5th Pioneer Battalion (Australia)
| 5th Pioneer Battalion | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1916–19 |
| Country | Australia |
| Branch | Australian Army |
| Role | Pioneer |
| Size | Battalion |
| Part of | 5th Division |
| Colours | Purple and White |
| Engagements | First World War |
| Insignia | |
| Unit Colour Patch | 70px |
The 5th Pioneer Battalion was an Australian infantry unit raised for service during the First World War as part of the all volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Trained as infantrymen, they were also tasked with some engineer functions, with a large number of personnel possessing trades from civilian life. As such, they were designated as pioneer units. The concept had existed within the British Indian Army before the war, but was adopted by the Australian Army in early 1916 to meet a need for troops with construction and engineering skills to assist with digging trenches, labouring, constructing strong points and battlefield clearance, at a time when the AIF was being reorganised as part of plans to transfer it from the Middle East to the Western Front in Europe.[1]
A total of five pioneer battalions were raised by the AIF during the war, with one each being assigned to each of the five infantry divisions that the Australians deployed to the battlefield in France and Belgium. The 5th Pioneers were established on 10 March 1916, in Egypt, and were subsequently assigned to the 5th Division.[2][3] It was formed after the conclusion of the failed Gallipoli Campaign from volunteers from the division's three infantry brigades – the 8th, 14th and 15th – who possessed various trades. The majority of the battalion's recruits were from the state of South Australia.[2] Consisting of four companies, under a headquarters company, the battalion's first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Carter.[1] It subsequently served with the 5th Division on the Western Front until the end of the war, seeing action at Fromelles, Ypres, the Hindenburg Line, during the German Spring Offensive and the Allied Hundred Days Offensive.[2][4]
Following the armistice in November 1918, the battalion remained on the continent as the demobilisation process began. The final 130 men of the battalion departed for the United Kingdom on 15 May 1919.[5]
References
- Citations
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Further reading
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dennis et al 1995, p. 465.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mallett 2003.
- ↑ Kuring 2004, pp. 83, 90–92.
- ↑ Returned & Services League of Australia SA Branch.
- ↑ Carter.
