4th Division (Australia)
The Australian 4th Division was formed in the First World War during the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force infantry brigades in February 1916. In addition to the experienced 4th Brigade were added the new 12th and 13th Brigades. From Egypt the division was sent to France, where it took part in the fighting on the Western Front during 1916–1918. After the war ended, the AIF was demobilised and the division was dissolved.
In 1921, the 4th Division was reactivated as a Citizen Military Forces formation. The division performed home defence duties for most of World War II. The division's composition during World War II changed frequently, as brigades were rotated between different divisions and moved to different locations as the need arose. The division spent the majority of the war in Western Australia, before moving to Queensland prior to its deactivation in late 1944.
World War I
Formation in Egypt, 1916
In January 1916, in the aftermath of the Gallipoli Campaign, the Australian government decided to expand the Australian Imperial Force, then based in Egypt, prior to the force's deployment to the Western Front. At the time, two divisions already existed in Egypt: the 1st and 2nd. The 3rd Division was also being raised in Australia. The 2nd Division had only been partially raised by the time it was sent to Gallipoli late in the campaign, so it was left to complete its formation, while the 1st Division, and the spare 4th Brigade were used to provide an experienced cadre to form the 4th and 5th Divisions. The 4th Division subsequently gained the experienced 4th Brigade, and two newly raised brigades – the 12th and 13th – which were formed from cadres from the 4th and 3rd Brigades respectively.Under the command of Major General Vaughan Cox, a British Indian Army officer, the 4th Division began forming at Tel el Kebir, in Egypt in February 1916. In addition to three infantry brigades, the new division included various support troops, including the 4th Field Company, 4th Field Ambulance and 7th Army Service Corps Company, which had previously served at Gallipoli. Together with the 5th Division, the 4th Division formed II ANZAC Corps under Lieutenant General Alexander Godley.
There were delays in assembling the divisional artillery as I ANZAC Corps, which was to proceed to France first, received priority for personnel and artillery pieces. Consequently, the division could not depart for France before June 1916. In the meantime, the 4th Division undertook defensive duties along the Suez Canal, around Serapeum, to defend against a possible Ottoman attack. As it was necessary for elements of the division to take over as soon as possible, the 16th Battalion was sent ahead by train, while the rest of the division completed the move on foot, marching through the desert from Tel el Kebir to take up their positions, arriving in late March. At Serapeum, the division absorbed a batch of reinforcements that had been left behind by the departed 1st and 2nd Divisions, consisting of men with poor conduct records, who were deemed to need further training prior to employment in combat.
Somme, 1916
Personnel deficiencies amongst the division's artillery units were hastily rectified by bolstering numbers from the division's infantry units, as well as light horse reinforcements. Throughout May, these units received rudimentary training and by the end of the month, the 4th Division received its orders to deploy to the Western Front. The following month, the division moved to France, taking over part of the "nursery" sector near Armentières, where they could be introduced to trench warfare in a relatively quiet area. The 4th Brigade was first into the line, taking over a sector from the 2nd Division on 15 June.The division was transferred to I ANZAC Corps around this time, swapping with the New Zealand Division. The division's stay at Armentières was brief and it soon accompanied the 1st and 2nd Divisions to the Somme sector where the British had launched an offensive in July. In August 1916, it relieved the 2nd Division on the Pozières heights, arriving in time to fight off a determined German counterattack. The attack fell largely on a small number of battalions, with the South Australian 48th Battalion losing nearly 600 men killed or wounded; the New South Welshman of the 45th Battalion were called upon to help a neighbouring British unit capture a position dubbed "Munster Alley", during which they lost 345 men. Meanwhile, an attack on the 14th Battalion was repulsed after an individual effort by Lieutenant Albert Jacka, who had previously received the Victoria Cross for actions at Gallipoli.
Following this, the division was brought back up to two thirds strength, and after relieving the 2nd Division, launched an attack to the north of Mouquet Farm. After a rest, the division returned to Mouquet Farm in late August and early September; the division's losses during these two periods amounted to over 7,000 killed or wounded. After a rest around Ypres, the division undertook a third tour of the front at Flers in the final months of 1916. In December 1916, Major General William Holmes assumed command of the division, arriving in January 1917.
Hindenburg Line, 1917
The 4th Division remained on the Somme during the winter of 1916–1917, enduring extreme cold and damp conditions. In the early part of 1917, after winter had passed, the division took part in operations on the Ancre, before the Germans sought to reduce the length of their line, withdrawing to prepared positions along the Hindenburg Line. In response, the Allied units began a brief pursuit, the Australian contribution to which involved columns from the 2nd and 5th Divisions being sent forward in pursuit. A period of rapid movement followed until the outposts were reached, and resistance grew. In April, the Fifth Army, to which the 4th Division was assigned, was ordered to attack the Hindenburg Line south of Arras. As part of this, on 11 April, two of the division's brigades – the 4th and 12th – assaulted the new line in the First Battle of Bullecourt, supported by British tanks for the first time. Due to break downs and other mishaps, the tanks were largely ineffective; nevertheless, the initial assault proved successful in capturing the first trench line, and also partially capturing the second. Lacking artillery support, which had been held back due to incorrect reports about the location of Allied troops, and enfiladed from the flanks, the Australians became cut off and came under heavy counter-attack from the 27th Division. Ultimately the battle was a disaster for the 4th Division, with 3,200 casualties, and 1,170 captured.Following the failed attack around Bullecourt, the division was withdrawn from the line for rest and reinforcement. The next major attack it took part in came in June, when it participated in the Battle of Messines, in Flanders, Belgium. Fought as part of efforts to secure the Wytschaete – Messines Ridge, which existed south of a salient in the line around Ypres, providing the Germans with observation of the Allied positions, the battle saw the 4th Division brought in to reinforce the British 25th Division, the Australian 3rd and the New Zealand Division. Although slated to be the corps reserve, during the attack, launched on 7 June, the division was called upon to secure a large gap that developed in the line after the neighbouring British corps was held up. In this effort, the division was tasked with attacking the Oosttaverne Line late in the day. Enduring shelling by their own guns, and coming up against German pillboxes for the first time, the division took heavy casualties, but managed to secure all but a small part of the line where the Australian sector joined the neighbouring British sector.
Following the Battle of Messines, the division remained in the line around the town. On 2 July, the divisional commander, Holmes, was fatally wounded by a stray shell while escorting the New South Wales premier, William Holman, around the battlefield at Messines. Holmes was replaced temporarily by Brigadier General Charles Rosenthal until a new permanent commander could arrive, in the form of Major General Ewen Sinclair-Maclagan, who took over the division on 16 July 1917.
In September, the Australians took part in the Third Battle of Ypres. Within this wider battle, the Australian divisions took part in several subsidiary actions. The 1st and 2nd Divisions undertook the first attack around the Menin Road, which was followed up by the 4th and 5th Divisions around Polygon Wood on 26 September. Attacking in the centre of the Allied line, the two divisions were flanked by the British V Corps to the north, and X Corps to the south. The 4th Division was the more northern of the two Australian divisions for the assault, and tasked with capturing the northern part of Polygon Wood, and the high ground beyond it, and tying-in with the British around the edge of Zonnebeke while the 5th Division captured the remainder of the wood. Supported by a well co-ordinated artillery barrage, which rolled ahead of the assault, and then broke up the subsequent German counter-attack, the attack proved successful, albeit costly. The 4th Division's attack was carried by the 4th and 13th Brigades, with the 12th in reserve, and resulted in 1,700 casualties amongst the division.
On 12 October, the 12th Brigade was assigned to protect the 3rd Division's flank during the First Battle of Passchendaele, and took part in an effort to capture the Keiberg ridge. Although, elements of the 3rd were able to enter Passchendaele, and the 12th gained their objective, both groups were eventually forced back. The unsuccessful effort cost the 12th Brigade around 1,000 casualties. The Canadians then took over responsibility for the sector, and were eventually able to secure the village in November, while the Australians were withdrawn to Messines for a rest. In the wake of considerable losses, which could not be made up from voluntary recruitment, Australian authorities considered breaking up the 4th Division to provide reinforcements, although this did not eventuate. In November 1917, the division became part of the Australian Corps, initially under Lieutenant General William Birdwood and then later under Lieutenant General John Monash.