37th / 52nd Battalion ( Australia ) The 37th / 52nd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army . Formed in 1930 from two previously existing Militia battalions , the battalion remained on the Australian order of battle until 1937 . During World War II it was revived in 1942 and subsequently saw active service with the 4th Brigade against the Japanese in the Huon Peninsula and New Britain campaign s . It was disbanded after the war in 1946 . History . The 37th / 52nd Battalion was formed in the state of Victoria in 1930 as part of a rationalisation of the Australia ' s part - time military forces that came about as a result of the combined effects of the suspension of compulsory service by the newly elected Scullin Labor government and the Great Depression ; its predecessor units were the 37th and 52nd Battalions . Upon establishment , the unit adopted the territorial designation of the " Henty Regiment " . The battalion remained in existence until 1937 when , as part of an expansion of the Australian military due to concerns about the threat of war in Europe , the battalion was split to reform its predecessor units . In August 1942 , during World War II , the battalion was re - raised when it was decided to disband a number of Militia forces in response to a manpower shortage in the Australian economy that had been brought about by an over mobilisation of Australia ' s military forces . Initially , the battalion was assigned to the 10th Brigade and attached to the 3rd Division , however , it was later transferred to the 4th Brigade in September 1942 , where it joined the 29th / 46th and 22nd Battalion s . After a year of training in Queensland , in March 1943 , the battalion was deployed to Milne Bay along with the rest of the 4th Brigade , which was assigned to the 5th Division — newly converted to the Jungle establishment — at the time . After undertaking further jungle warfare training and serving as garrison troops loading and unloading ships , the 37th / 52nd Battalion , along with the rest of the 4th Brigade , was detached to the 9th Division to provide support during the Huon Peninsula campaign . Tasked with taking over responsibility for defending the beachhead from the 20th Brigade , they arrived in early September 1943 . After defending Red Beach and supporting the capture of Lae the battalion received a cadre of experienced 2nd Australian Imperial Force personnel as reinforcements as they began to prepare to undertake a more offensive role . Between December 1943 and April 1944 , the battalion carried out long range patrolling operations behind the mission at Sattelberg , which had been captured in November . When the Australian advance towards Sio resumed in December , the 4th Brigade was tasked with moving up the coast from Gusika to Lakona . In the process they captured Fortification Point and landed on Karkar Island , before garrisoning Madang in April . They remained there until August and the following month the 37th / 52nd was withdrawn back to Australia for rest and reorganisation . After training at Strathpine , Queensland , the battalion was deployed to New Britain . Originally it had been intended that they would be deployed earlier to reinforce the units of the 6th and 13th Brigades , however , a shortage of shipping delayed the movement of the 4th Brigade . As a result they did not arrive until January 1945 , landing at Wunung Bay . By that time the campaign on the island had devolved into mainly a holding action and as a result the 37th / 52nd remained at Wunung Bay , largely occupying itself with conducting jungle training . Some patrols were undertaken , however , and in May the battalion relieved the 36th Battalion at Open Bay , where they engaged in combat with the Japanese . In August 1945 the war came to an end and following this the 4th Brigade was moved to Rabaul to guard Japanese prisoners of war and restore law and order . As the demobilisation process began , members of the 37th / 52nd were repatriated to Australia for discharge , while others were transferred to other units for subsequent service . Slowly the battalion ' s frontage was reduced to the point where , on 12 June 1946 , the battalion was disbanded . During the course of its involvement in the war , the 37th / 52nd Battalion lost 30 men killed in action or died on active service , while a further 35 were wounded . Members of the battalion received the following decorations : one Distinguished Conduct Medal , one Military Medal and 10 Mentions in Despatches . Battle honours . The 37th / 52nd received the following battle honour s for its service during the war :