4th Armoured Brigade (Australia)

Australian 4th Armoured Brigade
The 4th Armoured Brigade's formation sign.
Active	1943–46
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Armoured
Role	Infantry support
Equipment	Matilda II and M3 Grant tanks
Engagements	New Guinea Campaign Bougainville Campaign Borneo Campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Denzil Macarthur-Onslow

The 4th Armoured Brigade was an armoured formation of the Australian Army established during the Second World War. It was formed in February 1943 to provide armoured support for infantry units operating in the South West Pacific Area. Its composition varied over time, but usually comprised several armoured regiments equipped with Matilda II or M3 Grant tanks as well as some support units.

The brigade's main role throughout its existence was to provide a pool of armoured units and sub-units that could be deployed to augment infantry forces. It was also responsible for developing specialised variants of armoured vehicles. Elements of the 4th Armoured Brigade were detached to support most of the Australian Army's major operations from 1943 until the end of the war, and from September 1944 it was the Army's only armoured brigade. The formation was disbanded, after the war, in February 1946.

The 4th Armoured Brigade was established in February 1943 as part of a reorganisation of the Australian Army's armoured units. As there was no longer any threat of Japanese forces invading Australia, the 2nd Armoured Division was disbanded to free up manpower for other purposes. However, it was decided to retain the headquarters of that division's 6th Armoured Brigade to command armoured units that were intended to take part in offensive operations in New Guinea and other locations in the South West Pacific. This specialised formation was designated the 4th Armoured Brigade. The need for armoured support of infantry forces had been demonstrated by the Army's experiences in the New Guinea Campaign during 1942 and early 1943.

The main role of the 4th Armoured Brigade was to provide detachments of tanks to support infantry units. As it was not practical or necessary to deploy large armoured units in the jungle terrain common across the South West Pacific, the brigade was organised into several self-supporting regimental groups. These regimental groups could in turn provide sub-units with the necessary logistics support to form the armoured component of other units during combat operations. This held in practice; during combat deployments regiments from the 4th Armoured Brigade were attached to infantry divisions or brigades, and their squadrons and troops generally operated independently as part of combined arms forces.