The 61st (2nd South Midland) 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 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 Gurkha ...

raised in 1915 during 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 ...

as a second-line reserve for the first-line battalions of the

48th (South Midland) Division The 48th (South Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army. Part of the Territorial Force (TF) and raised in 1908, the division was originally called the South Midland Division, and was redesignated as the 48th (South Midland ...

. The division was sent to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

in May 1916 and served there for the duration of the First World War.

Unit history

The division landed in France in May 1916. On 19 July 1916, together with the 5th Australian Division, the 61st Division fought the

Battle of Fromelles The Attack at Fromelles (, Battle of Fromelles, Battle of Fleurbaix or ) 19–20 July 1916, was a military operation on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was carried out by British and Australian troops and was subsidiary ...

, designed as a feint attack as part of the Somme Offensive. The attack, against well prepared German positions based on a ridge, was a disaster and responsible for the subsequent poor reputation of the Division. The division later took part in the advance to the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916 ...

and the

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 ...

Order of Battle

The order of battle was as follows:
; 182nd (2nd Warwickshire) Brigade : * 2/5th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (''disbanded February 1918'') * 2/6th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment * 2/7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment * 2/8th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (''disbanded February 1918'') * 2/8th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (''from 183rd Bde. February 1918'') ;

183rd (2nd Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade The 183rd (2nd Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army. First World War The brigade was formed during the First World War in 1914, as a duplicate of the 144th (1/1st Gloucester and Worcester) Briga ...

: The brigade contained the following battalions until February 1918 when most of them were disbanded. * 2/4th (City of Bristol) Battalion,

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

* 2/6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment *

2/7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Rifles (Worcs Rifles) was a volunteer, part-time unit of the British Army based in the county of Worcestershire which had a long, yet split history in two units before merging into the larger Worcestershire Regiment. Following ...

* 2/8th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (''to 182nd Bde. February 1918'') Between February and June 1918 the 183rd Brigade contained the following battalions. * 1/9th (Highlanders) Battalion,

Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

* 1/5th (Buchan and Formartin) Battalion,

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gord ...

* 1/8th (

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

) Battalion,

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

From May 1918 the following battalions joined the Brigade. * 1st 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 ...

* 9th (Service) Battalion,

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution ...

* 11th (Service) Battalion,

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before b ...

;

184th (2nd South Midland) Brigade The 184th (2nd South Midland) Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army raise for service in both the First and the Second World Wars. First World War The brigade was raised as a duplicate of the 145th (1/1st South Midland) ...

: * 2/5th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment * 2/4th Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence ...

* 2/1st

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (''disbanded February 1918'') * 2/4th Battalion,

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), b ...

; Divisional Troops : * 1/5th Bn, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry joined as Divisional Pioneer Bn April 1916 * 267th Machine Gun Company joined 18 January 1918, moved to 61st Bn MGC 1 March 1918 * 61st Battalion MGC formed 1 March 1918 ; Divisional Mounted Troops : * 2/1st Bedfordshire Yeomanry joined October 1915, left February 1916 * 2/2nd County of London Yeomanry joined 24 January 1916, left February 1916 * C Sqn, 1/1st Hampshire Yeomanry joined 18 March 1916, left 7 June 1916 * 2nd South Midland Divisional Cyclist Company left June 1916 ; 61st (2nd South Midland) Divisional Artillery : (the artillery of 59th Division was also attached between 8 and 26 August 1918) * CCCV (2/I South Midland) Brigade,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of ...

(RFA) broken up 17 September 1916 * CCCVI (2/II South Midland) Brigade, RFA * CCCVII (2/III South Midland) Brigade, RFA * CCCVIII (2/IV S.M.) (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA broken up 27 January 1917 * 2/1st South Midland (Warwicks) 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 (R ...

(RGA) left 3 February 1916 * 2/2nd London Heavy Battery RGA joined 24 January 1916, left 3 February 1916 * 1/1st Wessex Heavy Battery RGA attached 24 January to February 1916 * 2/1st Wessex Heavy Battery RGA attached 24 January to February 1916 * 61st Divisional Ammunition Column RFA * V.61 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA formed by 16 August 1916; left 7 February 1918 * X.61, Y.61 and Z.61 Medium Mortar Batteries, RFA formed June 1916; on 7 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each ;

61st (2nd South Midland) Divisional Engineers The Bristol Engineer Volunteer Corps was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Engineers, first raised in 1861. It went on to provide the Sappers for the 48th (South Midland) Division of the Territorial Force, serving in both World Wars and postwar ...

: * 477th (2/1st South Midland) Field Company moved independently to France and joined 48th Division June 1915 * 478th (2/2nd South Midland) Field Company * 479th (3/1st South Midland) Field Company * 476th (1/3rd South Midland) Field Company joined by May 1916 * 61st Divisional Signals Company ; Royal Army Medical Corps : * 2/1st South Midland Field Ambulance * 2/2nd South Midland Ambulance * 2/3rd South Midland Field Ambulance * 61st Sanitary Section left for IV Corps 12 April 1917 ; Other Divisional Troops : * 61st Divisional Train ASC 521, 522, 523 and 524 Companies ASC * 2/1st South Midland Mobile Veterinary Section AVC * 251st Divisional Employment Company joined 7 June 1917

Battles

General Officer Commanding

Commanding officers were: * Major-General Richard Bannatine-Allason, September 1915 – February 1916 * Major-General Sir Colin Mackenzie, KCB, February 1916 – May 1918 * Major-General F. John Duncan, CB, CMG, DSO 1918

References

External links