page_title: 29th Battalion (Australia)
section_title: First World War
hierarchical_section_title: 29th Battalion (Australia) / History / First World War
caption_attribution_description: AWM Caption: Warfusée-Abancourt, France. Lieutenant Rupert Frederick Arding Downes MC addressing his Platoon from B Company, 29th Battalion, during a rest near the villages of Warfusée-Abancourt and Lamotte-en-Santerre before the advance onto Harbonnières, the battalion's second objective. The background is obscured by the smoke of heavy shellfire. Pictured, left to right: 5085 Sergeant (Sgt) William Patrick O'Brien of Gordon, Vic, a schoolteacher in civilian life, was killed in action on 9 August 1918; 4271 Private (Pte) James Cryer was born at Bury, Lancashire, a farmer when he enlisted at Armidale, NSW, later transferring to the 32nd Battalion; 4103 Pte Charles Alfred Olive of Lara, Vic was initially rejected before enlisting in September 1916, was killed in action near Bellicourt on 30 September 1918; 677 Lance Corporal (L Cpl) Louis Price MM of Maryborough, Vic, an original member of B company, was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in Belgium in 1917, and later transferred to the 32nd Battalion; 5095 Pte Harry James Phillips , a packer in civilian life, the youngest in the platoon at nineteen years of age, was wounded on 29 August 1918, returning to Australia in December 1918; 4733 Pte Horace Joseph Buckley , a clerk of Kyneton, Vic, was wounded in action on 9 August 1918, later transferring to the 32nd Battalion where his frequent periods of absenteeism continued; 509 L Cpl Alexander Bethuen Craven , a labourer of Ballarat, Vic, served three years with the battalion before transferring to the 32nd Battalion; 5088 Pte Patrick O'Grady of Galway, Ireland was employed as a miller in Melbourne, Vic, before enlistment and he also transferred to the 32nd Battalion; 5057 Pte Timothy Leyden of Trentham, Vic, a railway employee in civilian life, was gassed on 27 August 1918, transferring to the 5th Battalion on 22 November 1918; 5116 Pte Edward Thomlinson , a driver of Stawell, Vic, the oldest member of the platoon at forty four years of age, was taken on strength with the battalion on 6 June 1918, later transferring to the 32nd Battalion 5014 Pte Herbert Davidson , a leather worker of Brunswick, Vic, later transferred to the 32nd Battalion; 6827 Pte Horace John Towers , a farm labourer of Cootamundra, NSW, later transferred to the 32nd Battalion, and was admitted to the Abbeville Hospital on 9 November 1918 suffering broncho-pneumonia where he died on 11 November 1918; 4349 L Cpl Thomas John Barrett Pope , born at Westbury-on-Tyne, Gloucestershire, a farmer of Sydney, NSW, was wounded in action on 30 September 1918; 2568 Pte John Leslie Gordon Arlow of Warrnambool, Vic, a blacksmith in civilian life, was killed in action near Bellicourt on 30 September 1918; 3207 L Cpl John Bird , a carpenter of South Melbourne, Vic, later transferred to the 32nd Battalion; 560 Pte Frederick George Hall (front of line) , an iron moulder of South Melbourne, Vic, an original member of B company, was wounded in action twice; Lieutenant R. F. A. Downes MC (right) of Camden, NSW, was an orchardist prior to enlistment, sailed as a second lieutenant and was promoted to lieutenant in May 1917. He was awarded the Military Cross for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" at Morlancourt in July 1918 and like most of his men was transferred to the 32nd Battalion with the reorganisation of battalions which took place in 1918
context_page_description: The 29th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. First formed in 1915 for service during the First World War as part of the Australian Imperial Force, it fought in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Belgium before being disbanded in late 1918 to provide reinforcements for other heavily depleted Australian units. In 1921, following the demobilisation of the AIF, the battalion was re-raised as a unit of Australia's part-time military forces, based in Melbourne, Victoria, before being amalgamated with the 22nd Battalion in 1930. It was later re-raised in its own right and, following the outbreak of the Second World War, undertook garrison duties in Australia before being amalgamated with the 46th Battalion to form the 29th/46th Battalion in late 1942, subsequently seeing service against the Japanese in New Guinea and on New Britain.
context_section_description: The 29th Battalion was originally formed during the First World War, being raised in Victoria as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 10 August 1915. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Bennett, an officer with over 20 years service in the part-time military forces, the battalion undertook initial training at Seymour and then later Broadmeadows Camp along with the three other battalions of the 8th Brigade, to which it was assigned. In November 1915, the battalion embarked upon the troopship HMAT Ascanius in Port Melbourne and departed Australian waters, disembarking at Port Suez, Egypt on 7 December 1915. The battalion arrived in the Middle East too late to take part in the fighting at Gallipoli, and as a result they were initially used to undertake defensive duties to protect the Suez Canal from Ottoman forces. They also undertook a comprehensive training program and by the time their orders arrived to transfer to Europe in June 1916, they had reached their peak.  They subsequently embarked the troopship HMT Tunisian in Alexandria, bound for France on 14 June. Upon the battalion's arrival in Egypt, the 8th Brigade had been unattached at divisional level, but in early 1916, it was assigned to the 5th Division, after a reorganisation that saw the AIF expanded from two infantry divisions to five.
  The battalion arrived at Marseilles on 23 June and afterwards was transported by rail to Hazebrouck. On 8 July the 5th Division was called up to the front from training behind lines in order to replace the battalions of the Australian 4th Division which were being transferred to the Somme. The 29th Battalion undertook a difficult two-day 29-mile (47 km) approach march over cobbled roads with loads of up to 70–75 pounds (32–34 kg) before arriving at the front on the night of 10/11 July. Taking up a position between Boutillerie and Condonerrie in the Bois Grenier, they relieved the 13th Battalion and on 19 July subsequently took part in an attack against the German positions around the "Delangre Farm" which was being held by the 21st Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. Following the attack, the battalion held the line for another 11 days, beating off a particularly heavy German counterattack on 20 July, before they were eventually relieved. During their introduction to trench warfare, the 29th Battalion lost 52 men killed in action, and another 164 men wounded.
  For the next two and half years they fought in a number of major battles in the trenches along the Western Front including Polygon Wood, Amiens and the St Quentin Canal, as well as playing a supporting role in a number of others including Bullecourt and Morlancourt. During the Allied Hundred Days Offensive that was launched on 8 August 1918, the battalion took part in the 8th Brigade's advance up the treacherous Morcourt Valley, subsequently achieving a considerable feat by capturing the town of Vauvillers. The battalion fought its last battle of the war in late September alongside the US 30th Infantry Division, when they breached the German defences along the Hindenburg Line as part of the final Allied offensive of the war. Aimed at the Le Catelet Line near Bellicourt, the battalion began its advance on Nauroy on 29 September, moving on the left flank beside elements of the US 117th Infantry Regiment, with the 32nd Battalion in support. The attack proved highly successful and 59 prisoners were captured along with four field guns and a quantity of German small arms. Against this the battalion lost 17 men killed and 63 wounded.
  Following this, they were withdrawn from the front line. By this time casualties amongst the Australian Corps had reached critical level and as a result many battalions—from an authorised strength of over 1,000 men—were only able to field between 300 and 400. As a result, the decision was made to reduce the number of infantry battalions in each brigade from four to three by disbanding one battalion and using its personnel to reinforce the others. The 29th Battalion was one of those chosen to be broken up and as a result on 19 Octobe
caption: A platoon commander from the 29th Battalion addresses his troops, 8 August 1918
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)"}