39th Battalion
The 39th Battalion was formed on 21
February 1916 at the Ballarat Showgrounds in Victoria and drew most of
its recruits from the state’s Western District. It became part of the
10th Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division. Sailing from Melbourne on
27 May, the battalion arrived in Britain on 18 July and commenced four
months of training. It crossed to France in late November and moved into
the trenches of the Western Front for the first time on 9 December, just
in time for the onset of the terrible winter of 1916–17.
The 39th fought in its first major
battle at Messines, in Belgium, between 7–9 June 1917. During its
march to the start-line for this operation the battalion suffered
heavily from a German gas bombardment and less than a third of the
troops earmarked to attack actually did so. The battalion, however,
captured all of its objectives. The 39th fought in another two major
attacks in this sector – the carefully planned and executed battle of
Broodseinde on 4 October, and the disastrous battle of Passchendaele on
12 October.
Belgium remained the focus of the 39th
Battalion’s activities for the next five months as it was rotated
between service in the rear areas and the front line. When the German
Army launched its last great offensive in the spring of 1918, the
battalion was rushed south to France and played a role in turning the
German drive aimed at the vital railway junction of Amiens.
The Allies launched their own
offensive on 8 August 1918, but the 10th Brigade was the 3rd
Division’s reserve on this day so the 39th did not play an active
role. It was involved, however, in an ill-conceived attack that failed
to capture the village of Proyart on 10 August. Not daunted by this
experience, the battalion continued to play an active role throughout
August and early September in the 3rd Division’s advance along the
Somme Valley.
The 39th participated in its last
major action of the war between 29 September and 2 October 1918 as part
of the Australian-American operation that breached the formidable
defences of the Hindenburg Line along the St Quentin Canal. Along with
much of the AIF, the 39th was resting out of the line when the war ended
in November. It was disbanded in March 1919. Text from AWM
- 405 killed, 1637 wounded (including
gassed)
-
Decorations
- 2 DSO
- 1 MBE
- 14 MC
- 14 DCM
- 78 MM, 3 bars
- 5 MSM
- 22 MID
- 8 foreign awards
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