October. At Lagnicourt, on 15 April, the 17th took part in a defensive action along with four other battalions from the 5th Brigade, defeating a counter-attack by a numerically superior German force, and recapturing the village that had been lost along with a number of guns that the German force had taken off the Australians earlier. In early 1918, the battalion was involved in repelling the German spring offensive, undertaking defensive actions in the Somme Valley, before taking part in the final Allied offensive that eventually brought about an end to the war. During this time they were involved in the battles at Amiens and Mont St Quentin in August, before participating in the attack on the "Beaurevoir Line" at Montbrehain in October. This would be the battalion's last contribution to the war, as it was out of the line reorganising when the Armistice was declared in November 1918. It was disbanded in April 1919, whilst at Montigny-le-Tilluel, Belgium, when most of its personnel were transferred to the 20th Battalion. During World War I, the battalion suffered 3,280 casualties, of which 845 were killed. Members from the battalion also received the following decorations: one Victoria Cross, one Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, seven Distinguished Service Orders, 19 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 33 Military Crosses, 138 Military Medals, 10 Meritorious Service Medals and 41 Mentions in Despatches. Interwar years, World War II and post war The demobilisation of the AIF was completed in early 1921 and in April that year it was officially disbanded. The Australian government then decided to reorganise the units of the Citizen Forces (later known as the "Militia") in order to perpetuate the divisional structure, numerical designations and battle honours of the AIF. As a result of this, the 17th Infantry, a militia unit that could trace its lineage back to 1860, was reformed as the 17th Battalion (The North Sydney Regiment), drawing personnel from the 17th Infantry Regiment. Through this link, the 17th Battalion inherited two theatre honours, "Suakin 1885" and "South Africa 1899–1902". During the inter-war years, the battalion was assigned to the 8th Brigade, which was headquartered in North Sydney and formed part of the 2nd Military District. During World War II, the battalion undertook garrison duties in Australia, as part of the 9th Brigade, based in New South Wales. Around November 1942, the battalion's machine gun company was detached