4th Division (Australia)

The 4th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army, originally raised during World War I as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). It saw extensive service on the Western Front.

Formed in Egypt in February 1916, the division comprised the 4th, 12th, and 13th Infantry Brigades, along with divisional support units. It was initially commanded by Major General H.B.B. Colvin. After training in Egypt, the division deployed to France in June 1916, entering the trenches on the Western Front.

The 4th Division participated in many of the major battles of the Western Front, including the Battle of the Somme (Pozières and Mouquet Farm), the Battle of Messines, the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), and the German spring offensive in 1918. It played a significant role in the Allied counter-offensives later that year, including the Battle of Amiens and the battles of the Hindenburg Line.

Following the Armistice in November 1918, the 4th Division participated in occupation duties in Germany before being demobilized in 1919.

The 4th Division was briefly re-raised as a Militia formation in 1921, as part of the reorganisation of the Australian military after the war. It existed in this guise, primarily as a training formation, until 1930 when, amidst the economic hardship of the Great Depression and changing defence priorities, it was disbanded.

The name "4th Division" was later applied to an administrative command within the Australian Army after World War II. This iteration of the 4th Division was not a fighting formation in the same sense as the World War I division.