53rd Battalion
The 53rd Battalion was raised in Egypt
on 14 February 1916 as part of the “doubling” of the AIF. Half of
its recruits were Gallipoli veterans from the 1st Battalion, and the
other half, fresh reinforcements from Australia. Reflecting the
composition of the 1st, the 53rd was predominantly composed of men from
the suburbs of Sydney. The battalion became part of the 14th Brigade of
the 5th Australian Division.
The battalion arrived in France on 27
June 1916, entered the front line for the first time on 10 July, and
became embroiled in its first major battle on the Western Front, at
Fromelles, on 19 July. The battle of Fromelles was a disaster. The 53rd
was part of the initial assault and suffered grievously, incurring 625
casualties, including its commanding officer, amounting to over
three-quarters of its attacking strength. Casualty rates among the rest
of the 5th Division were similarly high, but despite these losses it
continued to man the front in the Fromelles sector for a further two
months.
The 53rd spent the freezing winter of
1916–17 rotating in and out of trenches in the Somme Valley. During
this period the battalion earned the nickname “the Whale Oil Guards”
after the CO, Lieutenant Colonel Oswald Croshaw, ordered the troops to
polish their helmets with whale oil (issued to rub into feet as a trench
foot preventative) for a smart turn out on parade. In March 1917, the
53rd participated in the advance that followed the German retreat to the
Hindenburg Line. It was spared the assault but did, however, defend
gains made during the second battle of Bullecourt. Later in the year,
the AIF’s focus of operations switched to the Ypres sector in Belgium.
The 53rd’s major battle here was at Polygon Wood on 26 September.
With the collapse of Russia in October
1917, a major German offensive on the Western Front was expected in
early 1918. This came in late March and the 5th Division moved to defend
the sector around Corbie. The 14th Brigade took up positions to the
north of Villers-Bretonneux and held these even when the village fell,
threatening their flanks.
Once the German offensive had been
defeated, the Allies launched their own offensive in August 1918. The
14th Brigade did not play a major role in these operations until late in
the month, but its actions, including those of the 53rd Battalion at
Anvil Wood, were critical to the capture of Péronne, which fell on 2
September. For a succession of courageous actions during the Péronne
fighting, Private William Currey was awarded the Victoria Cross.
The 53rd Battalion entered its last
major battle of the war on 29 September 1918. This operation was mounted
by the 5th and 3rd Australian Divisions, in co-operation with American
forces, to break through the formidable German defences along the St
Quentin Canal. The battalion withdrew to rest on 2 October and was still
doing so when the war ended. The progressive return of troops to
Australia for discharge resulted in the 53rd merging with the 55th
Battalion on 10 March 1919. The combined 53/55th Battalion, in turn,
disbanded on 11 April. Text from AWM
- 647 killed, 1647 wounded (including
gassed)
-
Decorations
- 1 VC
- 5 DSO
- 1 OBE
- 25 MC and 3 bars
- 28 DCM
- 76 MM and 4 bars
- 4 MSM
- 20 MID
- 5 foreign awards
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