 The 5th Division had been so badly mauled, having been incapacitated by the losses they had suffered at Fromelles, that it was not until October that the 5th Division finally returned to the line and joined the 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions on the Somme near Flers.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.