 , was the first in action during the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916 , suffering 5 @,@ 533 casualties in a single day . The 1st Division entered the line on 23 July , assaulting Pozieres , and by the time that they were relieved by the 2nd Division on 27 July , they had suffered 5 @,@ 286 casualties . Mouquet Farm was attacked in August , with casualties totalling 6 @,@ 300 men . By the time the AIF was withdrawn from the Somme to re @-@ organise , they had suffered 23 @,@ 000 casualties in just 45 days .   In March 1917 , the 2nd and 5th Divisions pursued the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line , capturing the town of Bapaume . On 11 April , the 4th Division assaulted the Hindenburg Line in the disastrous First Battle of Bullecourt , losing over 3 @,@ 000 casualties and 1 @,@ 170 captured . On 15 April , the 1st and 2nd Divisions were counter @-@ attacked near Lagnicourt and were forced to abandon the town , before recapturing it again . The 2nd Division then took part in the Second Battle of Bullecourt , beginning on 3 May , and succeeded in taking sections of the Hindenburg Line and holding them until relieved by the 1st Division . Finally , on 7 May the 5th Division relieved the 1st , remaining in the line until the battle ended in mid @-@ May . Combined these efforts cost 7 @,@ 482 Australian casualties .   On 7 June 1917 , the II Anzac Corps — along with two British corps — launched an operation in Flanders to eliminate a salient south of Ypres . The attack commenced with the detonation of a million pounds ( 454 @,@ 545 kg ) of explosives that had been placed underneath the Messines ridge , destroying the German trenches . The advance was virtually unopposed , and despite strong German counterattacks the next day , it succeeded . Australian casualties during the Battle of Messines included nearly 6 @,@ 800 men . I Anzac Corps then took part in the Third Battle of Ypres in Belgium as part of the campaign to capture the Gheluvelt Plateau , between September and November 1917 . Individual actions took place at Menin Road , Polygon Wood , Broodseinde , Poelcappelle and Passchendaele and over the course of eight weeks fighting the Australians suffered 38 @,@ 000 casualties .   On 21 March 1918 the German Army launched its Spring Offensive in a last @-@ ditched effort to win the war , unleashing sixty @-@ three divisions over a 70 miles ( 110 km ) front . As the Allies fell back the 3rd and 4th Divisions were rushed south to Amiens on the Somme . The offensive lasted for the next five months and all five AIF divisions in France were engaged in the attempt to stem the tide . By late May the Germans had pushed to within 50 miles ( 80 km ) of Paris . During this time the Australians fought at Dernacourt , Morlancourt , Villers @-@ Bretonneux , Hangard Wood , Hazebrouck , and Hamel . At Hamel the commander of the Australian Corps , Lieutenant General John Monash , successfully used combined arms — including aircraft , artillery and armour — in an attack for the first time .   The German offensive ground to a halt in mid @-@ July and a brief lull followed , during which the Australians undertook a series of raids , known as Peaceful Penetrations . The Allies soon launched their own offensive — the Hundred Days Offensive — ultimately ending the war . Beginning on 8 August 1918 the offensive included four Australian divisions striking at Amiens . Using the combined arms techniques developed earlier at Hamel , significant gains were made on what became known as the " Black Day " of the German Army . The offensive continued for four months , and during Second Battle of the Somme the Australian Corps fought actions at Lihons , Etinehem , Proyart , Chuignes , and Mont St Quentin , before their final engagement of the war on 5 October 1918 at Montbrehain . The AIF was subsequently out of the line when the armistice was declared on 11 November 1918 .   In all 416 @,@ 806 Australians enlisted in the AIF during the war and 333 @,@ 000 served overseas . 61 @,@ 508 were killed and another 155 @,@ 000 were wounded ( a total casualty rate of 65 % ) . The financial cost to the Australian government was calculated at £ 376 @,@ 993 @,@ 052 . Two referendums on conscription for overseas service had been defeated during the war , preserving the volunteer status of the Australian force , but stretching the reserves of manpower available , particularly towards the end of the fighting . Consequently , Australia remained one of only two armies on either side not to resort to conscription during the
Ġ, Ġwas Ġthe Ġfirst Ġin Ġaction Ġduring Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠFrom ell es Ġon Ġ19 ĠJuly Ġ1916 Ġ, Ġsuffering Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ5 33 Ġcasualties Ġin Ġa Ġsingle Ġday Ġ. ĠThe Ġ1 st ĠDivision Ġentered Ġthe Ġline Ġon Ġ23 ĠJuly Ġ, Ġassaulting ĠPo zie res Ġ, Ġand Ġby Ġthe Ġtime Ġthat Ġthey Ġwere Ġrelieved Ġby Ġthe Ġ2 nd ĠDivision Ġon Ġ27 ĠJuly Ġ, Ġthey Ġhad Ġsuffered Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ286 Ġcasualties Ġ. ĠMou quet ĠFarm Ġwas Ġattacked Ġin ĠAugust Ġ, Ġwith Ġcasualties Ġtot alling Ġ6 Ġ@ , @ Ġ300 Ġmen Ġ. ĠBy Ġthe Ġtime Ġthe ĠA IF Ġwas Ġwithdrawn Ġfrom Ġthe ĠSom me Ġto Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġorganise Ġ, Ġthey Ġhad Ġsuffered Ġ23 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġcasualties Ġin Ġjust Ġ45 Ġdays Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠMarch Ġ1917 Ġ, Ġthe Ġ2 nd Ġand Ġ5 th ĠDiv isions Ġpursued Ġthe ĠGermans Ġback Ġto Ġthe ĠHind enburg ĠLine Ġ, Ġcapturing Ġthe Ġtown Ġof ĠB apa ume Ġ. ĠOn Ġ11 ĠApril Ġ, Ġthe Ġ4 th ĠDivision Ġassaulted Ġthe ĠHind enburg ĠLine Ġin Ġthe Ġdisastrous ĠFirst ĠBattle Ġof ĠBul le court Ġ, Ġlosing Ġover Ġ3 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġcasualties Ġand Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ170 Ġcaptured Ġ. ĠOn Ġ15 ĠApril Ġ, Ġthe Ġ1 st Ġand Ġ2 nd ĠDiv isions Ġwere Ġcounter Ġ@ - @ Ġattacked Ġnear ĠL agn ic ourt Ġand Ġwere Ġforced Ġto Ġabandon Ġthe Ġtown Ġ, Ġbefore Ġrecapt uring Ġit Ġagain Ġ. ĠThe Ġ2 nd ĠDivision Ġthen Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġthe ĠSecond ĠBattle Ġof ĠBul le court Ġ, Ġbeginning Ġon Ġ3 ĠMay Ġ, Ġand Ġsucceeded Ġin Ġtaking Ġsections Ġof Ġthe ĠHind enburg ĠLine Ġand Ġholding Ġthem Ġuntil Ġrelieved Ġby Ġthe Ġ1 st ĠDivision Ġ. ĠFinally Ġ, Ġon Ġ7 ĠMay Ġthe Ġ5 th ĠDivision Ġrelieved Ġthe Ġ1 st Ġ, Ġremaining Ġin Ġthe Ġline Ġuntil Ġthe Ġbattle Ġended Ġin Ġmid Ġ@ - @ ĠMay Ġ. ĠCombined Ġthese Ġefforts Ġcost Ġ7 Ġ@ , @ Ġ48 2 ĠAustralian Ġcasualties Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn Ġ7 ĠJune Ġ1917 Ġ, Ġthe ĠII ĠAn zac ĠCorps ĠâĢĶ Ġalong Ġwith Ġtwo ĠBritish Ġcorps ĠâĢĶ Ġlaunched Ġan Ġoperation Ġin ĠF landers Ġto Ġeliminate Ġa Ġsalient Ġsouth Ġof ĠY pres Ġ. ĠThe Ġattack Ġcommenced Ġwith Ġthe Ġdeton ation Ġof Ġa Ġmillion Ġpounds Ġ( Ġ4 54 Ġ@ , @ Ġ5 45 Ġkg Ġ) Ġof Ġexplosives Ġthat Ġhad Ġbeen Ġplaced Ġunderneath Ġthe ĠMess ines Ġridge Ġ, Ġdestroying Ġthe ĠGerman Ġtrenches Ġ. ĠThe Ġadvance Ġwas Ġvirtually Ġun opp osed Ġ, Ġand Ġdespite Ġstrong ĠGerman Ġcounter attacks Ġthe Ġnext Ġday Ġ, Ġit Ġsucceeded Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġcasualties Ġduring Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠMess ines Ġincluded Ġnearly Ġ6 Ġ@ , @ Ġ800 Ġmen Ġ. ĠI ĠAn zac ĠCorps Ġthen Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġthe ĠThird ĠBattle Ġof ĠY pres Ġin ĠBelgium Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe Ġcampaign Ġto Ġcapture Ġthe ĠG he lu velt ĠPlate au Ġ, Ġbetween ĠSeptember Ġand ĠNovember Ġ1917 Ġ. ĠIndividual Ġactions Ġtook Ġplace Ġat ĠMen in ĠRoad Ġ, ĠPoly gon ĠWood Ġ, ĠBro od se ind e Ġ, ĠPo el c app elle Ġand ĠPass che nd ae le Ġand Ġover Ġthe Ġcourse Ġof Ġeight Ġweeks Ġfighting Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġsuffered Ġ38 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġcasualties Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn Ġ21 ĠMarch Ġ1918 Ġthe ĠGerman ĠArmy Ġlaunched Ġits ĠSpring ĠOffensive Ġin Ġa Ġlast Ġ@ - @ Ġd itched Ġeffort Ġto Ġwin Ġthe Ġwar Ġ, Ġunle ashing Ġsixty Ġ@ - @ Ġthree Ġdivisions Ġover Ġa Ġ70 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ110 Ġkm Ġ) Ġfront Ġ. ĠAs Ġthe ĠAllies Ġfell Ġback Ġthe Ġ3 rd Ġand Ġ4 th ĠDiv isions Ġwere Ġrushed Ġsouth Ġto ĠAm iens Ġon Ġthe ĠSom me Ġ. ĠThe Ġoffensive Ġlasted Ġfor Ġthe Ġnext Ġfive Ġmonths Ġand Ġall Ġfive ĠA IF Ġdivisions Ġin ĠFrance Ġwere Ġengaged Ġin Ġthe Ġattempt Ġto Ġstem Ġthe Ġtide Ġ. ĠBy Ġlate ĠMay Ġthe ĠGermans Ġhad Ġpushed Ġto Ġwithin Ġ50 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ80 Ġkm Ġ) Ġof ĠParis Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthis Ġtime Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġfought Ġat ĠD ern ac ourt Ġ, ĠMor l anc ourt Ġ, ĠVill ers Ġ@ - @ ĠBre ton ne ux Ġ, ĠHang ard ĠWood Ġ, ĠHaz eb rou ck Ġ, Ġand ĠHam el Ġ. ĠAt ĠHam el Ġthe Ġcommander Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠCorps Ġ, ĠLieutenant ĠGeneral ĠJohn ĠMon ash Ġ, Ġsuccessfully Ġused Ġcombined Ġarms ĠâĢĶ Ġincluding Ġaircraft Ġ, Ġartillery Ġand Ġarmour ĠâĢĶ Ġin Ġan Ġattack Ġfor Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtime Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠGerman Ġoffensive Ġground Ġto Ġa Ġhalt Ġin Ġmid Ġ@ - @ ĠJuly Ġand Ġa Ġbrief Ġlull Ġfollowed Ġ, Ġduring Ġwhich Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġundertook Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġraids Ġ, Ġknown Ġas ĠPeace ful ĠPenet rations Ġ. ĠThe ĠAllies Ġsoon Ġlaunched Ġtheir Ġown Ġoffensive ĠâĢĶ Ġthe ĠHundred ĠDays ĠOffensive ĠâĢĶ Ġultimately Ġending Ġthe Ġwar Ġ. ĠBeginning Ġon Ġ8 ĠAugust Ġ1918 Ġthe Ġoffensive Ġincluded Ġfour ĠAustralian Ġdivisions Ġstriking Ġat ĠAm iens Ġ. ĠUsing Ġthe Ġcombined Ġarms Ġtechniques Ġdeveloped Ġearlier Ġat ĠHam el Ġ, Ġsignificant Ġgains Ġwere Ġmade Ġon Ġwhat Ġbecame Ġknown Ġas Ġthe Ġ" ĠBlack ĠDay Ġ" Ġof Ġthe ĠGerman ĠArmy Ġ. ĠThe Ġoffensive Ġcontinued Ġfor Ġfour Ġmonths Ġ, Ġand Ġduring ĠSecond ĠBattle Ġof Ġthe ĠSom me Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠCorps Ġfought Ġactions Ġat ĠL ih ons Ġ, ĠEt ine hem Ġ, ĠPro y art Ġ, ĠChu ign es Ġ, Ġand ĠMont ĠSt ĠQuentin Ġ, Ġbefore Ġtheir Ġfinal Ġengagement Ġof Ġthe Ġwar Ġon Ġ5 ĠOctober Ġ1918 Ġat ĠMont bre h ain Ġ. ĠThe ĠA IF Ġwas Ġsubsequently Ġout Ġof Ġthe Ġline Ġwhen Ġthe Ġarm ist ice Ġwas Ġdeclared Ġon Ġ11 ĠNovember Ġ1918 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġall Ġ416 Ġ@ , @ Ġ8 06 ĠAustralians Ġenlisted Ġin Ġthe ĠA IF Ġduring Ġthe Ġwar Ġand Ġ333 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġserved Ġoverseas Ġ. Ġ61 Ġ@ , @ Ġ50 8 Ġwere Ġkilled Ġand Ġanother Ġ155 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġwere Ġwounded Ġ( Ġa Ġtotal Ġcasualty Ġrate Ġof Ġ65 Ġ% Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġfinancial Ġcost Ġto Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġgovernment Ġwas Ġcalculated Ġat ĠÂ£ Ġ376 Ġ@ , @ Ġ9 93 Ġ@ , @ Ġ0 52 Ġ. ĠTwo Ġrefere nd ums Ġon Ġcons cription Ġfor Ġoverseas Ġservice Ġhad Ġbeen Ġdefeated Ġduring Ġthe Ġwar Ġ, Ġpreserving Ġthe Ġvolunteer Ġstatus Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġforce Ġ, Ġbut Ġstretching Ġthe Ġreserves Ġof Ġmanpower Ġavailable Ġ, Ġparticularly Ġtowards Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġfighting Ġ. ĠConsequently Ġ, ĠAustralia Ġremained Ġone Ġof Ġonly Ġtwo Ġarmies Ġon Ġeither Ġside Ġnot Ġto Ġresort Ġto Ġcons cription Ġduring Ġthe