About: 40th Battalion (Australia)

The 40th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in 1916 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion was recruited completely from Tasmania as part of the 10th Brigade, 3rd Division. During the war the battalion served in the trenches along the Western Front and had the distinction of having two of its members awarded the Victoria Cross. The battalion was disbanded in 1919, however was re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizens Force, serving as a part-time unit in Tasmania throughout the inter-war years. During the Second World War, the 40th remained in Australia until it was amalgamated with the 12th Battalion. It was disbanded in 1946, but was later re-raised in the 1950s before being subsumed into the Royal Tasmania Regim