21st Brigade ( Australia ) The 21st Brigade was a brigade - sized infantry unit of the Australian Army . Formed in April 1940 as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force , the unit was raised for service during World War II . As part of the 7th Division the brigade served during the Syria - Lebanon campaign , the Kokoda Track campaign , the Buna - Gona campaign , the landing at Nadzab , the Ramu Valley – Finisterre Range campaign and the Balikpapan landings . It was disbanded in 1946 . History . Formation . The brigade was formed on 4 April 1940 as part of the 7th Division of the Second Australian Imperial Force ( 2nd AIF ) . Consisting of three infantry battalion s — the 2 / 14th , 2 / 16th and 2 / 27th — the brigade was raised from personnel drawn from Victoria , South Australia and Western Australia . Following a period of training in Australia at Puckapunyal , Victoria , under the command of Brigadier Jack Stevens , the brigade embarked for the Middle East in October 1940 aboard the " Aquitania " . Following their arrival in Egypt , the brigade moved to Dimra in the Hebron Hills in Palestine , where they undertook further training as the 7th Division underwent a period of re - organisation as a number of brigades were transferred to and from it . In April 1941 , the brigade went to Egypt , where they undertook a defensive role along the Libyan border where a German attack was expected . They returned to Palestine in May , however , in order to prepare for operations elsewhere in the theatre . Syria and Lebanon . In June and July 1941 , the brigade was allocated to form the backbone of the Allied invasion of Lebanon and Syria , which saw British , Indian and Free French forces defeat Vichy French land forces in the Middle East . On 8 June , the 21st Brigade began its advance along the coast from Tyre , over the Litani towards Sidon , which was captured on 15 June . Following this , the Vichy French launched a counterattack which stalled the Australians ' advance until 30 June when they were able to seize the initiative again . The 21st Brigade then drove towards Damour . On 6 July , the 2 / 16th Battalion attacked the main Vichy defensive position on El Atiqa Ridge , launching a frontal assault on a force of French Foreign Legion troops . Meanwhile , the 2 / 27th Battalion began opening a gap in the front , while the 2 / 14th approached Damour from its eastern approaches . On 7 July , the 2 / 27th Battalion was subjected to a strong French counterattack on Hill 560 which resulted in heavy casualties for the Australians before the French were ejected from the hill early in the morning the following day . On 9 July Damour fell and subsequently the 2 / 14th and 2 / 27th Battalions advanced through the mountains beyond . By mid - July an armistice came into effect and the 21st Brigade subsequently undertook garrison duties along the coast . In December 1941 Imperial Japanese forces advanced rapidly in South East Asia following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the invasion of Malaya . As a result , in January 1942 , the British government requested that the 7th Division be brought back from the Middle East to conduct operations in the Netherlands East Indies . From 30 January , the division , including the 21st Brigade , began disembarking from Suez . In February 1942 , however , as the situation in the Pacific worsened , the Australian government decided that the division should be brought back to Australia rather than be committed to the fighting in Java , or in Burma . New Guinea . In March the 21st Brigade arrived back in Australia and after a period of leave and training , it was dispatched to Papua New Guinea in August 1942 . Under the command of Brigadier Arnold Potts , who had taken over from Stevens in April , they were sent to Port Moresby from where they reinforced the militiamen of the 39th Battalion , fighting a rearguard action on the Kokoda Track . Throughout late August and into September the brigade fought a number of delaying actions along the track , initially around Isurava , but as the Japanese advance towards Port Moresby continued they were pushed back to Ioribaiwa . In mid - September , as the brigade prepared to make its final stand on Imita Ridge , they were relieved by the 25th Brigade and subsequently withdrawn back to Sogeri , near Port Moresby , in early October . During this time , a force of about 400 men from the brigade ' s three infantry battalions were grouped together into an ad hoc force known as " Chaforce " to conduct raids on Japanese lines of communication and to carry out various tasks such as battlefield clearance . Throughout their involvement around Kokoda , the brigade suffered 233 men killed , and although at the time there were questions raised in the upper echelons of the Australian Army about the brigade ' s performance , particularly from General Thomas Blamey , later this assessment was re - evaluated and the 21st Brigade ' s effort has since been described as " one of the greatest in Australian military history " . In late November , the brigade , under the command of Brigadier Ivan Dougherty who had replaced Potts in controversial circumstances following the withdrawal from Kokoda , was committed to the fighting around Gona . The 2 / 14th Battalion , consisting of only 350 men , arrived at Popondetta in the evening of 25 November and began the advance towards Gona at dawn the following day . They were followed shortly afterwards by the 2 / 27th , while the 2 / 16th arrived a little while later , after the two battalions had launched an attack around Basabua on 29 November . Further engagements followed on 30 November when clearing operations were undertaken between Basabua and Gona and on 1 December the brigade , operating as a composite battalion due to heavy casualties , attacked Gona itself . They were able to enter the village and remained for a short period of time before being forced out by a Japanese counterattack . Another unsuccessful attack was launched on 6 December . On 8 December , however , supported by a heavy artillery barrage , the 21st Brigade attacked the village from the west while the 39th Battalion attacked from the south - east . This time the attack was successful and Gona was captured with the last Japanese resistance being overcome the following afternoon amidst fierce hand - to - hand fighting . The brigade had suffered heavily over the previous 11 days , with 750 Australians being killed or wounded . Following this , the 21st Brigade headquarters moved to the Huggins Road Block area while its three infantry battalions , which had all been reduced to below company - strength due to losses , began the process of " mopping up " around the coast to the west of Gona . Finally , in mid - January , the brigade was withdrawn back to Australia , where they were subsequently re - organised under the " jungle " divisional establishment , which saw a reduction in the brigade ' s personnel . By that time the brigade was down to about 44 per cent of its authorised " jungle " establishment of 119 officers and 2 , 415 other ranks , and subsequently it underwent a period of rebuilding around Ravenshoe , in Queensland in preparation for further operations . In August the 21st Brigade embarked for Port Moresby , and on 15 – 16 September the brigade headquarters , along with the 2 / 14th and 2 / 16th Battalions , was flown into Nadzab , west of Lae to relieve the US Army ' s 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment . After the fall of Lae , the brigade advanced up the Markham and Ramu Valleys , before moving against the Japanese strongholds in the Finisterre Range . The 21st Brigade remained in the Ramu Valley for about three and a half months , before being withdrawn in January 1944 , by which time they had lost 57 men killed or missing and 142 men wounded . On top of this they suffered 2 , 436 non battle casualties , although most of these men returned to active service later on . Borneo . After returning to Australia in 1944 , the brigade retrained in north Queensland and practised amphibious assault operations . In July 1945 , the brigade participated in the amphibious assault on Balikpapan , Sarawak . Coming ashore on 1 July , the brigade was committed to the first wave of the assault , landing unopposed . Supported by ' B ' Company , 2 / 1st Machine Gun Battalion , the 21st Brigade quickly reached their initial objectives and the following day began to advance towards the east , arriving at the airfield at Sepinggang before noon on 2 July . On the third day of the fighting , the 21st Brigade came up against determined Japanese resistance after crossing the Batakan Ketjil river but this was overcome in the afternoon following a naval barrage . The next day they resumed their advance to the east but were subsequently engaged and held up by Japanese coastal defence artillery near the Manggar Besar river . Following this , as armoured support was brought up and naval and aerial bombardment was used to reduce the Japanese position , one of the guns was captured on 6 July . Over the course of the following three days the brigade turned back a number of Japanese counterattacks . By 9 July , following further bombardment , the Japanese resistance around the position was overcome and the brigade subsequently captured Sambodja , from Manggar , before sending out patrols in support of the 25th Brigade which was beginning the advance up the Milford Highway . By the night of 21 / 22 July main combat operations around Balikpapan came to an end as organised Japanese resistance ceased . Patrol operations continued , however , and minor engagements were fought until the war ended in August . The brigade was disbanded during 1946 . Assigned units . The following infantry battalions were assigned to the 21st Brigade : Commanding officers . The following officers served as commanding officer of the 21st Brigade :