 The 2 / 4th Machine Gun Battalion was one of four machine gun battalions raised as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force ( 2nd AIF ) for service overseas during the Second World War . <unk> infantry units , equipped with wheeled motor vehicles and tracked carriers , the machine gun battalions were formed to provide a greater level of fire support than that ordinarily available within infantry battalions . Developed by the British Army , the concept had its genesis in the Australian Army during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 , when the machine guns assigned to the infantry battalions — initially two and then four — had been grouped together and co @-@ ordinated at brigade level , to help compensate for the lack of artillery support . On the Western Front , the concept had evolved through the establishment of machine gun companies in 1916 and finally , in 1918 , to the establishment of machine gun battalions . Similar formations had also been established among the Australian Light Horse units serving in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign . During the inter @-@ war years , the machine gun battalions had been deemed unnecessary . They were not re @-@ raised when the Army was reorganised in 1921 but in 1937 , as the Australian Army looked to expand owing to fears of war in Europe , four such units were formed within the part @-@ time Militia , by converting light horse units and <unk> them . Several other Militia machine gun battalions were also raised as new units later after the Second World War began . These were formed by consolidating the machine gun companies assigned to a number of infantry battalions , and other light horse units were also converted into the role for use as garrison forces . Within the 2nd AIF — Australia 's overseas expeditionary force — the decision was made to raise four machine gun battalions as corps troops that were usually allocated at a rate of one per division ; several of the Militia units were also later designated Australian Imperial Force units , after the majority of their personnel volunteered for overseas service . This meant that they could be deployed outside of Australian territory even though they were not 2nd AIF units . 
