13th Brigade (Australia)

The 13th Brigade is an Army Reserve formation of the Australian Army headquartered at Perth, Western Australia and its various units have depots in Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Albany and Katanning as well as Joondalup and Rockingham in the metro area. The 13th Brigade was first created in early 1916 and has been recreated multiple times since. The current brigade was formed in 1988 and is tasked with the protection of Western Australia.

History

World War I

Following the evacuation of Gallipoli in December 1915 a decision was made to create three additional Australian divisions. It was decided that half of each of the battalions of the first four brigades would be used as the nucleus of the new battalions to be formed. The 3rd Infantry Brigade was divided as follows to form the 13th Infantry Brigade, 4th Australian Division. The 13th Brigade sailed from Alexandria for France on 30 March 1916 and by 20 May 1916, was established in a sector of the line at Petillon, France. The 13th Brigade is best known for their actions in retaking Villers-Bretonneux during the Second Battle of the Somme. Following the end of the war the battalion of 13 Brigade where returned home and disbanded.

World War II

The brigade was reformed in 1939 in response to the outbreak of the Second World War, up until 1942 the brigade was practically the only army unit in place to protect the Western Australian coastline from the feared Japanese invasion.

Current Units

Units of the 13th Brigade currently include:
* 11th/28th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment
* 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment
* 13th Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers
* 'A' Squadron, 10th Light Horse Regiment
* 13th Combat Services Support Battalion
* 109 Signals Squadron
* 7th Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery

All units are part of the Army Reserve.

External links

* [http://www.defence.gov.au/army/hq13bde/ Official site]