 The 9th Division began to move from Australia to the island of Morotai in the Netherlands East Indies , where the Borneo campaign would be staged , in March 1945 . The division had seen extensive combat in North Africa and New Guinea , and its officers and enlisted men were well trained for amphibious operations and jungle warfare . However , the 9th Division had been out of action since early 1944 , leading to poor morale among its combat units . A large number of support , logistics and Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) units were assigned to the division for the operations at Brunei Bay , taking its strength to over 29 @,@ 000 personnel ( including 1 @,@ 097 in United States and British units ) . 
