Battle and theatre honours of the Australian Army

The Australian Army and its forerunners have been awarded 248 battle and theatre honours since its formation. The first honour given to an Australian unit came prior to Federation and was awarded to forces from the colony of New South Wales, which contributed a small contingent consisting of an infantry battalion, with artillery and support units to take part in the short-lived British campaign against the Dervish revolt in the eastern Sudan in 1885 following the death of General Charles Gordon at Khartoum.^[1][2]

The next conflict that saw Australian units receive battle or theatre honours was the Second Boer War. Between 1899 and 1901, forces from the six Australian colonies fought alongside each other before being replaced in 1901 by forces of the newly established Australian Army following Federation.^[3] A total of five theatre honours were awarded for service in South Africa, being bestowed upon successor units in the form of honorary banners and distinctions presented in 1904, 1908 and 1911.^[4][5] Since then, the Australian Army has received honours for fighting during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, with the Royal Australian Regiment last being awarded a battle honour in 1994 for the First Battle of Maryang San in Korea.^[6] In 2013, units of Special Operations Command were awarded the battle honour Eastern Shah Wali Kot for their actions in Afghanistan in May and June 2010.^[7] A theatre honour for peacekeeping in East Timor in 1999–2003 was awarded to the Army on its 119th birthday in March 2020.^[8] The most highly decorated unit in the Australian Army is the 12th/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmania Regiment (12/40 RTR), with 47 battle and theatre honours. It is an active Australian Army Reserve Infantry unit. The 12th/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmania Regiment, is part of 4 Brigade, with battalion headquarters at Anglesea Barracks, Hobart, with Alpha Company based in Launceston at Youngtown Barracks and Bravo Company being based in Hobart at Derwent Barracks.^[9]