 In March 1917 two ' flying columns ' from the 2nd and 5th Divisions pursued the German back to the Hindenburg Line , capturing the town of Bapaume . On 11 April , the 4th Division , consisting of the 4th and 12th Brigades , assaulted the Hindenburg Line in the First Battle of Bullecourt . The battle was a disaster , with over 3 @,@ 000 casualties and 1 @,@ 170 taken prisoner by the Germans . On 15 April the 1st and 2nd Divisions were struck by a German counterattack at dawn near the town of Lagnicourt , by a force of up to 23 battalions as the Germans attempted to take advantage of the weakness that had developed in the Allied line following the British offensive at Arras . The Australians were initially forced to abandon the town to the Germans and in the process several artillery batteries were lost , however , at 7 : 00 am a successful counterattack was launched by four Australian battalions , resulting in the town being recaptured and the guns reclaimed . Later , on 3 May two brigades of the 2nd Division — the 5th and the 6th — took part in the Second Battle of Bullecourt , where they succeeded in taking sections of the Hindenburg Line and eventually managed to hold most these gains until they were relieved by the 1st Division . On 7 May the 5th Division was committed to relieve the 1st , remaining in the line until the battle ended in mid May . While the battle resulted in a victory for the Allies , the effort cost the AIF some 7 @,@ 482 casualties and ultimately ended plans to expand the AIF to a sixth division . 
