5th Battalion (Australia)

5th Battalion
Active1914–1919
1921–1944
1948–1960
1965–1982
CountryAustralia
AllegianceCommonwealth of Australia
BranchAustralian Army
TypeInfantry
RoleLine infantry
Size1,023 officers and other ranks[1]
Part of2nd Brigade, 1st Division
ColoursBlack over red
EngagementsWorld War I
Insignia
Unit colour patch

The 5th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in Victoria as part of the First Australian Imperial Force for service during World War I, the battalion formed part of the 2nd Brigade, attached to the 1st Division. It participated in the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, coming ashore in the second wave, before taking part in the fighting at Krithia and then at Lone Pine. In December 1915, the battalion was withdrawn from the peninsula and returned to Egypt where it was involved in defending the Suez Canal until being transferred to the Western Front in France in early 1916. After that, over the course of the next two and a half years the 5th Battalion was rotated in and out of the front line and took part in a number of significant battles including at Pozieres, Ypres, Amiens and the Hindenburg Line. Following the end of the war, the battalion was disbanded and its personnel returned to Australia. The battalion was re-raised during the inter-war years as a part-time unit and was later mobilised during World War II, but did not serve overseas. During the post war period, the battalion has existed at various times before being subsumed into the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.

  1. ^ Kuring 2004, p. 47.