2/3rd Battalion (Australia)

2/3rd Battalion (Australia)

The 2/3rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised for service during Second World War as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force, it was formed in October 1939 in Sydney and was attached to the 16th Brigade, 6th Division. It was one of only two Australian infantry battalions to fight against all the major Axis powers of the war—the Germans, Italians, Japanese and Vichy French—seeing action in North Africa, Greece, Crete, and Syria in 1941–42 before returning to Australia following Japan's entry into the war. In 1942–43 the battalion took part in fighting along the Kokoda Track before returning to Australia where it spent over a year training. In December 1944 the 2/3rd returned to New Guinea to take part in the Aitape–Wewak campaign and remained there until the war ended. Following the end of hostilities, the battalion was disbanded on 8 February 1946 in Brisbane.