and 19th Brigades. Consequently, the 49th Battalion was disbanded on 3 July 1943 and its remaining personnel were transferred to the 2/1st Infantry Battalion, with whom they went on to see further action, fighting in the Aitape–Wewak campaign with the 6th Division late in the war. Casualties amongst the 49th Battalion are listed on the Australian War Memorial as 97 killed and 111 wounded, the majority of which were suffered during the fighting around Sanananda. Author Fred Cranston, who served with the 49th Battalion during the New Guinea campaign, disagrees with these figures, listing the 49th Battalion's casualties during the fighting around Sanananda as 14 officers and 282 other ranks killed or wounded, and 313 all ranks evacuated sick. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: one DSO, three MCs, one DCM, three MMs and 10 MIDs. For their involvement in the fighting in New Guinea, in 1961 the 49th Battalion was awarded three battle honours. Throughout the majority of their involvement in the New Guinea campaign, the battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Owen Kessels. Post-war years After the war, Australia's military was rapidly demobilised and then re-formed with the part-time element, the Citizens Military Force (CMF), being established in 1948. The force was recreated on a reduced scale, though, and there was no room on the order of battle initially for the 49th Battalion. In 1965, conscription was reintroduced in the form of the national service scheme, and this saw an influx of manpower into the CMF. The following year, the 49th Battalion was re-raised as a "special conditions" battalion within the Royal Queensland Regiment, catering for the training needs of men who were eligible for call up who elected to serve in the CMF rather than the Regular Army, but who could not parade regularly due to where they lived or what civilian occupation they held. The national service scheme ended in December 1972, after which many who had joined the CMF to defer national service took discharges. The immediate effect on the battalion was significant, with its personnel dropping from around 1,000 to approximately 200, but later it was able to rebuild its numbers to the extent that by 1982 it had a strength of 22 officers and 548 other ranks. In 1984–1985, the 49th Battalion was moved from the 7th Brigade, to the 6th, becoming that brigade's third infantry battalion. In 1991, the 49th