32nd Battalion

32nd Battalion

Brief History

The 32nd Battalion was raised as part of the 8th Brigade at Mitcham, Adelaide, on 9 August 1915. Only two companies were raised from South Australian enlistees, the other two were formed in Western Australia and sailed to Adelaide on HMS Indarra and joined the battalion at the end of September at Cheltenham camp. The battalion sailed from Adelaide on 18 November 1915 for Egypt.

The 8th Brigade joined the newly raised 5th Australian Division in Egypt, and proceeded to France, destined for the Western Front, in June 1916. The 32nd Battalion fought its first major battle at Fromelles on 19 July 1916, having only entered the front-line trenches 3 days previously. The attack was a disastrous introduction to battle for the 32nd, and it suffered 718 casualties, almost 75 per cent of the battalion's total strength, but closer to 90 per cent of its actual fighting strength. Although it still spent periods in the front line, the 32nd was unable to play a major offensive role for the rest of the year.

In early 1917, the German Army withdrew to the Hindenburg Line allowing the British front to be advanced and the 32nd Battalion participated in the follow-up operations. The battalion missed the heavy fighting to breach the Hindenburg Line during the second battle of Bullecourt as the 8th Brigade was deployed to protect the division's flank. The only large battle in 1917 in which the 32nd Battalion played a major role was Polygon Wood, fought in the Ypres sector in Belgium on 26 September.

Unlike some AIF battalions, the 32nd had a relatively quiet time during the German Spring Offensive of 1918 as the 5th Division was largely kept in reserve. However, when the Allies launched their own offensive with the battle of Amiens on 8 August, the 32nd Battalion participated. It was involved in the follow up operations that continued to press the retreating Germans through August and into September. The 32nd fought its last major action of the war between 29 September and 1 October when the 5th and 3rd Australian Divisions and two American divisions attacked the Hindenburg Line across the top of the 6-kilometre-long St Quentin Canal tunnel, a major obstacle in the German defensive scheme.

The 32nd was resting and retraining out of the line when the war ended on 11 November 1918. On 8 March 1919, after the gradual repatriation of men to Australia, the remnants of the 32nd Battalion were merged with the 30th Battalion. 629 men lost their lives in action or as a result of it. Total wounded figure yet to be discovered.

Battalion Personnel

Jim Anderson George Henry Aspinall William James Barnard George Rowland Benton

• George Bett 9 Aug 1915 - 15 Mar 1916 - to 4th Division Artillery

Frederick James Bishop Gordon Bishop Macalister Adair Blain Albert George Bullock

• Roslyn Christopher Coulston 30 Jul 1917 - 17 Aug 1917 - to 5th Division Signals Company

Patrick Francis Fitzgerald Percy Goodall Bertie Greenfield

• Frank Grundy 15 Aug 1915 - 14 Mar 1916 - to 4th Division Artillery

Walter Robert Hayes William Heath Patrick Wilford Kelly Harold Percival Martin William George Martin Alfred Charles Newman Isaac Robert Powell Hobart Turner

• William Archer Waller 16 Aug 1915 - 14 Jul 1916 (KIA Fleurbaix)

Matthew Walsh Frederick Owen Werndly

Battle Honours

• Egypt, 1915-16
• Somme, 1916, '18
• Bapaume, 1917
• Bullecourt
• Ypres, 1917
• Menin Road
• Polygon Wood
• Poelcappelle
• Passchendaele
• Ancre, 1918
• Amiens
• Albert, 1918
• Mont St. Quentin
• Hindenburg Line
• St. Quentin Canal
• France and Flanders, 1916-18

Individual Honours

• 1 Victoria Cross - (Maj Blair Anderson Wark)
• 1 Distinguish Service order
• 3 Officers of the Order of the British Empire
• 1 Member of the British Empire
• 27 Military Crosses and 2 bars
• 16 Distinguished Conduct Medal
• 66 Military Medals and 4 bars
• 7 Meritorious Service Medals
• 26 Mentioned in Despatches and
• 10 foreign awards

Notes

Content for the history and honours sections has come from a combination of Wikipedia and the Australian War Memorial (primary source) websites.