The 45th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised for service during World War I, the battalion served in the trenches on the Western Front in France and Belgium from mid-1916 until the end of hostilities in November 1918. Following this, it was disbanded in May 1919. Later, in 1921, the battalion was re-raised as a part-time unit of the Citizens Force, based in New South Wales. The battalion remained on the order of battle until 1942, when it was merged with the 1st Battalion as part of a force reduction that was undertaken at that time in response to an over mobilisation of the Australian military in the early part of World War II. In 1948, the battalion was re-raised again and remained on the order of battle until 1960 when it was absorbed into the Royal New South Wales Regiment.
History
World War I
The 45th Battalion was originally raised on 2 March 1916 as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in Egypt, which was undertaken following the completion of the Gallipoli campaign. As part of this process, new battalions were formed from experienced cadre personnel that were drawn from the veteran battalions of the 1st Division and the New Zealand and Australian Division, along with freshly trained recruits that were transferred from Australia. Due to its association with the 13th Battalion, which provided the majority of the 45th's experienced personnel, the 45th Battalion consisted primarily of volunteers from New South Wales. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sydney Herring, who had formerly commanded the 13th Battalion, the 45th Battalion was assigned to the 12th Brigade, 4th Division. After completing training in Egypt, the battalion was transferred to the Western Front in mid-1916. During the following two and a half years, the battalion fought in a number of major battles in France and Belgium.
Its first major battle came at Pozières in August, where it undertook a defensive role, holding ground that had been captured by the Australian 2nd Division earlier in the fighting. Later, after spending a period behind the lines near Ypres in Belgium, during the Battle of Bullecourt the battalion was held back in reserve and did not take part in the fighting. In mid-1917, it suffered heavy casualties during the Battles of Messines and Passchendaele. In March 1918, during the German spring offensive, the battalion repelled repeated attacks that were concentrated upon breaking through the Allied line at Dernancourt. Later, when the Allies launched their own offensive, the Hundred Days Offensive, the 45th Battalion was heavily involved in the fighting that began on 8 August 1918, during which time it was credited with capturing a large number of German soldiers, as well as a number of artillery pieces and machine-guns. Its last major action was the Battle of the Hindenburg Line, on 18 September, when it seized outposts of the Hindenburg Line, around Le Verguier.
Following this, the units of the Australian Corps were withdrawn from the line for reorganisation. Consequently, they did not take part in any further fighting before the armistice came into effect on 11 November 1918. Following the end of hostilities, the demobilisation process began and the battalion's numbers fell as men were repatriated to Australia. Finally, on 2 May 1919, the battalion was disbanded. During the course of the war the battalion lost 688 men killed and 1,707 wounded. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: four Distinguished Service Orders with one Bar, one Officer of the Order of the British Empire, 28 Military Crosses with one Bar, 14 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 140 Military Medals with seven Bars, six Meritorious Service Medals, 37 Mentions in Despatches and five foreign awards.
The 45th Battalion's contribution to Australia's effort during the war was recognised by the awarding of 16 battle honours. In 2006, a critically acclaimed memoir by Edward Lynch (1898–1980), concerning his experiences as a private in 14 Platoon, D Company, 45th Battalion was published for the first time, under the title Somme Mud.