Australian 34th Brigade
Encyclopedia
The Australian 34th Brigade was an Australian Army
brigade
. The brigade was formed in late 1945 following the end of World War II
as part of the Australian contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force
(BCOF) in Japan. In late 1948 it was renamed the 1st Brigade.
the Australian government became concerned that despite the nation's contributions to the Allied war effort, that these might not be recognised in the post war settlement. As a result shortly after Japan's capitulation
, the Australian prime minister, Ben Chifley
made a formal offer of troops for occupation duty. The Australian contribution was to encompass naval, air and ground forces, the later of which were to form an independent brigade-sized formation. As the process of demobilising
Australia's military forces had begun the day the war ended, it was necessary to raise a new force and consequently the 34th Brigade was formed on 27 October 1945 at Morotai
in the Netherlands East Indies. The brigade's units were formed from personnel drawn from the 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions who volunteered for occupation duty in Japan. Upon formation the brigade was under the command of Brigadier Robert Nimmo
.
After a lengthy period of training which took place while political negotiations between the Allied powers took place, the brigade finally departed for Japan in February 1946, arriving at Kure
between the 21 and 23 February. With an authorised strength of 4,700 personnel, the brigade was structured around three infantry battalion
s—the 65th, 66th and 67th—with various supporting arms including an artillery battery
, a squadron of engineers and an armoured car squadron
, which had been raised from the 4th Armoured Brigade and equipped with Staghound armoured cars. The Australian contribution represented about one third of the strength of the BCOF force, while the other two thirds were provided by India, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
As part of the BCOF, the 34th Brigade was assigned responsibility for providing security and enforcing the armistice conditions in Hiroshima Prefecture
. The 65th Battalion was based at Fukuyama
, the 66th Battalion at Hiro
and the 67th Battalion at Kaitaichi
. There was no resistance to the occupation, however, the brigade's units conducted regular patrols throughout the prefecture and provided support to the occupation government. During this time, the tasks that the 34th Brigade were involved in included providing security for elections, locating and destroying war equipment and stores, and ceremonial duties, including mounting guard at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
.
As a result of the withdrawal of British and Indian forces throughout 1947, the brigade had to expand the area in which it operated at that time. By June of that year, the Australians made up the bulk of the BCOF, representing 6,250 personnel out of the total force of 6,850. In October the New Zealanders also withdrew, and shortly thereafter, as a result of the stable security situation in Japan, the Australian governement decided to reduce its contribution to the Allied occupation force from a full brigade, to just one infantry battalion, as well as one fighter squadron and supporting personnel in an effort to build up the newly established Australian Regular Army.
As a result, in late December 1948 the brigade and two of the three infantry battalions (the 65th and 66th) returned to Australia. Upon its return to Australia, the 34th Brigade was redesignated the 1st Brigade.
The Australian contribution to the occupation of Japan continued, however, as the 67th Battalion (which had been re-designated the 3rd Battalion, Australian Regiment
in November 1948) remained as the Australian Army's only combat unit in Japan. In early 1950, the Menzies
government announced that it would finally withdraw all its forces later in the year, the outbreak of the Korean War
prevented this, and ultimately 3 RAR remained in Japan September 1950 when it was deployed to Korea, where it served as part of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade
.
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
. The brigade was formed in late 1945 following the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as part of the Australian contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force
British Commonwealth Occupation Force
The British Commonwealth Occupation Force , was the name of the joint Australian, Canadian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 21 February 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952...
(BCOF) in Japan. In late 1948 it was renamed the 1st Brigade.
History
During the final part of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Australian government became concerned that despite the nation's contributions to the Allied war effort, that these might not be recognised in the post war settlement. As a result shortly after Japan's capitulation
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
, the Australian prime minister, Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
made a formal offer of troops for occupation duty. The Australian contribution was to encompass naval, air and ground forces, the later of which were to form an independent brigade-sized formation. As the process of demobilising
Demobilisation of the Australian military after World War II
The demobilisation of the Australian military after World War II involved discharging almost 600,000 men and women from the military, supporting their transition to civilian life and reducing the three armed services to peacetime strengths...
Australia's military forces had begun the day the war ended, it was necessary to raise a new force and consequently the 34th Brigade was formed on 27 October 1945 at Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
in the Netherlands East Indies. The brigade's units were formed from personnel drawn from the 6th, 7th and 9th Divisions who volunteered for occupation duty in Japan. Upon formation the brigade was under the command of Brigadier Robert Nimmo
Robert Harold Nimmo
Lieutenant General Robert Harold Nimmo CBE was an Australian soldier who served in both World War I and World War II and eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant General....
.
After a lengthy period of training which took place while political negotiations between the Allied powers took place, the brigade finally departed for Japan in February 1946, arriving at Kure
Kure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
between the 21 and 23 February. With an authorised strength of 4,700 personnel, the brigade was structured around three infantry battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s—the 65th, 66th and 67th—with various supporting arms including an artillery battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
, a squadron of engineers and an armoured car squadron
Squadron (cavalry)
A squadron was historically a cavalry sub unit. It is still used to refer to modern cavalry units but can also be used as a designation for other arms and services.-United States:...
, which had been raised from the 4th Armoured Brigade and equipped with Staghound armoured cars. The Australian contribution represented about one third of the strength of the BCOF force, while the other two thirds were provided by India, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
As part of the BCOF, the 34th Brigade was assigned responsibility for providing security and enforcing the armistice conditions in Hiroshima Prefecture
Hiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...
. The 65th Battalion was based at Fukuyama
Fukuyama
-Places:*Fukuyama, Hiroshima, a city in Japan*Fukuyama, Kagoshima, a former town in Japan, now part of Kirishima city*Fukuyama, Japanese word for Mount Fuji, meaning "mountain of wind"-People:*Francis Fukuyama, an American philosopher and political economist...
, the 66th Battalion at Hiro
Hiro
Hiro may refer to:* Hiroo, Hokkaido, a town in Japan* Hiro Naval Arsenal at Kure, Hiroshima* Hiroshima, a city in Japan* Hiro , a Canadian short film-People:* Hiro Yamagata , Japanese painter/artist...
and the 67th Battalion at Kaitaichi
Kaitaichi Station
is a train station in Kaita, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:One side platform and two island platforms are on ground. Station office lies above the platforms and the tracks. San'yo Main Line has 4 tracks between this station and Hiroshima station...
. There was no resistance to the occupation, however, the brigade's units conducted regular patrols throughout the prefecture and provided support to the occupation government. During this time, the tasks that the 34th Brigade were involved in included providing security for elections, locating and destroying war equipment and stores, and ceremonial duties, including mounting guard at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
As a result of the withdrawal of British and Indian forces throughout 1947, the brigade had to expand the area in which it operated at that time. By June of that year, the Australians made up the bulk of the BCOF, representing 6,250 personnel out of the total force of 6,850. In October the New Zealanders also withdrew, and shortly thereafter, as a result of the stable security situation in Japan, the Australian governement decided to reduce its contribution to the Allied occupation force from a full brigade, to just one infantry battalion, as well as one fighter squadron and supporting personnel in an effort to build up the newly established Australian Regular Army.
As a result, in late December 1948 the brigade and two of the three infantry battalions (the 65th and 66th) returned to Australia. Upon its return to Australia, the 34th Brigade was redesignated the 1st Brigade.
The Australian contribution to the occupation of Japan continued, however, as the 67th Battalion (which had been re-designated the 3rd Battalion, Australian Regiment
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment is a parachute infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Sydney. 3 RAR was initially formed in 1945 as the 67th Battalion and has seen active service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, South Vietnam, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and Iraq...
in November 1948) remained as the Australian Army's only combat unit in Japan. In early 1950, the Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
government announced that it would finally withdraw all its forces later in the year, the outbreak of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
prevented this, and ultimately 3 RAR remained in Japan September 1950 when it was deployed to Korea, where it served as part of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade
27th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 27th Infantry Brigade was a British Army brigade during the Second World War and Korean War. In Korea, the brigade was known as 27th British Commonwealth Brigade due to the addition of Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Indian units....
.
Composition
The primary elements of the 34th Brigade were:- Brigade Headquarters
- 1st Armoured Car SquadronAustralian 1st Armoured Car SquadronThe Australian 1st Armoured Car Squadron was an Australian Army unit formed as part of Australia's contribution to the occupation of Japan. Upon its return to Australia in 1948 the Squadron was expanded and re-equipped to form the 1st Armoured Regiment....
- 65th Infantry Battalion (re-designated 1 RAR1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion in 1945 and since then has been deployed on active service during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War...
in 1949) - 66th Infantry Battalion (re-designated 2 RAR2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 2 RAR was first formed as the Australian 66th Battalion in 1945 and since then it has seen active service during the Korean War, Malayan Emergency and Vietnam War...
in 1949) - 67th Infantry Battalion (re-designated 3 RAR3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment is a parachute infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Sydney. 3 RAR was initially formed in 1945 as the 67th Battalion and has seen active service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, South Vietnam, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and Iraq...
in 1949) - A BatteryA Field Battery, Royal Australian ArtilleryA' Field Battery is an airborne artillery battery of the Australian Army. The unit has been in existence since 1871, having originally been raised as part of the New South Wales colonial defence force...
, RAARoyal Regiment of Australian ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery , is a corps of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation... - 28th Field Squadron, RAERoyal Australian EngineersThe Royal Australian Engineers is a corps of the Australian Army . The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, behind the Staff Cadets, Armoured and Artillery Corps...
- 13th Australian Army Troops Company, RAERoyal Australian EngineersThe Royal Australian Engineers is a corps of the Australian Army . The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, behind the Staff Cadets, Armoured and Artillery Corps...
- 34th Provost Company
- 20th Field Ambulance