4th Brigade (Australia)

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unit_name=4 Brigade


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The Australian 4th Brigade is an Australian Army Reserve formation stationed in Victoria.

The 4th Brigade is one of five Brigades within the 2nd Division ('2 Div'), which is one of 2 Divisions in the Australian Army. The 4th Brigade, as a combined-arms formation, includes units and personnel from all Corps of the Army including Armoured, Infantry, Artillery, Engineers, Signals and Ordnance.

tructure

The Brigade is now headquartered at Melbourne and consists of the following units:
*5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment
*8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment
*4th/19th Prince of Wales' Light Horse, Royal Australian Armoured Corps
*2nd/10th Medium Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
*108 Signals Squadron
*4 Combat Engineer Regiment, Royal Australian Engineers
*4th Combat Service Support Battalion

History

Formation and World War I

The 4th Brigade was formed in September 1914, under the command of Colonel (later General Sir) John Monash. The Brigade at that time was composed of the 13th (NSW), 14th (Vic), 15th (Qld/Tas) and 16th (WA/SA) Infantry Battalions.

The Brigade participated in the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli in April 1915 and during the subsequent nine-month operation the Brigade distinguished itself on countless occasions. The Brigade withdrew from the shores of ANZAC and joined the war on the Western Front in France as part of the Australian 4th Infantry Division. During the period from 1916 to 1918, the Brigade fought in nearly every major battle involving that Division. Of particular significance were the battles of Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918 and Le Hamel in July 1918, they were decisive in the Allied offensive campaign and contributed to the hastening of the war's end.

"N'oublions jamais l'Australie" is what is above every Blackboard in the school of the little town of Villers-Bretonneux. It is the Victoria School and is next door to the Australia Museum . "N'oublions jamais l'Australie": We will never forget Australia - is remembered by the students as they sing 'Waltzing Matilda' every morning. The main street is named Rue de Melbourne, the second Rue de Victoria, the school was built by the donations of Victorian school children, many of who would have lost their fathers or brothers. For 3500 Victorian men had laid down their lives to Liberate the town; and for that the people of Villers-Bretonneux are eternally grateful.

The liberation was the third anniversary of ANZAC day; 25 April 1918 . From March of that year Germany had advanced a comparatively staggering 64km and was in sight of Amiens. Russia was now out of the war because of its revolution and the terrifying prospect for the British High Command was that if the Germans captured Amiens the war would be lost. So on this day, 20km east of Amien, at Villers-Bretonneux, it came down to Australian storm troops, from Victoria , to finally halt the advance. The victory has been called the greatest individual feat of the war. Outside the town, the Australian War Memorial commemorates those who fell in the battle as well as the 10,982 Australians killed in France who have no known grave.

The tactics used in the battle of 'Le Hamel' (Hamel Hill) on 4 July 1918 were conceived by General John Monash and largely carried out by Australian Infantrymen. It was the scene of one of Australia's greatest military victories and it is this brilliantly fought battle that marks the turning point of the war's initiative back to the Allies. So great was this victory that French prime minister Georges Clemenceau came to address the Australian troops in the field: "When the Australians came to France, the French people expected a great deal of you, but we did not know that from the very beginning you would astonish the whole continent"; And on 12 August 1918 Monash was knighted on the field by King George V. He is the last person to have been knighted in the field.

World War II

At the outbreak of World War II the Brigade was raised to a higher state of training and deployed to New Guinea in early 1943. There, it was amongst the first of the militia brigades to see action against the Japanese at Guiska. At that time the Brigade consisted of the 22nd, 29th/46th and 37th/52nd Infantry Battalions.

Modern History

The 4th Brigade underwent a number of reorganisations following the end of World War II, as a formation of the 3rd Division. On 1 July 1981 it was reformed as 4th Task Force but the title changed back to 4th Brigade the following year. In 1990 the Brigade became a formation of the 2nd Division. In the late 1990s it had a vital asset protection mobilisation role as part of the 'Protective Force' in the Tindal area of the Northern Territory.

External links

* [http://www.army.gov.au/hq4bde/index.htm - Official 4 Brigade website]