5th Brigade (Australia)

5th Brigade
5th Brigade at Picardie, France, 8 August 1918
Active	1915–19 1921–44 1948–60 1965–present
Country	Australia
Allegiance	HM Queen Elizabeth II
Branch	Army
Type	Reserve
Size	100 (Active) 2,000 (Reserve) 40 (Civilian)
Part of	2nd Division
Engagements	First World War Gallipoli Western Front
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

First World War

5th Brigade is a brigade of the Australian Army. Raised for overseas service in 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the brigade served during the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front. During the inter-war years, it was re-raised as a part-time formation as part of Citizens Military Force. It undertook garrison duties in Australia during the Second World War, but was not deployed overseas before being disbanded in 1944. Following the war, the brigade was re-raised in 1948 once again and it is currently a Reserve combined arms formation based in New South Wales and forms part of the 2nd Division.

The 5th Brigade was initially formed in mid-1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for service during the First World War. Upon formation it consisted of four infantry battalions—the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Battalions. Assigned to the 2nd Division, the majority of its personnel were drawn from men that had previously served in New Guinea with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force. After formation, the brigade departed Australia, embarking for Egypt, in May 1915, and after a period of training, were dispatched to Gallipoli in August as reinforcements for the 1st Division, which had been there since April. The brigade subsequently took part in the August Offensive, as the Allies sought to break the deadlock that had descended on the peninsula. After the offensive failed, the 5th Brigade remained at Gallipoli, undertaking mainly defensive tasks until they were evacuated in December 1915 and withdrawn back to Egypt. In early 1916, the brigade was sent to France as part of the large-scale transfer of the AIF's infantry divisions to the European battlefield. For the next two-and-a-half years the 5th Brigade fought on the Western Front, taking part in numerous battles.