Sailing via the longer, but safer southern route, on the way to the Middle East the convoy carrying the Australians made a port call at Durban, South Africa.
While there, the battalion marched through the city under arms on 13 December 1940, before re-embarking.
Disembarking in Alexandria, Egypt, on 31 December 1940, the battalion went into camp at Ikingi Maryut with 33 officers and 707 men.
In February 1941, the battalion was transferred once more, as the 18th Brigade was reassigned to the 7th Division.
Around the same time, the brigade was reduced to only three infantry battalions as part of an Army-wide re-organization, and the 2/11th Battalion was transferred to the 19th Brigade.
With the 7th Division the battalion fought its first major engagement of the war on 21 March 1941, when it led the 18th Brigade's assault on the Italian fortress at Giarabub, which was held by about 1,500 Italians.
Advancing from Siwa in Egypt, the battalion, supported by elements of the 2/10th and 2/12th Battalions, attacked from the south across marshland, while cavalry from the 6th Division Cavalry Regiment feigned an attack against the strongest point of the fortress.
Amidst a sandstorm that limited visibility, heavy fighting ensued and the garrison surrendered at around 2:00 pm; 250 Italians were killed, while 1,300 were taken as prisoners of war.
A total of 17 Australians were killed and 77 were wounded, with the majority of these being men from the 2/9th Battalion.
Afterwards, the battalion was sent to Ikingi Maryut and the following month the 2/9th was transported to Tobruk by road and sea to reinforce the garrison there as German forces surrounded the strategic port in an effort to capture it.
The 2/9th would remain in there for the next five months as Tobruk fell under siege.

On 3 May, the 2/9th Battalion launched a counter-attack on the German forces around "the Salient" in order to retake some of the posts that had previously been lost to the Germans.
After being subjected to a heavy German artillery bombardment at their form up point, at 8:45 pm the battalion attacked from the southern flank under the cover of considerable counter-battery fire from the British artillery.
After capturing a number of positions and inflicting heavy losses upon the defenders, the Australians were eventually forced to withdraw at around 3:00 am on 4 May when it became apparent that they would not be able to complete the advance before daylight.
Having lost three men killed, three missing and 51 wounded, at dawn the 2/9th Battalion returned to the "Blue Line", where it took over a defensive position south of Bianca.
Here a series of small skirmishes ensued during which time the battalion was able to extend their lines by about 0.5 miles (0.80 km).

For the rest of May the battalion undertook defensive construction tasks and raids into "no mans land" south-west of Bianca before being relieved by the 2/17th Battalion on the night of 4/5 June 1941.
Following this, the 18th Brigade went into reserve and the battalion saw little action for the next month as it was moved back to the Bardia–El Adem Road junction.
In July, the battalion returned to "the Salient", where it spent a period of time in brigade reserve in the Pilastino sector.
Later, it was moved back up to the "Red Line" in the El Adem sector where the battalion's personnel undertook aggressive patrols into no mans' land, penetrating a number of minefields and moving booby traps.
On 23 July, the battalion launched a major raid in their sector in an effort to gauge German responses, penetrating over 800 metres (870 yd) through the German lines, but after finding their objective unoccupied, the raiders withdrew.

Following this the battalion went back into reserve for a period, before briefly returning to the "Red Line" at the start of August.
This was short-lived, though, for later in the month the decision was made to withdraw the 18th Brigade from Tobruk and the 2/9th Battalion was subsequently sent to Palestine to undertake training.
Later the battalion was transferred to Syria where it was employ
Sailing via the longer, but safer southern route, on the way to the Middle East the convoy carrying the Australians made a port call at Durban, South Africa. While there, the battalion marched through the city under arms on 13 December 1940, before re-embarking. Disembarking in Alexandria, Egypt, on 31 December 1940, the battalion went into camp at Ikingi Maryut with 33 officers and 707 men. In February 1941, the battalion was transferred once more, as the 18th Brigade was reassigned to the 7th Division. Around the same time, the brigade was reduced to only three infantry battalions as part of an Army-wide re-organization, and the 2/11th Battalion was transferred to the 19th Brigade. With the 7th Division the battalion fought its first major engagement of the war on 21 March 1941, when it led the 18th Brigade's assault on the Italian fortress at Giarabub, which was held by about 1,500 Italians. Advancing from Siwa in Egypt, the battalion, supported by elements of the 2/10th and 2/12th Battalions, attacked from the south across marshland, while cavalry from the 6th Division Cavalry Regiment feigned an attack against the strongest point of the fortress. Amidst a sandstorm that limited visibility, heavy fighting ensued and the garrison surrendered at around 2:00 pm; 250 Italians were killed, while 1,300 were taken as prisoners of war. A total of 17 Australians were killed and 77 were wounded, with the majority of these being men from the 2/9th Battalion. Afterwards, the battalion was sent to Ikingi Maryut and the following month the 2/9th was transported to Tobruk by road and sea to reinforce the garrison there as German forces surrounded the strategic port in an effort to capture it. The 2/9th would remain in there for the next five months as Tobruk fell under siege.
On 3 May, the 2/9th Battalion launched a counter-attack on the German forces around "the Salient" in order to retake some of the posts that had previously been lost to the Germans. After being subjected to a heavy German artillery bombardment at their form up point, at 8:45 pm the battalion attacked from the southern flank under the cover of considerable counter-battery fire from the British artillery. After capturing a number of positions and inflicting heavy losses upon the defenders, the Australians were eventually forced to withdraw at around 3:00 am on 4 May when it became apparent that they would not be able to complete the advance before daylight. Having lost three men killed, three missing and 51 wounded, at dawn the 2/9th Battalion returned to the "Blue Line", where it took over a defensive position south of Bianca. Here a series of small skirmishes ensued during which time the battalion was able to extend their lines by about 0.5 miles (0.80 km).
For the rest of May the battalion undertook defensive construction tasks and raids into "no mans land" south-west of Bianca before being relieved by the 2/17th Battalion on the night of 4/5 June 1941. Following this, the 18th Brigade went into reserve and the battalion saw little action for the next month as it was moved back to the Bardia–El Adem Road junction. In July, the battalion returned to "the Salient", where it spent a period of time in brigade reserve in the Pilastino sector. Later, it was moved back up to the "Red Line" in the El Adem sector where the battalion's personnel undertook aggressive patrols into no mans' land, penetrating a number of minefields and moving booby traps. On 23 July, the battalion launched a major raid in their sector in an effort to gauge German responses, penetrating over 800 metres (870 yd) through the German lines, but after finding their objective unoccupied, the raiders withdrew.
Following this the battalion went back into reserve for a period, before briefly returning to the "Red Line" at the start of August. This was short-lived, though, for later in the month the decision was made to withdraw the 18th Brigade from Tobruk and the 2/9th Battalion was subsequently sent to Palestine to undertake training. Later the battalion was transferred to Syria where it was employ
2/9th Battalion (Australia)