well as losing over 50 men captured. Most of the losses had come from 'B' Company and so it became necessary to merge the company with a platoon from 'A' Company. A few days later, on 25 June, the battalion was temporarily attached to the 21st Brigade and together they carried out a series of advances inland due to concerns of a possible French counterattack around Beit ed Dine, capturing a number of towns and villages along the way before an armistice came into effect on 12 July 1941. After this the battalion carried out garrison duties in Lebanon before being brought back to Australia in February 1942 in order to meet the growing threats in the Pacific following Japan's entry into the war in December 1941. New Guinea campaigns, 1942–1944 The 2/25th Battalion arrived in Adelaide, South Australia on 10 March 1942, having made the voyage from Egypt aboard the American troopship USS Mount Vernon. Following this they undertook training at Woodside Camp before moving north to Caboolture, Queensland in May. Undertaking marksmanship training at the rifle range at Enoggera in Brisbane and specific jungle training in July, later in early August the battalion carried out amphibious landing training, undertaking practice assaults on Bribie Island, before carrying out further marksmanship and physical fitness training as they prepared for the order to proceed overseas as the situation in New Guinea became quite serious. This order finally came on 31 August, following a brigade-level demonstration exercise that was viewed by General Douglas MacArthur the previous day. Embarking on the SS Van De Lijn and Katoomba on 1 September 1942, the battalion proceeded to Port Moresby, via Townsville. The voyage was not without incident, as the Van De Lijn was involved in a collision with the troopship Perthshire, resulting in the death of one member of the 2/25th Battalion and injuries to five others. Nevertheless, they arrived in Port Moresby on 9 September, after having put into Townsville for a couple of days before proceeding on to New Guinea. They spent two days at a staging camp at Murray Barracks where they were issued the new jungle green uniforms before setting out on 11 September, along with the rest of the 25th Brigade, to carry out the march towards Ioribaiwa. Arriving there on 15 September, they took part in the last Australian withdrawal of the campaign, falling back on Imita Ridge, before