Murray Moten
Murray John Moten, was a senior officer in the Australian Army during World War II who commanded the 2/27th Battalion during the Syria-Lebanon campaign in 1941, and the 17th Brigade during the Salamaua–Lae campaign in 1943 and the Aitape–Wewak campaign in 1944–1945.
Early life and World War I enlistment
Murray John Moten was born on 3 July 1899 at Hawker, South Australia, the eldest son of John Moten and Maude Mary Sophia, Murray. Moten's father was an Australian-born railway porter and his mother was a nurse, originally from Ireland. Murray attended primary schools at Port Augusta, the state capital Adelaide, and in the far north town of Mingary, then Mount Gambier District High School in the south-east of the state. In 1913 he joined the junior cadets. He started as a messenger boy at the Mount Gambier post office in January 1915. Within six months he was working as a clerk in the town's branch of the Savings Bank of South Australia. In August 1916, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the senior cadets.In August 1917 Moten enlisted for overseas service in the Australian Imperial Force, not long after he turned 18, by which time his mother had died. Moten was sent on leaveapparently suffering from flat feetbut was discharged as medically unfit due to heart problems and poor physique in January 1918. Moten returned to civilian life and was transferred to the head office of the Savings Bank of South Australia in Adelaide.
Between the wars
Having resigned from the senior cadets, Moten was appointed as a provisional lieutenant in the part-time 48th Battalion, Citizens Forces, in July 1923. He undertook further studies, studying accountancy at the University of Adelaide in 1924. On 6 January 1926, Moten was promoted to captain. Ten days later he married Kathleen Meegan, a 28-year-old musician, at St Mary's Catholic Church, Port Adelaide. On 29 May 1929 Moten was promoted to major.In 1930, with austerity measures from the Great Depression biting and the election of the Scullin Labor government, universal service was suspended, and due to falling volunteer numbers, the 48th Battalion was amalgamated with the 43rd Battalion to form the 43rd/48th Battalion. At the same time, the Citizens Forces were renamed the Militia. Moten was elected the President of the Bank Officials' Association of South Australia in 1934. On 17 December 1936, Moten was promoted to lieutenant colonel and took command of the 43rd/48th Battalion. By October 1938, Moten was working as a sales clerk in the mortgage department of the Savings Bank of South Australia.
World War II
Two months after the outbreak of World War II, the 43rd/48th Battalion was delinked to again form separate battalions. Moten took command of the 48th Battalion, which was not immediately mobilised and remained on part-time service. On 29 February 1940, Moten was awarded the Efficiency Decoration, which was issued to part-time officers for 20 years of efficient commissioned service. On 26 April, Moten joined the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force, and was appointed as the commanding officer of the 2/27th Battalion at the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel. He was accepted despite having reduced vision in one eye. The battalion was raised at Woodside, South Australia, on 7 May, where it began basic training. Along with the 2/14th and 2/16th Battalions, the 2/27th was attached to the 21st Brigade, which formed part of the 7th Division, the second infantry division raised as part of the Second AIF. With an authorised strength of 910 men of all ranks, it was organised into: four rifle companies designated "A" to "D"; a battalion headquarters; regimental aid post; and a headquarters company consisting of specialist signals, anti-aircraft, mortar, carrier, pioneer and administrative platoons. In August Moten attended a tactical exercise without troops at Puckapunyal in central Victoria, then went on a week's pre-embarkation leave at the end of September.Palestine and Egypt
The 2/27th Battalion entrained for Melbourne on 19 October and embarked there two days later aboard the requisitioned ocean liner Mauretania. Sailing via British India, the 2/27th briefly made camp at Deolali outside of Bombay for a week before embarking on the Takliwa for the rest of the voyage to the Middle East. The battalion arrived in Egypt on 24 November, disembarking at Kantara on the Suez Canal then moving to Julius Camp in Palestine for further training. After completing its training, the unit moved with the rest of the 7th Division to the Western Desert fortresses at Mersa Matruh and nearby Maaten Bagush in April 1941. Their role was to bolster the Libyan-Egyptian border defences against an anticipated German attack. The battalion did not experience direct ground combat during this period, but came under frequent air attack from Axis aircraft, improved their physical fitness, and gained useful experience in a war zone. On 22 May, the battalion began moving back to Palestine in preparation for the invasion of Syria and Lebanon. The main body of the unit crossed the Suez Canal at Kantara on 26 May, and reached its assembly area at Kfar Yehezkel in northern Palestine two days later.Syria-Lebanon campaign
's 21st Brigade was given the task of advancing north up the -wide coastal route, and was split into two columns. Moten's column, consisting of the 2/27th Battalion and some light tanks, supported by artillery and engineers and with naval gunfire support, was given the task of clearing the coastal road after the 2/14th Battalion had captured the border posts, while a similar column based on the 2/16th Battalion advanced up the more difficult inland road. A subsidiary column formed by the British Cheshire Yeomanry horsed cavalry regiment would provide eastern flank protection to Moten's column and assist if his column was held up at the Litani River.Initial operations and capture of Innsariye
The invasion began in the early hours of 8 June but Stevens decided not to push Moten's fully motorised column through the 2/14th Battalion, but instead kept that unit moving forward to establish if the French had cratered the road or demolished bridges that would stop the 2/27th from advancing. By the end of the first day, the 2/14th Battalion had occupied the town of Tyre. The 2/27th began moving forward on 9 June once a large crater in the road at Iskandaroun had been filled by engineers. In heavy fighting, the 2/16th crossed the Litani by boat on 9 June, and that evening, supported by a company of the 2/27th Battalion, they began clearing the opposite bank. During this fighting, the detached company of the 2/27th captured an entire company of Algerian colonial troops. That night the river was bridged by the engineers using pontoons, and the rest of the 2/27th began crossing in their vehicles on the morning of 10 June.On 10 June the 2/27th advanced along the coast road led by a squadron of cavalry mounted in carriers, while the 2/16th cleared the high ground to the east. The cavalry pushed on through sporadic resistance past Kafr Badda, but both infantry battalions met opposition among the hills east of the road, and suffered casualties. Stevens, seeking to keep the French off-balance, ordered Moten to attack the French positions at Innsariye at midnight, which he did after a 30 minute artillery barrage with two companies leading. These met heavy resistance, and were also delayed while some enemy tanks were dispersed by the artillery, so a third company was swung around the leading companies on the right flank and pushed towards the battalion's final objective. Moten, who was forward with the third company, saw an opportunity to encircle the French still resisting the leading companies, and ordered the third company to take up a position on high ground overlooking a road running east from the French positions towards Es Sakiye, with his headquarters and the pioneer platoon deployed onto high ground above the coastal road to block that line of withdrawal for the French. The French surrendered at dawn on 11 June. The 2/14th Battalion then led the advance until the following day, when the 2/27th again took up the role.
At this stage the advance was held up by the French north of Khan Saada, where they had established defensive positions in the Wadi Zaharani, which dominated the intersection with the road running east towards Merdjayoun. A frontal attack by the 2/14th aimed at cutting this road had been unsuccessful. Moten reconnoitered to the east of the French position, guided by the adjutant of the 2/14th. He then sent two companies forward, and their successful attack secured the bridge across the Zaharani River and captured about 200 French prisoners. The 2/27th continued to push forward along the coast road, with lead elements reaching the village of Rhaziye where they were stopped by heavy artillery fire. Two companies of the battalion managed to advance to the village of Darb es Sim near Ghazieh during the night of 12/13 June.