| The 2/31st Infantry
Battalion was one of three formed in the United Kingdom on 27 June 1940
to create the 25th Infantry Brigade. The battalion’s personnel were
drawn from throughout the Australian force that had arrived in Britain
earlier in the month and manpower shortages meant the battalion included
only three rifle companies instead of the usual four. It was initially
known as the 70th Battalion and was based at Tidworth, but in October it
was retitled the 2/31st, and in the same month relocated to Colchester.
It left Britain on 4 January 1941 and disembarked in Egypt on 9 March.
Upon arrival, the 2/31st moved to
Palestine for training where it was joined by a fourth rifle company. On
11 April, the 25th Brigade, now part of the 7th Australian Division,
began to move to Egypt to bolster the defences along the Libyan frontier
against an expected German attack and the 2/31st occupied positions at
Mersa Matruh.
In late May 1941, the 2/31st returned
to Palestine to take part in the 25th Brigade’s first offensive
operation – the invasion of Syria and Lebanon. The 2/31st’s first
major engagement in eastern Lebanon was around Khirbe between 8 and 11
June. It was subsequently ordered to capture the town of Jezzine, which
controlled one of the lateral routes to the coast. Jezzine fell to the
2/31st on 14 June but was heavily counter-attacked by the Vichy French
on the 16th. The terrain around Jezzine was steep and rugged and the
fighting exhausting; it was still in progress when the armistice was
declared on 12 July. The 2/31st remained in Lebanon as part of the
Allied garrison until 13 January 1942.
Bound for home, the 2/31st sailed from
Port Tewfik in Egypt on 9 February 1942 and disembarked in Adelaide on
10 March. It trained in Australia until the end of August and on 9
September arrived in Port Moresby to reinforce the battered Australian
units on the Kokoda Trail. Joining the fray at Ioribaiwa on 15
September, the battalion was soon withdrawn, with the rest of the
Australian force, to Imita Ridge. The Japanese did not follow.
The the 2/31st Battalion subsequently
participated in the advance back along the trail when the Japanese
retreated. On 1 November it was the first battalion to re-enter Kokoda,
and played a key role in smashing the last Japanese defensive position
on the trail at Gorari between 7 and 11 November. The 2/31st was briefly
involved in the operations at Gona between 23 November and 4 December,
before returning to Port Moresby by air on 15 December and eventually
sailing back to Australia in early January 1943.
The 2/31st returned to Port Moresby on 26
July in preparation for the 25th Brigade’s next operation – the
advance on the Japanese base at Lae, in New Guinea. The 2/31st flew into
Nadzab on 12 September and, after a hurried advance, joined the fighting
east of Lae, which fell on 16 September. On 29 September the 2/31st was
flown from Nadzab to Kaipit and spent the rest of the year principally
engaged in patrol actions in the Ramu Valley and the foothills of the
Finisterre Range. It returned to Australia on 16 February 1944.
Like most of the AIF battalions, the
2/25th spent over a year training in Australia prior to its final
operation of the war. It departed Australia on 2 June 1945 and landed at
Balikpapan in Borneo on 2 July. The 2/31st’s operations were
concentrated around the Milford Highway – the site of the most
determined Japanese resistance – and it suffered the heaviest
casualties of any unit involved in the campaign. It was withdrawn to
rest on 26 July. The war ended on 15 August and from October drafts of
long-service personnel began returning to Australia. The remainder of
the battalion arrived in Brisbane in early February, and disbanded there
in the first week of March. AWM text
Battle honours
Casualties
Decorations
- 1 VC
- 3 DSO
- 4 MC
- 1 DCM
- 20 MM
- 25 MID
|
