5th Division ( Australia ) The 5th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army which served during the First and Second World War s . The Division was formed in February 1916 as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force infantry brigades . In addition to the existing 8th Brigade were added the new 14th and 15th Brigades , which had been raised from the battalions of the 1st and 2nd Brigades respectively . From Egypt the division was sent to France , where they served in the trenches along the Western Front . After the war ended and the AIF was demobilised , the 5th Division name was revived in 1921 and assigned to an Australian Citizens Military Forces ( reserve ) unit . During the Second World War the division was mobilised for the defence of North Queensland in 1942 , when it was believed that the area was a prime site for an invasion by Japanese forces . Most of the division was concentrated in the Townsville area , although the 11th Brigade Group was detached for the defence of Cairns and Mareeba . In 1943 – 45 , the division took part in the New Guinea campaign . First World War . Egypt . On formation in February 1916 , the 5th Division joined II Anzac Corps . When the more experienced I Anzac Corps embarked for France at the end of the month , they took most of the available artillery pieces and trained artillery personnel , leaving the II Anzac divisions to train new artillery batteries from scratch , a process that would take three months . Major - General the Honorable J . W . M ' Cay , formerly commander of the Australian 2nd Infantry Brigade , assumed command of the division on 22 March 1916 . The first " test " for the division was a training march of from the Anzac camp at Tel el Kebir to the Suez Canal defences which were being maintained in expectation of a Turkish attack . M ' Cay objected to the undertaking , but nevertheless imposed strict march discipline on his men . Taking three days over soft sand and in extreme heat , the men in the brigades suffered severely and the march was completed in disarray . The 5th Division began arriving in France in July 1916 , the last of the four Australian divisions from Egypt to do so . At this time the Battle of the Somme was underway and going badly for the British . The three Australian divisions of I Anzac Corps , which had been acclimatising on the quiet sector near Armentières , had been dispatched to the Somme as reinforcements and so the 5th Division took their place at Armentières on 12 July 1916 . Fromelles . The result of this move was that the 5th Division , the most inexperienced of the Australian divisions in France , would be the first to see major action in the Battle of Fromelles , a week after going into the trenches . As the Germans had been reinforcing their Somme front with troops from the north , the British planned a " demonstration " to try to pin these troops to the front . The attack was masterminded by Lieutenant - General Richard Haking , commander of the British XI Corps , which adjoined II Anzac Corps to the south . The aim was to reduce the slight German salient known as the " Sugar Loaf " , north west of the German - held town of Fromelles . The 5th Division happened to be the unit facing the northern flank of the salient . By the time the attack was ready to be launched , its purpose as a preliminary diversion to the main action at the Somme had passed , yet Haking and his army commander , General Sir Charles Monro , were keen to go ahead . At 6pm on 19 July 1916 , after 11 hours of preliminary bombardment , the 5th Division and British 61st Division attacked . The Australian 8th and 14th Brigades , attacking north of the salient , occupied the German trenches but became isolated and out - flanked . They were forced to withdraw , through withering German enfilades , by morning . The 15th Brigade and the British 184th Brigade were cut to pieces while attempting to cross no man ' s land . The 8th and 14th Brigades were forced to withdraw , through withering German enfilades , the following morning . The failure was compounded when the British 61st Division asked the Australian 15th Brigade to join in a renewed attempt at 9pm , but cancelled without informing the Australians . Consequently half of the Australian 58th Battalion made another futile , solo effort to capture the salient . The battle was responsible for the greatest loss of Australian lives in one 24 - hour period . The 5 , 533 Australian casualties , including 400 prisoners , were equivalent to the total Australian losses in the Boer War , Korean War and Vietnam War combined . The 5th Division was effectively incapacitated for many months afterwards . Two battalion s , the 60th and the 32nd , each suffered more than 700 casualties , or more than 90 % of their fighting strength and had to be rebuilt : out of 887 personnel from the 60th Battalion , only one officer and 106 other ranks survived ; the 32nd Battalion sustained 718 casualties . The attack had completely failed as a diversion when its limited nature became obvious to the German defenders . The perceived " failure " of the British 61st Division poisoned relations between the AIF divisions and the British . In its communiqués , the British GHQ passed the Battle of Fromelles off as " some important raids " . The 5th Division was not ready for combat again until October 1916 , when it joined the other Australian divisions on the Somme , in extreme winter conditions . Hindenburg Line , 1917 . In January 1917 , Major - General Talbot Hobbs assumed command of the 5th Division . When the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line began on 24 February 1917 , the division joined the pursuit , skirmishing with the German screen covering the withdrawal . On 17 March 1917 the 30th Battalion attacked towards Bapaume , the objective of the previous year ' s Somme offensive , and found the town abandoned , a smoking ruin . The 15th Brigade advanced south of Bapaume until , having lost touch with the British Fourth Army units on its flank , was ordered to halt . By 24 March 1917 the headlong advance had ended and a period of cautious approach to the Hindenburg defences began . On 2 April 1917 the 14th Brigade captured the villages of Doignies and Louverval before the 5th Division was relieved by the Australian 1st Division . When General Allenby ' s British Third Army launched the Battle of Arras on 9 April 1917 , the Australian divisions — part of General Gough ' s British Fifth Army since the Somme fighting — were called on to participate in an attempt to break the German flank on the Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt . The 5th Division at this time was part of I Anzac under General Birdwood . It avoided the first of the fighting but was thrown into the closing stages of the Second Battle of Bullecourt which had begun on 3 May 1917 . The division was mainly responsible for holding on against German counter - attacks . After the Bullecourt fighting subsided on 17 May 1917 , the 5th Division , along with the rest of I Anzac , was withdrawn for a long rest . Third Battle of Ypres . The 5th Division took over from the 1st Division following the Battle of Menin Road on 20 September , which was the start of a phase of " bite - and - hold " limited - objective attacks in the Third Battle of Ypres . The next step was taken on 26 September in the Battle of Polygon Wood with two Australian divisions ( 4th and 5th ) attacking in the centre of seven divisions . The previous day ( 25 September ) a German counter - attack had driven in the neighbouring brigade of the British X Corps however the attack was ordered to proceed despite the Australian 15th Brigade ' s flank being exposed . Attacking with an open flank , the 15th Brigade , supported by two battalions of the 8th Brigade , reached its objectives , and captured some of X Corps ' objectives as well . The 14th Brigade , attacking on the left , captured Polygon Wood . In keeping with current policy , the attacking divisions were immediately relieved and the 5th Division was spared involvement in most of the worst fighting that followed as the British line edged towards Passchendaele . German Spring Offensive , 1918 . The 5th Division returned to action in late March as the German Spring offensive , launched on 21 March , began to threaten the vital rail hub of Amiens . On 4 April the 15th Brigade , which had been guarding crossings of the River Somme , moved to hold Hill 104 north of the town of Villers - Bretonneux , a place that was to become famous in Anzac legend . By mid - April a renewed German push for Amiens was evident and the entire 5th Division was put into the line astride the Somme . When the attack came on 24 April , the 15th Brigade was back in reserve west of Villers - Bretonneux , which was defended by the British III Corps . The German assault , for the first time spearheaded by tank s , succeeded in capturing the town and neighbouring woods . III Corps was lent the 15th Brigade and the 13th Brigade ( from the Australian 4th Division ) to mount a counter - attack . Attacking after 10pm that night , the two brigades encircled the town , the 15th from the north and the 13th from the south , and after dawn the town itself was recaptured . This victory marked the end of the German advance towards Amiens . In the period leading up to the final Allied offensive , Australian divisions used Peaceful Penetration to continual harass their German opposition . On the night of 29 July , units of the 5th Division raided the German defences near Morlancourt , capturing 128 prisoners , 36 machine guns and two trench systems . Hundred Days , 1918 . When the " Hundred Days " campaign began with the Battle of Amiens on 8 August 1918 , the Australian Corps attacked from between Villers - Bretonneux and Hamel . The 5th Division was to follow up the initial attack of the 2nd Division , passing through to take Harbonnieres , an advance of two miles . On the following day , the 5th Division , which had meant to be relieved by the 1st Division , continued the advance with the 15th Brigade supporting the neighbouring advance made by the Canadian Corps and the 8th Brigade taking Vauvillers . In late August 1918 the 5th Division followed the German retreat to the Somme near Péronne . On 31 August , while the 2nd Division attacked Mont St Quentin , the 5th Division stood ready to exploit any opportunity to cross the Somme and take Pérrone . On 1 September 1918 the 14th Brigade captured the woods north and followed up by taking the main part of the town . The 15th Brigade captured the rest of the town the following day . By the time the Australian Corps reached the Hindenburg Line on 19 September 1918 , the 5th Division was one of only two Australian divisions fit for action , the other being the 3rd . The 15th Brigade ' s 60th Battalion had already been disbanded to keep other battalions up to strength . For the attack on the Hindenburg Line to be made on 29 September 1918 , the corps was reinforced by the American 27th and 30th Divisions ( from the U . S . II Corp ) . The 5th Division followed up the initial attack made by the American 30th Division and by 1 October 1918 the first two Hindenburg Line trench systems had been captured ( see Battle of the Hindenburg Line ) . The 5th Division was relieved by the 2nd Division and , when on 5 October 1918 the Australian Corps handed over its line to the U . S . II Corps , the division was withdrawn to the coast for a rest that would last until the end of the war . Order of battle . Upon formation , the division consisted of the following infantry units : Commanders . 1916 – 17 : Maj Gen . J . W . McCay < br > 1917 – 19 : Maj . Gen . J . J . T . Hobbs Second World War . 1942 . The division was formed in 1942 at Marist Brothers College , Ashgrove , Brisbane . ( A plaque in the college commemorates its formation there . ) An advance party of 25 officers and 55 other ranks from the divisional headquarters arrived in Townsville on 30 April 1942 , along with an advance party of 40 members of the 29th Infantry Brigade . They travelled by train and were initially accommodated at the Townsville Showgrounds Staging Camp . The infantry and field regiments were distributed widely around the Townsville area including , Aitkenvale , Antill Plains , Castle Hill , Jimmy ' s Lookout , Belgian Gardens and Mount Louisa . The Headquarters for the 5th Australian Division were located at Aitkenvale in Townsville in May 1942 . In December 1942 , the Headquarters was located in a reinforced concrete bunker at Roseneath . 5 Div Signals were also located at Roseneath . Major General Edward Milford was appointed Commanding Officer of the 5th Division in mid - 1942 , under Lieutenant General James Durrant , Commander in Chief Northern Command ( Queensland ) . Durrant promoted the evacuation of non - essential civilians and a scorched earth policy in the event of invasion , to the local town and shire councils and the Chamber of Commerce . They began plans for the demolition of airfields and other vital defence facilities in north Queensland such as the Townsville Harbour facilities and road a rail bridges . If communications with Northern Command were severed , the 5th Australian Division commander was to assume command of all Allied forces services ( except bomber aircraft ) . For this purpose an Operations Room was set up at HQ 5 Div . In the event of an invasion , the 5th Division would have had the following responsibilities : 1943 – 45 . On 23 August 1943 , the division , under Milford moved to the north coast of New Guinea , to take over the Salamaua campaign in its dying stages . The division occupied Salamaua on 11 September . During 1945 , the division took part in the New Britain campaign .