[3] Its next major effort came four months later during the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge on 4 October, where one of the battalion's soldiers, Sergeant Lewis McGee of 'B' Company, performed the deeds for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Advancing across muddy ground, the battalion came under machine gun fire from their front and flanks,[9] and the attack ultimately failed due to the weather.

[3] Combined with their losses at Broodseinde Ridge, the 40th Battalion suffered 248 casualties during the fighting around Passchendaele, including McGee who was killed in action trying to silence a machine-gun post during the failed follow-up attack.

[10] In early 1918, the Germans launched a major offensive on the Western Front after the collapse of Tsarist Russia allowed them to concentrate their forces in the west.

[11] In late March, as the Allies were pushed back towards the vital Amiens railhead and the situation became desperate, the 40th Battalion was hurried into a defensive position between the Ancre river and the Somme.

[10] During a three-day battle, the battalion took heavy casualties, losing 225 men, but it struck a significant blow, advancing over 1,200 yards (1,100 m) and securing a vital position overlooking Amiens.

[12] In August and September, after the Allies launched their own offensive, which ultimately ended the war, the battalion helped to drive the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line.

[3] The Australian Corps had suffered heavy casualties during 1918, which they had been unable to replace as enlistments had fallen, and it was subsequently withdrawn from the line for reorganisation and rest in October at the insistence of Prime Minister Billy Hughes.

[17] Initially, the Citizen Forces was maintained through a mixture of voluntary and compulsory service; however, in 1930, the Universal Training Scheme was abolished by the Scullin Labor government and was replaced by a volunteer-only Militia.

[20] During the Second World War, the 40th Battalion, with an authorised strength of between 800 and 900,[21] was mobilised for full-time service in 1943,[19] but was not sent overseas to fight due to the provisions of the Defence Act.