The 11th Battalion was an Australian Army battalion that was among the first infantry units raised during World War I for the First Australian Imperial Force. It was the first battalion recruited in Western Australia, and following a brief training period in Perth, the battalion sailed to Egypt where it undertook four months of intensive training. In April 1915 it took part in the invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula, landing at Anzac Cove. In August 1915 the battalion was in action in the Battle of Lone Pine. Following the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt where it was split to help form the 51st Battalion. In March 1916, the battalion was deployed to the Western Front in France and Belgium where it took part in trench warfare until the end of the war in November 1918.
The battalion was disbanded in 1919, but since 1921 has been re-activated and merged several times as a reserve unit, initially as the 11th Battalion (City of Perth Regiment), which fought a brief campaign against the Japanese on New Britain during World War II. Other units that have maintained the traditions of the original 11th Battalion include the 11th/44th Battalion (City of Perth Regiment), 'A' (City of Perth) Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment and the current 11th/28th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment.
World War I Formation The 11th Battalion was formed on 17 August 1914, less than two weeks after the declaration of war on 4 August, and was among the first infantry units raised during World War I for the all-volunteer First Australian Imperial Force. Along with the 9th, 10th and 12th Battalions, it formed Colonel Ewen Sinclair-MacLagan's 3rd Brigade, which was assigned to the 1st Division. The first battalion raised in Western Australia, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Lyon-Johnston, the 11th concentrated at Blackboy Hill, Western Australia. Drawing personnel from around the state with the majority coming from Perth and the goldfields, recruits came from all elements of society, with the majority being former labourers and agricultural workers or miners. Seventy-three percent of original enlistments were Australian-born, with the remaining recruits being mainly English-born with smaller numbers coming from other parts of the British Isles. By 24 September it had reached its authorised strength of 1,023 officers and other ranks. On formation, the battalion consisted of eight rifle companies, designated 'A' to 'H', and a headquarters company with signals, transport, medical and machine-gun sections.
The majority of the battalion's non-commissioned officers were long-serving Citizens Forces soldiers or regular personnel. Some had previously fought in South Africa during the Boer War and others had previously served in the British Army. Rudimentary training was undertaken at Bellevue, Western Australia, and at the end of October it sailed from Fremantle on the and . Originally bound for the United Kingdom, where they were to complete training, after stopovers in the Cocos Islands and Colombo, their orders were changed due to concerns about overcrowding in training camps in the United Kingdom and at the start of December, the battalion arrived at Mena Camp in Cairo, Egypt. There, the battalion's eight companies were reorganised into the four that existed under the British Army establishment and further training was undertaken. The battalion remained in Egypt until early March 1915 when it sailed on and from Alexandria to the island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea, in preparation for the Landing at Anzac Cove.
Gallipoli
Landing at Anzac Cove On 24 April 1915, the battalion disembarked from Suffolk and boarded , which was bound for Gallipoli in the Dardanelles. At 4:30 on the morning of 25 April, 'A' and 'C' Companies of the battalion landed at North Beach, north of Ari Burnu Knoll, a mile south of Fisherman's Hut, on the left flank of the first wave. Under heavy machine gun and rifle fire, the battalion stormed the cliffs, driving the Turks back. However, the battalion became disorganised during the landing and mixed with other units. Small sections of the battalion were engaged in firefights all along the Australian front. Major Edmund Drake-Brockman, one of the battalion's senior officers, tried to sort the scattered men into their battalions: 9th on the right, 10th in the middle and 11th on the left. Meanwhile, the second half of the battalion landed further north of the first wave, directly under heavy machine-gun fire from Turks fully prepared and alerted by the first wave.
Over the next few days, the battalion dug in on the first and second ridges under heavy fire from the Turks. Casualties were heavy, but a defensive line was established. On 30 April, the battalion was withdrawn and moved into reserve on the beach. The next day, it reoccupied its section of the front. At this stage, the battalion was 450-strong. By 1 May, 30 officers and 940 other ranks from the battalion had landed.
Raid on Gaba Tepe On 4 May 1915, a party of 100 men from the battalion, led by Captain Raymond Leane and a detail of engineers, launched an unsuccessful attack on a Turkish fort at Gaba Tepe, which was being used to observe artillery fire onto Australian positions around Anzac Cove. The Turks opened heavy fire on the party which was forced to withdraw. The Australians lost four killed, including an officer, and 19 others were wounded. The raid was the AIF's first of the war. At this point, the battalion estimated that it had suffered 38 killed, 200 wounded and 197 missing. On 15 May, the battalion received 244 reinforcements, bringing its total strength to 23 officers and 723 other ranks.
In the early morning on 19 May, Turkish forces launched an attack against the left flank of the Australian lines, which developed into a major battle along the whole Australian front. The attack was repulsed with heavy losses. The 11th Battalion suffered nine killed and eight wounded, mainly from shrapnel. One Turkish officer and five soldiers surrendered. On 21 May, a truce was declared and a burial party from the 12th Battalion was sent out. However, it was fired at by the Turks and as a result burial parties were discontinued. A similar truce was declared on 24 May. A line was drawn halfway between the two lines and each side sent out parties to bury the dead and collect equipment.
Lone Pine On 27 July 1915, after two weeks in reserve, the battalion relieved the 12th Battalion at Tasmanian Post, on the right on the Australian front line. On 31 July, a party of around 200 men led by Leane were ordered to capture a section of Turkish trenches in front of the battalion's position. After engineers detonated three mines prepared near Turkish communications trenches, the storming party captured the Turkish trench following a bayonet charge, with the loss of one officer and 36 other ranks killed. Seventy-three other members of the battalion were wounded during the attack, including Leane, who was mentioned in despatches. Turkish casualties were estimated by the battalion to be 60 killed.
On 6 August, the battalion held off a fierce Turkish counterattack on the trench, which became known as "Leane's Trench" during the Battle of Lone Pine. Heavy casualties were sustained on both sides. The battalion suffered 41 killed, 94 wounded and 19 missing. By the end of the month, the 11th Battalion's strength, despite having received six batches of reinforcements, had fallen to just over 500 men, approximately half its authorised strength. The following month, command of the battalion passed to Leane when Lyon-Johnston took over as brigade commander. As the health of the men deteriorated, the battalion's strength fell further to just over 300. The arrival of winter in October brought heavy rain and even harsher conditions.
Withdrawal In November, the battalion supported the 5th Light Horse around "Chatham Post" until it was withdrawn, with the 9th Battalion, from Anzac Cove. The withdrawal had been planned for the 14th, but due to bad weather this was delayed until the night of the 16/17 November 1915. From Anzac Cove, it sailed to Lemnos where it recuperated at Sampi Camp, following seven months in the trenches. The battalion's war diary records particularly bad weather on Lemnos during this period, noting "Mudros seems a most unsuitable place to send troops for a rest". During this rest period, the battalion reported its first and only case of diphtheria, following which the whole brigade was quarantined. On 17 December, the battalion's last casualty of the campaign, a soldier named Private Hayes, died from meningitis. The battalion lost a total of 353 men killed during the campaign.
Western Front In early 1916, the battalion sailed to Alexandria on the Empress of Britain. From Alexandria, it travelled by train to bivouac at Tall al Kabir. At this time, the battalion received 367 reinforcements from Australia before undertaking defensive duties around Gebel Habieta, guarding the Suez Canal. In February, the AIF was re-organised and expanded. This saw the veteran battalions split to provide cadres for new battalions and as a part of this process, the 11th Battalion provided personnel to the 51st Battalion, by transferring the even numbered sections to the new battalion. At this time, the battalion received four Lewis Guns for organic direct fire support.
On 30 March 1916, as the AIF's infantry divisions were transferred to Europe, the battalion sailed from Alexandria aboard the HMT Corsican. It arrived at Marseille, France, on 5 April and then moved by train to Flêtre where it was billeted until the 19th when it moved to Sailly, where it commemorated Anzac Day on 25 April. In mid-May, after a period of acclimatisation and training to prepare them for the European battlefield, the 11th Battalion moved up to the front line around Petillon in the Fleurbaix sector, with a strength of 27 officers and 929 other ranks. A further draft of reinforcements, totalling 69 men all ranks, arrived on 25 May, and on 30 May the battalion had its first experience of combat on the Western Front. Late that evening, German artillery bombarded the Allied line around the Cordonnerie salient, before infantry launched a raid on the 11th Battalion's trenches. In the fighting that followed the 11th Battalion lost four men captured, 37 killed and 70 wounded.
Pozières and Mouquet Farm Throughout June, the 11th Battalion was placed in support of the front as it was brought back up to strength. At this time, the battalion's organic fire support was increased by the addition of two extra Lewis Guns. The following month, they moved to the Somme and were committed to the fighting around Pozières. After arriving at Albert on 19 July amidst a gas attack, the battalion spent the next couple of days preparing to attack, working to improve trenches and cache stores, during which they were subjected to heavy artillery bombardment. The attack was put in just before midnight on 23 July and was a costly success. Amidst heavy casualties, the 11th Battalion took the forward German trenches and amidst the confusion of the fighting advanced beyond their limit of exploitation, entering Pozières and moving beyond where they became embroiled in close quarters fighting. After capturing five artillery pieces, the battalion's officers and non-commissioned officers eventually managed to regain control of the advance and the battalion was brought back into a defensive line along their first objective. At dawn, patrols from the battalion entered the village again and cleared out the cellars beneath the battered remains of the village's buildings, capturing over 40 prisoners.