23rd Battalion (Australia)

23rd Battalion
Soldiers from the 6th Brigade, of which the 23rd Battalion was a part, at Warloy, August 1916
Active	1915–1919 1921–1929
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~1,000 men
Part of	6th Brigade, 2nd Division
Colours	Brown over Red
Engagements	World War I Gallipoli campaign Western Front
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

World War I

The 23rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was raised in 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I and formed part of the 6th Brigade, attached to the 2nd Division. After being formed in Australia, the battalion was sent to Egypt to complete its training, before being committed to the Gallipoli Campaign as reinforcements in September 1915. They remained on the peninsula until the evacuation of Allied troops in December, when they were withdrawn back to Egypt where they were reorganised before being transferred to the Western Front in March 1916. Over the course of the next two-and-a-half years, the 23rd took part in a number of significant battles in France and Belgium, before being disbanded in mid-1919 following the conclusion of hostilities. In 1921, the battalion was re-raised as a part-time unit within the Citizens Forces in the state of Victoria, but was amalgamated with the 21st Battalion in 1929 to form the 23rd/21st Battalion.

The 23rd Battalion was raised in Victoria in March 1915 as part of the formation of the 2nd Division of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel George Morton. Together with the 21st, 22nd and 24th Battalions, it formed the 6th Brigade under the command of Colonel Richard Linton. Organised into four rifle companies, designated 'A' through to 'D', with a machine gun section in support, the Australian infantry battalion of the time had an authorised strength of 1,023 men of all ranks. After completing initial training at Broadmeadows, in May 1915 the 23rd embarked upon the troopship Euripides bound for Egypt. They arrived in Alexandria on 11 June and after being moved by train to Cairo they marched to a camp at Heliopolis where they undertook further training in preparation for deployment to Gallipoli, where the units of the 1st Division had landed on 25 April 1915.