46th Battalion (Australia)

46th Battalion
On 18/19 September 1918, men from the 46th Battalion penetrated the wire defences of the Hindenburg Line near Bellenglise.
Active	1916–1919 1921–1942
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~900–1,000 men
Part of	12th Brigade, 4th Division (1916–19) 4th Brigade (1921–42)
Nickname(s)	Brighton Rifles
Colours	Yellow over Blue
Engagements	First World War Western Front Second World War
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

First World War

The 46th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised in 1916 for service during the First World War, the battalion served on the Western Front before being disbanded in 1919. It was re-raised as a part-time unit of the Citizens Forces in 1921 and in 1927 adopted the title of the "Brighton Rifles", before becoming part of the Militia in 1929. During the Second World War the 46th served in a garrison role before being amalgamated with the 29th Battalion in August 1942 to form the 29th/46th Battalion.

The 46th Battalion was originally formed on 24 February 1916, during the First World War, as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) which occurred in Egypt at the conclusion of the Gallipoli Campaign. The battalion drew most of its experienced personnel from the 14th Battalion, a Victorian unit that had served at Gallipoli in 1915, while new recruits came mainly from the states of New South Wales and Western Australia. Assigned to the 12th Brigade, which formed part of the 4th Division, on 2 June 1916, the battalion received orders to proceed to France where for the next two and a half years it took part in the fighting along the Western Front.

The battalion's first major battle came at Pozières in August, initially carrying ammunition for the troops of the 2nd Division when they attacked, before later undertaking defensive duties to hold the gains that were made. After a period of rotating through the line throughout the winter of 1916–17, the 46th was committed to the First Battle of Bullecourt in early 1917. It was at Bullecourt, on 11 April 1917, that the battalion suffered its worst losses of the war. As part of the pursuit of the Germans once they had withdrawn to the Hindenburg Line, the attack was initially successful as the 46th managed to break through to its objective, but it was eventually pushed back as a result of its heavy casualties. The remainder of 1917 was spent in Belgium, where the 46th fought two more major actions at Messines and Passchendaele. In early 1918, it was transferred south to France where it played a defensive role during the German Spring Offensive, seeing action around Dernancourt in April. Later in the year, it took part in the final Allied offensive that began around Amiens in August 1918. Its final attack of the war was made in mid-September 1918 against the outposts of the Hindenburg Line, after which the battalion was withdrawn from the front for reorganisation and training; it was joined by the rest of the Australian Corps in early October. They remained out of the line until the armistice came into effect on 11 November 1918. Following the end of hostilities, the battalion was disbanded in April 1919.