page_title: 17th Brigade (Australia)
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: 17th Brigade (Australia) / History / World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: 2/5th Battalion, Australian Army, Second World War. Members of the battalion man gun pits in New Guinea on 7 August 1943
context_page_description: The 17th Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Australian Army. First raised in 1912 as a Militia formation to provide training under the compulsory training scheme, the brigade was later re-raised as part of the First Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Established in 1917 in the United Kingdom, it was broken up and disbanded without seeing action, and its personnel used as reinforcements for other formations. Reformed during World War II, it took part in fighting in Libya, Greece, Crete, Syria in 1941–1942. Following Japan's entry into the war, the Australian government pressed for the 6th Division's return, and the 17th Brigade was subsequently brought back from the Middle East, via Ceylon where they undertook defensive duties until July 1942. Following the brigade's return to Australia, it was deployed to New Guinea for two campaigns: the Salamaua–Lae campaign in 1943 and the Aitape–Wewak campaign in 1944–1945. After the war, the brigade was disbanded in January 1946. Today, its name is perpetuated by the 17th Sustainment Brigade, which was raised as a logistics formation in May 2006.
context_section_description: Following the outbreak of World War II, the 17th Brigade was reformed as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). Once again it formed part of the 6th Division. Its headquarters was raised at the Melbourne Showgrounds on 13 October 1939, and upon formation it consisted of four infantry battalions – 2/5th, 2/6th, 2/7th and 2/8th – all of which were  recruited from Victoria. Basic training was undertaken at Puckapunyal, after which the brigade embarked for overseas,  under the command of Brigadier Stanley Savige. They arrived in the Middle East in April 1940 and by May were stationed in Palestine. That month, the 2/8th Infantry Battalion was transferred to the 19th Brigade, as the 2nd AIF adopted the triangular brigade structure that was standard in the British Army. Further training was carried out in Egypt, at Helway, in September, at which point the 17th Brigade received the remainder of its war equipment. Divisional exercises were undertaken around Ikingi Maryut in October and November, during which the 16th and 17th Brigades practised assault techniques, while the 19th Brigade assumed a defensive role. After this, the 6th Division was deployed to Libya in preparation for their commitment to the Western Desert Campaign.
  In January 1941, the Australians went into action for the first time around Bardia. While the 16th Brigade led the assault, the 17th Brigade was assigned a supporting role. The 2/7th Infantry Battalion provided the division's reserve element, while the 2/6th carried out an advance to the south of the fortress to divert the defenders' attention. Following the initial phase of the operation, the 2/5th and 2/7th then pushed through the gap created by the 16th Brigade and advanced south-easterly against the Italian defences. The brigade struggled to make progress during this phase, though, and had to be reinforced by the 2/11th Infantry Battalion from the 19th Brigade. This was followed by the capture of Tobruk, during which the 17th Brigade was again allocated a secondary role, providing reinforcements to the assaulting brigades. In the aftermath, the Italians began to fall back towards Tripoli. The 17th Brigade was pushed forward in pursuit, with the 2/7th Infantry Battalion capturing Barce and then Marsa Brega before the 20th Brigade arrived to relieve them, as part of preparations to redeploy the 6th Division to Greece in response to promises to defend the country against an expected German invasion. The brigade subsequently concentrated around Amiriya, in Egypt.
  The 6th Division deployed in stages, with the 16th deploying first, followed by the 19th. The 17th arrived in mid-April, disembarking at Piraeus along with the 2/11th Infantry Battalion, which had not deployed with the rest of the 19th Brigade. They arrived as the German invasion was in full swing and upon their arrival the troops were loaded into trucks and driven to the front line around Larissa with orders to form a blocking position. While the 2/6th and 2/7th Infantry Battalions established rearguard positions around Domokos, the brigade's headquarters formed an ad hoc formation consisting of the 2/5th and 2/11th Infantry Battalions and took up positions on the Grevena–Kalabaka road. As the German advance pushed the Allies back, the brigade was pushed south in a series of withdrawals until they were ordered to evacuate from Kalamata in late April.
  While the majority of the brigade was evacuated back to Palestine, in the confusion the 2/7th was sent to Crete while several hundred men from the 2/5th and 2/6th were also landed after their troopship, the Costa Rica, was sunk en route to Alexandria. The 2/7th was attached to the 19th Brigade at this time, while the two smaller battalions formed a 17th Brigade Composite Battalion, which was assigned to Cremor Force. Cremor Force assumed defensive positions around the western end of the island, with the 17th Brigade Composite Battalion located around Suda Point, while the 2/7th defended Georgiopolis. On 20 May, the Germans launched an invasion of Crete, after which the
caption: Members of the 2/5th Battalion man defensive positions in New Guinea, August 1943
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