In May 1944, the division was disbanded as the war situation no longer required large numbers of garrison troops to be held back in Australia.

Initially, it was intended that the division's commander would be James McCay, but he was wounded on 11 July, and repatriated back to Australia after the death of both his wife and father.

[7] In April, it was sent (as part of the I Anzac Corps with the Australian 1st Division) to a quiet sector south of Armentières to acclimatise to the Western Front conditions.

However, due to the hurried preparation, the troops forming up for the attack were detected and the supporting artillery proved inadequate, leaving large segments of wire in front of the German position intact.

[9] The position of the Australian salient meant that the soldiers received artillery fire from the front, flank and rear – including from German batteries near Thiepval.

[15][16] In January 1917, Legge fell ill and was replaced by Major-General Nevill Maskelyne Smyth VC who had formerly commanded the Australian 1st Brigade since during the Gallipoli campaign.

[21] The Germans had decided to temporarily hold the R.I. position, which was centred on the village of Bapaume, so on 25 February, the 5th and 6th Brigades mounted an unsuccessful attack on the "Malt" trench – an outpost in front of the R.I.

With the capture of Noreuil (Louverval and Doignies were also taken by the Australian 5th Division on 2 April), the I Anzac Corps was within striking distance of the main Hindenburg defences.

As they were withdrawn, a fourth counter-attack fell on the area, at which point the 6th rejoined the battle, helping to blunt this assault before finally departing.

[51] With the 6th and 7th Brigades heavily understrength (just 600 and 800 men each),[52] and supported by a weak artillery barrage, the advance quickly stalled, and resulted in only small gains at a cost of 1,253 casualties.

[57] During this period, the 2nd Division occupied the front around Ploegsteert, in the southern part of the Australian line, during December 1917 – January 1918, and then again in March – April 1918.

As the offensive, began to threaten the vital rail hub of Amiens, the Australians were hurriedly brought south to help restore the British line in the Somme.

[61] After the 5th Brigade had relieved the 18th Division on 5 April, it was decided that the 5th would recapture the lost parts of Hangard wood, and so reduce a salient that threatened the southern flank of the Australian forces at Villers-Bretonneux.

[63] Another attack was planned, this time in conjunction with the French First Army, with the objective of eliminating the entire salient south of Villers-Bretonneux.

However, when the next stage of German offensive (the Battle of Lys) started on 9 April, it drew off the British forces required to mount the attack.

In the end, the failure of the French attack ultimately undermined the Australian position in the copse, which eventually fell to German counterattacks (with a total of 84 casualties).

[73] As a result of the advances by the Australian Corps in front of Morlancourt, the southern flank was exposed to artillery fire from near the village of Hamel.

The continued peaceful penetrations on the northern flank of the salient below Villers-Bretonneux caused the Germans to withdraw by 1,000 yards (910 m), leaving only outposts and sentries behind to deceive the Allies that the front was still being held.

[80] Further patrols were conducted; this time with the objective of advancing the Australian 7th Brigade's front by 1,000 yards (910 m), and capturing the remainder of Monument Wood and "The Mound" (spoil from a nearby railway cutting).

[90] The attacks post 9 August were hastily planned, with limited knowledge of the tactical situation,[91] and lacked co-ordination between neighbouring units and supporting artillery.

By this stage the 6th Brigade had been heavily depleted – particularly from gas shelling around Villers-Bretonneux – to the extent that the 22nd Battalion's four companies were each at platoon strength; nevertheless, it attacked over a large frontage of 1,000 yards (910 m), losing a further 117 men.

[94] As the Battle of Arras was to be the main effort of the British Expeditionary Force, General Henry Rawlinson (4th Army commander) ordered the Australians to maintain contact with the Germans while not being too aggressive.

[95] Nevertheless, the 2nd Division kept advancing along the south bank of the Somme River capturing various villages such as Herbécourt, Flaucourt, Barleux and – despite a stiff defence – Biaches.

The decision proved unpopular with the troops, who wished to maintain their battalion identities, and the soldiers refused to obey the order to disband.

Attacking before sunrise, the soldiers managed to capture the fortified positions at the la Motte Farm and Mushroom Quarry (at a cost of 989 casualties),[113] but were stopped short of their final objective: the village of Beaurevoir.

This drove a mile long salient into the German lines, and was described by Charles Bean as "one of the most brilliant actions of Australian infantry in the First World War".

[109] With the end of the war, Australian forces were not involved in occupation duties,[20] and were quickly disbanded, and the soldiers transported back to Australia.

[2] Defence spending was limited during this time, and while initially it was planned to maintain a strong Reserve element through compulsory training, this scheme was only partially implemented in the 1920s, and was suspended following the Great Depression.

[122] During World War II, the division was composed primarily of infantry units from New South Wales and its headquarters was based initially in Sydney, around Parramatta.

[140] The memorial lists the battle honours of the 2nd Division as: Pozieres, Mouquet Farm, Flers, Malt Trench, Lagnicourt, Bullecourt, Menin Road, Broodseinde Ridge, Passchendaele, Ville-sur-Ancre, Morlancourt, Hamel, Villers-Bretonneux, Herleville, Herbécourt, Biaches, Mont St. Quentin, Beaurevoir Line, and Montbrehain.