The 58th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was raised in 1916 for overseas service during World War I and saw action on the Western Front from June 1916 until the end of the war. Following the end of hostilities it was disbanded in 1919; however, in 1921 the battalion was re-raised as part of the part-time Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) and remained in existence until 1942 when it was amalgamated with the 59th Battalion to form the 58th/59th Battalion. That battalion subsequently saw active service in the Pacific against the Japanese during World War II before being disbanded in 1946. After the war, the battalion was re-formed as an amalgamated Citizens Military Force unit, the 58th/32nd Battalion, which was based in Melbourne. This unit remained in existence until 1960 when it was subsumed into the Royal Victoria Regiment.
History
World War I
The 58th Battalion was originally raised as a unit of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in Egypt on 17 February 1916 for service in World War I as part of the expansion of the AIF that took place at that time. In order to spread the experience gained through the AIF's involvement in the Gallipoli Campaign, the new units were formed by taking experienced men from other battalions and joining them with new recruits that were sent from Australia. The 58th Battalion drew its experienced personnel from the 6th Battalion while its new recruits came from Victoria. Together with the 57th, 59th and 60th Battalions, the 58th formed part of the 15th Brigade, which was attached to the 5th Australian Division. At this time it was decided that the Australian infantry divisions would be transferred to Europe to fight in the trenches along the Western Front in France and Belgium. As the 5th Division was still forming it did not depart until later in the year and the 58th Battalion arrived in France on 23 June 1916.
The battalion experienced its first taste of fighting on the Western Front in July when it was involved in the Battle of Fromelles, being in reserve and providing medical stretcher parties. The reserve force, about half of the battalion, was committed at the climax of the battle and lost a third of its strength to machine gun fire. During early 1917, in an effort to shorten their lines of communication, the Germans withdrew to prepared positions of the Hindenburg Line; a brief advance followed as the Allies followed them up. During this phase of the war the 58th Battalion was not committed to any major attacks, but it did play a defensive role at the end of the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May, holding the ground that the Australians had gained earlier. Later in the year, the 5th Division was transferred to the Ypres sector in Belgium, and on 26 September 1917, the 58th was committed to the fighting around Polygon Wood.
Early in 1918, the Germans launched a large-scale offensive on the Western Front known as the Spring Offensive after the collapse of Tsarist Russia allowed them to transfer a large number of troops from the Eastern Front. As the Allies were pushed back, the Australian divisions were moved south in March to help blunt the attack. The 5th Division took up a position around Corbie and in April the 15th Brigade took part in a counter-attack at Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 1918, during which the 58th formed the brigade reserve. In early July, the battalion took part in an attack around Morlancourt on the Ancre as part of a feint during the Battle of Hamel. Later in the year, the Allies launched their own offensive, and the battalion next participated in the fighting at Amiens on 8 August. As the Allies gained momentum, this was followed by the Battle of Mont St Quentin and Péronne on 31 August and then finally, the Battle of St. Quentin Canal on 29 September. Placed into reserve again for rest and reinforcement, the war ended before the battalion saw further action, and it was disbanded on 24 March 1919.
During its wartime service, the unit lost 615 men killed and 1,550 men wounded. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: one Victoria Cross, eight Distinguished Service Orders with one Bar, one Officer of the Order of the British Empire, 20 Military Crosses with two Bars, 17 Distinguished Conduct Medals with one Bar, 71 Military Medals with six Bars, 30 Mentions in Despatches and eight Meritorious Service Medals. Rupert Moon was the battalion's only Victoria Cross recipient, receiving the award for his actions around Bullecourt in May 1917. The 58th was awarded a total of 16 battle honours for its involvement in the war in 1927.