2nd Battalion (Australia)

2nd Battalion
Officers from the 2nd Battalion at Giza, December 1914
Active	1914–19 1921–29 1939–43 1948–60 1965–87
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~1,000 men
Part of	1st Brigade 8th Brigade
Nickname(s)	City of Newcastle Regiment
Motto(s)	Nulli Secundus (Second To None)
Colours	Purple over Green
March	Braganza
Engagements	First World War Gallipoli campaign Western Front Second World War
Commanders
Notable commanders	George Braund Thomas Blamey
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch
Abbreviation	2 RNSWR

First World War

The 2nd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was initially raised for service during the First World War as part the Australian Imperial Force and saw action at Gallipoli before being sent to the Western Front in mid-1916, where it spent the next two-and-a-half years taking part in the fighting in the trenches of France and Belgium. Following the conclusion of hostilities, the battalion was disbanded in early 1919 as part of the demobilisation process.

In 1921, the battalion was re-raised as a part-time unit of the Citizens Forces based in Newcastle, New South Wales, drawing lineage from a number of previously existing infantry units. They remained in existence until 1929 when, due to austerity measures during the Great Depression and manpower shortages, the battalion was amalgamated with two other infantry battalions over the course of a number of re-organisations. It was re-formed in 1939 and undertook garrison duty in Australia during the Second World War until 1943 when it was merged once again.

Following the end of the war, the 2nd Battalion was re-raised as part of the Citizens Military Force in 1948. In 1960, it was reduced to a company-level formation but was re-formed as a battalion of the Royal New South Wales Regiment in 1965. It remained on the Australian order of battle until 1987 when it was amalgamated with the 17th Battalion, to form the 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment, a unit which remains part of the Australian Army Reserve today.

The 2nd Battalion was raised at Randwick, New South Wales, in August 1914 as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), which was formed from volunteers for overseas service shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Drawing the majority of its personnel from the Maitland, Newcastle and Hunter Valley regions of the state of New South Wales, the battalion formed part of the 1st Brigade and, along with the 1st, 3rd and 4th Battalions, it was one of the first infantry units raised by Australia following its entry into the war. Upon formation, the battalion was established with a complement of over 1,000 men organised into a headquarters, a machine-gun section of two heavy Maxim medium machine-guns, and eight rifle companies, each consisting of three officers and 117 other ranks. The battalion's first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel George Braund, a citizen soldier and Member of Parliament in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, who held the seat of Armidale.