The 25th 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 ...

, raised as part of Lord Kitchener's Third New Army (K3) in September 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the

Great 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 ...

. It served on the Western Front for most of the war.

Unit history

The component units of the division were assembled around

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

and moved to

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

in May 1915 to complete their training. The division was formed 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 a ...

Francis Ventris and crossed to France on 25–30 September 1915 under the command of Major-General Beauchamp Doran. The division originally comprised the 74th, 75th and 76th Infantry Brigades, but the 76th Brigade was posted away on 15 October 1915 and replaced by the 7th Infantry Brigade. In June 1916 Major-General Guy Bainbridge took command and the Division went on to fight at the Battle of the Somme, at the Battle of Messines, at the Battle of Passchendaele, in the German spring offensive of March/April 1918 and at the Battle of Aisne. The 25th Division was unlucky during the 1918 German Spring Offensives, being attacked three times (sharing its misfortune with the

19th 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...

, 21st and

50th Division 50th Division or 50th Infantry Division may refer to: Infantry divisions: * 50th Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China) * 50th Infantry Division (German Empire) * 50th Reserve Division (German Empire) * 50th Infantry Division Regina, ...

s). It was on the northern flank defences during

Operation Michael Operation Michael was a major German military offensive during the First World War that began the German Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was t ...

in March 1918 and was moved north to refit. There it lost more men in the Battle of the Lys attacks in April. Moved south to another quiet area, it was attacked for a third time in the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...

. After suffering severe casualties in June 1918, it underwent a major refit and reorganisation, with infantry from divisions then serving in Italy. The reformed division moving back to France in September 1918. This Division played a major role in the final few weeks of the war its most noted success was the capture of the village of Beaurevoir on 5–6 October 1918. The war came to an end over a month later with the signing of the

armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

. The division was demobilised by the end of March 1919, having suffered 48,300 casualties during the war.

General officers commanding

Order of battle

The following units served in the division. ; 74th Brigade * 11th (Service) Battalion,

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

(''disbanded August 1918'') * 13th (Service) Battalion,

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. ...

(''disbanded August 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion,

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nottingh ...

(''left November 1914'') * 8th (Service) Battalion,

Loyal North Lancashire Regiment The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire Reg ...

(''left October 1915'') * 9th (Service) Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (''left June 1918'') * 2nd Battalion,

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

(joined October 1915, left November 1917'') * 3rd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (''joined November 1917, left June 1918'') * 74th Machine Gun Company (''joined March 1916, left to move into 25th MG battalion March 1918'') * 74th Trench Mortar Battery (''formed June 1917'') During reconstruction in mid 1918 * 2/7th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (''joined June 1918, disbanded July 1918'') * 21st (Service) Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) (''joined and left June 1918'') * 9th Battalion,

Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment) The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under variou ...

(''joined September 1918'') * 11th Battalion,

Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

(''joined September 1918'') * 13th (Service) Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

(''joined September 1918'') (the last three battalions joined from the brigades of 23rd Division serving in Italy) * 74th Trench Mortar Battery ; 75th Brigade * 10th (Service) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (''left October 1915'') * 11th (Service) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (''left June 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...

(''left June 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion, Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) (''disbanded February 1918'') * 2nd Battalion, Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) (''joined October 1915, left June 1918'') * 75th Machine Gun Company (''joined on 15 March 1916, moved into 25 MG Battalion March 1918'') * 75th Trench Mortar Battery (''formed June 1916'') During reconstruction in mid 1918 * 1/6th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (''joined May 1918, left July 1918'') * 17th (Service) Battalion,

King's (Liverpool Regiment) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...

(1st City) (''joined June 1918'') * 11th (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 ...

(''joined June 1918'') * 6th (Service) Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment) (''joined June 1918'') * 13th (Service) Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment) (''joined June 1918'') (''On 9 September 1918, the Brigade was renumbered as 236th Brigade and was placed under orders for service in North Russia. It left the 25th Division at this point.'') A new 75th Brigade was formed in September 1918 * 1/5th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment * 1/8th Battalion,

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

* 1/8th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (''these battalions joined from the brigades of 48th (South Midland) Division serving in Italy'') * 75th Trench Mortar Battery ; 76th Brigade (''left to join 3rd Division on 15 October 1915'') * 8th (Service) Battalion,

King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

* 10th (Service) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers * 6th (Service) Battalion,

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. I ...

(''left February 1915'') * 10th (Service) Battalion,

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

(''joined and left in September 1914'') * 7th (Service) Battalion,

King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 196 ...

* 13th (Service) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) (''joined February 1915'') ; 7th Brigade (''joined from 3rd Division in exchange for the 76th Brigade on 18 October 1915'') * 10th (Service) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (''left as a cadre July 1918'') * 3rd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (''left November 1917'') * 2nd Battalion, Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) (''left to join 75th Brigade a week after Brigade joined Division'') * 8th (Service) Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (''disbanded February 1918'') * 1st Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment) (''left June 1918'') * 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles (''left to join the 74th Brigade a week after the brigade joined the division'') *

4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

(''joined October 1917, left June 1918'') * 7th Machine Gun Company (''joined January 1916, moved into 25 MG battalion March 1918'') * 7th Trench Mortar Battery (''formed July 1916'') During reconstruction in mid 1918 * 13th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment (Wandsworth) (''joined June 1918, disbanded November 1918'') *

9th (Service) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...

(''joined September 1918'') * 20th (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment (5th City) (''joined September 1918'') * 21st (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment (6th City) (''joined September 1918'') (''except for the 13th East Surreys, which joined from the 39th Division, these battalions joined from the brigades of 7th Division serving in Italy'') * 7th Trench Mortar Battery ;Pioneers * 13th (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment (''joined September 1914, left October 1914'') * 13th (Service) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) (''joined October 1914, left February 1915'') * 8th (Service) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment (''joined November 1914, left March 1915'') * 6th (Service) Battalion, South Wales Borderers (''joined as Divisional pioneer battalion February 1915, left June 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion,

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

(''joined as a cadre June 1918'') * 11th (Service) Battalion, Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) (''joined as a cadre June 1918, became Divisional pioneer battalion October 1918'') ;Machine Gunners * 195th Machine Gun Company (''joined December 1916 moved into 25 MG Bn March 1918'') * 25th Battalion,

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 ...

(''created March 1918, left July 1918, rejoined October 1918'') * 100th (

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

and South Nottinghamshire Yeomanry) Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (''joined October 1918, left October 1918'') ;Divisional Artillery The Divisional artillery remained in France when the rest of the Division returned to England to re-fit in June 1918. It took part in the Second Battle of Bapaume, the Battle of Epehy and the Battle of the Saint-Quentin Canal, then rejoined the 25th Division on 4 October 1918. * CX Brigade, RFA (''between 26 May and 4 June 1918, attached to 8th Division'') * CXI Brigade, RFA (''broken up 27 November 1916'') * CXII Brigade, RFA (''between 26 May and 21 June 1918, attached to 21st Division'') * CXIII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA (''left 14 February 1917'') * 25th Heavy Battery, RGA (''raised with the Division but moved independently to France'') * W.25 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA (''joined July 1916, broken up March 1918'') * X.25 Medium Mortar Battery (''joined April 1916'') * Y.25 Medium Mortar Battery (''joined April 1916'') * Z.25 Medium Mortar Battery (''joined April 1916, broken up in March 1918, distributed to X.25 and Y.25 batteries'') ; Royal Engineers * 93rd, 94th Field Companies (''left February 1915'') * 106th Field Company (''joined January 1915'') * 105th Field Company (''joined February 1915'') * 130th Field Company (''joined May 1915'') ; Royal Army Medical Corps * 75th, 76th, 77th Field Ambulance * 42nd Sanitary Section (''left 18 April 1917'') ;Division Troops * Regimental HQ and B Squadron,

Lothians and Border Horse The Lothians and Border Horse was a Yeomanry regiment, part of the British Territorial Army. It was ranked 36th in the Yeomanry order of precedence and was based in the Scottish Lowland area, recruiting in the Lothians – East Lothian ( Ha ...

(''joined summer 1915, left May 1916'') * 25th Divisional Ammunition Column * 25th Divisional Signals Company * 25th Divisional Train ** 198th–201st Companies ASC * 37th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC * 225th Divisional Employment Company (''joined 21 May 1917'')

References

Bibliography

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External links