36th Battalion (Australia)

36th Battalion
Members of the 36th Battalion are addressed by their commanding officer on a troopship en route to New Ireland in 1944
Active	1916–1918 1921–1945
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	800–1,000 men
Colours	White over Green
Engagements	World War I Western Front World War II New Guinea campaign New Britain campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Leslie Morshead Arthur Samuel Allen
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

World War I

World War II

The 36th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1916 as part of the First Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Throughout World War I the battalion served on the Western Front as part of the 9th Brigade, attached to the 3rd Division. Due to heavy casualties amongst the AIF and a decrease in the number of replacements arriving from Australia in 1918, the battalion was disbanded before the war ended in order to reinforce other units in France. The 36th Battalion was re-raised in 1921 as part of the Militia based in Sydney. During World War II the battalion was attached to the 14th Brigade and was initially used in a defensive role as a garrison unit in Australia before being sent to New Guinea in 1942. Throughout the course of the war in the Pacific, the 36th Battalion spent most of the 1942–45 period overseas in New Guinea and New Britain where they undertook operations against the Japanese. In June 1945 they were returned to Australia and shortly afterwards the battalion was disbanded.

The 36th Battalion was raised at Broadmeadow Camp, in Newcastle, New South Wales, in February 1916 as part of an expansion of the First Australian Imperial Force, which occurred after the Gallipoli Campaign. The bulk of the battalion's recruits came from New South Wales rifle clubs and along with the 33rd, 34th and 35th Battalions, it formed the 9th Brigade, attached to the 3rd Division. The battalion left Sydney shortly on 13 May 1916, bound for the United Kingdom. Arriving in early July 1916, the battalion spent the next four months in training, before taking up a position on the Western Front on 4 December 1916, in time to sit out an uncomfortable winter in the trenches.