page_title: 19th Battalion (Australia)
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: 19th Battalion (Australia) / History / World War I
caption_attribution_description: AWM caption&#160;: "Broodseinde Ridge, Belgium. 5 October 1917. The Headquarters of the 24th Battalion (2nd Division), established in a dugout on Broodseinde Ridge, the day following the capture of the Ridge. Troops of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions took a conspicuous part in the operations". Identified&#160;: Signaller (Sig) C (E J&#160;?). Bice, 24th Battalion (1) Lieutenant (Lt) E. S. Baldock MC, 24th Battalion (2) Sig R. Mills, 24th Battalion (3) Private Whitbread, runner, 24th Battalion (4) Corporal (Cpl) C. Mitchell DCM MM, 24th Battalion (5) unidentified 19th Battalion runner (6) Sig V. Wallis, 24th Battalion (7) ?Lt, 19th Battalion Signals Officer (8) 82 Cpl Joseph F. Calcutt, 24th Battalion (9)
context_page_description: The 19th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Although the unit's numerical designation was bestowed upon it during World War I, the unit can trace its origins back to 1860 when a Volunteer Rifle corps was raised in South Sydney. During World War I, the 19th Battalion was raised as a unit of the Australian Imperial Force, attached to the 5th Brigade, of the 2nd Division. The unit was formed in 1915 and was first sent to Gallipoli where it fought against the Turks, before being withdrawn from the peninsula and being sent to France in early 1916, where it served in the trenches along the Western Front. Over the next two years the battalion fought in many major battles and won numerous battle honours. In April 1918, it took part in defending against the German Spring Offensive, before the Allies launched their own last-ditch effort as part of the Hundred Days Offensive. The battalion was disbanded in October 1918 due to manpower shortages in the AIF and most of its men were sent to reinforce the other three battalions of the 5th Brigade.
  In 1921, the 19th Battalion was reformed as part of the Citizens Forces, becoming known as the 19th Battalion.
context_section_description: This force was known as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). As a part of this, the 19th Battalion was raised in March 1915, in Liverpool, New South Wales, drawing some of its personnel from men who had already served with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force. Upon establishment the battalion was assigned to the 5th Brigade, which was part of the 2nd Division. After completing basic training in Australia, the battalion was dispatched to Egypt where further training was undertaken. Later, the battalion was sent to Anzac Cove as part of a wave of reinforcements that were sent to the peninsula following the initial landing,  arriving there on 21 August 1915. Following that, it took part in the attack on Battle of Hill 60, during which it was dispatched to the Azmak Dere, where a gap had formed following the British 11th Division's withdrawal amidst confused fighting.
  After this, the battalion was mainly employed in the defence of Pope's Hill, until it was withdrawn on 19 December 1915. It returned to Egypt and was involved in the defence of the Suez Canal zone in the early months of 1916. The battalion was then sent to France. Arriving there on 22 March 1916, the battalion moved to the Armentières area for familiarisation of trench warfare procedures on the Western Front, a completely different style of warfare to that encountered on Gallipoli. In July 1916, as part of the 2nd Division's relief of the 1st Division, the battalion arrived at Pozières, where it took part in the Battle of Pozières. In November 1916, following a period of respite in a quieter sector in Belgium, the 19th Battalion involved in an attack on a trench system known as "the Maze" near Flers, suffered devastating losses in winter conditions that were described as the "worst ever encountered by the AIF".
  In 1917, the 19th Battalion was involved in the attack on German forces after their retreat to the Hindenburg Line. The battalion also took part in three other major battles in 1917, Second Bullecourt, Menin Road and Poelcappelle in Belgium. In 1918 the battalion helped to repel the German Spring Offensive, and it was during this time, on 7 April 1918, that Lieutenant Percy Storkey earned a Victoria Cross for his actions during the fighting in Hangard Wood. Following this, the battalion took part in the Allied  offensive that eventually brought about the end of the war, fighting around Amiens and Mont St Quentin before coming up against the "Beaurevoir Line" at Estrees on 3–4 October 1918. This engagement was the battalion's last combat operation in the war, as the whole of 2nd Division was withdrawn from the line after the 6th Brigade's attack on Montbrehain on 5–6 October. On 10 October 1918, while resting near Vignacourt, the 19th Battalion was disbanded in order to reinforce other battalions in the 5th Brigade.
  During the war, the battalion suffered 2,903 casualties.  There are 874 names of 19th Battalion personnel killed in action recorded on the Australian War Memorial (AWM) Roll of Honour. Members of the 19th Battalion received the following decorations: one Victoria Cross, five Distinguished Service Orders (DSOs), one Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), 20 Distinguished Conduct Medals (DCMs), 31 Military Crosses (MCs), 90 Military Medals (MMs), eight Meritorious Service Medals (MSMs) and 19 Mentions in Despatches (MIDs). For its war service, the battalion was awarded 20 battle honours.
caption: Australian soldiers, including a runner from the 19th Battalion, at Broodseinde Ridge, October 1917
exif: {}