page_title: First Battle of Morlancourt
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: First Battle of Morlancourt / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Map detailing the start positions of the Australian battalions prior to the First Battle of Morlancourt
context_page_description: The First Battle of Morlancourt was fought over the period 28–30 March 1918, on the Western Front during World War I. The battle saw troops from the Australian 3rd Division advance to fill a gap in the Allied line that had formed north of the River Somme during the German Spring Offensive. This advance towards Morlancourt was checked by German troops short of the Australian's objective of the spur overlooking Morlancourt and the Australians were subsequently counter-attacked by elements of the German 18th Division. These attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties, as Allied forces blunted the German advance towards Amiens, which subsequently stabilised the Allied line north of the Somme. The fighting then largely moved south; however, in the months following, two further actions – albeit minor – were fought around Morlancourt as the Australians sought to consolidate their positions around the village prior to the start of the Allied Hundred Days Offensive.
context_section_description: Monash ordered a general advance, for which the 10th Brigade was assigned to the north of the Bray–Corbie Road with its left flank anchored by the River Ancre, while the 11th Brigade would  attack to the south of the road, with its right flank bounded by the River Somme. From the beginning, the attack went awry for the Australians. Inexperience in planning quickly in open warfare situations resulted in the two brigades largely planning in isolation, and this would prove costly. As the two brigades of field artillery – the British 189th and the Australian 7th – that were assigned to the 3rd Division were dislocated to the north of the Ancre, the assault would lack artillery support, with only limited, and largely long range, support being provided.
  Commencing around 3:40 pm, the 40th Battalion, from the 10th Brigade, began to move out of its positions around Heilly station and moved towards the next crest. They were under orders to advance north of the Bray–Corbie Road  in concert with the 11th Brigade's 41st Battalion, which would advance through the 43rd Battalion's position to the south of the road. Reaching their stepping off point, however, it became clear to the men of the 40th that the 41st Battalion had not been given the same timing. Nevertheless, the commanding officer of the 40th Battalion, Major Leslie Payne, was determined to carry out his orders and as a result, at around 5:00 pm, the Tasmanians of the 40th Battalion began their advance towards positions held by elements of the German 1st Division, including the 1st Grenadier Regiment and the 13th Infantry Regiment. Moving through the centre of the Australian position they advanced into open ground with no flank protection, while what little artillery support they had had largely fell short. Coming up against heavy German machine gun and artillery fire, the 40th Battalion suffered heavy casualties – about 150 killed or wounded – and the advance came to a halt after only 500 metres (550 yd), essentially halfway through the first planned bound. Presently, it began to rain.
  The 11th Brigade's advanced elements subsequently stepped off around 5:45 pm, with several patrols of South Australians from the 43rd Battalion being pushed forward with a view to taking Sailly-Laurette. Coming under intense fire, this patrol was able to slowly work its way forward over the course of just over an hour, and began establishing a line of outposts, but these were well short of the objective. The 42nd Battalion, a Queensland-recruited unit, also established several posts opposite the village. As dusk fell, the 39th Battalion moved north around the 40th and pushed the line forward on the Australian left, to conform with the 40th, and began to dig-in. Shortly afterwards, the 41st belatedly moved up on the 40th Battalion's right to join the line between the 40th Battalion and the outposts established by the 42nd and 43rd Battalions, thus establishing a contiguous line between the Ancre and the Somme.
  A renewed effort was ordered by Monash and after dark, the Australians made another attack. In the centre, they were held up by a German defensive position in a copse, while the flanking force from the 44th Battalion that had been dispatched to capture Sailly-Laurette was ambushed by several machine gun posts from the 3rd Grenadier Regiment and suffered heavy losses. The Western Australians from the 44th Battalion subsequently withdrew from the village, taking as many wounded with them as possible, as Lewis gunners laid down covering fire. Despite continuing German machine gun fire, small parties were sent out throughout the night to bring wounded soldiers back to the Australian lines. Meanwhile, the Australians brought up artillery and as the rain fell on 29 March the guns began to attrite the German defences that had held up the infantry. Meanwhile, the infantrymen began digging-in along the new line that the occupied, while on the left of the 3rd Division's position, the Australians exploited a brief lull in the battle to carry out a reconnaissance of the spur that extended between t
caption: Map depicting the movement of Australian battalions during the attack
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