Formation
The 6th Division was first formed in 1917 in Britain during World War I as part of an effort to expand the First Australian Imperial Force. Its existence was short-lived, though, and as a result of manpower shortages that occurred because of a failure to make good the heavy losses that the AIF had suffered on the Western Front in 1917, it was decided to disband the division and its subordinate units in September 1917 and use their personnel to reinforce other units. As a result, the division was broken-up as replacements several months later, before it saw action.
The division was not re-raised during the interwar years and subsequently remained off the Australian Army's order of battle until World War II broke out. Due to the provisions of the Defence Act, which precluded the five existing Militia divisions from serving overseas, the government decided to raise an all-volunteer force known as the 2nd AIF. The 6th Division was the first division formed within the 2nd AIF being raised on 28 September 1939. Initially under the command of Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey, upon formation the division consisted of the 16th, 17th and 18th Brigades, each established with four infantry battalions. Later, though, it was reorganised as a result of the 18th Brigade being sent to the United Kingdom in June 1940 and the decision to adopt the British establishment of three infantry battalions to a brigade. The 19th Brigade was subsequently raised as the division's third infantry brigade, being formed by taking one battalion from each of the other three brigades when they were reduced from four to three. Of the division's infantry battalions, all except one – the 2/11th – were raised in either New South Wales or Victoria.
In early 1940, the majority of the 6th Division was sent to Palestine, to complete their training before joining the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. Together with the 7th Division they formed the Australian I Corps. However, France fell to German forces in July 1940, before I Corps arrived. While the rest of the division was training in the Middle East, the division's third artillery regiment, the 2/3rd Field Regiment and the 2/1st Anti-tank Regiment were sent to the United Kingdom to help bolster the garrison there in light of an expected invasion following the Fall of France. After being partially broken up to provide personnel to serve as infantry in the 25th Brigade, once the threat of invasion was over these two regiments were sent to the Middle East to rejoin the division, arriving there in December 1940.
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