page_title: 15th Battalion (Australia)
section_title: Fighting on Bougainville
hierarchical_section_title: 15th Battalion (Australia) / History / Second World War / Fighting on Bougainville
caption_attribution_description: A mortar crew from the 15th Infantry Battalion (Oxley Regiment) on Bougainville, July 1945
context_page_description: The 15th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Formed in 1914 as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force from Queensland and Tasmanian recruits, the battalion fought during the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front during the First World War. It was disbanded after the war in 1919, but later re-raised as a part-time Citizens Forces unit based in Queensland in 1921, consisting of a mixture of volunteers and conscripts. Economic pressures and limited manpower resulted in the battalion being amalgamated with other battalions a couple of times during the inter-war years. In mid-1939, as rising tensions in Europe led to an expansion of the Australian military, the battalion was re-formed in its own right. During the Second World War the 15th Battalion was mobilised for wartime service and initially undertook defensive duties in Australia before taking part in the fighting against the Japanese in New Guinea and Bougainville in 1943–1945. The battalion was disbanded in 1946 and never re-raised.
context_section_description: The battalion remained in the vicinity of Lae until June 1944, when it was withdrawn to Australia. It established itself at Strathpine, before moving to Samford, in the greater Brisbane area. After a period of leave, the battalion was re-organised in preparation for employment in the Bougainville campaign, remaining with the 29th Brigade, which was transferred to the 3rd Division. The 3rd had adopted the "jungle divisional" establishment, and the battalion's authorised strength fell from 910 to 803.
  To free up US troops for service in the Philippines, the Australians took over from the US garrison on Bougainville, and the 3rd Division arrived around Torokina, on Bougainville, in November 1944. Prior to their arrival, the US garrison had maintained a defensive posture, but the Australians launched a limited-scale offensive on the island which evolved into three main drives in the north, south and in the centre of the island. The 15th Battalion embarked on the transport Cape Victory at Pinkenba on 23 November, and arrived on Bougainville on four days later. Along with the rest of the 29th Brigade, it relieved the US 182 Infantry Regiment, and was assigned to the southern drive towards Buin, where the main Japanese force was based. Its first involvement with the campaign came in December, when the 15th Battalion departed the Jaba River and led the 29th Brigade's advance along the western coast towards the Tavera River. Upon reaching the river, in order to skirt around the thick jungle, a company was sent up the Adele River on a barge, while the rest of the battalion advanced inland along the Mendai Road. By January 1945, the 15th was joined by the 29th Brigade's other two battalions and together they fought through to Mawaraka, before being relieved by the 15th Battalion's old formation, the 7th Brigade. They were subsequently sent back to Torokina for rest, remaining there until early July 1945.
  At that point, the 29th Brigade was committed to the fighting again, moving to the Mivo River, where it took over the advance from the 15th Brigade. As the 15th Battalion advanced to relieve the 57th/60th Battalion, it clashed with Japanese units and, on 3 July, as a company from the 47th Battalion came under heavy attack, one the 15th Battalion's platoons was dispatched with two tanks in support to provide assistance. Heavy fighting continued throughout the afternoon following their arrival, during which at least 20 Japanese were killed. The 15th Battalion occupied a position around Sisikatekori and along Killen's Track, in the southern sector of the brigade's area, while the Australians made preparations to resume the advance towards the Buin stronghold. The most-forward battalion, on 6 July it was subjected to heavy attacks as the Japanese sought to infiltrate the Australian forward positions and cut their lines of communication. As a result of these attacks, the plan to advance was cancelled temporarily.
  Patrols from the 15th were sent out daily to wrest the initiative and frequent actions followed, sometimes involving contacts with Japanese forces up to 70 strong. These small-scale actions culminated in a large-scale attack on 'D' Company on 9 July, in which 34 Japanese were killed and two captured for the loss of two Australians killed and four wounded. After this, patrols were sent out across the Mivo, but strong Japanese resistance, and heavy rain, frustrated the 15th's efforts to carry out a detailed reconnaissance of the opposite bank, effectively halting the Australian advance and ending significant combat in the island's south. The battalion was able to send patrols across the Mivo in early August, although at least one man was swept downstream in the swollen waters, and a number of clashes occurred between 3 and 5 August. On 3 August, a small patrol killed six Japanese after surprising a platoon to the east of the Mivo River, and the following day a further 19 Japanese were killed in clashes with the 15th Battalion, while one soldier from the battalion was killed and another wounded when the Japanese exploded a mine by
caption: A mortar crew from the 15th Battalion on Bougainville, July 1945
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