40th Battalion (Australia)

40th Battalion
Reinforcements for the 40th Battalion in Melbourne on their way to the Western Front, October 1917.
Active	1916–1919 1921–1945 1953–1960 1972–1987
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–1,000 men
Part of	10th Brigade, 3rd Division (First World War) 12th Brigade
Colours	White over Red
March	Invercargill
Engagements	First World War Western Front
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

First World War

The 40th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in 1916 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion was recruited completely from Tasmania as part of the 10th Brigade, 3rd Division. During the war the battalion served in the trenches along the Western Front and had the distinction of having two of its members awarded the Victoria Cross. The battalion was disbanded in 1919, however was re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizens Force, serving as a part-time unit in Tasmania throughout the inter-war years. During the Second World War, the 40th remained in Australia until it was amalgamated with the 12th Battalion. It was disbanded in 1946, but was later re-raised in the 1950s before being subsumed into the Royal Tasmania Regiment in 1960. In 1987, it was merged into the 12th/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmania Regiment.

The 40th Battalion was formed in Tasmania in early 1916 as part of an expansion of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) that took place after the Gallipoli Campaign. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Lord, the battalion was assigned to the 10th Brigade along with the 37th, 38th and 39th Battalions, and formed part of the 3rd Division, which was formed in Australia before being dispatched to Europe to join the other four divisions that had been transferred from Egypt. Initially it had been planned to only raise two companies in Tasmania, and two in Victoria, but it was later determined that all four companies would be provided by Tasmania due to the public relations value it would have. After a period of training at Claremont, Tasmania, the battalion embarked aboard HMAT Berrima on 1 July 1916 from Hobart, arriving in England on 22 August, where it encamped at Lark Hill for training. Upon arrival on Salisbury Plain, about 200 men were transferred from the 40th Battalion as reinforcements for Australian units that were already in France; these losses were subsequently made up by a batch of reinforcements from South Australia. A period of intense training followed as the battalion was prepared for trench warfare on the Western Front. Finally, in November 1916 the 3rd Division, including the 40th Battalion, was transferred to France.