Editing 3rd Division (Australia) (section)

===World War I===

====Formation and training====
In early 1916, following the unsuccessful [[Gallipoli campaign]], the decision was made to expand the size of the [[First Australian Imperial Force|Australian Imperial Force]] (AIF).<ref>{{harvnb|Grey|2008|p=99}}</ref> At the time there were two divisions in [[Egypt]]—the [[1st Division (Australia)|1st]] and [[2nd Division (Australia)|2nd]]—and of these, one of them (the 1st) was split up to provide a [[En cadre|cadre]] upon which to raise the [[4th Division (Australia)|4th]] and [[5th Division (Australia)|5th Divisions]].<ref>{{harvnb|Grey|2008|pp=99–100}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bean|1941a|pp=41–42}}</ref> Around this time the decision to raise a fifth division from fresh volunteers in Australia was also made and as a result the 3rd Division was officially raised on 2 February 1916.<ref name=Palazzo1/>

Upon formation, the division drew its personnel from all Australian states and consisted of three four-[[battalion]] infantry [[brigade]]s—the [[9th Brigade (Australia)|9th]], [[10th Brigade (Australia)|10th]] and the [[11th Brigade (Australia)|11th]]—and a number of supporting elements including engineers, artillery and medical personnel.<ref name=Palazzo1/> Only rudimentary initial training was undertaken before elements of the division began the embarkation process in May and June 1916 as they were moved to the United Kingdom, where the individual sub units concentrated for the first time, received arms and other equipment and began the task of undertaking further training at [[Larkhill]], in the [[Salisbury Plain Training Area]].<ref name=Palazzo21>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=21}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bean|1941a|p=176}}</ref> In July the division's artillery component was formed, consisting of three [[Artillery battery|batteries]] of [[18-pounder]]s and one 4.5&nbsp;inch [[howitzer]] battery.<ref>{{harvnb|Horner|1995|p=117}}</ref> The process of raising and training took some time and consequently the division was not transferred to France until mid November 1916.<ref name=Palazzo21/> Prior to this, however, the division endured proposals to break it up to provide reinforcements to the other four Australian divisions that were already in France. Although these threats passed, in early September 1916, following losses around [[Battle of Pozières|Pozières]], almost 3,000 men from the 3rd Division were transferred.<ref>{{harvnb|Bean|1941a|p=867}}</ref> Throughout October it seemed likely that further drafts would be siphoned away from the division, however, this did not occur and in early November two divisional exercises were undertaken. Finally, on 21 November 1916, the 3rd Division crossed the English Channel and arrived in France.<ref>{{harvnb|Bean|1941a|p=950}}</ref>

Under the command of [[Major General]] [[John Monash]],<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=18}}</ref> the division was assigned to [[II ANZAC Corps]].<ref name=Palazzo24>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=24}}</ref> For the next two years they would take part in most of the major battles that the Australians fought on the Western Front. Initially they were deployed around [[Armentières]] in a "quiet" sector of the line, where they gained their first experiences of trench warfare, conducting patrols into [[No Man's Land]] and minor raids on the German trenches opposite them during the winter months.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|pp=24–25}}</ref>

====Early engagements, 1917====
By January 1917 the 3rd Division's artillery had been reorganised so that it consisted of two field artillery brigades, each of which consisted of three six-gun 18-pounder batteries and twelve 4.5&nbsp;inch howitzers. These brigades were the 7th (consisting of the 25th, 26th, 27th and 107th Batteries) and the 8th (29th, 30th, 31st and 108th Batteries).<ref>{{harvnb|Horner|1995|p=138}}</ref> In April 1917 the division was moved to the Messines–Wytschaete Ridge section of the line in Belgium, taking up a position on the extreme right of II ANZAC Corps, with the [[New Zealand Division]] to its left.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=31}}</ref> It was here, in early June 1917, that the division undertook its first major engagement of the war when it was committed to the fighting during the [[Battle of Messines (1917)|Battle of Messines]].<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=32}}</ref> Monash tasked the 9th and 10th Brigades to provide the assault force for the 3rd Division's part of the operation, while the 11th Brigade was to act as the divisional reserve.<ref name=Palazzo33>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=33}}</ref>

As the division's assault units began their approach march towards the [[Line of Departure]] late on the evening of 6 June, the German artillery opened up with a gas bombardment that severely hindered the march, breaking up the assaulting units as men became lost. Suffering over 2,000 casualties before the battle even began, many of the division's assault units reached their assembly points with less than 200 men, nevertheless they arrived on time and at the appointed hour, after a number of mines were exploded in front of their positions, the assault began.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|pp=32–33}}</ref> The exploding mines had destroyed a large part of the German line and as a result initial resistance was quickly overcome by the division's lead battalions—the [[33rd Battalion (Australia)|33rd]], [[34th Battalion (Australia)|34th]], [[38th Battalion (Australia)|38th]] and [[39th Battalion (Australia)|39th]]—and by 5&nbsp;am, the division had gained the crest of the Messines ridge and began digging in to defend against a possible [[counter-attack]].<ref name=Palazzo33/> In the engagements that followed the division largely played only a supporting role.<ref name=Palazzo33/>

Following this, the division's next major engagement came on 4 October 1917 when it took part in the [[Battle of Broodseinde Ridge]].<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=35}}</ref> This time the 9th Brigade was held back in reserve, while the 10th and 11th Brigades led the division forward. Attacking on the left of the Australian 2nd Division and the right of the New Zealand Division, early on the morning of the scheduled start of the attack the German artillery opened up on the division's eight assaulting infantry battalions as they stood to in the open ready to step off. Conserving their artillery for the main attack, the supporting Allied artillery only provided limited counter-battery fire and the division suffered heavily as they were forced to endure an hour-long barrage before zero hour came at 6&nbsp;am.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=36}}</ref> As the [[37th Battalion (Australia)|37th]] and [[43rd Battalion (Australia)|43rd Battalions]] led the advance towards the German lines, supported by small teams of mortarmen and machine gunners, the Germans launched their own attack, however, the Australian assault had taken them by surprise and after some initial resistance, the German assault troops began to fall back or surrender. As the follow-on battalions exploited the ground gained in the initial assault the advance continued and by 9:15&nbsp;am the 3rd Division had carried the ridge and begun to dig in, having advanced {{convert|2000|yd|m}}.<ref name=Palazzo37>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=37}}</ref> A counterattack late in the day on the 11th Brigade's position was turned back, sealing a stunning success for the 3rd Division. Nevertheless, the division's casualties were high, with over 1,800 men killed or wounded.<ref name=Palazzo37/> For his actions during the attack, [[Walter Peeler]], a Lewis-gunner from the [[3rd Pioneer Battalion (Australia)|3rd Pioneer Battalion]] who was attached to 37th Battalion for anti-aircraft duties received the [[Victoria Cross]] after he personally led the assault on a number of German positions.<ref>{{harvnb|Bean|1941b|p=850}}</ref>

They held the line for a further three days before being withdrawn for rest and reorganisation.<ref name=Palazzo38>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=38}}</ref> On 10 October 1917 the division returned to the front and began to make preparations to assault [[Battle of Passchendaele|Passchendaele Ridge]], an advance of over {{convert|3000|yd|m}}. Heavy rain, however, had turned the battlefield into a thick, muddy morass and as a result transportation and resupply efforts were hampered as were attempts to reposition the supporting artillery and as a consequence when the attack went in at 5:25&nbsp;am on 12 October the 9th and 10th Brigades had only limited fire support.<ref name=Palazzo38/><ref>{{harvnb|Horner|1995|p=160}}</ref> With only a fraction of the guns required and limited ammunition, the artillery that was supposed to provide a creeping barrage behind which the infantry were to advance could only provide a thin bombardment. Nevertheless, the mud was so thick that the infantry were unable to keep up with the barrage and, unable to maintain the required rate of advance, they eventually they fell behind the barrage and lost any cover that it might otherwise have provided.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=39}}</ref>

Upon reaching the Bellevue Spur, the assaulting infantry, caught in the open upon the barbed wire in front of the German positions,<ref>{{harvnb|Neillands|2004|p=400}}</ref> suffered heavily at the hands of the German artillery that was able to fire without answer from the British batteries that had run out of ammunition.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|pp=39–40}}</ref> Nevertheless, the 10th Brigade managed to reach its first objective, as did the 9th which even pushed on to its second, however, as they began to receive [[enfilade]] fire from their left flank where the New Zealand Division's attack had ground to a halt, the Germans began massing for a counterattack and the Australian positions quickly became untenable. On the division's right flank another gap had begun to develop as they lost contact with the Australian 4th Division and as a result the order to retire was passed.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=40}}</ref> As they returned to the start line, the assault units were relieved by the 11th Brigade, which had formed the divisional reserve. By the end of the day, the division had lost almost 3,200 men killed or wounded. They played no further offensive role in the battle and were eventually removed from the line on 22 October as the Canadians took over from them.<ref name=Palazzo41>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=41}}</ref>

The fighting around Passchendaele proved to be the division's last offensive actions for 1917 and they spent the winter months in the rear training, or undertaking defensive duties in reasonably quiet sectors of the line as they were reformed and brought back up to strength.<ref name=Palazzo41/> Around this time also, the five Australian divisions on the Western Front were reorganised into a unified command structure under the [[Australian Corps]].<ref name=Palazzo41/>

====German Spring Offensive, 1918====
{{command structure
|name= Order of Battle, 3rd Division
|date=c. 1918
|parent=[[Australian Corps]]
|subordinate=
* [[9th Brigade (Australia)|9th Brigade]] (New South Wales)<ref name=Kuring91>{{harvnb|Kuring|2004|p=91}}</ref>
** [[33rd Battalion (Australia)|33rd Battalion]]<ref group="Note">Disbanded in May 1919.</ref>
** [[34th Battalion (Australia)|34th Battalion]]
** [[35th Battalion (Australia)|35th Battalion]]
** [[36th Battalion (Australia)|36th Battalion]]<ref group="Note">Disbanded in April 1918.</ref>
* [[10th Brigade (Australia)|10th Brigade]] (Victoria)<ref name=Kuring91/>
** [[37th Battalion (Australia)|37th Battalion]]<ref group="Note">Disbanded in September 1918.</ref>
** [[38th Battalion (Australia)|38th Battalion]]
** [[39th Battalion (Australia)|39th Battalion]]
** [[40th Battalion (Australia)|40th Battalion]] (Tasmania)
* [[11th Brigade (Australia)|11th Brigade]]<ref name=Kuring91/>
** [[41st Battalion (Australia)|41st Battalion]] (Queensland)
** [[42nd Battalion (Australia)|42nd Battalion]] (Queensland)<ref group="Note">Disbanded in September 1918.</ref>
** [[43rd Battalion (Australia)|43rd Battalion]] (South Australia)
** [[44th Battalion (Australia)|44th Battalion]] (Western Australia)
* [[3rd Pioneer Battalion (Australia)|3rd Pioneer Battalion]]<ref name=Kuring91/>
* [[3rd Machine Gun Battalion (Australia)|3rd Machine Gun Battalion]]<ref group="Note">From March 1918.</ref><ref name=Kuring91/>
* 3rd Divisional Engineers<ref>{{harvnb|McNicol|1979|p=97}}</ref>
** 9th Field Company
** 10th Field Company
** 11th Field Company
* [[Australian Army Artillery Units, World War I#3rd Division Artillery|3rd Division Artillery]]
* [[Australian Army Medical Units, World War I#3rd Division (Australia)|3rd Division Field Ambulance]]
}}
In March 1918 the Germans launched their [[German spring offensive|Spring Offensive]] near [[Saint-Quentin, Aisne|Saint-Quentin]] and as the Allied line collapsed, the German forces advanced swiftly into the [[Somme (river)|Somme valley]]. Believing that another attack would be directed against the forces in the [[Flanders]] sector, in an effort to reinforce the British forces there, the Allied commanders recalled the 3rd Division was recalled from its quiet sector around Armentières and sent it to Ypres.<ref name=Palazzo42>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=42}}</ref> The attack came, however, at the Somme and so on 24 March the division was transferred south to help stem the advance and defend the approaches towards the important railhead at [[Amiens]]. Temporarily placed under the command of the [[VII Corps (United Kingdom)|British VII Corps]], the division took up position to the east of Amiens in between the Ancre and Somme Rivers.<ref name=Palazzo42/>

Lacking any reserves and possessing only limited artillery support, the division's engineers prepared the bridges over the rivers for detonation. From 27 March onwards minor actions were fought along the line as the German advance began to reach the Australians. On 30 March, during the [[First Battle of Morlancourt]], a serious attempt at penetrating the line around Sailly-Laurette was held and broken up by the 11th Brigade, with German losses being assessed at around one and a half brigades, or roughly between 3,000 and 4,000 men.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|pp=44–45}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bean|1941c|p=234}}</ref> Meanwhile, the 9th Brigade was detached from the division and sent south, where it participated in a [[First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux|counter-attack around Villers-Bretonneux]].<ref>{{harvnb|Coulthard-Clark|1998|pp=139–141}}</ref> On 6 April, further attempts were made and in the confusion the charges that had been placed on the Bouzencourt Bridge were fired and it was dropped into the Somme Canal.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=44}}</ref> Nevertheless, the attempt was beaten off by the 10th Brigade.<ref name=Palazzo45>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=45}}</ref> Following this the Australians were able to begin taking the initiative and throughout May they began to slowly recapture some of the ground that had been lost earlier as they undertook a series of [[Peaceful Penetration]] operations,<ref name=Palazzo45/> including the [[Second Battle of Morlancourt]].{{sfn|Carlyon|2006|p=635}}

In June 1918, the 3rd Division's commander, Monash, was promoted to take over command of the Australian Corps and as a result Major General [[John Gellibrand]] took over as divisional commander.<ref name=Palazzo46>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=46}}</ref>

====Battle of Amiens, 1918====
[[File:Australian108thHowitzerBatteryBray26August1918.jpeg|thumb|right|The 108th Howitzer Battery in action around Bray, August 1918]]
On 8 August 1918, the Allies launched their [[Hundred Days Offensive]] around Amiens and the 3rd Division was tasked with leading the Australian Corps part in the attack.<ref name=Palazzo47>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=47}}</ref> By this stage, the divisional artillery consisted of three field brigades,<ref>{{harvnb|Horner|1995|p=173}}</ref> and under the cover of a heavy artillery bombardment provided by nine field brigades that were organised in three supporting sub-groups,<ref>{{harvnb|Horner|1995|p=187}}</ref> and supported by tanks and gas, the attack began at 4:20&nbsp;am.<ref name=Palazzo47/> The weight of the Allied fire support was intense as over 2,000 artillery pieces opened up on the German defences.<ref>{{harvnb|Bean|1942|p=529}}</ref> The assaulting infantry battalions were each assigned a frontage of about {{convert|1000|yd|m}} which they assaulted with two companies forward and two in support. Thick smoke meant that the attackers found it difficult to maintain their spacing and some of the supporting armour was also delayed.<ref>{{harvnb|Bean|1942|p=530}}</ref> Nevertheless, the attack proved successful, as the Australians overwhelmed the German defenders and by the end of the day the division had achieved all of its objectives.<ref name=Palazzo49>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=49}}</ref>

Throughout the rest of August, they continued offensive operations, even launching daylight raids upon the German positions.<ref name=Palazzo49/> On 22 August they attacked once more, advancing through the village of Bray, capturing a number of German prisoners. After a brief lull in the fighting, they continued the advance again on 25 August capturing Clery at the end of the week before taking Allaines on 2 September. Throughout September the Germans began to withdraw back towards the [[Hindenburg Line]] and the 3rd Division took part in the operations undertaken to follow them up and harass the [[rearguard]]. Casualties during this phase had been high, however, and as a result the division's [[Assault pioneer|pioneers]] were used as infantry and even led the advance towards Buire on 6 September.<ref name=Palazzo50>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=50}}</ref>

As operations continued throughout the month, casualties amongst the Australian Corps became critical and the decision was made to disband some of the 3rd Division's battalions and use them to reinforce the remaining units.<ref name=Palazzo50/> This decision saw the reduction of the strength of division's infantry brigades from four battalions to three, bringing the Australians into line with the British, who had made a similar decision earlier in the war.<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|2005|p=150}}</ref> Nevertheless, the decision was not popular amongst the soldiers and when the [[42nd Battalion (Australia)|42nd Battalion]] received the order to disband, the attempt was rejected by its personnel and the order disobeyed. As a result, the proposed reorganisation was postponed until after the division's final offensive actions were fought in early October 1918.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|pp=50–51}}</ref> These came around the [[Battle of the St Quentin Canal|St Quentin Canal]] when the division attacked the [[Battle of Beaurevoir|Beaurevoir Line]] in concert with American troops from the [[27th Infantry Division (United States)|US 27th Division]], who would lead the assault in. The attack went awry, however, when the lead assault units failed to adequately clear the forward positions and subsequently when the 3rd Division was committed they came under fire almost immediately and instead of passing through the American positions, they had to complete the mopping up process before they could advance. Nevertheless, by nightfall on 1 October, the division had captured the northern end of the tunnel that ran under the canal.<ref>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=53}}</ref>

On 2 October the majority of the 3rd Division was removed from the line for rest and reorganisation, although a number of its artillery batteries would continue to support the operations of the II American Corps until they were withdrawn.<ref name=Palazzo54>{{harvnb|Palazzo|2002|p=54}}</ref> Following this they continued to participate in the fighting in support of the British 6th Division.<ref>{{harvnb|Horner|1995|p=186}}</ref> The 27th Battery fired the division's last shot of the war on 4 November at Wassigny.<ref name=Palazzo54/> Nevertheless, the division was out of the line when news of the [[Armistice with Germany|Armistice]] came on 11 November 1918. Following the end of hostilities the [[demobilisation]] process began and as men were repatriated back to Australia, the division was eventually disbanded on 28 May 1919.<ref name=Palazzo54/>