NSW Military Re-enactment Unit | Interest

NSW Military Re-enactment Unit

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25.01.2022 Forced landing into a mind field if you weren’t having a bad enough day

23.01.2022 #OTD Australian Soldiers Arrive in Singapore On the 18th of February 1941, soldiers from the Australian 8th Division arrived in Singapore along with four RAA...F squadrons and eight warships. Their task was to defend Malaya, and if necessary, Singapore, from Japanese invasion. The 8th Division saw action in Malaya during the Battle of Gemas in January 1942 after the Japanese invasion of Thailand and Malaya in December 1941. The Division saw some early victories, with the successful ambush and destruction of a Japanese Battalion near the Gemencheh Bridge. However, they were eventually forced to withdraw in the face of overwhelming Japanese numbers. By the 31st of January, all Commonwealth forces had retreated to Singapore. Despite desperate fighting, the garrison was forced to surrender on the 15th of February. 15,000 Australians became prisoners of war with the fall of Singapore, many of which were from the 8th Division. Of those captured, one in three would ultimately die in captivity. Image: Australian soldiers arriving in Singapore --------------------------------------------------------------- If you spot an error, please send me a message. Join our group here: https://business.facebook.com/groups/2626189084317964

22.01.2022 Nicknamed for his bad temperament, 'Bill the Bastard' became an unexpected hero when he carried four wounded soldiers to safety in the 1916 Battle of Romani. Now, he and his rider Michael Shanahan are being commemorated with a life-sized bronze statue.

22.01.2022 #OTD Charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba The charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse at Beersheba late in the afternoon of 31 October 1917, is... remembered as the last great Australian cavalry charge. The assault on Beersheba began at dawn and involved the infantry divisions of the British XX Corps with artillery and air support. Despite repeated attacks, the Allies were unable to capture the town by mid afternoon. With time running out for the Australians to capture Beersheba and its wells before dark, Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel, the Australian commander of the Desert Mounted Corps, ordered Brigadier General William Grant, commanding the 4th Light Horse Brigade, to make a mounted attack directly towards the town. Chauvel knew from aerial photographs that the Turkish trenches in front of the town were not protected by barbed wire. The Australian Light Horse was to be used purely as cavalry for the first time. Although they were not equipped with cavalry sabres, the Turks who faced the long bayonets held by the Australians did not consider there was much difference between a charge by cavalry and a charge by mounted infantry. The Light Horse moved off at the trot, and almost at once quickened to a gallop. As they came over the top of the ridge and looked down the long, gentle open slope to Beersheba, they were seen by the Turkish gunners, who opened fire with shrapnel. But the pace was too fast for the gunners. After three kilometres Turkish machine-guns opened fire from the flank, but they were detected and silenced by British artillery. The rifle fire from the Turkish trenches was wild and high as the Light Horse approached. The front trench and the main trench were jumped and some men dismounted and then attacked the Turks with rifle and bayonet from the rear. Some galloped ahead to seize the rear trenches, while other squadrons galloped straight into Beersheba. The 4th and 12th Light Horse casualties were thirty-one killed and thirty-six wounded; they captured over 700 men. The capture of Beersheba meant that the Gaza-Beersheba line was turned. Gaza fell a week later and on 9 December 1917, the British troops entered Jerusalem. The Australian victory at Beersheba marked one of the last great charges of mounted troops in history, the Australian Light Horse Brigade captured the town and secured crucial water wells. Their victory marked the beginning of the end of the war in the Middle East. --------------------------------------------------------------- If you spot an error, please send me a message. Join our group here: https://business.facebook.com/groups/2626189084317964

21.01.2022 South Vietnam. Battle of Coral - Balmoral. Bien Hoa Province. May 1968. Blindfolded NVA (North Vietnamese Army) soldiers captured after heavy fighting on 28 May... at Fire Support Base (FSB) Balmoral await helicopters to take them from the battle area. Troops from 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), repulsed an estimated two battalions of NVA who stormed the base for four hours. Forty-eight enemy bodies were found after the fighting ended. Photo by Richard William Crothers. [AWM CRO/68/0575/VN] See more

18.01.2022 It's a state of mind. And at 91, Knocker White definitely has it. Watch as he completes his last Commando challenge before finally hanging up his boots. Good effort, Royal. https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk///191219-royal-marines-legend

17.01.2022 http://chng.it/nnKNxH4XfP

14.01.2022 #OTD Australians engage Indonesians during Konfrontasi On the 29th of October 1964, Australians of 3RAR engaged Indonesian soldiers for the first time in Sout...h Malacca (Malaysia) during the Indonesian Confrontation (Konfrontasi). On this day, 52 Indonesian soldiers landed near the mouth of the Kesang River on the Johore-Malacca border not far from the 28th Commonwealth Brigade Base Camp at Terendak Camp, Malacca. D Company 3RAR was given the task of dealing with the invaders, with B Company 1 RNZIR and C Squadron 4th Royal Tank Regiment. 102 Battery Royal Australian Artillery was tasked to provide fire support. 20 soldiers surrendered, and there were no recorded Australian casualties. This would mark the first of many airborne and amphibious raids launched by the Indonesian government. Although these attacks were easy to repel, they posed a serious threat of escalating the fighting. Image: Malaya, 29 October 1964: captured infiltrators emerge from the jungle near Sungei Kesang, South of Terendak. D Coy 3 RAR troops guard them --------------------------------------------------------------- If you spot an error, please send me a message. Join our group here: https://business.facebook.com/groups/2626189084317964

13.01.2022 #OTD Completion of the Thai-Burma Railway On the 16th of October 1943 the two ends of the Japanese railway linking Burma and Thailand were completed. Built by... captured Allied prisoners of war in horrendous conditions, the Thai-Burma railway is a monument to the cruelty of the Japanese and a reminder of the strength of the Australian and Allied soldiers who were forced to construct it under slave like conditions. In total, some 60,000 Allied prisoners of war, including 13,000 Australians were forced to build the 420km railway from Ban Pong in Thailand to Thanbyuzayat in Burma. 2,700 Australians and more than 12,000 Allied soldiers died during the construction. Lest we forget the sacrifice of these brave men. --------------------------------------------------------------- If you spot an error, please send me a message. Join our group here: https://business.facebook.com/groups/2626189084317964

12.01.2022 #OTD Bomber lost in Vietnam On the 3rd of November 1970, RAAF Canberra Bomber A84-231 callsign ‘Magpie 91’ from 2 SQN failed to return to base after completi...ng a successful bombing run in Vietnam. Today, we pause to remember 44310 Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer 119223 Robert Carver, who were the pilot and navigator aboard the plane when it was lost. Both men were posted as missing in action and later presumed dead. Both men were participating in a night bombing mission in the northern I Corps Tactical Zone of South Vietnam on the night of their disappearance. An extensive aerial search of the area failed to find any trace of the aircraft or crew and was called off after three days. In April 2009 the wreckage of the Canberra bomber was located in thick jungle in Quang Nam Province near the Laotian border. Human remains discovered near the site were identified in July 2009 as those of Carver and Herbert and were repatriated to Australia on 31 August 2009 for burial in separate military funerals. Michael and Robert were the last of Australia’s Vietnam men listed as Missing in Action to come home. They were only 24 at the time of their death. Lest we forget. --------------------------------------------------------------- If you spot an error, please send me a message. Join our group here: https://business.facebook.com/groups/2626189084317964

09.01.2022 Another. Dawn Service completed @ Oberon RSL

09.01.2022 During World War Two, the Brecon Beacons were used by pilots to practice manoeuvres. The wrecks of unfortunate aircraft can still be seen today. Hidden Wales with Will Millard Streaming now on BBC iPlayer

08.01.2022 We visited 2 of our local nursing homes today with our special bagpipist friend. Flory took a shining to this gentleman Lest we forget

06.01.2022 :: Exhibition at Five Dock Library :: Five Dock RSL Sub-branch is proud to exhibit a rare collection of WWII photographs taken at the height of the Pacific Cam...paign. The man behind the lens was Five Dock local, Stanley Herbert Roebuck, a Leading Aircraftman for the R.A.A.F. who served between August 1942 and December 1945. His expressive photos, taken in 1944 and 1945, capture the vivid scenes of the South Pacific islands including Papua New Guinea, New Britain, Labuan and Morotai. They reveal profoundly, various themes of war from environmental conditions, military equipment, camaraderie and social engagements, to the more serious tones of death and remembrance. The photographs displayed are reproductions of the originals, enlarged to highlight the intricate elements of war as experienced by Stanley Herbert Roebuck. Free exhibition during library opening hours in November. #photo #exhibition #fivedock #ww2 #history #warveteran @canadabay #nswpubliclibraries

04.01.2022 #OTD Battle of Ioribaiwa From the 14th to the 16th of September 1942, Australians of Maroubra Force fought the last of three delaying actions of the Kokoda Tr...ail at the Battle of Ioribaiwa. This battle was centred on the high feature known as Ioribaiwa Ridge, south of Ofi Creek on the Kokoda Track. On 14 September the Australian 2/31st Battalion, making in its own flanking move on the left flank, encountered the Japanese 2/144 Battalion trying to do the same thing in the other direction. Neither battalion was able to gain any advantage over the other. In the Australian centre 21st Brigade, much reduced by three weeks fighting, was attacked by a half battalion of 3/144 Battalion. The Japanese commander, General Kusunose, had massed all his artillery, eight guns, on a ridge north of Ioribaiwa and from here they pounded the Australian centre. As had happened to 2/27th Battalion at Efogi, half of all the casualties in 21st Brigade were to Japanese artillery bombardment. The Australians however were able to defend against the numerous Japanese attacks in the left and centre, so Kusunose decided to try the Australian right flank. This new Japanese move began on 15 September. It failed to find the Australian right flank because the Australian line was longer than Kusunose estimated. Australian infantry battalions were arrayed in a rough line, over two kilometres long, along Ioribaiwa Ridge. The Japanese half battalion looking for the Australian right flank struck the line well short of the flank, between 3rd Battalion and 2/33 Battalion. The Japanese managed to insert themselves there but, found themselves effectively encircled by the Australians. A counterattack by a half battalion of the Australian reserve, 2/25th, was unsuccessful and one by 2/33rd failed to find the enemy in the thick jungle. By the morning of 16 September there was a stalemate. The Australian’s left flank was held up by 2/144, the centre was under constant artillery bombardment and they were still unable to eject the Japanese who had penetrated into the right flank. From Kusunose's viewpoint things were equally grim. His original flanking move on the Australian left had found enemy where there should have been none. Unaware of the heavy casualties his artillery was inflicting on the Australian centre he saw only that he had gained no ground there. On the Australian right his second attempt at outflanking had also failed. The Australian commander, Brigadier Eather, was the first of the two commanders to blink. He requested and received permission to withdraw to Imita Ridge. By the evening of 16 September the Australians were safely in the new position at Imita Ridge. Australian casualties were 49 killed and 121 wounded or five percent of the force on Ioribaiwa Ridge. The Japanese lost 40 dead and 120 wounded. With hindsight it is apparent that, unlike the previous encounters in the mountains, the Australians were not defeated but rather had fought the Japanese to a draw. However by withdrawing Eather showed that, ignorant of his significant numerical advantage, he saw himself as defeated. He offered a number of plausible reasons for pulling back to Imita Ridge but the central one can be found in his signal to his superior, Major General Allen: 'Do not consider can hold him (the Japanese) here'. The Japanese, however, were unable to continue their advance and had reached the limit of their supply line. Strategic factors and reverses elsewhere forced the Japanese commander, Major General Tomitaro Horii, to pursue a more defensive approach in Papua and New Guinea. As a result, in October the Japanese began to withdraw towards their beachheads at BunaGona, with the Australians in pursuit. Image: Men from the 2/14th Infantry Battalion rest near Ioribaiwa in September 1942 --------------------------------------------------------------- If you spot an error, please send me a message. Join our group here: https://business.facebook.com/groups/2626189084317964

04.01.2022 Alfred James (Jim) Campbell was the youngest of a handful of Australian survivors of the original 14,000 soldiers in the Rats of Tobruk campaign in WW2. Jim p...assed away last Monday, 26 Oct 2020 at the age of 99. Jim will be remembered as a very humble man, loving husband and father. Lest We Forget #TPE

01.01.2022 Pause. Remember. Come Together. This November, support our Veterans. Support Mental Health. Have a bbq to remember. Go to bbqtoremember.com to register now!