page_title: 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion (Australia)
section_title: Fighting in New Guinea and Borneo
hierarchical_section_title: 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion (Australia) / History / Fighting in New Guinea and Borneo
caption_attribution_description: English: AWM Caption: BRUNEI BAY AREA, NORTH BORNEO. JUNE 1945. MEMBERS OF B COMPANY, 2/2 MACHINE GUN BATTALION, MOVING ALONG THE ROAD FROM BROOKETON TO BRUNEI DURING THE OBOE 6 OPERATION.
context_page_description: The 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion was an infantry support unit of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force that was raised for service overseas during the Second World War. Formed in mid-1940 in Sydney, from personnel drawn from the states of Queensland and New South Wales, the battalion was allocated to the Australian 9th Division. After completing training in Australia, the battalion operated in the Middle East between early 1941 and early 1943, seeing action against German and Italian forces at the First and Second Battles of El Alamein, and undertaking garrison duties in Syria as part of the Allied garrison that was established there after the Syria–Lebanon campaign.
  In early 1943, the 2/2nd was brought back to Australia to fight several campaigns against the Japanese. The first of these came in September 1943 when the battalion landed east of Lae in New Guinea and then took part in the advance to secure the town, which fell within a fortnight.
context_section_description: Upon their return, a period of leave followed after which the battalion was re-constituted on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland in April 1943. The battalion was subsequently retrained, re-equipped and reorganised to prepare it for the rigours of jungle warfare and throughout this time several drafts of reinforcements were received. These were mainly drawn from the states of South Australia and Western Australia, which changed the demographics of the battalion's personnel.  Some personnel were also drawn from Europeans who had been living in New Guinea. Finally, the battalion received orders to deploy to the territory of Papua, and in August 1943 the 2/2nd arrived at Milne Bay, which had been developed into a large Allied base after the fighting there the previous year. After a month of garrison duties and work parties, the battalion was committed to the final actions of the Salamaua–Lae campaign. In early September 1943, it took part in the landing at Lae, as the 9th and 7th Divisions rushed to secure the town. During the 9th's landing east of the town, the battalion suffered 29 casualties in a single Japanese air attack, but overall the battalion's involvement in the advance resulted in only limited casualties as its personnel were mainly used to unload stores and equipment, as well providing local defence.
  Lae fell sooner than anticipated and the Allies moved quickly to consolidate, dispatching the 9th Division to secure the Huon Peninsula in late September. During the initial landing at Scarlet Beach, only one company from the 2/2nd was deployed – 'C' Company – in support of the 20th Brigade. Initially, the company was responsible for defending the beachhead around Scarlet Beach, but as the Australians fanned out and advanced south where Japanese resistance intensified, the machine gunners began patrolling operations further afield to the north and west. Once Finschhafen had been secured in early October, the Australians increased the size of their force ashore, landing the 24th Brigade, and along with it, the rest of the 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion. After this, the battalion formed the main part of the divisional reserve, carrying out labouring tasks and maintaining a mobile reserve to counter-attack if necessary. In November, as the 26th Brigade attacked Sattelberg, the machine guns of 'B' Company were used in an offensive role for the first time during the campaign. Following the fall of Sattelberg, elements of the battalion supported the advance to Wareo before supporting the subsequent advance to Sio as the Australians followed up the retreating Japanese. During December, 'A' Company was detached in support of the Militia 4th Brigade, before the 20th Brigade resumed the lead, marching on to Sio in mid-January 1944. The battalion remained in New Guinea until late February, unloading ships, before embarking upon the transport Seasnipe on 25 February as the 9th Division were relieved by the 5th and withdrawn to Australia for rest and reorganisation. After a short voyage, the 2/2nd disembarked in Brisbane in early March 1944. Total casualties sustained by the battalion in New Guinea were 12 dead and 53 wounded.
  A long period of relative inactivity subsequently followed as a result of inter-Allied service politics which saw the US Army assume primacy of operations in the Pacific, and indecision about the future role of Australian forces in the Pacific campaign. During this time, the battalion was based around Ravenshoe in Queensland, and was virtually rebuilt, having fallen to a strength of just over 250 personnel due to the effects of tropical diseases and losses suffered during the previous campaign. The battalion was transferred to the "tropical war establishment" during this period as part of an Army-wide reorganisation intended to optimise units for jungle warfare. As a result of this change, the battalion was no longer considered a motorised unit with its guns largely being carried across the battlefield by soldiers moving on foot. It was mostly a notional change as the battalion had lost the majority of its
caption: Members of B Company of the 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion moving along a road between Brooketon and Brunei during the Borneo Campaign
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