17th Battalion (Australia) - History

History

The battalion's origins began when the St Leonards Volunteer Rifles was raised in 1860 in the northern suburbs of Sydney as part of the military forces of the New South Wales colonial defence force. Members of this unit served overseas in 1885 in Sudan, and then again in South Africa during the Second Boer War. In 1903, following the Federation of Australia this unit became part of the Commonwealth Military Forces and was renamed the 1st Australian Infantry Regiment.

In 1912 a system of compulsory military service was introduced and the unit was renamed the 18th Infantry, and then later, in 1914, the 17th Infantry. This scheme greatly expanded the army, however, when World War I began, due to the provisions of the Defence Act 1903 which precluded sending conscripts overseas to fight, it became necessary to raise an all volunteer force, separate to the militia, for service in the Middle East and Europe.

This force was known as the First Australian Imperial Force. As a part of this, the 17th Battalion was raised in March 1915 in Liverpool, New South Wales. In May 1915 the battalion left Australia and after spending some time in Egypt training, they landed at Anzac Cove on 20 August 1915. They took part in the August Offensive, during which time they were engaged in the attack on Hill 60. Following this they were mainly used in a defensive role, defending Quinn's Post, which was one of the most contested positions at Gallipoli.

The battalion was withdrawn from the peninsula in December 1915, and following a further period of training in Egypt, it was sent to France. Arriving in March 1916, the battalion moved up to the front line in April and took over the forward position in the eastern Armentieres section of the Western Front. It was in June, during the prelude to the Battle of the Somme, when the battalion was positioned in the line around Armentieres, that Private William Jackson earned the battalion's only Victoria Cross of the war. Later, the 17th Battalion took part in the first major battle at Pozières, serving in the line twice at this time between July and August.

In 1917 the 17th Battalion was involved in most of the major battles as the German Army was forced back towards the Hindenburg Line, seeing action at Bullecourt in May, Menin Road in September and Poelcappelle in October. At Lagnicourt, on 15 April, the 17th took part in a defensive action along with four other battalions from the 5th Brigade, where they managed to defeat a counter-attack by a German force almost five times its size, recapturing the village that had been lost along with a number of guns that the German force had taken off the Australians earlier. In 1918, the battalion was involved in repelling the German Spring Offensive, before taking part in the final Allied offensive that eventually brought about an end to the war. During this time they were involved in the battles at Amiens and Mont St Quentin in August, before participating in the attack on the "Beaurevoir Line" at Montbrehain in October. This would be the battalion's last contribution to the war, as it was training out of the line when the Armistice was declared in November 1918. It was disbanded in April 1919, whilst at Montigny-le-Tilluel, Belgium, when most of its personnel were transferred to the 20th Battalion.

During World War I, the battalion suffered 3,280 casualties, of which 845 were killed. Members from the battalion also received the following decorations: 1 VC, 1 CMG, 7 DSOs, 19 DCMs, 33 MCs, 138 MMs, 10 MSMs and 41 MIDs.

In April 1921 the AIF was officially disbanded and the decision was made to reorganise the units of the militia in order to perpetuate the designations and battle honours of the AIF. As a result of this, the 17th Infantry, a militia unit that could trace its lineage back to 1860, was reformed as the 17th Battalion (The North Sydney Regiment). This unit remained on the Australian order of battle until 1944 when it was disbanded, having not seen active service.

In 1948, the battalion was re-raised as part of the Citizens Military Force, and was amalgamated with the 18th Battalion to form the 17th/18th Battalion (The North Shore Regiment). Upon reforming, the battalion was entrusted with the World War II battle honours of the 2/17th Battalion, in which many members of North Sydney Regiment had enlisted.

In 1960, the Australian Army was reorganised along Pentropic lines and the battalion became 'B' Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment (2 RNSWR). The battalion also formed the nucleus of 2 RNSWR's support company and regimental band. When the Pentropic divisional structure was abandoned in 1965, however, the battalion was reformed in its own right as the 17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment. This lasted until 1987, when another reorganisation of the Australian Army Reserve led to the unit's amalgamation to form the 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment.