The 3rd Armoured Division was an armoured 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 ...

during World War II. Originally raised in 1921 as the 1st Cavalry Division, the formation had been converted into a motor division in early 1942, before adopting the armoured designation in November 1942. 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, the division undertook garrison duties in New South Wales and then Queensland and did not see combat before being disbanded in late 1943 and early 1944.

History

The 3rd Armoured Division was first raised as the 1st Cavalry Division. In 1921, following the demobilisation of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) that had been raised during World War I, Australia's part time military force, the Citizens Force, was reorganised to perpetuate the AIF's numerical designations. At this time, the 1st Cavalry Division was raised alongside a second cavalry division and four infantry divisions. At this time, the 1st Cavalry Division consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Cavalry Brigades. The 1st was based in Queensland, while the other two were formed in New South Wales. The division's headquarters was in New South Wales. At the outbreak of the war, the 1st Cavalry Division was allocated to the defence of coastal New South Wales. As part of defensive measures, the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions were tasked with defending Newcastle and Sydney, while the 1st Cavalry Division assumed the role of command reserve, based around

Narellan Narellan is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. Narellan is located 60 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Camden Council and is part of the Macarthur region. Narellan is known for it ...

. In April 1941, the division was reorganised to cover the northern and southern approaches to Sydney. Following Japan's entry into the war in December 1941, the Militia was called up for full time service, and the divisional headquarters was established at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. In the south, the 2nd Cavalry Brigade was located at

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

, covering the area between Armidale,

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

and Rutherford, while the 4th Cavalry Brigade was located at Berrima covering

Dapto Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering an area 7.15 square kilometres in size. As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,730. History ...

Nowra Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in th ...

and

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

. The 2nd Cavalry Brigade's headquarters moved to

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

in February 1942, assuming responsibility for the defence of

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

and

Dungog Dungog is a country town on the Williams River in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire local government area and at the 2016 census it had a po ...

as well as Coffs Harbour and Armidale. As the mechanisation process began, several light horse regiments converted into motor regiments, and the division was redesignated as the 1st Motor Division in March 1942, with its two cavalry brigades being converted to motor brigades. There were plans to raise a third brigade for the division at this stage, designated the 7th Motor Brigade, but this was not completed. Aust 4th Armoured Bde at Southport 1944 (AWM 063203)

Aust 4th Armoured Bde at Southport 1944 (AWM 063203)

After divisional headquarters moved to Rutherford, the 12th and 15th Motor Regiments joined the division around Coffs Harbour and Grafton, while the 2nd Motor Brigade moved to Dungog, tasked with the defence of Newcastle. The following month, the division's support troops also moved to a concentration area west of Newcastle. The 2nd Infantry Division took over responsibility for the Newcastle area in May, after which the headquarters of the 4th Motor Brigade was converted into the 3rd Army Tank Brigade, while the 2nd Motor Brigade moved to

Taree Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural distri ...

deploying units to Kempsey and Coffs Harbour. Several other motor regiments – the 15th and 16th – were transferred to other formations at this time, while others – the 14th and 24th – were disbanded. Another move occurred in July for the divisional headquarters when it was re-established at Wauchope. While there, a large-scale reorganisation of the Australian armoured units took place. This saw the creation of three armoured regiments. The 2nd Motor Brigade was transferred at this time to the 2nd Armoured Division, but gained the 2nd Armoured Brigade. In October, the divisional headquarters moved to Coffs Harbour. The division was redesignated as the 3rd Armoured Division on 15 November 1942, as the designation of the 1st Armoured Division had already been assigned to a

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

unit. As an armoured division the 3rd Armoured was equipped with

M3 Grant The M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. The turret was produced in two forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. In British C ...

medium tanks and

M3 Stuart The M3 Stuart/Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. ...

light tanks. These were assigned to the 2nd Armoured Brigade's three 2nd AIF armoured regiments: the 2/4th, 2/8th and 2/9th. The division began moving to

Murgon 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 ...

in Queensland in December 1942, after which they were assigned a mobile defensive role, which required further training. The division's 3rd Motor Brigade was gradually disbanded between March to August 1943 and the 3rd Armoured Division began disbanding at Murgon, in Queensland, on 19 October 1943 as a result of manpower shortages in the Australian Army and the changing strategic situation. This process was not completed until March 1944. Two armoured regiments that had previously been assigned to the 3rd Armoured Division – the 2/4th and 2/9th – went on to serve in combat with the 4th Armoured Brigade.

Composition

Order of battle upon formation

Upon establishment as an armoured formation, the division's main elements were: Plaque - Murgon Showgrounds - McAllister st

* Divisional Headquarters * 12th Armoured Car Regiment * 3rd Armoured Divisional Signals * 2nd Armoured Brigade ** 2/4th Armoured Regiment ** 2/8th Armoured Regiment ** 2/9th Armoured Regiment * 1st Motor Brigade ** 5th Motor Regiment ** 11th Motor Regiment ** 16th Motor Regiment * Divisional Engineers * Divisional Artillery ** 21st Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery ** 231st & 232nd Light Anti-Aircraft Batteries, Royal Australian Artillery ** 5th & 5th Anti Tank Batteries, Royal Australian Artillery * Divisional Medical, Service and Administration Troops

Order of battle upon disbandment

At the time of its disbandment, the main elements of the 3rd Armoured Division were: * Divisional Headquarters * 12th Armoured Car Regiment * 3rd Armoured Divisional Signals * 2nd Armoured Brigade ** 2/4th Armoured Regiment ** 13th Armoured Regiment ** 20th Motor Regiment * Division Engineers * Divisional Artillery ** 21st/22nd Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery ** 122nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery ** 5th & 5th Anti Tank Batteries, Royal Australian Artillery * Divisional Medical, Service and Administration Troops

Commanding officers

During World War II, the division was commanded by the following officers: * Major General John Richardson * Major General

Horace Robertson Lieutenant General Sir Horace Clement Hugh Robertson, (29 October 1894 – 28 April 1960) was a senior officer in the Australian Army who served in the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War. He was one of the first graduates ...

* Major General William Steele * Major General William Locke * Major General

William Bridgeford Lieutenant General Sir William Bridgeford, (28 July 1894 – 21 September 1971) was a senior officer in the Australian Army. He began his military career in 1913 and fought on the Western Front during the First World War, before rising to ...

References