| Army Organisation > 5th Australian Division, Order of Battle | |
| A Division of the Australian Imperial Force | |
| History | Units | Commanders | Books | |
| Summary history of the division | |
In
early 1916, there were many Australian troops in Egypt. The
1st and 2nd Australian Divisions had recently arrived after
the withdrawal from Gallipoli,
as had the 4th Australian Brigade which formed part of the
composite Australian and New Zealand Division. 8th Brigade
had been there for some months and was holding the advanced
defence line east of the Suez canal. In addition there were
many thousands of men arrived with new units or reinforcement
drafts. A decision was taken to create two new Divisions from
the surplus: the 4th and 5th Australian Divisions. It was
considered important too, to strengthen these new formations
by transferring into it a portion of men and officers who
had seen service on Gallipoli. The Division gradually took
shape in the area of Tel-el-Kebir during February and March
1916. On 20 March 1916 the two new Divisions were ordered to the Suez area, and although 8th Brigade was rushed to the area by train, the remainder undertook a gruelling 3-day march to Ismailia. Scores of men were exhausted by heat, lack of water, lack of fitness, suffering from recent inoculations and simply being asked of too much, in this inauspicious start to the Division's war. The Division moved to France in June 1916 and disembarked at Marseilles. Under orders of II ANZAC Corps It moved to the area of Second Army, south of Armentieres. On 19 July 1916, the Division took part in its first action, the disastrous and entirely unnecessary attack at Fromelles, in which it suffered more than 5500 casualties. After months of rebuilding, the Division went to on to become a superb fighting force, in particular in its spearheading of the Allied advance from Amiens and across the Somme in 1918. The Division was merged with 1st Australian Division in March 1919. |
|
| The Division took part in the following engagements: | |
| 1916 | |
| The attack at Fromelles | |
| 1917 | |
| The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line, in which the Division took part in the Tactical Incidents called the Capture of the Thilloys, 25 February - 2 March 1917 and the Advance to the Hindenburg Line, 14 March - 5 April 1917 | |
| The Battle of Bullecourt, 3-17 May 1917 | |
| The Action on the Hindenburg Line, 20-26 May 1917 | |
| The Battle of Polygon Wood, 26 September - 3 October 1917, part of the Third Battle of Ypres | |
| The First Battle of Passchendaele, 12 October 1917, part of the Third Battle of Ypres | |
| The Second Battle of Passchendaele, 28 October - 10 November 1917, part of the Third Battle of Ypres | |
| 1918 | |
| The Battle of the Avre, (fifth phase of the First Battles of the Somme 1918)8th and 15th Bdes only, 4 April 1918 | |
| The Actions of Villers-Bretonneux, (sixth phase of the First Battles of the Somme 1918) 24 - 25 April 1918 | |
| The Battle of Amiens, 8 - 11 August 1918 | |
| The Battle of Albert, (first phase of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918) 21 - 23 August 1918 | |
| The Second Battle of Bapaume, (second phase of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918) 31 August - 3 September 1918, in which the Division occupied Peronne | |
| The Battle of the St-Quentin Canal, (fourth phase of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line 1918) 29 September - 2 October 1918, which included the capture of the Bellicourt Tunnel defences | |
| Order of Battle | |
| Please note that the official designation of the regiments and units given below was preceded by the word "Australian", which has been omitted here for simplicity. e.g. for "Light Horse" read "Australian Light Horse"; for "8th Brigade" read "8th Australian Brigade". Note too that the Australian infantry brigades were not affected by the early 1918 reorganisation to become 3-battalion formations. | |
| Mounted Troops | |
| C Squadron, 13th Light Horse | Joined from 2nd Australian Division on formation, left for 1 Anzac Corps Cavalry Regiment July 1916 |
| 5th Cyclist Company | Created in Egypt on formation, left for 1 Anzac Corps Cyclist Battalion June 1916 |
| Infantry | |
| 8th Brigade | |
| Formed in Australia in June 1915, arrived in Egypt December 1915 | |
| 29th Infantry Battalion | raised in Victoria |
| 30th Infantry Battalion | raised in New South Wales |
| 31st Infantry Battalion | raised in Queensland and Victoria |
| 32nd Infantry Battalion | raised in South and West Australia |
| 8th Machine Gun Company | left to join 5th Machine Gun Battalion in February 1918 |
| 8th Trench Mortar Battery | formed in France in July 1916 |
| 14th Brigade | |
| 53rd Infantry Battalion | raised in New South Wales |
| 54th Infantry Battalion | raised in New South Wales |
| 55th Infantry Battalion | raised in New South Wales |
| 56th Infantry Battalion | raised in New South Wales |
| 14th Machine Gun Company | left to join 5th Machine Gun Battalion in February 1918 |
| 14th Trench Mortar Battery | formed in France in July 1916 |
| 15th Brigade | |
| 57th Infantry Battalion | raised in Victoria |
| 58th Infantry Battalion | raised in Victoria |
| 59th Infantry Battalion | raised in Victoria |
| 60th Infantry Battalion | raised in Victoria |
| 15th Machine Gun Company | left to join 5th Machine Gun Battalion in February 1918 |
| 15th Trench Mortar Battery | formed in France in July 1916 |
| Divisional Troops | |
| 5th Pioneers | formed in Egypt in March 1916 |
| 5th Divisional Employment Company | joined January 1917 |
| 25th Machine Gun Company | joined September 1917, left to join 5th Machine Gun Battalion in February 1918 |
| 5th Machine Gun Battalion | formed from merger of the four Divisional MG Companies and rejoined in March 1918 |
| 5th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | formed in Egypt in March 1916 |
| Artillery | |
| XIII Brigade RFA | formed in Egypt in March 1916, comprising 49, 50, 51 and 52 Batteries and a Brigade Ammunition Column. 52 was replaced by 113 (Howitzer) Battery in July 1916. |
| XIV Brigade RFA | formed in Egypt in March 1916, comprising 53, 54, 55 and 56 Batteries and a Brigade Ammunition Column. 56 was replaced by 114 (Howitzer) Battery in July 1916. |
| XV Brigade RFA | formed in Egypt in March 1916, comprising 57, 58, 59 and 60 Batteries and a Brigade Ammunition Column. 60 left in July 1916. Brigade broken up and disbanded in January 1917. |
| XXV Brigade RFA | formed in Egypt in March 1916, comprising 113, 114 and 115 (Howitzer) Batteries and a Brigade Ammunition Column. 113 and 114 were replaced by 52 and 56 Batteries in July 1916. Brigade broken up and disbanded in January 1917. |
| X.5, Y.5 and Z.5 Light Trench Mortar Batteries | joined in July 1916 |
| V.5 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery | joined in July 1916, left to become Corps Troops February 1918 |
| 5th Divisional Ammunition Column | formed by merging the Brigade Ammunition Columns in June 1916 |
| Engineers | |
| 8th Field Company | formed in Egypt in July 1915 as 5th Field Company in 2nd Australian Division. Renumbered and joined Division in February 1916. |
| 14th Field Company | formed in Egypt in March 1916 |
| 15th Field Company | formed in Egypt in March 1916 |
| 5th Signals Company | formed in Egypt in March 1916 |
| Transport | |
| 5th Divisional Train | formed in Egypt in March 1916, comprising 757, 758, 759 and 760 Companies ASC |
| Medical | |
| 8th Field Ambulance RAMC | formed in Australia in June 1915, arrived in Egypt December 1915 |
| 14th Field Ambulance RAMC | formed in Egypt in March 1916 |
| 15th Field Ambulance RAMC | formed in Egypt in March 1916 |
| Divisional commanders | |
| Major-General N. M. Smyth VC | temporary command in February 1916 |
| Major-General G. Irving | temporary command in February 1916 |
| Major-General Hon. J. W. McCay | from February 1916 |
| Major-General J. T. T. Hobbs | from 10 January 1917 |
| Useful books | |
| Captain A.D. Ellis MC | The story of the Fifth Australian Division, being an authoritative account of the Division’s doings in Egypt, France and Belgium (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1920) |
| C.E.W. Bean | ANZAC to Amiens – a shorter history of the Australian fighting services in the First World War (Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1946) - a compressed version of Bean's Official History |
| W.H. Downing | To the last ridge (Sydney: Duffy & Snellgrove, 2000) |