32nd Battalion ( Australia ) The 32nd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army . It was first raised in 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force and was initially made up of personnel from South Australia and Western Australia . The battalion served in France and Belgium during the First World War before being disbanded in 1919 . It was re - raised in 1921 as the " 32nd Battalion ( Footscray Regiment ) " , a unit of the part - time Militia , and between the wars the battalion served as a home defence unit in Victoria . During the Second World War the battalion was merged with the 14th Battalion to become the 14th / 32nd Battalion ( Prahran / Footscray Regiment ) , serving firstly as garrison troops in Australia and New Guinea before taking part in the fighting during the New Britain campaign . In July 1945 that battalion was disbanded . After the war , the battalion was not re - raised in its own right when the Citizens Military Force ( the forerunner to the Australian Army Reserve ) was formed in 1948 , however , it was raised as an amalgamated unit known as the " 58th / 32nd Battalion ( City of Essendon Regiment ) " . This unit remained in existence until 1960 when it was subsumed into the Royal Victoria Regiment . Today , the battalion ' s honours and traditions are maintained by the 5th / 6th Battalion , Royal Victoria Regiment . History . First World War . The 32nd Battalion was raised on 9 August 1915 in Mitcham , South Australia , for overseas service with the all volunteer Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) . While ' A ' and ' B ' Companies were made up of recruits from South Australia , ' C ' and ' D ' Companies were formed in Perth , Western Australia , and underwent training at the Blackboy Hill Training Camp before joining the rest of the battalion . After completing basic training , the battalion left Australia in November , bound for Egypt . It arrived amidst the aftermath of the failed Gallipoli campaign , which saw a reorganisation and expansion of the AIF in preparation for its dispatch to France and Belgium to take part in the fighting against the Germans along the Western Front . As part of the 8th Brigade , attached to the 5th Division , in June 1916 the battalion was shipped to France . The following month , the battalion was committed to the front for the first time on 16 July 1916 . Three days after taking up position in the trenches the 32nd took part in the fighting around Fromelles during which it suffered 718 casualties — a third of the battalion ' s total casualties for the entire war — which equalled roughly 90 percent of its effective strength . As a result , the 32nd Battalion took no further part in any of the other offensives that took place in 1916 . During 1917 the battalion took part in the operations in pursuit of the German forces as they retreated towards the Hindenburg Line , but found itself in the flank protection role during the Second Battle of Bullecourt . On 26 September 1917 , however , the battalion took part in the fighting around Polygon Wood near Ypres in Belgium during the Battle of Passchendaele . For the remainder of 1917 and the first half of 1918 the 5th Division mainly undertook a reserve role and as a result the 32nd Battalion had little involvement during the German Spring Offensive . After the German advance stalled the Allies launched their own offensive at around Amiens beginning on 8 August 1918 . During this offensive the 32nd Battalion took part in operations through August and September , fighting its final engagement of the war between 29 September and 1 October 1918 as part of the joint Australian and American attack at the St Quentin Canal . After this the Australian Corps was removed from the line for rest and training . It was still out of the line when the Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918 . Throughout the conflict the battalion suffered 2 , 079 casualties of which 613 were killed . In March 1919 , after most of its personnel had been repatriated to Australia , the battalion merged with the 30th Battalion before subsequently being disbanded . Inter war years . In 1921 , when the part - time Citizens Force ( later known as the Militia ) was re - organised to perpetuate the numerical designations of the wartime AIF battalions , the 32nd Battalion was re - formed in Melbourne , Victoria , through an amalgamation of 5th Battalion , 8th Infantry Regiment with part of the 2nd Battalion , 32nd Infantry Regiment , and part of the 29th ( Port Philip ) Light Horse Regiment . The battalion drew most of its personnel from the south - west and western suburbs of Melbourne and in 1927 , when territorial designations were adopted , the unit came to be known as the 32nd Battalion ( Footscray Regiment ) . The same year , the battalion motto , " Audax Pro Patria " , was approved and it formed an alliance with the Leicestershire Regiment . During this time it was part of the 4th Brigade , 3rd Division and was based on the Mornington Peninsula . Initially the battalion ' s manpower was maintained through the compulsory training scheme , but this was suspended in 1929 , following the election of the Scullin Labor government , and after this the force was maintained on a volunteer - only basis . Second World War . Following Japan ' s entry into the Second World War the battalion was called up for defensive duties . Attached to the 2nd Brigade , the battalion provided garrison troops to vital installations around Melbourne until August 1942 when it was transferred to Western Australia , being attached to the 6th Brigade which was based around Geraldton . In September 1942 , as part of an Army - wide reduction that came about because of over - mobilisation , the battalion was amalgamated with the 14th Battalion to become the 14th / 32nd Battalion ( Prahran / Footscray Regiment ) . In early 1943 the battalion carried out amphibious warfare training in Queensland before being deployed to the Buna – Gona area in New Guinea in July . The battalion would remain in mainland New Guinea and New Britain for the next two years , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Caldwell . The New Britain campaign was a campaign of containment against the much larger Japanese forces in the area . On 18 March 1945 the battalion took part in its only major battle of the war when it launched an assault on Bacon Hill and captured it . In April 1945 the 14th / 32nd Battalion was withdrawn back to Australia in preparation for involvement in future operations , however , in July the decision was made to disband the unit as the end of the war became apparent . During the course of the conflict the battalion suffered 77 casualties , of which 31 were killed in action or died of wounds or other causes . Members of the battalion received the following decorations for their service : one DSO , one OBE , two MCs , one BEM , one DCM , one MM and seven MIDs . Post Second World War . In 1948 , when Australia ' s part - time military force was re - raised under the guise of the Citizens Military Force , the battalion was re - raised albeit as an amalgamated unit . It was linked with the 58th Battalion to become the 58th / 32nd Battalion and was known variously as the Melbourne Rifles , the West Melbourne Regiment and the City of Essendon Regiment . In 1960 the Australian Army was reorganised around pentropic divisions . As a result of this reorganisation the CMF was greatly reduced , as 14 infantry battalions were disbanded altogether , while the 17 that remained gave up their old regional regimental ties and were reformed as part of the six newly raised State - based regiments . As a result of this , the 58th / 32nd was absorbed by the pentropic 1st Battalion , Royal Victoria Regiment , forming ' E ' Company , which was also known as " The Footscray Company " . After the abolition of pentropic divisions in 1965 , the unit ' s honours and traditions became bound up in the 5th / 6th Battalion , Royal Victoria Regiment , a unit which remains in existence today . The 32nd Battalion ' s colours were laid up at St John ' s Anglican Church in Footscray in August 1970 .