54th Battalion (Australia)

54th Battalion (Australia)
54th Battalion in Peronne, September 1918
Active	1916–19 1921–29 1939–44
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~900–1,000 officers and men
Part of	14th Brigade, 5th Division (WWI) 5th Brigade, 2nd Division (WWII)
Engagements	World War I Western Front World War II
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

World War I

The 54th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1916 for service during World War I and took part in the fighting in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Belgium before being amalgamated with the 56th Battalion in late 1918 following the German Spring Offensive that reduced the numbers in both battalions. The battalion was re-raised in 1921 as a part-time unit in New South Wales before being amalgamated with the 20th Battalion in 1929. At the outbreak of World War II, the battalion was reformed in its own right, undertaking garrison duties in Australia until being disbanded in 1944.

The 54th Battalion was originally raised on 16 February 1916 during a reorganisation and expansion of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) that took place in Egypt following the Gallipoli campaign. This was achieved by transferring cadres of experienced personnel predominately from the 1st Division to the newly formed battalions and combining them with recently recruited personnel who had been dispatched as reinforcements from Australia. With an authorised strength of 1,023 men, the unit's first intake of personnel were drawn from men originating from New South Wales, many of whom had already served with the 2nd Battalion. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Walter Edmund Hutchinson Cass – a veteran of the Boer War who had commanded the 2nd Battalion at Gallipoli – the battalion became part of the 14th Brigade attached to the 5th Australian Division.