1st Brigade is a combined arms formation of the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal 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 (CA), wh ...
. Formed in 1903 as 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 ...
formation based in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, it was reconstituted as part of the
Australian Imperial Force in 1914 for service during World War I, the brigade fought at
Gallipoli and on the
Western Front before being disbanded in mid-1919. In 1921, the 1st Brigade was re-raised as a unit of Australia's part-time military forces, based in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. During World War II the brigade undertook defensive duties before being disbanded. In 1948, it was re-raised as an integral part of the Australian Regular Army. Currently the brigade is based at
Robertson Barracks in
Darwin and at
RAAF Base Edinburgh
RAAF Base Edinburgh is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located in Edinburgh approximately north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia and forms part of the Edinburgh Defence Precinct.
The base is primarily home to No 9 ...
near
Adelaide, South Australia. It is the first of the Australian Army brigades to be re-organised as a combat brigade under
Plan Beersheba.
History
Formation
Originally formed in 1903 as 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 of the Commonwealth Military Forces, it was established in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and consisted of four
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...
-sized units—1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Australian Infantry Regiments. In 1912, the
compulsory training scheme was introduced and at this time, the brigade was reorganised as part of the
1st Military District, with constituent units were spread across various locations in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
including
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
,
Cairns,
Charters Towers
Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits unde ...
,
Mackay Mackay may refer to:
*Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives
Mackay may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Mackay Region, a local government area
** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region
*** Mackay Airpor ...
,
Rockhampton,
Mount Morgan,
Bundaberg,
Maryborough,
Gympie
Gympie ( ) is a city and a locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River, which floods Gympie occasionally. The ...
, and
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
.
World War I
The 1st Brigade was re-constituted in
Sydney, New South Wales, shortly after the start of World War I in August 1914 for service overseas as part of the
Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Upon formation it consisted of four infantry
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...
s—the
1st,
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...
,
3rd and
4th—however, later it received organic fire support when the 1st Australian Machine Gun Company (February 1916 to February 1918) and 1st Australian Trench Mortar Battery (from April 1916) were added to its order of battle. Assigned to the
1st Division, the brigade's first commanding officer was Colonel
Henry MacLaurin.
During the war, the 1st Brigade took part in the fighting at
Gallipoli between April and December 1915, before being evacuated to Egypt at the end of the campaign. There, it was brought back up to strength and in mid-1916 the brigade was transferred to Europe, where it took part in the fighting on the
Western Front in France and Belgium between 1916 and 1918,
before being disbanded in April 1919. Notable battles in which the brigade fought include:
Lone Pine,
Pozières
Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.
Southwest of the village on ...
,
Bullecourt,
Passchendaele,
Hazebrouck
Hazebrouck (, nl, Hazebroek, , vls, Oazebroeke) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1 ...
,
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
and the
Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916 ...
.
Five soldiers from 1st Brigade units received the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, Australia's highest military decoration, for their actions during the war. These were:
John Hamilton,
George Howell,
Thomas Kenny,
Leonard Keysor
Leonard Maurice Keysor, VC (also known as "Keyzor" or "Kyezor") (3 November 1885 – 12 October 1951) was a British-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded t ...
and
Alfred Shout
Alfred John Shout, VC, MC (8 August 1882 – 11 August 1915) was a New Zealand-born soldier and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" awarded to members of th ...
.
Inter war years and World War II
In 1921, the Australian military part-time forces were re-organised to perpetuate the numerical designations and structures of the AIF. As a result, the 1st Brigade was re-raised as a part-time formation of the
Citizens Forces based in
Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...
, and consisting of four infantry battalions: the
13th
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...
,
33rd,
35th Military units
*35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force
*35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I
*35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...
and
41st Battalions.
Initially, the brigade was staffed through the
compulsory training scheme, which meant that the brigade was able to maintain its numbers, however, in 1922, following the signing of the
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...
, Australia's security concerns were reduced. As a result, the Army's budget was halved and the scope of the compulsory training scheme was scaled back; with this the authorised strength of each infantry battalion was reduced to just 409 men of all ranks. In 1929, the compulsory training scheme was suspended by the newly elected
Scullin Labor government and was replaced by a voluntary system, under the new name of the "Militia". This, coupled with the financial hardships of the
Great Depression, meant that there were few volunteers available for service and many units had to be amalgamated or disbanded.
As a result, the 1st Brigade was reduced to just three infantry battalions. Upon the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the 1st Brigade consisted of the 13th, 33rd and 41st Battalions.
Initially, upon the commencement of hostilities it was decided to call up the Militia to undertake periods of continuous training in order to boost the nation's readiness for war, however, following Japan's entry into the war in December 1941, they were mobilised for defensive duties. Although some Militia units were committed to combat operations in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
from 1942 onwards, the 1st Brigade remained in Australia for the duration of the war, headquartered around
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta () is a suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta Riv ...
, where it formed part of the 1st Division. Later the brigade became part of the
Newcastle Covering Force and then the
10th Division.
[McKenzie-Smith 2018, pp. 2057–2058.] In 1942, the brigade moved to Sydney, and from 1943 it was reduced to meet operational manpower needs elsewhere. In September 1944, the brigade moved to
Singleton, New South Wales
Singleton is a town on the banks of the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. Singleton is 197 km (89 mi) north-north-west of Sydney, and 70 km (43 mi) north-west of Newcastle. At June 2018, Singleton had an urban pop ...
, where the two of its three infantry battalions were disbanded. By the end of hostilities, it consisted of only one battalion—the 41st/2nd Battalion—as other units had been transferred, amalgamated or disbanded.
[ Between May 1942 and August 1945 it was commanded by Brigadier ]Frederick Burrows
Sir Frederick John Burrows GCSI, GCIE (3 July 1887 – 20 April 1973) was a British politician who served as the last British Governor of Bengal during the British Raj in India. He was Governor of Bengal from 19 February 1946 to 14 August 1947. ...
.
Post World War II
Following the end of hostilities in August 1945, the existing structures were disbanded throughout 1945 and into 1946 and the Interim Army was raised. As a part of this, the 34th Brigade was raised for occupation duties in Japan. In 1948, with the establishment of the reformation of the Regular Army and the raising of the Australian Regiment (later known as the Royal Australian Regiment
The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the parent administrative regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. It was originally formed in 1948 as a t ...
), the 34th Brigade was renamed the 1st Brigade following its return to Australia. During the Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, individual elements of the brigade were detached for combat in Korea, although they were subsequently placed under the command of other formations.
In 1960, the Australian Army adopted the Pentropic divisional establishment. This saw the adoption of the five battalion division and resulted in the disbandment of the old three battalion brigade formations. As a result, the 1st Brigade, including its headquarters, was disbanded. In late 1964, however, the decision was made to end the experiment with the Pentropic establishment, partly because of the difficulties it created with allied interoperability. Early the following year the brigade formations were re-established, although they were designated "task forces" instead of brigades.
In mid-1965 1 RAR, was sent to Vietnam as part of Australia's commitment to the ongoing conflict in that country. In early 1966, the decision to increase the Australian Army's presence in Vietnam from one infantry battalion to two was announced. In order to command this force, it was decided to form an Australian task force. Shortly after this, the 1st Task Force, consisting of the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR), undertook a readiness exercise around Gospers in New South Wales. Once this exercise was successfully completed, the 1st Task Force's headquarters was used to raise the 1st Australian Task Force
The 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was a brigade-sized formation which commanded Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based in a rubber plantation at Nui Dat, north of Bà Rịa ...
and was dispatched to Vietnam, where it would remain until the end of the Australian involvement. In 1972, the task force returned to Australia and had units located at Holsworthy
Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
in New South Wales, Woodside in South Australia and at 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 Vic ...
in Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
.
In 1982, the "brigade" designations were readopted. Brigadier John Sheldrick was in command of the brigade at the time and early the year the 1st Armoured Regiment was placed under the 1st Brigade's command as part of the Army's mechanisation trials. The new role of the 1st Brigade as a mechanised force was confirmed in 1983 and following this the capability was developed. This saw the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Mechanised) (5/7 RAR ECH was a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The battalion was based at Robertson Barracks in Holtze, Northern Territory and formed part of the 1st Bri ...
(5/7 RAR), re-equipped with armoured personnel carriers, which they began to receive in July 1983.[Horner and Bou 2008, p. 270.] During the 1980s, one of the brigade's other infantry battalions, the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade. 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen operational servi ...
, began developing the Australian Army's parachute capability, and by late 1983 it had become a specialised parachute infantry battalion. They were later transferred to the 3rd Brigade.
Recent years
In 1992, the brigade began the process of moving to Darwin as part of a force structure review focused upon relocating defence assets in the north. By 2000, the brigade had completed its move and was headquartered in Robertson Barracks in Darwin. Before the move was complete, the brigade was warned out to support the 3rd Brigade's deployment to East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
and in October 1999, 5/7 RAR began deploying.[Horner and Bou 2008, p. 312.] They returned to Australia in April 2000.
As part of the Hardened and Networked Army initiative 5/7 RAR was de-linked in 2006 to form two mechanised battalions. 5 RAR remained in Darwin, while the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (7 RAR), along elements of the 1st Combat Service Support Battalion was moved to Adelaide, where they are now based at RAAF Base Edinburgh
RAAF Base Edinburgh is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located in Edinburgh approximately north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia and forms part of the Edinburgh Defence Precinct.
The base is primarily home to No 9 ...
. Although the brigade is split, the Adelaide–Darwin Railway can be used to transport heavy vehicles and equipment north. In its current configuration, the brigade is currently capable of operating three battlegroups, one formed around 1st Armoured Regiment as an armour-heavy formation and the other two around 5 RAR and 7 RAR operating as mechanised infantry formations.
In the first decade of the 21st century, units of the brigade have undertaken deployments to East Timor, Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
Planned restructure
In late 2011, the Australian government announced that under a restructuring program known as Plan Beersheba, the 1st, 3rd and 7th Brigades would be reformed as combined arms Combat Brigades. Each will have a similar structure and capabilities, consisting of: a Brigade Headquarters, an Armoured Cavalry Regiment, two Standard Infantry Battalions, an Artillery Regiment, a Combat Engineer Regiment, a Combat Service Support Battalion and a Combat Signals Regiment. Under the new plan, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment was transferred to the 3rd Brigade in October–November 2014, transitioning to the ACR structure.
Present formation
As at 2011 the 1st Brigade was made up of the following units:
*Headquarters 1st Brigade (Robertson Barracks - Darwin);
* 1st Armoured Regiment (RAAF Base Edinburgh - Adelaide);
* 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Robertson Barracks - Darwin);
* 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (RAAF Base Edinburgh - Adelaide);
* 8th/12th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (Robertson Barracks - Darwin);
* 1st Combat Engineer Regiment (Robertson Barracks - Darwin);
* 1st Combat Signal Regiment (Robertson Barracks - Darwin);
* 1st Combat Service Support Battalion (Robertson Barracks - Darwin).
In October 2017, the 1st Armoured Regiment moved from Robertson Barracks in Darwin to RAAF Base Edinburgh, joining 7 RAR which moved there in 2010–2011.
In late October 2022, the !st Armoured Regiment and the 7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment were transferred to the 9th Brigade.
Notes
References
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{{Anzac
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Military units and formations established in 1903
1903 establishments in Australia
Military units in Northern Territory