The 39th Battalion was an infantry unit of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in February 1916 for service during World War I as part of First Australian Imperial Force, with personnel being drawn mainly from the state of Victoria. Making up part of the 10th Brigade, it was attached to the 3rd Division and served on the Western Front in France and Belgium before being disbanded in March 1919. Following the re-organisation of the Australian Army in 1921, the battalion was raised again in Victoria as a unit of the Citizens Force, becoming known as the "Hawthorn–Kew Regiment". In 1937, it was amalgamated with the 37th Battalion to become the 37th/39th Battalion. Later, in August 1939 it was delinked with the 37th and amalgamated with the 24th Battalion to form the 24th/39th Battalion, before being raised again as a single unit in October 1941.
During World War II the battalion was sent to New Guinea in 1942 as part of the 30th Brigade to defend the territory against a Japanese attack. Subsequently, between July and August of that year the unit was heavily engaged in the defence of Port Moresby, fighting along the Kokoda Track. The 39th fought several desperate actions against the Japanese as they attempted to hold out until further reinforcements could be brought up from Port Moresby. They were also later involved in the fighting around Buna–Gona. Such was their involvement in the battle that by the time they were withdrawn they could only muster 32 men and following its return to Australia, the unit was disbanded in early July 1943.
History World War I Formation The 39th Battalion was first formed on 21 February 1916 at the Ballarat Showgrounds, in Victoria, for service during World War I. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Rankine,Paterson 1934, p. 30. the battalion was raised as part of an expansion of the First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) that took place at the conclusion of the Gallipoli Campaign.Grey 2008, p. 99. The majority of the battalion's recruits came from the Western District of Victoria, and together with the 37th, 38th and 40th Battalions, it formed the 10th Brigade, which was part of the 3rd Division. Following a brief period of training in Ballarat, the 39th Battalion marched through Melbourne on 15 May as the city farewelled the unit and they subsequently embarked upon HMAT Ascanius on 27 May 1916, bound for the United Kingdom.Paterson 1934, p. 33. Sailing via Cape Town, the battalion landed at Plymouth on 18 July 1916, and moved by train to Amesbury, before marching to Larkhill in the Salisbury Plain Training Area, where they undertook a period of four months training before being sent to France in November. After completing the Channel crossing on 23/24 November, they landed at Le Havre and moved to the front by train. On the night of 10 December, the battalion took its place in the trenches along the Western Front, relieving its sister battalion, the 37th, around Houplines in the Armentieres sector. They remained at the front for the next week, as part of their introduction to trench warfare, during which time the battalion repelled a small German raid and sent out patrols into "no man's land".Paterson 1934, pp. 63–80.
Western Front
After having endured a long winter in Flanders serving in mainly a defensive role, the battalion's first major engagement came at Messines, in Belgium in early June 1917. The battle began badly for the 39th. Near Ploegsteert Corner,Bean 1941, p. 590. during the march to the line of departure, the battalion suffered a high number of casualties following a German gas attack which subsequently resulted the 39th only being able to muster about a third of its manpower for the attack, amounting to an assault force of only 120 men. Despite this, the 39th was quickly reorganised into a single wave,Bean 1941, p. 591. and attacking on the 10th Brigade's right,Bean 1941, p. 595. it subsequently overcame the initial German opposition facing them and then, during the second phase of the battle advanced south of Douve, on the southern edge of the Messines Ridge.Bean 1941, p. 602. It was involved in further fighting north of Grey Farm, where they were initially held up by German machine-gun fire, but after this was overcome they continued to advance to their final objective, eventually digging-in beyond the farm,Bean 1941, p. 603. having managed to capture all of its objectives. Later, in October, the 39th Battalion took part in two other major attacks in that same sector, firstly at Broodseinde and then at Passchendaele, the first of which was a brilliant success, while the second was a disastrous failure.
During the fighting around Broodseinde on 4 October, the 39th formed the third wave of the 10th Brigade's attack, which went in around 6:00 am. Following up the 37th and 38th Battalions, they advanced against strongly held pill-boxes towards the Gravenstafel Switch. After digging-in, a party from the 39th joined the 40th Battalion as it launched the final wave in the brigade's attack. As the 40th came up against stiff opposition, more men from the 39th were pushed forward and the objective was finally secured around 11:00 am. After the battle, the 39th remained in the line until 6 October, when it was withdrawn back to Morbecque for reorganisation and rest.Paterson 1934, pp. 137–149. A couple of days later, the battalion was recommitted to the fighting and ordered to advance towards Passchendaele Ridge, attacking on the morning of 12 October despite heavy rain the previous evening. In the heavy fighting that followed, the battalion managed to secure its first objective, but was forced to withdraw when its flanks became threatened as neighbouring units had been unable to advance with them through the thick mud.Paterson 1934, pp. 151–159.
Over the course of the next five months, the 39th Battalion rotated between the front line and rear areas, holding the line in Belgium throughout winter.Paterson 1934, pp. 163–177. In the spring of 1918, when the German Army launched its last effort at victory, known as the Spring Offensive, the 39th was among the many Australian battalions that were hurriedly moved south to France in order to stem the tide of the German onslaught towards Amiens; fighting a series of defensive actions in the Somme between late March and early June.Paterson 1934, pp. 179–202. When the Allies launched their own offensive—the Hundred Days Offensive—on 8 August 1918, the battalion along with the rest of the 10th Brigade, was serving as the divisional reserve and they did not participate in the advance that has since become known as one of the greatest days for the Allies on the Western Front. On 10 August, the battalion was committed to battle once more, undertaking an attack on the village of Proyart, but this attack was ill-conceived and ultimately failed. Despite this, the battalion remained in the line throughout August and early September as the 3rd Division advanced through the Somme Valley.
The battalion undertook its last major action of the war at the end of September 1918 when, serving alongside the Americans, they breached parts of the Hindenburg Line along the St Quentin Canal. During this final battle, the battalion's long serving commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Henderson, who had taken command in February 1917 before the battalion's first major battle, was killed in action.Paterson 1934, pp. 92 & 237. Late on 2 October, while around Gillemont Crescent, the 39th was relieved and the battalion was removed from the line to undertake training and reorganisation. In the middle of October, the 39th was bolstered by a company of reinforcements from the 37th, which had been disbanded to help make up losses in the other 10th Brigade units.Paterson 1934, p. 241. Nevertheless, the 39th did not see action again and they were still at the rear when the Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918. With the fighting over, the process of demobilisation began and slowly the men began marching out for repatriation to Australia. Finally, in March 1919, the 39th Battalion was disbanded. At this point, the battalion's remaining personnel were amalgamated with other units to form the 10th Demobilisation Regiment, with the last of its soldiers returning to Australia in May.Paterson 1934, pp. 247–248.
During the course of the war the 39th Battalion suffered 405 men killed, while a further 1,637 were wounded. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: two Distinguished Service Orders (DSOs), one Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), 14 Distinguished Conduct Medals (DCMs), 14 Military Crosses (MCs), 78 Military Medals (MMs) with three Bars, and 22 Mentions in Despatches (MIDs). For their involvement in the fighting on the Western Front, the 39th Battalion were awarded 14 battle honours in 1927.Festberg 1972, pp. 97–98.
Inter-war years At the end of World War I there was a wholesale disbandment of units of the Australian Army as the wartime Army was disbanded and its personnel demobilised. In 1921, it was decided that there was a need to raise a part-time military force, known as the Citizens Force, which would take responsibility for the defence of the Australian mainland. This force was organised along the same lines of the 1st AIF, and the units raised kept the same numerical designation as the 1st AIF battalions. The AIF ceased to exist officially on 1 April 1921, and the Citizens Force was reorganised the following month on 1 May, adopting the numerical designations and structures of the AIF.Grey 2008, p. 124. As a part of this, the 39th Battalion was raised in 1921 in Melbourne. Upon formation, the battalion was attached to the 10th Brigade, 3rd Division,Palazzo 2002, p. 63. and the battalion drew personnel from the 22nd and 24th Infantry Regiments and the 29th Light Horse.
In 1927, territorial designations were adopted and the battalion assumed the title of the "Hawthorn Regiment". Three years later this was changed to the "Hawthorne–Kew Regiment". It assumed the motto of Factis Non Verbis in 1927.Festberg 1972, p. 98. Initially, the battalion was kept up to strength with volunteers and men serving under the terms of the compulsory training scheme, but in 1929 the scheme was suspended by the newly elected Scullin Labor government and the Citizen Forces were renamed the Militia.Palazzo 2001, p. 110. The combination of the end to compulsory training and the financial hardships of the Great Depression meant that there were few volunteers available as men could not risk losing their jobs to undertake training and as a result throughout the 1930s a number of units were amalgamated or disbanded as the size of the Army was reduced.Keogh 1965, p. 44. In 1937, the 39th Battalion was merged with the 37th Battalion, before later being delinked with the 37th in August 1939 and being amalgamated with the 24th Battalion,Pratten 2009, p. 317. becoming the 24th/39th Battalion. An alliance with the Dorsetshire Regiment was approved in 1930, and in 1937 with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders when the 39th were very briefly amalgamated with 37th Battalion (Australia).Festberg 1972, p.96.
World War II Formation