The 14th Armoured Regiment was a unit of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

, which served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The regiment was formed in May 1942 as part of the 6th Australian Armoured Brigade. It was originally a

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

unit which originated from the 17th Light Horse (Machine Gun) Regiment. It was disbanded in early 1943 without seeing combat.

History

The 14th Armoured Regiment was originally drawn from personnel of C Squadron, 17th Light Horse (Machine Gun) Regiment, which was a Victorian

unit based around

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. On 1 May 1941, this squadron formed the nucleus of the 4th Armoured Regiment, commanded by Major E.P Seymour. The regiment moved to

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

and was brought up to strength from

Universal Service Universal service is an economic, legal and business term used mostly in regulated industries, referring to the practice of providing a baseline level of services to every resident of a country. An example of this concept is found in the US Telec ...

(conscripted) personnel and formed part of Headquarters Southern Command. Due to the scarcity of tanks and other armoured vehicles, the unit was only provided with Universal or 'Bren Gun' Carriers, which provided enhanced mobility, but little firepower and protection. A separate Australian Imperial Force (AIF) unit with a similar designation, the 2/4th Armoured Regiment, was raised in late 1942. When the Japanese entered the war, the regiment was dispatched, as part of the 6th Infantry Brigade (CMF), to serve on the Dandenong Eastern Defence Line and later at

Barwon Heads Barwon Heads (previously known as Point Flinders) is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the west bank of the mouth of the Barwon River below Lake Connewarre, while it is bounded to ...

and

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

beaches. It would return under the command of the 2nd Cavalry Division in February 1942. On 10 February the unit received orders to transfer personnel to the 13th Light Horse and the 17th Machine Gun Regiment. On 9 March 1942 the remaining 4th Armoured Regiment personnel received the order to convert to a motor regiment. It was renamed the 104th Motor Regiment and initially assigned to the 5th Motor Brigade of the 2nd Australian Motor Division. However, the 104th Motor Regiment's existence would prove to be short lived. The 14th Armoured Regiment was formed from the 104th Motor Regiment on 8 May 1942, and was a part of the

Australian Armoured Corps The Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) is a corps of the Australian Army which provides the Australian Defence Force's armour capability. Armour combines firepower, mobility, protection and networked situational awareness to generate shock ...

. The regiment, along with the 12th Armoured Regiment, 13th Armoured Regiment, 9th Motor Regiment and 3rd Reconnaissance Squadron, was allocated to the newly raised 6th Armoured Brigade, itself part of the newly converted 2nd Armoured Division. The 14th Armoured Regiment was based at

Gherang Gherang is a small rural township in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Surf Coast Shire local government area, and is located on the northern edge of the Great Otway National Park and the Anglesea Heath. At the 2006 census, Gherang had a popula ...

until the end of June, when it moved to

Puckapunyal Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Vi ...

to join the rest of the brigade. Upon arrival at the Armoured Fighting Vehicles School, located at Puckapunyal, the unit underwent training to perform its role as an armoured regiment. This included instruction in driving and maintenance, gunnery, wireless communications, tactics and leadership. By the end of 1942 the unit had completed its basic training and had conducted a number of field exercises around the Seymour–Puckapunyal area. It was also largely complete in terms of equipment having been finally equipped with relatively modern M3 Medium Grant tanks and M3 Light Stuarts. However, by December 1942 the strategic threat to Australia from Japan had lessened. The outcomes of the battles of the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

and

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

, and the

Kokoda Track campaign The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was prima ...

led to a re-focus on New Guinea. This meant that the need for large armoured formations to defend Australia had vanished. As a result, the 2nd Armoured Division, and the 6th Armoured Brigade as part of it, was ordered to disband. The 14th Armoured Regiment disbanded on 19 February 1943, although it provided many personnel to the 13th Armoured Regiment The 13th Armoured Regiment would subsequently join the 2nd Armoured Brigade which formed part of the 3rd Australian Armoured Division and was then based in

Murgon, Queensland Murgon is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Murgon had a population of 2,378 people. Geography Murgon is in the region of Queensland known as the South Burnett, the southern ...

Commanders

* Lieutenant Colonel E.P Seymour (1 May 1941 – 19 February 1943)

References

{{reflist Armoured and cavalry regiments of the Australian Army Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943