7th Division (Australia)

7th Division
Hammana, Lebanon. 2 September 1941. Maj. Gen. A. S. "Tubby" Allen (centre), commander of the 7th Division, with Lt Col. Murray Moten (centre right), commander of the 2/27th Infantry Battalion and his men. (Photographer: Frank Hurley.)
Active	1940–1946
Country	Australia
Branch	Second Australian Imperial Force
Type	Division
Role	Infantry
Size	~17,000 men[1]
Part of	I Corps
Nickname(s)	"The Silent Seventh"
Engagements	World War II Siege of Giarabub Siege of Tobruk Syria-Lebanon campaign New Guinea campaign Borneo campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Arthur "Tubby" Allen George Alan Vasey
Insignia
Unit colour patch

The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). The division was raised on the British establishment of nine infantry battalions per division^[2] and consisted of two new brigades and three of the original 12 battalions of the 6th Division forming the third brigade. The division is sometimes known by the nickname "The Silent Seventh", due to a perception that its achievements were unrecognised, in comparison to the other Australian divisions. The origin of this belief appears to be censorship of the part played by the 7th Division in the fierce fighting in the 1941 Syria-Lebanon campaign.^[3][4] The 7th Division along with the 6th and 9th Australian Divisions were the only divisions to serve in both the Middle East and the South West Pacific Area. It was disbanded in 1946, following the end of the war.