The 2/40th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Formed in mid-1940 from personnel recruited from Tasmania, the battalion was assigned to the 23rd Brigade, which formed part of the 8th Division. After completing basic training, the 2/40th was sent to Darwin to form part of the defensive garrison there as tensions with the Japanese grew throughout 1941. Following Japan's entry into the war, the battalion was deployed to Timor as part of Sparrow Force and in early 1942 they took part in the fighting on the island against the Japanese. Outnumbered and lacking supplies, the majority of the 2/40th's personnel were captured and spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war, although some were able to wage a guerrilla campaign across the island before being withdrawn by the