12th Battalion (Australia)

12th Battalion
A 12th Battalion observation team at Gallipoli in August 1915
Active	1914–1919 1921–1936 1953–1960 1972–1975
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Line Infantry
Part of	3rd Brigade, 1st Division
Motto(s)	Ducit Amor Patriae (Love of My Country Leads Me)
Colours	White over blue
March	Captain Oldfield
Engagements	World War I Gallipoli Campaign Western Front
Commanders
Notable commanders	John Gellibrand
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

World War I

The 12th Battalion was an infantry battalion originally raised for the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War. The battalion was recruited from Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia and formed part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. It served throughout the war, firstly during the Gallipoli Campaign and then on the Western Front. During the interwar years, the 12th Battalion was re-raised as a part-time military unit and during the Second World War undertook garrison duties in Australia, but did not see combat. Today its lineage is perpetuated by the 12th/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmania Regiment, a unit which continues to serve in the Australian Army Reserve.

The battalion was raised as part of the all volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF) within three weeks of the declaration of war in August 1914, and left Australia just two months later. Part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division it was formed from recruits from Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lancelot Clarke, the battalion proceeded to Egypt on HMAT A2 Geelong, arriving on 2 December. A period of training in the desert followed to prepare the Australian forces for their eventual transfer to Europe, but in late April they were committed to the Gallipoli Campaign. The 3rd Brigade was the covering force for the Anzac landing on 25 April 1915, and went ashore at around 4.30 am. During the early fighting on the first, the battalion's commanding officer was killed by a sniper.