoria, the brigade later served during the First World War as part of the Australian Imperial Force, allocated to the 1st Division...
, attached to the 1st Division
1st Division (Australia)
The 1st Division is the main formation of the Australian Army and contains the majority of the army's regular forces. Its headquarters is in Enoggera, a suburb of Brisbane...
. It participated in the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, coming ashore in the second wave, before taking part in the fighting at Krithia and then at Lone Pine. In December 1915 the battalion was withdrawn from the peninsula and returned to Egypt where it was involved in defending the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
until being transferred to the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
in France in early 1916. After that, over the course of the next two and a half years the 5th Battalion was rotated in and out of the front line and took part in a number of significant battles including at Pozieres, Ypres, Amiens and the Hindenburg Line. Following the end of the war, the battalion was disbanded and its personnel returned to Australia.
History
Following the outbreak of the war, Australia began raising an all volunteer force for overseas service almost immediately. Due to the provisions of the Defence Act 1903 which precluded sending conscripts overseas to fight, it was decided not to send the militia units that were already in existence, but instead to raise new battalions as part of the Australian Imperial Force. Many of the previously existing militia units chose to enlist together in the AIF and in order to maintain a degree of esprit de corps these men were often allocated to the same AIF unit. As a result many AIF units retained the identity and traditions of their parent militia units. Many of the 5th Battalion's members had previously served with the Victorian Scottish RegimentVictorian Scottish Regiment
The Victorian Scottish Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Australian Army. Formed in 1898 as a volunteer unit of the colonial Victorian Military Forces, the unit went through a number of changes in name over the course of its 62 year history. During World War I many of its members...
—a Melbourne-based militia unit—including the battalion's first commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel David Stanley Wanliss, who would later go on to become the Chief Justice of New Guinea after the war.
Such was the enthusiasm with which Australians volunteered at the start of the war, that the battalion was raised within two weeks. After a period of just two months basic training, they left Australia and proceeded to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, arriving on 2 December 1914. It took part in the Landing at Anzac Cove
Landing at Anzac Cove
The landing at Anzac Cove was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The landing, north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast of the Peninsula, was made by soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and was the first...
on 25 April 1915, as part of the second wave. Ten days after the landing the 2nd Brigade was transferred from Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
to Cape Helles
Cape Helles
Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the south-westernmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915....
to assist in the attack on Krithia
Second Battle of Krithia
The Second Battle of Krithia continued the Allies' attempts to advance on the Helles battlefield during the Battle of Gallipoli of the First World War. The village of Krithia and neighbouring hill of Achi Baba had to be captured in order for the British to advance up the Gallipoli peninsula to the...
. In August, the battalion took part in the Battle of Lone Pine
Battle of Lone Pine
The Battle of Lone Pine was a battle between Australian and Turkish forces that took place during the Gallipoli campaign from 6–10 August 1915. It was part of a diversion to draw attention from the main assaults of 6 August against the Sari Bair peaks of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971, which became...
. The battalion continued to serve at Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
until the evacuation in December when the battalion returned to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
During this time the AIF underwent an expansion from two infantry divisions, to five and many members of the 5th Battalion were used to raise the 57th Battalion
57th Battalion (Australia)
The 57th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised as a unit of the First Australian Imperial Force in Egypt on 18 February 1916 for service in World War I through the joining of half of the members of the 5th Battalion with fresh recruits raised in...
. In March 1916, the battalion sailed to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and deployed to the Somme, seeing action at Pozières
Battle of Pozières
The Battle of Pozières was a two week struggle for the French village of Pozières and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Though British divisions were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian battle...
in July 1916, followed by Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, before returning to the Somme in winter.
Throughout 1917 the 5th Battalion was involved in operations against the Hindenburg Line
Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
, before being involved in the Battle of Passchendaele between June and November 1917. In 1918 the battalion helped to stop the German spring offensive in March and April. The battalion subsequently participated in the greatest Allied offensive of 1918, launched near Amiens on 8 August 1918. The battalion continued operations to late September 1918, when the Australian Corps
Australian Corps
The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire army in France...
was withdrawn from the front line for a period of rest and training. Consequently, when the armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
came into effect on 11 November 1918, the battalion was out of the line.
Soon after the fighting ended the long process of demobilisation and repatriation began and men from the battalion began marching out to begin the journey back to Australia. Slowly the 5th Battalion's numbers dwindled and by April 1919, it was amalgamated with the 8th Battalion. This battalion was then later amalgamated with another, formed from the 6th and 7th Battalions, to form the 2nd Brigade Battalion.
The demobilisation process was finally completed by early 1920 and in April 1921 the AIF was officially disbanded. After this it was decided to preserve the honours of the AIF units by bestowing their battle honours and unit designations upon the militia units with which they had been affiliated. As a result of this, the Victorian Scottish Regiment was redesignated the 5th Battalion (Victorian Scottish Regiment) and was entrusted with the 5th Battalion's battle honours. Later, in 1960, this regiment was absorbed into the Royal Victoria Regiment
Royal Victoria Regiment
The Royal Victoria Regiment is an Infantry Regiment of the Australian Army, consisting of two battalions, the 5th/6th Battalion and the 8th/7th Battalion.-History:...
and its colours laid up in Scots' Church, Melbourne
Scots' Church, Melbourne
The Scots' Church, a Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia, was the first Presbyterian Church to be built in the Port Phillip District . It is located in Collins Street and is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Australia...
. As a result the 5th Battalion's honours are now held by the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment
5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment
The 5th/6th Battalion is one of two battalions of the Royal Victoria Regiment, and is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army Reserve. The battalion can trace its lineage back to many units that existed prior to Federation, as well as units that fought during World War I and World War II and...
.