DESCENDANTS OF THE rats of tobruk australia Association inc
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Unit Patches during the Siege of Tobruk 1941
The only 2nd AIF Division present at Tobruk was the 9th Division.
The 9th Division was the fourth AIF division raised, being formed in the United Kingdom in late 1940.
Initially it consisted of only two infantry brigades which had been formed in Australia and dispatched to Britain in order to defend against a possible invasion following the Fall of France—the 18th and 25th Brigades—under the command of Major General Henry Wynter. Later, the 24th Brigade was also assigned to the division. In January 1941 Wynter became ill and was replaced as divisional commander by Leslie Morshead.
By February 1941, 9th Division headquarters had been relocated to the Middle East. Around this time the divisions of the AIF underwent a re-organisation as the decision was made to send the more established brigades to Greece; as a result both the 18th and 25th Brigades were transferred from the 9th to the 7th Division. They were replaced by the 20th and 26th Brigades, both of which were considered to be less experienced and therefore less ready for action. Units from other Divisions were incorporated into the 9th Division at Tobruk. Whilst some retained their previous Unit patches, others that were involved in encompassing roles such as AASC, AAOC, AAMC and RAA inherited the patch of the equivalent 9th Division with the odd exception.
~ Units denoted bold and underlined were "groups" containing those units listed below that name (if any) ~
9th Australian Division - Signals
Headquarters Signals 9 Australian Division
"J" Section Signals 7 Australian Division
2 Op Section Signals 1 Australian Corps
ALLIES
AXIS
9th Australian Division (RAA)
Royal Australian Artillery
3rd Australian Anti‐Tank Regiment
71st Light Aid Detachment
20th Australian Anti‐Tank Company
24th Australian Anti‐Tank Company
26th Australian Anti‐Tank Company
2/3rd Australian Light Anti‐Aircraft
(8th Battery)
2/9th Australian Infantry Battalion
Headquarters 18th
Australian Infantry Brigade
16th Australian Anti‐Tank Company
2/12th Australian Field Regiment
61st Light Aid Detachment
2/10th Australian Infantry Battalion
2/12th Australian Infantry Battalion
Headquarters 20th
Australian Infantry Brigade
9th Australian Division (RAE)
Royal Australian Engineers
Headquarters RAE 9th Division
2/3rd Field Company
2/4th Field Company
2/7th Field Company
2/13th Field Company
2/4th Field Park Company
72nd Light Aid Detachment
No. 10 (Aust) Cam Unit
9th Australian Division (AASC)
Australian Army Service Corps
9th Australian Division Petrol Company
9th Australian Division Supply Column
9th Australian Division Ammunition Company
7th Australian Division Supply Column
2/13th Australian Infantry Battalion
2/15th Australian Infantry Battalion
9th Australian Division (AAOC)
Australian Army Ordnance Corps
2/1st Field Workshops
2/2nd Field Workshops
4th Army Ordnance Depot
58th Light Aid Detachment (LAD)
76th Light Aid Detachment (LAD)
78th Light Aid Detachment (LAD)
2/17th Australian Infantry Battalion
9th Australian Division (AAMC)
Australian Army Medical Corps
Headquarters AAMC 9th Division
2/8th Field Ambulance
2/11th Field Ambulance
Headquarters 24th
Australian Infantry Brigade
2/3rd Field Ambulance
2/5th Field Ambulance
2/28th Australian Infantry Battalion
4th Australian General Hospital
2/43rd Australian Infantry Battalion
2/2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station
2/32nd Australian Infantry Battalion
Under Command
2/1st Australian Pioneer Battalion
Headquarters Guard Battalion
(2/1st Guards Battalion)
Headquarters 26th
Australian Infantry Brigade
2/23rd Australian Infantry Battalion