Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Australia. Army. Battalion, 17th
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The 17th Battalion was raised at Liverpool in New South Wales in March 1915 as part of the 5th Brigade. It left Australia in early May, and on 20 August landed at ANZAC Cove. At Gallipoli the Battalion participated in the last action of the August Offensive - the attack on Hill 60. The Battalion was evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915. After further training in Egypt, the 17th Battalion proceeded to France, landing there on 22 March 1916, it took part in its first major battle at Pozières. In 1917 the 17th was involved in three major battles, second Bullecourt (3-4 May) in France, and Menin Road (20-22 September) and Poelcappelle (9-10 October) in Belgium. After another winter of trench duty, 17th Battalion helped to thwart the German Spring Offensive of 1918. Montbrehain was the battalion’s last battle. It was training out of the line when the armistice was declared in November 1918, and was disbanded in April 1919. [Information from the Australian War Memorial]