The 39th Battalion was an Australian Army Militia unit which played a crucial role on the Kokoda Track in World War II. The battalion was originally raised during World War I as part of the First Australian Imperial Force, and served on the Western Front. After the war, it was re-raised in Victoria as a part-time unit, but was later amalgamated with other units. During the early part of World War II, the battalion was re-raised in 1941 as part of emergency preparations following Japan's entry into the war. Apart from a small number of World War I veterans, the battalion consisted largely of young, inexperienced soldiers. It was hurriedly deployed to New Guinea, where it fought a series of delaying actions along the Kokoda Track. The battalion was disbanded in mid-1943 after taking heavy casualties at Buna–Gona. On 8 August 2006, the Deployed Forces Support Unit was renamed the 39th Personnel Support Battalion in honour of the 39th Battalion.
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