32nd Battalion (Australia)

32nd Battalion 32nd Battalion (Footscray Regiment)
Map reading class conducted by members of the 8th Brigade, on the Somme in July 1918
Active	1915–1919 1921–1942
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–1,000 officers and men[Note 1]
Garrison/HQ	1914–19: South Australia & Western Australia 1921–42: Victoria
Motto(s)	Audax Pro Patria
Colours	White and yellow
Engagements	First World War Western Front Second World War New Britain campaign
Insignia
Unit colour patch

The 32nd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was first raised in 1915 as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force for service during the First World War, and was initially made up of personnel from South Australia and Western Australia. The battalion served in France and Belgium in 1916–1918 before being disbanded in 1919.

It was re-raised in 1921 as the "32nd Battalion (Footscray Regiment)", a unit of the part-time Militia, and during the interwar period the battalion served as a home defence unit in Victoria. During the Second World War the battalion was merged with the 14th Battalion to become the 14th/32nd Battalion (Prahran/Footscray Regiment), serving firstly as garrison troops in Australia and New Guinea before taking part in the fighting during the New Britain campaign. In July 1945, the 14th/32nd was disbanded.

After the war, the battalion was not re-raised in its own right when the Citizens Military Force (the forerunner to the Australian Army Reserve) was formed in 1948, however, it was raised as an amalgamated unit known as the "58th/32nd Battalion (City of Essendon Regiment)". This unit remained in existence until 1960 when it was subsumed into the Royal Victoria Regiment. The battalion's honours and traditions are now maintained by the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.

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