15th Battalion (Australia)

15th Battalion
15th Battalion veterans march through Brisbane City on Anzac Day during 1954.
Active	1914–19 1921–30 1939–46
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–1,000 all ranks
Part of	4th Brigade, New Zealand and Australian Division (later 4th Australian Division) 7th Brigade 29th Brigade
Nickname(s)	The Oxley Regiment
Motto(s)	Caveant Hostes
Colours	Brown over Blue
Engagements	First World War Gallipoli campaign Western Front Second World War New Guinea campaign Bougainville campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	James Cannan
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

First World War

Second World War

The 15th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Formed in 1914 as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force from Queensland and Tasmanian recruits, the battalion fought during the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front during the First World War. It was disbanded after the war in 1919, but later re-raised as a part-time Citizens Forces unit based in Queensland in 1921, consisting of a mixture of volunteers and conscripts. Economic pressures and limited manpower resulted in the battalion being amalgamated with other battalions a couple of times during the inter-war years. In mid-1939, as rising tensions in Europe led to an expansion of the Australian military, the battalion was re-formed in its own right. During the Second World War the 15th Battalion was mobilised for wartime service and initially undertook defensive duties in Australia before taking part in the fighting against the Japanese in New Guinea and Bougainville in 1943–45. The battalion was disbanded in 1946 and never re-raised.

The 15th Battalion was originally raised as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in September 1914. Drawing personnel from volunteers from Queensland and Tasmania, it formed part of the 4th Brigade, along with the 13th, 14th, and 16th Battalions. With an authorised strength of 1,023 men, the battalion initially consisted of eight companies, of which six came from Queensland and two from Tasmania. The Queensland companies concentrated at Enoggera in September and began initial training, while the Tasmanians formed at Claremont in October. In late November, the battalion concentrated at Broadmeadows, Victoria, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Cannan, who later rose to become Quartermaster General during World War II. Many of the battalion's officers and non-commissioned officers had previously served in the Citizens Forces and a few had fought in South Africa during the Boer War or in India with the British Army. Following a short period of training, the battalion embarked for overseas on the transport ship SS Ceramic in late December 1914, after marching through the streets of Melbourne. Initially it had been planned to send the Australians to fight against the Germans on the Western Front, but overcrowding and poor conditions in the training camps in the United Kingdom had resulted in the first Australian contingent, the 1st Division, being sent to Egypt instead. There they commenced training and briefly undertook defensive duties around Kantara, when Ottoman forces raided the Suez Canal.