Milne Force was a garrison

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 ...

force formed in July 1942 during the

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 ...

which controlled allied naval, land and air units in the region of

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...

, in the

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

. The force was responsible for constructing airstrips, roads, camps and defensive positions. Milne Force successfully withheld a Japanese invasion which landed on 25 August during the

Battle of Milne Bay The Battle of Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September 1942), also known as Operation RE or the Battle of Rabi (ラビの戦い) by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines, known as ''Kaigun Tokubet ...

and forced the invasion force to retreat on 5 September. On 1 October 1942, Milne Force was redesignated the 11th Division.

Commanders

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

John Field (11 July – 23 August 1942) *

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Cyril Clowes Lieutenant General Cyril Albert Clowes, (11 March 1892 – 19 May 1968) was an Australian soldier. He won the first land victory against the Japanese in the Second World War, at the Battle of Milne Bay, New Guinea. Like many other senior offic ...

(23 August – 1 October 1942)

Units

* 7th Brigade ** 9th Battalion ** 25th Battalion ** 61st Battalion * 18th Brigade ** 2/9th Battalion ** 2/10th Battalion ** 2/12th Battalion * 2/5th Field Regiment *4th Battery, 101st Anti-tank Regiment *6th Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery *9th Light Anti-aircraft Battery *24th Field Company *

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

** No. 32 Squadron (

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...

) ** No. 75 Squadron (

P-40 Kittyhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

) ** No. 76 Squadron (P-40 Kittyhawk) *

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

forces **709th US Airborne Anti-aircraft Battery **101st US Coast Artillery Battalion **2nd Battalion, 43rd US Engineer Regiment **E Company, 46th US Engineer Regiment

References

Milne Bay units, August–September 1942
South West Pacific theatre of World War II Papua New Guinea in World War II Military units and formations of Australia in World War II Ad hoc units and formations of Australia Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942 {{Australia-mil-stub