2/14th Battalion (Australia)
The 2/14th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served during World War II. Part of the 21st Brigade, 7th Division, the battalion was raised from Second Australian Imperial Force volunteers drawn mainly from the state of Victoria. After completing training in Australia in 1940, the battalion deployed to the Middle East where it was stationed in Egypt and Palestine before it saw action against the Vichy French in Syria in June and July 1941, in a short lived campaign. Garrison duties in Lebanon followed before the battalion was withdrawn to Australia in early 1942 as Australian forces were concentrated in the Pacific to respond to the threat posed by Japan's entry into the war.
2/14th Battalion personnel training on the Atherton Tablelands, September 1944
2/14th Battalion reinforcements in Syria, 13 June 1941
Men from 9 Platoon, 'A' Company, 2/14th Battalion at Kokoda on 16 August 1942
Brigadier Ivan Dougherty (left), 21st Brigade commander, with his battalion commanders. Lieutenant Colonel Philip Rhoden of the 2/14th is fourth from the left.
The 21st Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. It was briefly raised in 1912 as a Militia formation providing training as part of the compulsory training scheme. Later, it was re-formed in April 1940 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force, the unit was raised for service during World War II. As part of the 7th Division the brigade's constituent units were raised from volunteers from several Australian states. After rudimentary training in Australia, the brigade deployed for the Middle East in October 1940. Defensive duties were mounted along the Libyan border in early 1941, before the brigade was committed to the Syria-Lebanon campaign, fighting against Vichy French forces. In early 1942, following Japan's entry into the war, the brigade returned to Australia. After a period of defensive duties in Australia, it was deployed to New Guinea and subsequently played a key role in the Kokoda Track campaign, delaying the Japanese advance towards Port Moresby and then joining the pursuit as the Japanese withdrew towards Buna–Gona. In 1943–1944, the brigade took part in the capture of Lae and the Ramu Valley–Finisterre Range campaign. Its final campaign of the war, came in the final months when it took part in the Balikpapan landings. It was disbanded in 1946.
21st Brigade troops moving down from the Finisterre Range into the Ramu Valley in November 1943
2/27th Battalion at bayonet practice in Palestine, December 1940
Men from 9 Platoon, 'A' Company, 2/14th Battalion at Kokoda on 16 August 1942