Editing 3rd Division (Australia) (section)

====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>