2 / 3rd Field Regiment ( Australia ) The 2 / 3rd Field Regiment was an Australian Army field artillery regiment that was raised for service during the Second World War . Formed in 1939 and assigned to the 6th Division , the regiment was deployed to the United Kingdom to defend against a possible invasion in 1940 before being sent to North Africa , where it briefly saw action prior to being sent to Greece and Crete in 1941 . In 1942 , the regiment returned to Australia , after which it did not see action again until late in the war when it was committed to the Aitape – Wewak campaign in 1944 – 45 . Following the end of the war , the regiment returned to Australia and was disbanded in January 1946 . History . Formed on 1 November 1939 at Wayville , South Australia , the regiment had an establishment of 32 officers and 595 other ranks , which were drawn from all six Australian states and the Northern Territory . The majority of the officers and non - commissioned officers were appointed from the Militia . South Australian recruits represented the largest intake and were organised into a complete subunit , the 5th Battery , while recruits from the other states were allocated to the 6th Battery . Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Athol Hobbs , the regiment began basic training at Woodside Camp during November , before moving to Ingleburn , New South Wales , the following month where more involved training was undertaken . Basic equipment and vehicles were received at this time , but no artillery pieces were issued . In May 1940 , the regiment embarked on HMT " Queen Mary " for the United Kingdom , arriving there in June . Established at Tidworth in Wiltshire , and then later at Colchester , the regiment was employed on garrison duties to defend against a potential German invasion following the Fall of France . During this time , it was partially broken up to provide personnel to fill out the newly forming 2 / 31st , 2 / 32nd and 2 / 33rd Infantry Battalions . In August , the regiment received a new commanding officer when Lieutenant Colonel Horace Strutt took over . Shortly after this , the regiment was equipped with 25 - pounder artillery pieces and Morris gun tractors . It was the first Australian artillery regiment to receive the 25 - pounders . With the threat of invasion over , the regiment was moved to North Africa in November 1940 aboard the " Empress of Canada " . Assigned to the 6th Division , the regiment saw action against the Italians at Tobruk where they supported the 19th Infantry Brigade . Benghazi fell next and after that was taken , the regiment deployed one battery forward in support of the 17th Infantry Brigade at Marsa Brega . A short time later , though , the regiment was withdrawn back to Ikingi Maryut to re - organise . In early April 1941 , the regiment was sent to Greece , where it supported Australian and New Zealand infantry who were fighting to stop the German invasion there . After arriving on 6 April , the regiment moved forward towards the Yugoslav border where it attempted to defend Vevi in the Florina Valley three days later , where they had the distinction of being the first Australian artillery unit to engage German forces during the war . After mauling an SS force on the Itia – Vevi road , as the Australian and New Zealand forces were pushed back to Servia on 11 April , amidst driving snow the regiment fought a desperate rearguard effort around the Klidi Pass , firing over open sights at advancing German infantry . Falling back by battery through thick mud , the regiment came under attack from German fighter - bombers before they eventually affected their withdrawal . A disastrous series of withdrawals followed in which the regiment lost all of its equipment . A week later , further withdrawals took them towards Elasson , where the regiment was briefly attached in support of the 6th New Zealand Brigade . On 18 April , the fighting was so intense that the regiment ' s guns fire over 6 , 000 rounds in a twenty - four hour period as it attempted to thwart the advance of a German armoured column near Mount Olympus . Later the regiment supported the 4th New Zealand Brigade around Erithrai . Finally , on 27 April the regiment was evacuated from Greece on board HMS " Ajax " and withdrawn back to Crete . Initially assigned to a makeshift infantry unit to carry out garrison duties , in early May the regiment was re - equipped with captured Italian and French pieces including 75 mm and 100 mm guns , the regiment was assigned a coastal defence role and moved to Georgiopolis , on the south - east coast of Suda Bay , where the men set to work digging - in in the hills overlooking the beach . When the fighting broke out following the arrival of German parachute troops on 20 May , the regiment was transported to Maleme airfield . Another battery was detached to Retimo and in these places the regiment fought with its guns in support of the 19th Infantry Brigade , while around Meg Khorafia some of the regiment ' s personnel were thrown into the line as infantry . Around Galatas , as the Germans pressed hard against the Australian and New Zealand defences , the regiment found itself holding the line as the infantry fell back , and as the guns fired over open sights , the gunners defended themselves with small arms . Later during the month , as the Allies were forced back towards Sphakia , to prevent the Germans from capturing it , the regiment had to destroy most of its equipment . Two of the captured 75 mm guns were saved , though , and were manpacked by men from ' B ' Troop over mountainous terrain to act in a rearguard role between Sphakia and Suda , while the Royal Navy attempted to evacuate the stranded troops . The regiment continued to fight until it was withdrawn by sea on 31 May , leaving behind 129 men who were captured by the Germans . Amongst these were the men from ' B ' Troop , who had formed the rearguard protecting the evacuation beach . After the departure of the last transport ship , they attempted to evade capture but were eventually rounded up by German patrols . The regiment ' s total losses for Greece and Crete were 27 killed and 47 wounded . In addition to the men captured on Crete , one other had been captured in Greece . Those that were captured were first sent to Salonica before being sent to a number of prisoner of wars camp in Germany , Italy and Austria . While prisoners , numerous escape attempts were made by men from the 2 / 3rd , although ultimately only four men successfully avoided recapture following their escape . While being reformed and re - equipped in Palestine , the regiment received a new commanding officer in October 1941 with the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Dyke , a regular officer . A third battery – the 53rd – was raised within the regiment at this time and the regiment adopted a new structure which saw each battery consist of two four - gun troops . This resulted in the regiment ' s authorised strength reaching 736 personnel of all ranks . The regiment remained in the Middle East until February 1942 when the 6th Division was recalled back to Australia in response to the growing threat posed by Japan ' s entry into the war . Arriving in Adelaide in March , the regiment was stationed at Aldgate until May when it was transferred to Townsville , Queensland , by rail . There , the regiment was reallocated to the 5th Division and assigned a coastal defence role in Cairns , operating antiquated 18 - pounder guns . In November , Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Bleby took over as commanding officer . In June 1943 , the regiment returned to the 6th Division and was moved to the Atherton Tablelands , where it was re - organised for jungle warfare . This resulted in the regiment ' s establishment dropping to 688 personnel . It was also re - equipped with a quantity of short 25 - pounder s as well as some of the standard pieces . Still , due to a perception in the Army that there was little need for artillery in jungle warfare , the regiment did not see action again until December 1944 when it joined the 6th Division ' s campaign in Aitape – Wewak , once again assigned to the 19th Brigade . In January 1945 , the regiment received four 4 . 2 - inch mortar s to assist in the provision of close support to long - range infantry patrols ; two 155 mm guns were also added to the regiment ' s equipment scale . Throughout January and February , the regiment supported the advance from Aitape to the Danmap River . As the campaign progressed , in March they were switched to operations between Maprik and Wewak . Late in the campaign , Bleby left the regiment on promotion to 1st Division Headquarters and was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Chapman . The regiment saw action right up until the end of the war , and had the distinction of firing the last fire mission in the New Guinea campaign , when on 15 August , it fired 1 , 000 rounds on " six regimental targets " eight hours after Japan ' s surrender to deal with a Japanese artillery unit that was continuing to hold out . Following the conclusion of hostilities , the regiment returned to Australia and was eventually disbanded at Puckapunyal , Victoria , on 18 January 1946 . The regiment ' s casualties amounted to 46 men killed in action or died of wounds or accident , 49 wounded and 130 captured out of a total of 1 , 887 men who served in its ranks . The following decorations were awarded to 2 / 3rd members : one Distinguished Service Order , three Orders of the British Empire , four Military Cross es , two Distinguished Conduct Medal s , one Military Medal and 43 Mentions in Despatches . Commanding officers . The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2 / 3rd Field Regiment :