Raised in 1914 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion was completely recruited from the state of Victoria and formed the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division.

Although disbanded in 1919 following the end of hostilities, it was re-raised in 1921 in the Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) as a part-time infantry battalion based in Victoria.

Known as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), initially it was to consist of 20,000 men, comprising one infantry division and a light horse brigade.

[6] Elliott took personal control over the recruitment process, selecting only those officers that he had known from his service in the Citizens Forces as his company commanders, who he in turn entrusted with choosing their own subordinates.

[8] In September the battalion marched through the city of Melbourne and a fortnight later they embarked upon HMT Hororata bound for the Middle East.

[10][11] However the battalion did not take part in direct combat, and during this time a number of its non-commissioned officers were allowed to apply for commissions in British Army units.

Over the course of the first week the battalion was involved in establishing the beachhead and suffered heavily, losing five officers and 179 men killed or died of wounds.

The respite did not last long, however, for only ten days after the landing at Anzac Cove, the 2nd Brigade was transferred to Cape Helles in order to take part in an attack on Krithia on 8 May 1915.

[17] After the attack the battalion was given a weeks rest at Cape Helles, where it received a number of reinforcements before being sent back to the lodgement at Anzac Cove, where a stalemate situation had developed.

[5] After taking over positions that had been captured by the 1st Brigade, the battalion defended the trenches against repeated Turkish counterattacks and, in the process, four of its members performed acts of gallantry that later led to them receiving the Victoria Cross (VC), the nation's highest military decoration.

[18] According to Ron Austin, during this fighting, the 7th Battalion lost 87 men killed;[14] Arthur Dean and Eric Gutteridge give the total casualties as twelve out of fourteen officers and 680 Other Ranks.

[19] Despite the battalion's success in holding the trenches at Lone Pine, the August Offensive failed to break the deadlock as setbacks elsewhere resulted in continued stalemate and for the rest of the campaign the fighting was relatively static.

[21] After Gallipoli the 7th Battalion was withdrawn to Egypt, where the AIF underwent a period of reorganisation and expansion prior to being transferred to Europe.

[14] In late August, the 7th Battalion, with a frontage equal to just over half its authorised strength, was transferred to Ypres, in Belgium, where they manned trenches near the Ypres–Commines canal.

[23] During this time they were not involved in any major attacks, however, each night they sent patrols out into no man's land and established listening posts to gather intelligence.

On the night of 26/27 February, the 7th Battalion launched what was meant to be a trench raid, but turned into an open advance, seeing them extend their lines by 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi).

[38] The two battalions remained linked until 9 November 1936 when,[38] following concerns about growing tensions in Europe, it was decided to delink them in order to double the size of the Militia as the prospect of another war became apparent.

[36][38] Following the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the Australian government once again decided to raise an all volunteer force for service overseas as the legal restrictions on employing the Militia outside of Australia still applied.

[38] In 1942, however, it received orders to move north to Darwin, where it carried out garrison duties to defend the town and experienced a number air raids from Japanese aircraft.

[47] Tasked with defending the airfield from a Japanese attack that was at best remote, some members of the battalion sought to enliven their existence by acting as crews on US Navy PT boats carrying out raids on New Britain and New Ireland.

[38] In April 1945, after months of lobbying by Potts—who was keen to get back into action himself after having been relieved of his previous command during the Kokoda campaign—the 7th Battalion was transferred to Torokina on Bougainville Island, where the Japanese garrison was still holding out.