The 18th (Eastern) Division was an
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
formed in September 1914 during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as part of the K2 Army Group, part of
Lord Kitchener's
New Armies. From its creation the division trained in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
until 25 May 1915 when it landed in France and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the
Western Front, becoming one of the elite divisions of the British Army. During the
Battle of the Somme in the latter half of 1916, the 18th Division was commanded by
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Ivor Maxse
General Sir Frederick Ivor Maxse, (22 December 1862 – 28 January 1958) was a senior British Army officer who fought during the First World War, best known for his innovative and effective training methods.
Early life
Ivor Maxse was the eldest ...
.
Formation history
The division was formed in September 1914 during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as part of the K2 Army Group, part of
Lord Kitchener's
New Armies. It was formed in the
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
area but re-located to
Salisbury Plain in May 1915.
Major-General
Ivor Maxse
General Sir Frederick Ivor Maxse, (22 December 1862 – 28 January 1958) was a senior British Army officer who fought during the First World War, best known for his innovative and effective training methods.
Early life
Ivor Maxse was the eldest ...
took command in October 1914.
Order of battle
The following units served in the division.
[
; 53rd Brigade :
* 10th (Service) Battalion, ]Essex Regiment
The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...
* 8th (Service) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment
The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...
(''disbanded February 1918'')
* 8th (Service) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (''disbanded February 1918'')
* 6th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment)
The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...
(''disbanded February 1918'')
* 8th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) (''joined February 1918'')
* 7th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (''joined from 55th Brigade February 1918'')
*53rd Machine Gun Company (''joined 13 February 1916, left to move into 18th MG Battalion 16 February 1918'')
*53rd Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 17 June 1916'')
; 54th Brigade :
*10th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (''left October 1914'')
* 11th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
* 6th (Service) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...
(''joined November 1914'')
* 12th (Service) Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) (''disbanded February 1918'')
* 8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...
(''reformed as divisional pioneers February 1915'')
* 7th (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (''joined February 1915 merged with 2nd Battalion in May 1918'')Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks ...
(M.G.C.) (''formed 16 February 1918 absorbing brigade MG companies'')
*Divisional Mounted Troops
**C Sqn, Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry (''joined 15 June 1915, left 10 May 1916'')
**18th Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps
The Army Cyclist Corps was a corps of the British Army active during the First World War, and controlling the Army's bicycle infantry.
History Formation
Volunteer cyclist units had been formed as early as the 1880s, with the first complete bicy ...
(''formed 8 December 1914, left 21 May 1916'')
*18th Divisional Train Army Service Corps
**150th, 151st, 152nd and 153rd Companies
*30th Mobile Veterinary Section Army Veterinary Corps
*219th Divisional Employment Company (''joined 3 June 1917'')
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
*LXXXII Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (R.F.A.)
*LXXXIII Brigade, R.F.A.
*LXXXIV Brigade, R.F.A. (''left 25 January 1917'')
*LXXXV (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. (''broken up 3 December 1916'')
*18th Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A.
*18th Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery
The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...
(''raised with the Division but moved independently to Egypt in October 1915'')
*V.18 and W. 18 Heavy Trench Mortar Batteries R.F.A. (''V battery formed 28 April 1916, left for II Corps on 19 February 1918. W battery formed 21 May 1916, but broken up by 26 November 1916'')
*X.18, Y.18 and Z.18 Medium Mortar Batteries R.F.A. (''formed 19 June 1916, Z battery broken up 19 February 1918 and distributed to X and Y batteries'')
Royal Engineers
*79th Field Company
*80th Field Company
*92nd Field Company
*18th Divisional Signals Company
Royal Army Medical Corps
*54th Field Ambulance
*55th Field Ambulance
*56th Field Ambulance
*35th Sanitary Section (''left 24 March 1917'')
Battles
*Battle of the Somme (1916)
The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place betw ...
** Battle of Albert
** Capture of Trônes Wood: 14–15 July 1916.
**Battle of Delville Wood
The Battle of Delville Wood was a series of engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War, between the armies of the German Empire and the British Empire. Delville Wood , was a thick tangle of trees, chiefly beech and ...
** Battle of Thiepval Ridge
** Battle of the Ancre Heights
**Battle of the Ancre
The Battle of the Ancre was fought by the British Fifth Army ( Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough), against the German 1st Army (General Fritz von Below). The Reserve Army had been renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October. The battle was the la ...
*Third Battle of Ypres
The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...
*Battle of Épehy
The Battle of Épehy was a battle of the First World War fought on 18 September 1918, involving the British Fourth Army under the command of General Henry Rawlinson against German outpost positions in front of the Hindenburg Line. The village ...
Footnotes
See also
*List of British divisions in World War I
List of military divisions — List of British divisions in the First World War
This page is a list of British divisions that existed in the First World War. Divisions were either infantry or cavalry. Divisions were categorised as bei ...
* Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, who served with this division from 1916−1917 and ultimately rose to become Chief of the Imperial General Staff
The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial G ...
(CIGS) during the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
References
*
External links
The British Army in the Great War: The 18th (Eastern) Division
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:18 Infantry Division
Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War I
Kitchener's Army divisions
Military units and formations established in 1914
Military units and formations disestablished in 1919
1914 establishments in the United Kingdom