The army began to form a 10th Division, within the Second Australian Imperial Force at an early stage of the war. However the division was never fully formed, as losses from other units meant that its subsidiary units and personnel were diverted to other divisions.
The Army's minimum need for replacement of wastage is 7,000 to 8,000 a month, against an estimated monthly intake in the coming year of 1,100 (youths turning 18). This does not enable existing army formations to be maintained. Eight infantry battalions have already been disbanded and absorbed into other units. This has involved the disbandment of the 10th Division and the absorption of its units into other formations. A further decrease in the number of battalions up to a total decrease of eleven battalions is contemplated.[1] (http://www.info.dfat.gov.au/info/historical/HistDocs.nsf/vVolume/B2EC92A8AC2A995ECA256D3B00080312)
Much later in the war, as Allied forces approached the Japanese home islands, planning began for a Commonwealth Corps, including an "Australian 10th Division", made up of experienced personnel from the existing divisions. The corps would have included British and Canadian divisions, and was to be part of an landing on Honshu in 1946. The landing would have been dominated by US forces, and was known as Operation Coronet. However, the introduction of nuclear weapons, and their use at Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused Japan to surrender before the invasion took place, and the 10th Division (Mark Two) was never formed.
In 1941, the 1st Armoured Division began to be raised as part of the AIF.
The 6th and 7th Divisions, with elements of the 1st Armoured, formed a large part of the Allied forces which destroyed the major Japanese beachhead in New Guinea, at the Battle of Buna-Gona.
Australian prisoners of war, like other Allied prisoners of the Japanese, were often held in inhumane conditions, such as Changi prison or in Japan.
The 3rd Australian Infantry Division was sent to Bouganville in the Solomon Islands, accompanying them was the 2/4th Australian Armored Regiment equipped with Matilda MK II infantry tanks and at least one Coventanter bridge laying tank.
Australian War Memorial Negative Number 094222, is a photograph of a Coventanter bridge laying tank on 20 July 1945 on a road washed away on the Ogorata and Mobiai Rivers on South Bougainville - proof that the tank was used operationally.
Indian Infantry divisions operating in Italy 1943-45, all appear to be equipped with MK II and later marks of the Armored Carrier 4 Wheel Indian pattern.
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