5th Battalion (Australia)
| 5th Battalion | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1914–1919 1921–1944 1948–1960 1965–1982 |
| Country | Australia |
| Allegiance | Commonwealth of Australia |
| Branch | Australian Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line Infantry |
| Size | 1,023 officers and other ranks |
| Part of | 2nd Brigade, 1st Division |
| Colours | Black over Red |
| Engagements | |
| Insignia | |
| Unit Colour Patch |  |
The 5th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in Victoria as part of the First Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I, the battalion formed part of the 2nd Brigade, attached to the 1st Division. It participated in the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, coming ashore in the second wave, before taking part in the fighting at Krithia and then at Lone Pine. In December 1915 the battalion was withdrawn from the peninsula and returned to Egypt where it was involved in defending the Suez Canal until being transferred to the Western Front in France in early 1916. After that, over the course of the next two and a half years the 5th Battalion was rotated in and out of the front line and took part in a number of significant battles including at Pozieres, Ypres, Amiens and the Hindenburg Line. Following the end of the war, the battalion was disbanded and its personnel returned to Australia. The battalion was re-raised during the inter-war years as a part-time unit and was later mobilised during World War II, but did not serve overseas. During the post war period, the battalion has existed at various times before being subsumed into the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.
Following the outbreak of World War I, Australia began raising an all volunteer force for overseas service almost immediately. Due to the provisions of the Defence Act 1903 which precluded sending conscripts overseas to fight, it was decided not to send the militia units that were already in existence, but instead to raise new battalions as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Many of the previously existing militia units chose to enlist together in the AIF and in order to maintain a degree of esprit de corps these men were often allocated to the same AIF unit. As a result, many AIF units retained the identity and traditions of their parent militia units. Many of the 5th Battalion's members had previously served with the Victorian Scottish Regiment—a Melbourne-based militia unit—including the battalion's first commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel David Stanley Wanliss, who would later go on to become the Chief Justice of New Guinea after the war.
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