WW2 History of the 2/11th City of Perth Australian Infantry Battalion 1939-45

2^nd Edition published 2000.

Excellent Battalion history well researched with nominal roll, roll of honour, decorations and awards.

Covers the history of the 2/11th battalion with numerous 1^st person accounts. Well written and an easy read. A must for a collector of the 2/11^th Battalion. With dust jacket near new condition, age spots on top.

The 2/11th was the first Western Australian battalion raised for service overseas during the Second World War. After arriving in the Middle East on 18 May, the 2/11th trained in Palestine and Egypt. The battalion went into action for the first time at Bardia on 5 January 1941 and, as part of the Allied advance into Italian-occupied Libya, subsequently fought at Tobruk on 21-22 January, and to secure Derna airfield on 25 January. It was advancing to the south of Benghazi when the Italians surrendered on 7 February.

In early April 1941 the 2/11th were deployed to assist in the defence of Greece. The Allied forces, however, were unable to hold back the attacking Germans. The 2/11th withdrew from its initial positions at Kalabaka and remained on the move until it occupied rearguard positions at Brallos Pass a week later. It fought and slowed the Germans there on 24 April and then continued its withdrawal to Megara, where it was evacuated by sea on the night of 25 April. The battalion landed on Crete the next day. It was subsequently deployed with the 2/1st Battalion to defend Retimo airfield, which was held tenaciously for ten days following the landing of German paratroops on 20 May. German successes elsewhere on Crete, however, made surrender inevitable. Many 2/11th soldiers attempted to escape from Crete but only a relatively small number ultimately succeeded; most were taken prisoner.

The battalion was rebuilt in Palestine, and between mid-September 1941 and late January 1942 joined the force garrisoning Syria. It left the Middle East on 16 February 1942 and arrived at Adelaide on 16 March.

The 2/11th landed at Aitape in New Guinea on 13 November 1944 to undertake its only campaign against the Japanese. Patrolling, often arduous in nature, constituted the bulk of its operations. Its main areas of operation were east of the Danmap River (January 1945), and in the foothills of the Prince Alexander Range to the south of Wewak (April-July 1945). Following the Japanese surrender on 15 August, drafts of 2/11th men began returning to Australia for discharge. The remainder of the battalion departed Wewak on 10 November, and disbanded at Puckapunyal on 7 December 1945.