At 21:47 30/12/02 +0000, Julie Robinson wrote: >Just what was the work for a "Pioneer Battalion"? Did they go in ahead >of others to prepare in some way? >I can't think how, because the ordinary soldier carried his own trenching >tool and set to digging as and when required. >Maybe they set up facilities such as latrines or secured a water supply? A pioneer battalion was organised like an infantry battalion but contained a large number of tradesmen. Although the infantry could dig their own trench lines, the preparation of them was a normal task for the pioneers. They also buried the signal wires. Prior to the late part of the Second World War most engineering work in the Australian Army was done with hand tools. There was therefore little difference between the engineers and the pioneers. The Australian pioneers liked to carry out tasks which would have been the province of the engineers in the British Army. The built, roads, depots, bridges and railways. Ross