Editing 3rd Division (Australia) (section)

====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/>