55th Battalion (Australia)

55th Battalion
The 55th Battalion receives its Colours in a ceremony at Liverpool, NSW, in 1927
Active	1916–19 1921–37 1941–42
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–1,000 men
Part of	14th Brigade, 5th Division 14th Brigade, 2nd Division
Nickname(s)	New South Wales Rifle Regiment
Colours	Brown beside Green
Engagements	World War I Western Front World War II New Guinea campaign
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

World War I

World War II

The 55th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in 1916 for service during World War I the battalion served on the Western Front until the end of the war, before being briefly amalgamated with the 53rd Battalion and then being disbanded in 1919. In 1921, the 55th Battalion was re-raised and in 1927 adopted the title of the "New South Wales Irish Rifles". This designation was later changed to the "New South Wales Rifle Regiment" in 1930, before they were once again amalgamated with the 53rd, forming the 55th/53rd Battalion (New South Wales Rifle/West Sydney Regiment) in 1937. In October 1941, during World War II, the two battalions were delinked and the 55th was later deployed to New Guinea, where they took part in the Kokoda Track campaign, fighting against the Japanese. Poorly prepared and trained, and lacking up to date equipment, they performed above expectations; however, they were amalgamated with the 53rd, which had not fared so well, once more in October 1942. The 55th/53rd subsequently took part in further campaigns in New Guinea and Bougainville before being disbanded in May 1946.

The 55th Battalion was initially raised during World War I in February 1916 as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) that was undertaken in Egypt after the end of the Gallipoli campaign. At this time the size of the AIF was doubled by forming new battalions from reinforcements from Australia and experienced personnel drawn from units that had served at Gallipoli. Assigned to the 14th Brigade, which was part of the 5th Division, the battalion drew its cadre staff from the 3rd Battalion.