49th Battalion (Australia)
| 49th Battalion | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1916–1919 1921–1930 1940–1946 1966–1997 |
| Country | Australia |
| Branch | Australian Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | ~600–1,000 all ranks |
| Part of |
13th Brigade, 4th Division 30th Brigade |
| Nickname(s) | The Stanley Regiment |
| Motto(s) | Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful) |
| Colours | Black over Blue |
| Engagements |
First World War Second World War |
| Insignia | |
| Unit Colour Patch |  |
First World War
Second World War
The 49th Battalion was an infantry unit of the Australian Army. Raised as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion fought along the Western Front between mid-1916 and late 1918, before being disbanded in early 1919. In 1921, it was re-formed as a part-time unit based in the state of Queensland. Throughout the 1930s, the battalion was merged a couple of times as a result of manpower shortages, but in early 1940, as Australia mobilised for the Second World War, the 49th was expanded and the following year deployed to New Guinea to undertake garrison duty. Following Japan's entry into the war, the 49th was committed to the fighting in the early stages of the New Guinea campaign, taking part in the Battle of Sanananda in December 1942, where it took many casualties and suffered heavily from disease. The battalion was withdrawn back to Australia in early 1943 and subsequently disbanded in July, with the majority of its personnel being redistributed to other units. During the post-war period, the 49th Battalion was subsumed into the Royal Queensland Regiment, existing between 1966 and 1997, before being merged with the 25th Battalion to form the 25th/49th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment.
The 49th Battalion was originally formed on 27 February 1916 as part of an expansion of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force, which took place after the failed Gallipoli Campaign, during the First World War. The expansion was undertaken by raising a new division in Australia – the 3rd Division – and by splitting the battalions of the veteran 1st Division in Egypt, using its experienced personnel to provide cadre staff for new battalions that would form the 4th and 5th Divisions. The 2nd Division, which had been sent to Gallipoli late in the campaign, remained intact. Upon formation, the 49th Battalion was assigned to the 13th Brigade, which was part of the 4th Division. The battalion drew its cadre staff – a total of 14 officers and 500 other ranks – from the 9th, which had been raised primarily from volunteers from the state of Queensland and had been in the thick of the fighting at Gallipoli, having come ashore during the landing at Anzac Cove in the first wave as part of the covering force provided by the 3rd Brigade. A further three officers and 470 other ranks from Australia brought the battalion up to full strength. The battalion's first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Francis Lorenzo, who had previously served with the 10th Battalion, and it had an authorised strength of 1,023 officers and other ranks.
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