 As manpower shortages on the Western Front began to become acute , a second plebiscite was held on 20 December 1917 . This time it was defeated by an even greater margin of 94 @,@ 152 votes . This effectively put an end to plans to expand the AIF in France and ultimately led to severe manpower shortages that the AIF in France experienced in 1917 and 1918 . As a result , plans to expand the force to a 6th Division were shelved and its manpower distributed amongst the other five divisions , while the five divisions were amalgamated together under the banner of the Australian Corps , thus effectively allowing the 4th Division , which was struggling to maintain its numbers to act as a depot formation within the Corps with the other three divisions providing most of the combat power . 
