2/33rd Battalion (Australia) (original) (raw)

The 2/33rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army during the Second World War. It was formed as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force in the United Kingdom in June 1940 as the "72nd Battalion" to create the 25th Brigade, which eventually became part of the 7th Division. After the threat of invasion had passed, the battalion was transferred to the Middle East in early 1941, and after a period of garrison duty in the Western Desert, the battalion fought against the Vichy French in the invasion of Syria and Lebanon.