2/24th Battalion (Australia)

For other uses, see 24th Battalion (Australia).

2/24th Battalion
Active	1940–1946
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–900 personnel
Part of	26th Brigade, 7th Division 26th Brigade, 9th Division
Nickname(s)	"Wangaratta'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 2/24th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, which served during the Second World War. Formed in July 1940 from primarily Victorian volunteers, the battalion served in North Africa in 1941–42 as part of the 26th Brigade, which was assigned to the 7th Division, before 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 2/24th Battalion received the following battle honours:

• Busu River, Sattelberg, Wareo, Wareo-Lakona, Tarakan, Tell el Eisa, North Africa 1941-42, Defence of Tobruk, The Salient 1941, Defence of Alamein Line, El Alamein, South-West Pacific 1943-45, Lae-Nadzab, Finschhafen, Liberation of Australian New Guinea and Borneo.

Commanding officers

The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/24th:

• Charles Hector Finlay;
• Andrew Basil Gillespie;
• Allan Spowers; and
• George Radford Warfe.

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

• "The Second twenty-fourth : Australian Infantry Battalion of the 9th Australian Division : a history". Jacaranda Press. 1963. http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10819169. Retrieved 11 July 2012.