Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

The 21st Battalion was raised at Broadmeadows north of Melbourne, in early 1915, to form the first Battalion of the 6th Brigade in the 2nd Division. Its colour patch reveals its lineage;  the diamond denotes the 2nd Division, the red lower half indicates the second brigade in the division and the black upper half, the first battalion in the Brigade.

Its soldiers were drawn from around Victoria.  The average age of enlistees was somewhat older than the 1st Divison, with an avergae age of 29, suggesting these men had made a more measured and considred decision about enlistment.  There were exceptions.  Private James Charles Martin who was 14 years and nine months old when he died of fever contracted during the Gallipoli campaign and is now believed to have been the youngest Australian soldier to lose his life during the Great War.

The 6th Brigade departed Australia in May 1915, arriving in Egypt in June where they underwent further training in preparation for reinforcing Gallipoli.  In due course they embarked in Alexandria at the end of August.  However things didn't go according to plan and their troopship, the Southland was torpedoed close to Lemnos.

It was about 9.45 on the morning of the 2nd of September 1915, and the Southland had just encountered the German submarine UB14, under the command of Oberleutnant Heino von Heimburg. As part of the 6th Brigade convoy, she had left Alexandria 3 days before, carrying troops for the Gallipoli campaign, and was only about 65km south of the isle of Lemnos when hit. Her contingent included the 21st Battalion; B Coy of the 23rd; the 6th Field Artillery Bde; members of the 2nd Division Signal Coy; as well as 6th Brigade and 2nd Div Headquarters staff; a NZ Artillery unit and various other sundry details.

Some 40 Australians were killed or drowned in the attack on the Southland, including Colonel Linton commander of the 6th Brigade. Reported to be “a strong swimmer”, he died of exhaustion after spending over an hour in the water, all the while urging his men to be taken from the water first. Taken from the water alive, he died soon afterwards and was buried on Lemnos – the most senior Australian soldier to be buried there.

And yet the rescue mission was an overwhelming success. Over 1,450 men were saved, most on rescue ships which sped to the scene. The Southland limped into Mudros harbour and was later repaired and returned to service.

So the 21st Battalion's arrival at Gallipoli was somewhat disrupted.  The Battalion finally landed at ANZAC Cove on 7 September, too late to take part in the final stages of the failed August Offensive intended to achieve the longed-for breakout from ANZAC. The 21st Battalion had a had a relatively quiet time at Gallipoli, and like the rest of the troops there the greatest source of casualties was Enteric Fever (typhoid) and dysentery.

After extraction from Gallipoli in December 1915, the 21st Battalion refitted and reinforced in Egypt before embarking for France in March 1916.  In April, it and the rest of the 2nd Division were being introduced to trench warfare in "The Nursery" sector near Armentieres,  The 21st was the first Australian battalion to commence active operations on the Western Front.

Later when the bulk of the AIF moved to the Somme sector in France for the 'big push', at Pozieres it was engaged mainly on carrying duties in the first phase of the Battle, but suffered its heaviest casualties of the war during the fighting around Mouquet Farm in late August.

After a short stint in Belgium the 6th Brigade was back on the Somme for the winter, the most severe in 40 years.

In early May 1917, the 2nd Division was engaged in the follow up of German troops withdrawing to consolidate their front along the Hindenburg line, conducting delaying defence through what were called the Outpost Villages.  This culminated for the 21st Battalion at Second Bullecourt in May, where it endured heavy casualties. 

Later it and the 6th Brigade moved north to Belgium for the Third Ypres Offensive, taking part in Menin Road in September and then in October participated in the 3-kilometre advance that captured Broodseinde Ridge, east of Ypres, engaging an advancing German formation in a meeting engagement which resulted in the Australians routing their opponents.

Like the rest of the AIF the battalion saw out the year recuperating from the trials of the Ypres sector.

The AIF less the 1st Division, was rushed south to plug gaps in the collapsing British line in the face of the 'make or break'  German spring offensive of April 1918, aimed at dislocating the French and British line and cutting Paris off from the Channel Ports before the Americans arrived in decisive numbers.

The 6th Brigade and the 21st battalion then participated in the battles that would mark the beginning of the end for Germany; Le Hamel, on 4 July, the Battle of Amiens on 8th August and from 31st August to 2nd September, the 2nd Division's spectacular success in capturing Mont St Quentin.

The fighting for Mont St Quentin resulted in the Battalion's only Victoria Cross, awarded to Sergeant Albert Lowerson.  A book by historian Peter Stanley, 'Men of Mont St Quentin', charts the fortunes of a platoon of the 21st Battalion in which Lowerson served,  based on records compiled by the father of one of the men killed in the action.

Like many Australian battalions, the 21st could barely muster a company after the 1918 offensive. It was ordered to disband and reinforce its sister battalions. In response, the men of the 21st (as did others) mutinied on 25 September 1918. By the end of that day, the order was withdrawn, and the battalion fought its last battle at Montbrehain on 5 October.

The following day it became the last Australian battalion to withdraw from active operations on the Western Front. The 21st Battalion was disbanded on 13 October 1918.

Commanding Officers

Hutchinson, John Francis
Forbes, Frederick William Dempster
Duggan, Bernard Oscar Charles

Decorations
1 VC; 5 DSO, 1 bar; 1 OBE; 22 MC, 7 bars; 29 DCM; 117 MM, 7 bars; 7 MSM; 24 MID; 8 foreign awards

Battle/Campaign/ Involvement

Gallipoli, 1915 (/explore/campaigns/1)  7 Sep - 19 Dec 1915

Pozières (/explore/campaigns/6) (includes Mouquet Farm) 23 Jul - 12 Sep 1916

Flers / Guedecourt (/explore/campaigns/24)   18 October - 16 November 1916

Bapaume, 1917 (/explore/campaigns/21) (Outpost Villages etc) 15 Feb - 3 Apr 1917

Bullecourt (/explore/campaigns/6)  3-11 May (2nd) 1917

Menin Road (/explore/campaigns/26)   20-21 Sep 1917

Polygon Wood (/explore/campaigns/19) (not heavily engaged)  24-25 Sep 1917

Broodseinde (/explore/campaigns/18) 4 Oct 1917

Poelcappelle (/explore/campaigns/27) 9 Oct 1917

Passchendaele (/explore/campaigns/28)  12 Oct 

Albert, 1918 (German Spring Offensive 1918 (/explore/campaigns/80)) 21 March - 1 May 1918

Le Hamel (/explore/campaigns/33)  4 Jul 1918

Amiens (/explore/campaigns/14) 8 Aug 1918

Mont St. Quentin (/explore/campaigns/15) 31 Aug - 2 Sep 1918

Hindenburg Line (/explore/campaigns/81) 28 Sep - 5 Oct 1918

Beaurevoir (Montbrehain) (/explore/campaigns/128) 5 Oct 1918

Generic Battle Honours

Egypt, 1915-16

Somme, 1916, '18

France and Flanders, 1916-18

Ypres, (/explore/campaigns/23) 1917

Originally compiled Nov 2013 by Steve Larkins and updated Dec 2020

Sources

Website "https://neoskosmos.com/en/116320/death-in-the-aegean/" - the Southland incident

P. Stanley, Men of Mont St Quentin- between victory and death", Scribe Publications 2009 

A.R. McNeil, The story of the Twenty-First: being the official history of the 21st Battalion, A.I.F. (Melbourne: 21st Battalion Association, 1920).

AWM4/23/38/1-23/38/38: 21st Battalion war diary

We would particularly like to encourage individual historians researchers or members of unit associations to contribute to the development of a more detailed history and photographs pertaining to this unit and its members.

Please contact  [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) for details on how to contribute.