2/13th Battalion (Australia)

2/13th Battalion
Active	1940–1946
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–900 personnel
Part of	20th Brigade, 7th Division 20th Brigade, 9th Division
Nickname(s)	“Devil’s Own”
Engagements	World War II Siege of Tobruk First Battle of El Alamein Second Battle of El Alamein Huon Peninsula campaign Borneo Campaign

The 2/13th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, which served during the Second World War. Formed in April 1940 from primarily New South Wales volunteers, as part of the 20th Brigade of the 7th Division, the battalion served in North Africa in 1941–42, after being reassigned to the 9th Division. In early 1943 the battalion returned to Australia and later took part in campaigns against the Japanese in New Guinea in 1943–44 and Borneo in 1945, before being disbanded in 1946.

Battle honours

The 2/13th Battalion received the following battle honours:

• Defence of Tobruk, El Alamein, South-West Pacific 1943-45, Lae-Nadzab, Liberation of Australian New Guinea, Sio, North Africa 1941-42, Er Regima, El Adem Road, Tobruk 1941, Belhamed, Defence of Alamein Line, Finschhafen, Scarlet Beach, Bumi River, Defence of Scarlet Beach, Jivenaneng-Kumawa, Borneo, Brunei and Miri.

Commanding officers

The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/13th:

• Frederick Alexander Burrows;
• George Edward Colvin; and
• Robert William Newton Turner.

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References

• Palazzo, Albert (2003). "Organising for Jungle Warfare". In Dennis, Peter; Grey, Jeffrey. The Foundations of Victory: The Pacific War 1943–1944. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Army History Unit. ISBN 978-0-646-43590-9. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. http://web.archive.org/web/20121111052548/http://www.defence.gov.au/Army/ahu/docs/The_Foundations_of_Victory_Palazzo.pdf. Retrieved 20 April 2011. 

Further reading

• "We had some bother : tales from the infantry". 2/13 Battalion Association]. 1985. ISBN 978-0-9595540-1-4.