The 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment (16 RWAR) is an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is 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 ...

reserve infantry battalion located in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and one of the two battalions of the Royal Western Australia Regiment. The battalion was first formed during the First World War, during which it fought during the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front in France and Belgium as part of the Australian Imperial Force. It was re-formed as a part-time unit in Western Australia during the inter-war years, and served in the

New Britain Campaign The New Britain campaign was a World War II campaign fought between Allies of World War II, Allied and Empire of Japan, Imperial Japanese forces. The campaign was initiated by the Allies in late 1943 as part of a major offensive which aimed to n ...

against the Japanese during the Second World War. In the post war years, the battalion became part of the Royal Western Australia Regiment and currently forms part of the 13th Brigade.

History

First World War

The 16th Battalion was originally raised in September 1914 as part of the all volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF), which was raised for overseas service during the First World War. Assigned to the 4th Brigade, the battalion drew the majority of its personnel from the state of

, while the remainder came from

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. After completing rudimentary training in Western Australia and South Australia followed by further basic training in Victoria, the battalion embarked for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Upon arrival, the 4th Brigade was assigned to the

New Zealand and Australian Division The New Zealand and Australian Division was a composite army Division (military), division raised for service in the First World War under the command of Major General Alexander Godley. Consisting of several Mounted infantry, mounted and standard ...

, with whom it subsequently participated in the Gallipoli Campaign between April and December 1915. After returning to Egypt, in early 1916 the AIF underwent a period of expansion and reorganisation, during which the 16th Battalion was split to provide an experienced cadre of personnel to the newly formed 48th Battalion. At the same time, the 4th Brigade was reassigned to the 4th Division and in mid-1916 the AIF's infantry divisions were transferred to Europe to take part in the fighting on the Western Front. For the next two-and-a-half years, the 16th Battalion was involved in several significant battles, including the Battle of Pozières, Battle of Mouquet Farm, Battle of Bullecourt, the

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

, the Battle of Hamel and the Allied

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

. During the war, the battalion's casualties amounted to 1,127 killed and 1,955 wounded. Three of its members received the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for their actions:

Martin O'Meara Martin O'Meara, Victoria Cross, VC (6 November 1885 – 20 December 1935) was an Irish-born List of Australian Victoria Cross recipients, Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that ca ...

, Thomas Axford and Dominic McCarthy. Jack Axford

Inter-war years

The battalion was disbanded at the end of the war, then re-raised as a Citizens Force unit after a reorganisation of Australia's part-time military forces in 1921 to perpetuate the numerical designations of the AIF, forming part of the 13th Brigade and based in Western Australia. It was amalgamated with the 11th Battalion in 1930, after the suspension of the compulsory training scheme reduced the size of the part-time military force. A new 16th Battalion was raised in 1936 as the "Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia", as part of an expansion of the Militia following concerns about the strategic situation in Europe.

Second World War

During the Second World War, this battalion was mobilised for war service and gazetted as an AIF battalion. Throughout the early war years, it formed part of the garrison of Western Australia, before moving north to Darwin in 1943. In late 1944, the 13th Brigade was reassigned to the 5th Division and subsequently took part in the

from November 1944 until the end of the war. The campaign was limited to containing the larger Japanese force, and the battalion's involvement was focused primarily around undertaking long range patrols. Only limited combat occurred before the end of the war, and the battalion's casualties were light, amounting to 10 killed and 14 wounded. After undertaking further garrison duties at

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

, the 16th Battalion returned to Australia in early 1946 and was disbanded at Puckapunyal, Victoria, in February.

Since 1945

The part-time military forces were re-formed in 1948 following the conclusion of the demobilisation process, at which time the battalion was re-raised as an amalgamated unit with the 28th Battalion. The two units remained linked until 1952 when they were split and re-raised in their own right as full battalions. This state of affairs continued until 1960 when a reorganisation saw the raising of larger State-based regiments that subsumed the old regionally-based regiments, at which point the battalion was reduced to a company-level formation within the Pentropic 1st Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment (1 RWAR), forming 'B' Company. In 1965, the Pentropic divisional structure was abolished and 1 RWAR was split to form two new battalions: 1 RWAR and 2 RWAR; the following year 1 RWAR was redesignated 16 RWAR. 16 RWAR currently forms part of the 13th Brigade, and maintains the

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...

s of all the previous 16th Battalions, including the 16th Battalion, AIF, which served in the First World War, and the 16th Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia) and 2/16th Battalion, both of which served in the Second World War. The battalion has provided personnel to provide reinforcements for Regular Army units deploying to various conflicts or operations including those in Border Protection, 2000 Sydney Olympic Games,

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, Bougainville,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Battle honours

* First World War: Somme, 1916, '18; Pozières; Bullecourt; Messines, 1917; Ypres, 1917; Menin Road; Polygon Wood; Passchendaele; Arras, 1918; Ancre, 1918; Hamel; Amiens; Albert, 1918; Hindenburg Line; Epéhy; France and Flanders, 1916–18; Anzac; Landing at Anzac; Defence of Anzac; Suvla; Sari Bair; Gallipoli, 1915; and Egypt, 1915–16. * Second World War: Liberation of Australian New Guinea; Waitavolo; North Africa; Syria 1941; Syrian Frontier; The Litani; Wadi Zeini; Damour; South-West Pacific 1942–1945; Kokoda Trail; Isurava; Eora Creek–Templeton's Crossing I; Efogi–Menari; Ioribaiwa; Buna–Gona; Gona; Ramu Valley; Shaggy Ridge; Borneo 1945; and Balikpapan.

Regimental march

Sussex by the Sea (1907) by English composer William Ward-Higgs was adopted as regimental march.

References

Citations

Bibliography