text: 2 / 1st machine gun battalion ( australia ) the 2 / 1st machine gun battalion was a battalion of the australian army that was raised for service during world war ii as part of the 6th division . when it was formed on 14 december 1939 , its component companies were spread across several australian states , but it was later concentrated at ingleburn , new south wales , where it completed basic training in the early months of the war . in mid - 1940 , the battalion embarked for overseas , bound initially for the middle east , but following the fall of france it was diverted to the united kingdom . along with a larger contingent of australians , it helped to bolster the island 's garrison , undertaking defensive duties during a period when it was expected that the germans might launch a cross - channel invasion . the battalion was transferred to the middle east in late 1940 , after the threat of invasion had passed . it underwent further training in egypt , before taking part in fighting against the germans in greece and on crete in mid - 1941 . having lost most of its equipment and suffering heavy casualties , the 2 / 1st was rebuilt in palestine before undertaking garrison duties in syria in 1941 – 42 . the battalion was withdrawn to australia as a result of japan 's entry into the war in december 1941 . during 1943 , the 2 / 1st fought a defensive role in the new guinea campaign . following its withdrawal to australia in early 1944 , the battalion was re - organised on the atherton tablelands and reassigned to the 7th division . it was committed to its final campaign in mid - 1945 , during the borneo campaign . after the war , the battalion was disbanded in early 1946 . one of its mascots , horrie the wog dog , became the subject of a book by ion idriess . history formation the 2 / 1st machine gun battalion was formed on 14 december 1939 , as part of the second australian imperial force ( 2nd aif ) . it was raised following a reorganisation of the 6th division 's infantry battalions , which saw the removal of the machine gun platoons that had previously existed within each battalion and their centralisation in a single unit . three other machine gun battalions were subsequently raised as part of the 2nd aif during the war to support its four infantry divisions . developed by the british army , the concept within the australian army had its genesis during the gallipoli campaign in 1915 , when the machine guns assigned to the infantry battalions – initially two and then , later , four – had been grouped together and co - ordinated at brigade level to help compensate for the lack of artillery support . over the course of the war on the western front , the concept had evolved through the establishment of machine gun companies in 1916 to the establishment of machine gun battalions in 1918 . similar formations had also been established amongst the australian light horse units serving in the sinai and palestine campaign . during the inter - war years , the machine gun battalions had been deemed unnecessary . when the army was reorganised in 1921 , they were not re - raised , but in 1937 , when the army looked to expand as fears of war in europe loomed , four such units were raised within the part - time militia by converting light horse units and motorising them . when the second world war broke out , the decision was made to raise several machine gun battalions within the 2nd aif , one allocated to each division . under the command of lieutenant colonel claude prior , the 2 / 1st machine gun battalion was formed with four machine gun companies , a headquarters company – consisting of an anti - aircraft platoon , a signals platoon and a transport platoon – and a battalion headquarters . australian machine gun battalions were established with an authorised strength of around 800 to 900 personnel , and like the others , the 2 / 1st was a motorised infantry unit with both wheeled motor vehicles and tracked carriers . equipped with 48 vickers medium machine guns , the battalion 's four machine gun companies – designated ' a ' to ' d ' and each consisting of three four - gun platoons – were initially formed separately , with ' a ' company forming at ingleburn , in new south wales , ' b ' company forming at puckapunyal , in victoria , ' c ' in south australia , and ' d ' at rutherford , in new south wales . at the end of the month , ' b ' and ' c ' companies concentrated at rutherford , before moving to ingleburn with ' d ' company in january 1940 . an intense period of training followed , with range shoots at liverpool , and field exercises in the green hills and areas , the latter being conducted in conjunction with the infantry battalions of the 18th brigade . this period concluded in early may 1940 , when the battalion was moved by train to darling harbour and embarked upon the queen mary . defence of britain the men aboard queen mary were originally destined for the middle east but a decision was made mid - voyage to divert them to the united kingdom , as part of a larger contingent of australians that were sent to help bolster the garrison there . after making the long passage via fremantle , cape town , and freetown , the battalion landed in gourock , scotland , in mid - june . france had just fallen , and britain was preparing for a potential cross - channel invasion . the australian troops from the 18th brigade and , eventually , the 25th brigade , along with various supporting arms , had been despatched to help bolster the island 's defences . from gourock , they entrained and moved south to tidworth camp on salisbury plain . they remained in britain throughout the rest of the year , undertaking training , mounting guard , conducting patrols and exercises . a move to colchester took place in october to afford the australians a more permanent barracks for the coming winter , as they were mainly under canvas at tidworth . the following month , as the threat of invasion seemingly passed , they received orders to move to glasgow to embark on the transport , bound for the middle east where they were to rejoin the rest of the 6th division . middle east , greece , and crete sailing around the west coast of africa to avoid the threat of air attack in the mediterranean , the carried the battalion to egypt , which was reached at the end of december , following stops at freetown and durban . after docking at kantara , the battalion moved by rail over 225 miles ( 362 km ) to ikingi maryut , west of alexandria in the western desert . there they received a new commanding officer , lieutenant colonel thomas gooch , after prior was promoted and transferred to divisional headquarters , and they began training to acclimatise to the new conditions . the rest of the 6th division had gone into action in the western desert but the 2 / 1st , still waiting on the majority of its equipment to arrive , was not committed , its place being taken by a british machine gun battalion from the royal northumberland fusiliers . the australian battalion remained at ikingi maryut until late march and early april , when it was despatched , along with the rest of the 6th division , to greece , where a german invasion was expected . spread across several different transport vessels , after completing the crossing – during which the battalion ’ s machine guns were employed for anti - aircraft defence – the 2 / 1st 's companies were split up : ' a ' company , supported the australian 2 / 4th battalion , while two companies – ' b ' and ' c ' – supported the new zealand 4th brigade , and another – ' d ' company – was assigned to the australian 17th brigade . the campaign proved to be short - lived , as the allies were quickly pushed back by the advancing germans , and the battalion was subsequently withdrawn around the end of april and early may , having fought major actions around the aliakmon river , servia pass , lamia and mount olympus . during the evacuation , elements of three companies were taken aboard the transport costa rica , which was later attacked by german aircraft . as the vessel was sinking , the troops on board were evacuated by royal navy destroyers and landed on crete , minus the majority of their equipment which was lost at sea . on crete , the battalion 's companies were once again separated ; ' d ' company , the only company in possession of all of its equipment , was assigned to support the australian 19th brigade around , while the other three companies went into camp around suda . a single platoon from ' b ' company was later sent to reinforce ' d ' company ; however , on 14 may , the remainder of the battalion – a total of 432 personnel – was evacuated from the island on the transport , sailing back to egypt and subsequently missing the german invasion of crete , which was launched a week later . a short but sharp campaign followed , which saw the machine gunners that remained – 170 personnel , including six officers – take part in fighting around canea and retimo before the island 's garrison was finally defeated at the end of may . by the end of the fighting , the 2 / 1st had lost 104 men killed , wounded or captured in either greece or on crete ; of these , two later escaped , while one died in captivity . after arriving in egypt , the remainder of the battalion was transported to palestine , where it was subsequently rebuilt . the 2 / 1st machine gun battalion remained stationed around gaza until october , when it was sent to syria to bolster the garrison that had been established there following the defeat of vichy french forces . at this time , the 2 / 1st effectively became assigned to the 7th division , and received a new commanding officer , as lieutenant colonel cyril fidock , a world war i veteran , replaced gooch . the battalion was subsequently stationed in damascus and at , remaining there until early 1942 , when it was moved back to gaza as part of the draw - down of australian forces in the middle east and their return to australia in response to japan 's entry into the war . the battalion embarked upon an american troop transport , uss west point , in mid - march 1942 , completing the voyage to port adelaide , via fremantle , in just 19 days . new guinea and borneo following the battalion 's arrival in adelaide , the men were billeted by locals in the city 's suburbs while leave drafts were despatched throughout april . in early may , the 2 / 1st was reconstituted at ingleburn , where it remained until june 1942 , when the order came to move to queensland . moving up the coast via train , the battalion established a camp near , in the sunshine coast hinterland . jungle training was undertaken there until september , when the 2 / 1st moved to another camp closer to the coast at deception bay . at the end of october , ' a ' and ' b ' companies embarked in brisbane , bound for new guinea , to reinforce the troops fighting around buna ; en route they were diverted to townsville , where they were unloaded . ' b ' company later re - embarked and arrived in port moresby in late november on the transport both , before moving to oro bay , where it was deployed defensively around the us base and the mission at . ' a ' company also deployed in december , and the following month also moved to oro bay . the rest of the battalion remained at deception bay in queensland and did not link up with the other companies until may 1943 , landing in port moresby from the duntroon . in the intervening period , the two deployed companies were temporarily detached to the militia 7th machine gun battalion , and ' a ' company went into action in the pacific for the first time , fighting around wau , before marching to nassau bay to support the 3rd division during the salamaua – lae campaign . the battalion was withdrawn back to australia in early 1944 for rest and reorganisation . during this period it was stationed at tenterfield , where the soldiers experienced a bitterly cold winter , before moving to petrie and then on the atherton tablelands . the battalion was reorganised to conform with the requirements of the jungle divisional establishment , and as a result its vehicles were changed to include jeeps and trailers , instead of trucks , which were considered impractical in the jungle . a change of commanding officer also took place in this time , with lieutenant colonel alexander haupt – who had previously served as battalion second - in - command before leaving to take over command of the 62nd battalion in january 1943 – returning to take over from fidock . a long period of training , which included courses in amphibious warfare and various jungle exercises followed , as the focus of the fighting in the pacific shifted away from australian forces towards the us military . consequently , it was not until close to the end of the war that the battalion went into action again . before this , the battalion contributed to an australian contingent that was sent to india to lecture british army officers on the lessons of jungle warfare . in may 1945 , the battalion was transported to morotai island in preparation for operation oboe , the recapture of borneo and the netherlands east indies . the 2 / 1st was assigned to support the 7th division 's landing on balikpapan in july . now largely being used as a divisional asset , the battalion provided a company to each of the division 's component brigades – the 18th , 21st and 25th – while one company remained in reserve with the headquarters . coming ashore aboard several landing craft , the two companies taking part in the initial assault – ' b ' and ' d ' – helped to secure the high ground overlooking the beachhead , while ' c ' company remained a floating reserve along with the 25th brigade . the battalion 's reserve company , ' a ' company , and headquarters element came ashore in a later wave to set up a secure base . during the subsequent advance inland , the battalion 's main focus was progressing through what the australians dubbed the " vasey highway " , which ran east – west along the island 's southern shore , as the australians fought to take the oil pipeline and the airfield at manggar , and the " milford highway " , which ran north – south through the centre into the more mountainous hinterland . during the fighting on borneo , the 2 / 1st lost 17 men killed or wounded . following the conclusion of hostilities , the battalion 's personnel were returned to australia in small drafts , as the 2 / 1st undertook garrison duties in the balikpapan area . the longer - serving men were repatriated and discharged early , while volunteers were transferred to other units that were being raised as part of the british commonwealth occupation force that would be deployed to japan . in november , a batch of men were transferred to the 21st brigade for occupation duties in the celebes as the australian forces began preparing to hand over the territories to dutch authorities . by december , the battalion consisted of less than fifty personnel , and at the end of the month this cadre embarked upon the transport kings point victory to make the journey back to australia . the battalion was subsequently disbanded on 26 january 1946 . when they had been formed , it was intended that the machine gun battalions would provide highly mobile fire support ; however , phillip hocking , author of the long carry , highlights that throughout the war the utility of the machine gun battalions was largely misunderstood by commanders , particularly after the focus of the australian army 's operations shifted to the pacific . some commanders used the machine guns largely in a static defensive capacity against short and medium range targets , rather than as offensive fire support weapons that could be employed to provide long range fire support . the medium machine guns were also largely utilised in the same manner as light machine guns , such as the bren . other reasons identified for the concept 's limited use include distrust of overhead fire by some commanders , a preference for organic fire support over attached sub - units , over - estimating the difficulty of transporting vickers guns in the jungle , and a tendency to ignore targets that could not be seen . after their disbandment , the machine gun battalion concept was not used in the post - war australian army , as the function became nested within the structure of a standard infantry battalion . one of the 2 / 1st machine gun battalion 's mascots , horrie the wog dog , was the subject of a book by ion idriess ; the book was based on stories recounted by the dog 's owner , jim moody , who served as a machine gunner in the 2 / 1st . over 2 , 000 personnel served in the 2 / 1st throughout the war , and 34 members of the battalion were killed in action , died of wounds or died from accident . decorations awarded included two military crosses , four military medals , one british empire medal and 16 mentions in despatches . commanders the following officers served as commanding officer of the 2 / 1st machine gun battalion : lieutenant colonel claude esdaile prior ( 1939 – 40 ) ; lieutenant colonel thomas neil gooch ( 1941 ) ; lieutenant colonel cyril henwood fidock ( 1941 – 44 ) ; lieutenant colonel alexander graham keith haupt ( 1944 – 45 ) . battle honours the 2 / 1st received the following battle honours for their involvement in the war : greece 1941 , mount olympus , servia pass , middle east 1941 , crete , south west pacific 1945 , borneo , balikpapan , and milford highway .