2 / 10th Commando Squadron ( Australia ) The 2 / 10th Commando Squadron was a commando unit raised by the Australian Army for service in World War II . Raised in 1944 , the unit saw action late in the war against the Japanese during the Aitape – Wewak campaign . During this campaign the squadron carried out a number of tasks including long - range patrols , flank protection and area defence . Later in the campaign the 2 / 10th were used to spearhead an amphibious assault landing at Dove Bay , east of Wewak before being used as line infantry during the final ' mopping up ' stages of the campaign . Following the end of the war the unit was disbanded . History . Formation . At the beginning of World War II , the Australian Army formed a number of independent companies which later became commando squadrons . Initially these units were formed with the intention of sending them to the Middle East to fight , however , following Japan ' s entry into the war and the subsequent shift in Australia ' s strategic focus , these units were employed in a variety of roles in the early stages of the fighting in the Pacific , serving with considerable distinction . In 1943 – 44 , as part of a re - organisation of the Australian Army to prepare it for jungle warfare , these independent commando squadrons were re - organised into a regimental system underneath the headquarters of the divisional cavalry units of the 6th , 7th and 9th Divisions . As a part of this re - organisation , the 2 / 10th Commando Squadron was raised in January 1944 , as part of the 2 / 6th Cavalry Commando Regiment , attached to the 6th Division . Following the unit ' s formation , the squadron began training on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland before embarking for New Guinea in late 1944 . Aitape – Wewak campaign . In October 1944 the squadron was one of the first Australian combat units to relieve the American forces at Aitape . Throughout November the 2 / 10th undertook patrol operations in the Suain – Luain area , carrying out reconnaissance in search of Japanese forces between the Dandriwad and Danmap Rivers . Later , in December , the squadron was attached to the 17th Brigade and took up defensive positions around Vokau . They remained in this role until February 1945 when the squadron returned to conducting offensive operations , relieving the 2 / 7th Commando Squadron at Walum and Nilu . The 2 / 6th Cavalry Commando Regiment had been given the task of clearling the Maprik area and in order to carry out these orders , the 2 / 10th crossed the Torricelli Range and established a base in the foothills at Ami . From there , the squadron continued to move in a southerly direction towards Maprik , protecting the flanks of the 2 / 5th and 2 / 7th Infantry Battalions that were operating further inland . As well as keeping the enemy from the flanks of the two infantry battalions , the 2 / 10th was tasked to clear the populous areas to the north - east of the Ami villages . Initially the Australians were very successful , managing to use surprise to their advantage in dealing with the pockets of Japanese resistance that they encountered , however , as the fighting continued they began to suffer for lack of fire support . In an effort to overcome this problem air support from Aitape was called in , and each of the squadron ' s three troops were given a 2 - inch mortar , while a 3 - inch mortar section was attached to the squadron . Throughout February a number of ambushes and attacks were undertaken by the squadron , before on 20 February 1945 , ' C ' Troop carried out an attack on Kualigem which failed to remove the Japanese from the village and resulted in the loss of two officers killed and five troopers wounded . In March 1945 the squadron carried out further patrols , this time in the Milak , Maurak and Aupik areas . The Japanese presence in this area was considerable and they became more aggressive , carrying out regular patrols , setting ambushes and re - occupying the villages that the Australians had taken the previous month . On 13 March , as the Japanese began to gain the initiative in the area , they began to concentrate their efforts on one of the 2 / 10th ' s troops , based at Milak and about two days away from the nearest support . Early in the evening the Japanese launched the first attack , and although this was beaten off they continued to maintain harassing fire throughout the night and into the following day . The following night , 14 / 15 March , having completely surrounded the troop , the Japanese attacked again but were again repulsed . By 15 March , supplies of food and ammunition were short and an aerial resupply was used to relieve the situation , although the supplies fell outside of the Australian position and patrols had to be sent out to retrieve them ; in the end of the eight cylinders the Australians got five and the Japanese retrieved three . Later in the day , as the Japanese took up positions less than from the Australian perimeter , air attacks were called in , before the Japanese launched fresh attacks that night . The situation began to get desperate before finally , on 19 March , after a five - day siege the lines of communication were re - established and the enemy pressure eased . At the end of the fighting , it was estimated that 45 Japanese had been killed . The troop at Maurak had also come under attack at this time , while the troop patrolling Aupik also had a number of clashes . By the end of March , however , it became clear that the squadron was in need of relief . They had suffered three killed and eight wounded , and had counted at least 91 enemy dead during the contacts they had undertaken that month . Finally they were withdrawn back Vokau , for a period of rest and re - organisation . This would not last for very long , however . On 11 May 1945 , the 2 / 6th Cavalry Commando Regiment , as part of Farida Force took part in an amphibious landing at Dove Bay , eas of Wewak . Along with the 2 / 9th Commando Squadron , the 2 / 10th formed the initial assault force . Coming ashore ahead of the main landing force , the assault squadrons came up against only very sporadic Japanese resistance and as the rest of the force moved inland , the 2 / 10th secured the beachhead . Later they were moved to the west to Mandi , where the squadron headquarters set up in the Mandi garden and they began patrolling operations along the Wewak - Forok road . In the first half of June , the squadron moved into a position about west of the Brandi Plantation and here they came into close contact with a force of Japanese that had been forced out from Wewak and were attempting to raid Australian positions in the hope of gathering supplies . Casualties and losses from illness had been heavy and the squadron had been reduced to roughly half its effective strength , regardless the squadron maintained the pressure on the Japanese in the hills to the south through a program of aggressive patrolling . On 5 June 1945 , a full squadron attack was launched upon a complex of Japanese bunkers that was discovered about south of the Australian perimeter . Only 70 men could be mustered for the attack and when they encountered heavy machine gun fire from the bunkers , they were forced to withdraw and call for fire support from the artillery of the 2 / 2nd Field Regiment at Boram . In less than 10 minutes , over 800 shells were fired by the 16 guns of the 2 / 2nd Field Regiment and the result was devastating , as 17 of the 25 Japanese bunkers were totally destroyed . Japanese casualties were estimated at being at least 32 dead . On 14 June the squadron was relieved by a company from the 2 / 3rd Machine Gun Battalion , however , in the third week of June they were back in action as the regiment was given the task of dealing with the a daring infiltration of Japanese forces to the west of Boiken . On 24 June five Japanese raided the ANGAU camp at Wisling , capturing a number of weapons . The following day , a party of about 10 Japanese ambushed a patrol from the 2 / 10th south of the plantation , killing one officer and wounding four troopers . These raids continued throughout the rest of June and into July before the 2 / 10th were relieved by the 2 / 7th Commando Squadron on 5 July and they moved to Cape Karawop , where the regimental headquarters had been situated . The 2 / 10th remained at Karawop until the end of the war , however , they continued to see action right up until the Japanese surrendered . On 23 July 1945 , a patrol from the 2 / 10th clashed with a force of about 40 Japanese in the hills south of Wanpea ; eight Japanese were killed , while the Australians lost four men , including one officer . Disbandment . Following the end of hostilities , the squadron remained at Karawop , having to wait until November 1945 before they were moved back to Wewak . Slowly the squadron ' s strength was reduced as individuals who had enough points to do so were returned to Australia for demobilisation , while others were transferred to other units for occupation duties . Finally , however , in late 1945 the remaining members of the 2 / 10th were returned to Australia and the unit was finally disbanded . During the course of its service during the war the 2 / 10th lost 23 men killed in action or died on active service , and 45 men wounded . Members of the squadron received the following decorations : one MC , two MMs , and three MIDs . Commanding officers . The 2 / 10th Commando Squadron ' s Commanding Officer was :