7th Battalion (Australia)

7th Battalion (Australia)

The 7th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in 1914 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion was completely recruited from Victoria and formed the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. The battalion served during the Gallipoli campaign where it had the distinction of having four of its members awarded the Victoria Cross. In 1916 it was transferred to Europe, fighting in the trenches along the Western Front for the next two and a half years.

Although disbanded in 1919 following the end of hostilities, it was re-raised in 1921 in the Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) as a part-time infantry battalion based in Victoria. However, due to lack of funding following the Great Depression and a shortage of manpower following the suspension of the compulsory training scheme in 1929, the battalion was amalgamated with the 38th Battalion as the 7th/38th Battalion, although it was delinked again in 1936 when the Army was expanded due to rising tensions in Europe.

During the Second World War, the 7th Battalion served primarily in a garrison role, firstly being used to defend the Australian mainland before deploying late in the war to take part in the Bougainville campaign in 1944–45. On Bougainville, as part of the 23rd Brigade, they took part in the fighting in the central sector of the island in the last months of the war. Following the end of hostilities, the battalion was once again used in the garrison role before being returned to Australia and disbanding in early 1946.

In 1948, the battalion was re-raised as an amalgamated unit with the 8th Battalion when the Citizens Military Force was reformed. Today, it exists as the 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.