In late 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and invasion of Malaya, the battalion was called up for full-time war service. Initially, they were used to build and man defences at various locations around Victoria, however, later they were transferred to Western Australia where they became part of the 6th Brigade. By mid-1942, however, due to manpower shortages that occurred in the Australian economy as a result of over mobilisation of its military forces, the Australian government decided to disband a number of Militia units to release their personnel back into the civilian workforce. As a result, in September 1942, while at Geraldton, the 14th Battalion was merged with the 32nd Battalion, to become the &lt;a href="14th/32nd%20Battalion%20%28Australia%29"&gt;14th/32nd Battalion&lt;/a&gt;.