| The 2/33rd 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 72nd Battalion and was based at Tidworth, but in October it
was retitled the 2/33rd, and in the same month relocated to Colchester.
It left Britain on 10 January 1941 and disembarked in Egypt on 8 March.
Upon arrival, the 2/33rd 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 2/33rd occupied positions at
Mersa Matruh.
In late May 1941, the 25th Brigade
returned to Palestine to take part in the invasion of Syria and Lebanon,
which began on 8 June. The 2/33rd fought, principally in dispersed
company groups, around Merdjayoun until 28 June. It was then moved to
the area around Jezzine and was still conducting operations in the
rugged hills to the east of the town when the armistice was declared on
12 July. The 2/33rd remained in Lebanon as part of the Allied garrison
until 14 January 1942, when it commenced the first stage of its journey
back to Australia. It sailed from Port Tewfik in Egypt on 9 February
1942 and disembarked in Adelaide on 10 March.
After a period of leave and training
in Australia the 2/33rd was deployed to Papua to reinforce the battered
Australian units on the Kokoda Trail. It arrived in Port Moresby on 9
September and by the 13th was in action at Ioribaiwa. With the rest of
the Australian force, the 2/33rd was soon withdrawn to Imita Ridge; the
Japanese did not follow. The battalion subsequently participated in the
advance back along the trail that followed the Japanese retreat and it
fought major engagements at Myola (11–15 October) and at Gorari
(7–11 November). The 2/33rd was briefly involved in the bitter,
confused fighting at Gona between 23 November and 4 December, by which
time dwindling numbers had forced its four rifle companies to be
amalgamated into two. It returned to Port Moresby by air between 15 and
17 December and eventually sailed back to Australia in early January
1943.
The 2/33rd returned to Port Moresby in
late July in preparation for the operations capture Lae, in New Guinea.
On 7 September, while it waited at Jackson’s Airfield at Moresby to be
flown to Nadzab, via Tsili Tsili, a fully-loaded Liberator bomber
crashed among the trucks carrying the battalion. Fifty-nine men were
killed and 92 injured – a third of the battalion’s fatal casualties
for the entire war. The remnants of the 2/33rd arrived in Nadzab on 8
September and subsequently participated in the advance on 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 Finisterre Range. It returned to
Australia on 10 February 1944.
Following over a year of training, the
2/33rd departed Australia on 9 June 1945 for its last operation of the
war. It landed at Balikpapan in Borneo on 1 July and its subsequent
operations were concentrated around the Milford Highway – the site of
the most determined Japanese resistance. It was withdrawn to rest on 24
July. The war ended on 15 August and almost immediately drafts of
long-service personnel began returning to Australia. The remainder of
the battalion arrived in Brisbane on 22 February, and it disbanded there
on 12 March. AWM text
Battle honours
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