## WW2, 2/3rd AIF Battalion , puggaree & color patch ##
Hand made from an Australian woolen Army blanket with a WW2 color patch depicting the 2/3rd AIF Battalion. this puggaree looks great on any slouch hat used for display or reenactment., puggaree is a Reproduction item with good stitching and nice color, patch is hand made and fully stitched no glue is used. ,This is a good quality item., most color patches of WW1 and WW2 where hand made and no two are exactly the same., you are bidding on the puggaree & patch only .,
The 2/3rd Battalion was raised at Victoria Barracks, Sydney on 24 October 1939 as part of the 16th Brigade of the 6th Australian Division. It relocated to the newly-opened Ingleburn Camp on 2 November where it conducted its basic training. On 10 January 1940, it sailed from Sydney and disembarked in Egypt on 14 February.
After further training in Palestine and Egypt, the 2/3rd took part in its first campaign – the advance against the Italians in eastern Libya – in January 1941. It was involved in the successful attacks at Bardia (3–5 January) and Tobruk (21–22 January), and remained as part of the Tobruk garrison when the advance continued. One company of the 2/3rd was also employed to garrison Derna after its capture by the 19th Brigade on 30 January. The 2/3rd left Tobruk on 7 March, ultimately bound, with the rest of the 6th Division, for Greece.
Arriving in Greece on 19 March, the 2/3rd was soon deployed north to resist the anticipated German invasion. It occupied positions at Veria on 7 April, but a succession of withdrawals by the Allies in Greece meant that the battalion did not meet the enemy in battle until 18 April – at Tempe (Pinios) Gorge. There, the 2/3rd supported the 2/2nd Battalion and blocked German movement through the gorge, allowing the unhindered withdrawal of Allied forces further south. The 2/3rd itself was forced to withdraw again by nightfall. Its activities in Greece ended with evacuation by sea from Kalamata on 27 April. The bulk of the battalion returned to Palestine, via Egypt, but one group of 141 troops subsequently fought with the 16th Brigade Composite Battalion on Crete, after the transport carrying them away from Greece was sunk.
In June and July 1941, the 2/3rd took part in the campaign in Syria and Lebanon and fought around Damascus (20–22 June), in an unsuccessful effort to secure Jebel Mazar (24–28 June), and in the climactic battle of Damour (6–10 July). The battalion was destined to remain in Syria as part of the garrison there until January 1942. It left the Middle East, heading for the war against Japan, on 10 March 1942. The 16th and 17th Brigades, however, were diverted on the voyage home. Between 27 March and 13 July they defended Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) from possible Japanese attack. The 2/3rd finally disembarked in Australia, at Melbourne, on 8 August 1942.
The 2/3rd’s first campaign against the Japanese was the advance along the Kokoda Trail to the Japanese beachheads between September and December 1942. It fought major engagements at Eora Creek (22–28 October), Oivi (5–12 November), and on the Sanananda Track (21 November–19 December). 1943 and 1944 were spent training in northern Queensland, and the 2/3rd’s last campaign of the war was the operation to clear the Japanese from the Aitape–Wewak region of New Guinea between December 1944 and August 1945.
The 2/3rd Battalion disbanded on 8 February 1946.
2/3rd AIF battalion brown over green
this is a new made item
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To fit;Stretch puggaree inside-out lightly around brim of hat center patch on right side of hat crown pinch ends together cut of excess and sew the two ends together dont make it to short
one size fits all #direct deposit is best# pickup is fine money order is ok (paypal is for over seas buyers only) please contact me when payment is made and leave item name or your name on payment so I know who it is from look carefully,choose wisely
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