Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/2/43rd Battalion (Australia)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Article promoted by Hawkeye7 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 13:06, 14 August 2016 (UTC) « Return to A-Class review list[reply]

2/43rd Battalion (Australia)[edit]

Nominator(s): AustralianRupert (talk)

A South Australian unit this time, or at least it was when it was first raised as heavy casualties resulted in its demographics changing over time. Part of the 9th Division, the 2/43rd fought at Tobruk and El Alamein against the Germans and Italians, before fighting in the Pacific against the Japanese in New Guinea and on Borneo. I took this article recently to GA and would like to improve it further. Thank you to all who stop by. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 15:41, 30 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Support~~Comments~~ by Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:25, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

image licensing looks ok
with the specialist platoons it might be worth linking them to the relevant article (ie military communications, Pioneer (military), anti-aircraft warfare, Universal Carrier, Mortar (weapon) etc
might be worth mentioning that the original 43rd was also raised in South Australia, and that it was "re-raised" in 1921, as I believe the 43rd (Hindmarsh Regiment) was the successor unit to the 1st AIF one.
there is a bit of jargon, bull-ring, collective training, etc
battle flag or colours?
- The source says "battle flag" and refers to it being saluted from the main flag pole on the parade ground, so I'm assuming it was the Australian flag that they were to take with them on deployment, rather than their actual battalion colours. I could be wrong about this, though. Just went with a link. AustralianRupert (talk) 07:35, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
link Adelaide and Oakbank
suggest breaking up the sentence beginning with "Leave was granted...", it is too long
suggest "~~subsequently~~ remain"
suggest linking Fieldcraft
how did they get from Milne Bay to Buna?
suggest the information on casualties incurred during the advance on Lae be offered at the conclusion of that para
do you mean "the 2/43rd established a blocking position around Jivevaneng"? It reads oddly at present.
link Reconnaissance at reconnoitre
link Beaufort, Malaysia
Several drafts... several months is a bit repetitive
I don't understand the use of "frontage" in this context. Perhaps "strength"?
suggest linking Cadre (military)
suggest "~~subsequently~~ disbanded"
fully cited and all references are properly formatted and reliable
- @Peacemaker67: G'day, thanks for these comments. I think I've gotten them all now. These are my changes: [1]. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 07:35, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

~~Comments~~Support
- I'll have time to look over this a bit later. In the mean time casualty figures for the bn from Johnston That Magnificent 9th pp. 248-249 could be included, specifically:
  - Alamein 7 July to 22 October 1942: 36 KIA, 12 DOW, 2 DOAS, 128 wounded and 4 POW
  - Alamein 23 October to 5 November 1942: 45 KIA, 11 DOW, 96 wounded and 27 POW. Anotherclown (talk) 01:43, 1 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
    - Thanks, I've added these now. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 02:01, 1 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
      - That looks good to me. I couldn't see any issues after another read through and have looked over the changes made since I reviewed at GA and believe it meets the A class criteria. Adding my support now. Anotherclown (talk) 22:42, 1 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Support -- I thought the prose could use a fair bit of tightening but don't hesitate to let me know any concerns with my copyedit; the only query I still have is:

"In early August, the battalion moved by road to Cairns. The following month, a new commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Joshua, arrived. On 8 August 1943, the 2/43rd embarked upon HMAS Manoora, bound for Milne Bay in New Guinea. [...] In mid-August, the battalion moved by sea to Buna in several landing craft." -- chronology seems a bit askew: early August, 8 August, and mid-August make sense but between the first two we have the new CO arriving in what I assume is September...
Structure seems logical and there's no shortage of detail.
I'll take PM's image review as read.
Referencing-wise, just a couple of formatting thingies that I tweaked; not familiar with all the sources but nothing stood out as being of questionable reliability.

Well done as always. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 16:13, 5 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

- Thanks, Ian. I've tweaked the chronology of the CO's arrival: it was late July. Not sure how I missed that. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 22:05, 5 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Support My Grandad served in this battalion during the Borneo Campaign, and it's interesting to read a history of the unit. I'm happy to support as I only have a couple of minor comments:

"early in 1943 as the Australian Army's focus turned to fighting the Japanese in the Pacific" - I'd suggest tweaking this as the Army's focus had been almost entirely on fighting the Japanese from early 1942 (the Government only agreed to leave the 9th Division in the Middle East in exchange for US reinforcements being sent to Australia)
"Many of the commissioned officers and some of the non-commissioned officers had previous military experience in the Militia" - do we know if many of the soldiers also had this experience? (presumably many did) Nick-D (talk) 11:46, 9 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]
- G'day, Nick, thanks for your edits and comments. These are my changes: [2]. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 12:31, 9 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.