~ LET THE FIRST BE FOREMOST ~
Welcome to the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion (1939-1945) Descendants Group
About the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion
Foundation - World War II
The 2/1st Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army (6 Division, 16th Brigade). Formed in October 1939 at Victoria Barracks in Paddington NSW as part of the second Australian Imperial Force (AIF). It saw service between 1940 and 1945 in North Africa (Bardia and Tobruk), Greece, Crete, Middle East (Palestine/Syria), Ceylon, Papua at Kokoda, Sanananda and the Aitape/Wewak areas in New Guinea.
![Private Roberts (2/1st Bn) provides first aid to an Italian POW, 1941 Bardia. [The Battle of Bardia]](http://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/204490e1-10c5-4288-861b-453ecee03bb6/blob.png/:/cr=t:9.24%25,l:7.63%25,w:84.75%25,h:81.53%25/rs=w:1209,h:909,cg:true,m)
Overseas Campaigns 1940 - 1941
At the start of World War II, the Battalion was deployed to the Middle East in 1940 and subsequently took part in the early fighting in the North African campaign, with victories at the battles of Bardia and Tobruk in January 1941 when thousands of Italian soldiers were taken prisoner. Later in March 1941, it was sent to Greece where a lightning German advance quickly pushed the Allies back and forced them to evacuate after a very short campaign. The 2/1st was landed on Crete where they valiantly fought to repel a German invasion in May 1941. The majority of the battalion was captured on Crete and spent the rest of the war in German Stalags, but the 2/1st was re-built from survivors in Palestine with new reinforcements and returned to Australia in August 1942 following Japan’s entry into the war.
Papua and New Guinea Campaigns 1942 - 1945
The 2/1st Battalion then fought two campaigns against the Japanese in Papua and New Guinea : the Kokoda Track campaign during September-December 1942 and the Aitape-Wewak Campaign from December 1944 to July 1945. The C.O. Paul Cullen, later wrote "in both campaigns, however arduous the task, whatever sacrifice was demanded, on no occasion was there any faltering. It is something that all of us can be proud of. I pay tribute to my colleagues and feel their gallantry, courage and sacrifice and steadfastness have earned them an esteemed place in the history of our nation." In between these two campaigns, the battalion was based in the Atherton area of North Queensland at the Wondecla Army base. Following the war, late in 1945 the 2/1st Battalion was disbanded.