The 10th (Irish) Division, was one of the first of Kitchener's New Army K1 Army Group

divisions Division 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 10,000 t ...

(formed from Kitchener's 'first hundred thousand' new volunteers), authorized on 21 August 1914, after the outbreak of the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It included battalions from the various provinces of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

.Murphy, 2007, p.10 It was initially led by the Irish Lieutenant General Sir Bryan Mahon and fought at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

in 1915,

Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, from 1915–1917, and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

from 1917–1918. It was the first of the Irish divisions to take to the field and was the most travelled of the Irish formations. The division served as a formation of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

British Army during World War I The British Army during the First World War fought the largest and most costly war in its History of the British Army, long history. Unlike the French Army in World War I, French and German Army (German Empire), German Armies, the British Ar ...

History

Formed in Ireland on 21 August 1914, the 10th Division was sent to

where, as part of Lieutenant General Sir

Frederick Stopford Lieutenant General Sir Frederick William Stopford, (2 February 1854 – 4 May 1929) was a British Army officer, best remembered for commanding the landing at Suvla Bay in August 1915, during the Gallipoli Campaign, where he failed to orde ...

's IX Corps, at

Suvla Bay View of Suvla from Battleship Hill Suvla () is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros. On 6 August 1915, it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as ...

on 7 August it participated in the

Landing at Suvla Bay The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious warfare, amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the Battle of Sari Bair, August Offensive, the final United Kingdo ...

and the August offensive. Some battalions of the division were landed at Anzac and fought at

Chunuk Bair The Battle of Chunuk Bair () was a World War I battle fought between the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman defenders and troops of the British Empire over control of the peak in August 1915. The capture of Chunuk Bair, ( Basin Slope, now ''Conk Bayırı'' ...

. In September 1915, when the Suvla front became a stalemate, the division was moved to

where it remained for almost two years and fought the

Battle of Kosturino The Battle of Kosturino was a World War I battle fought between 6 and 12 December 1915. It was fought in the initial stage of the Macedonian campaign, in the Balkans Campaign (World War I), Balkans Theatre. On 6 December, Bulgarian troops attacke ...

The division moved to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in September 1917 where it joined Lieutenant General Sir Philip Chetwode's XX Corps. It fought in the

Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the Ba ...

which succeeded in breaking the resistance of the Turkish defenders in southern Palestine. Tatarli 5th Connaught Rangers 1

Heavy losses on the Western Front following

Operation Michael Operation Michael () was a major German military offensive during World War I 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 to bre ...

, the great

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

in 1918, resulted in the transfer of ten of the division's battalions from Palestine to France, their place being taken by

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

units. This left only one British battalion per brigade. The remainder of the division remained in Palestine until the end of the war with Turkey on 31 October 1918. On 12 November 1918 the division concentrated at

Sarafand Sarafand or Sarafend (Ṣarafand / صرفند) is an Arabic rendition of the Phoenician place-name *Ṣrpt. Places * Sarafand, Lebanon, also spelled Sarafend ** Sarepta, an ancient Phoenician city at the location of the modern Lebanese town * T ...

, ready for moving back to Egypt. By 1 December it had returned to Cairo.

Order of battle

The division comprised the following

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

s: ; 29th Brigade: * 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment ''(left June 1915 to become the divisional pioneer battalion)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an light 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 ...

''(disbanded May 1918)'' * 5th (Service) Battalion,

Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Fo ...

''(left April 1918)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foo ...

''(left April 1918)'' * 10th (Service) Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The re ...

''(joined March left October 1915)'' * 1st Battalion, Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) ''(joined November 1916)'' *29th Machine Gun Company ''(formed 10 May 1916 left to move into 10th Battalion

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, 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 (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

(M.G.C.) 7 May 1918)'' *29th Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined 2 October 1916 as No 7 Stokes Mortar Battery transferred to Divisional TMB 17 October 1917)'' The brigade was reorganised with Indian Army units from April to June 1918 * 1st Battalion, Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) * 1st Battalion, 54th Sikhs ''(joined 27 April 1918)'' * 1st Battalion, 101st Grenadiers ''(joined 30 April 1918)'' * 2nd Battalion, 151st Sikh Infantry ''(joined 10 June 1918)'' ; 30th Brigade : * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company, East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment ...

''(left 30 April 1918)'' * 7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers ''(absorbed by the 6th Battalion 3 November 1916)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Dublin Fusiliers The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army created in 1881 and disbanded in 1922. It was one of eight 'Irish' regiments of the army which were raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with the regiment's home depot being l ...

''(left 27 May 1918)'' * 7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers ''(left 30 April 1918)'' * 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment ''(joined 3 November 1916)'' *30th Machine Gun Company ''(formed 10 May 1916, left to move into 10th Battalion M.G.C. 7 May 1918)'' *30th Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined 28 September 1916 as No 8 Stokes Mortar Battery, transferred to Divisional TMB 17 October 1917)'' The brigade was reorganised with Indian Army units from April to June 1918 * 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment *

38th Dogras The 38th Dogras were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1858, when they were raised as an irregular unit named the Agra Levy. In 1864 the regiment was incorporated into the regular line infantry of t ...

''(joined 29 April 1918)'' * 1st Battalion, Kashmir Rifles ''(joined 30 April 1918)'' *

46th Punjabis The 46th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1900, as the 46th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Infantry. It was designated as the 46th Punjabis in 1903 and became 10th (Training) Battalion of 16th Punjab Reg ...

''(joined 25 May 1918)'' ; 31st Brigade : * 5th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th (Ma ...

''(left 28 May 1918)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers ''(left 2 May 1918)'' * 5th (Service) Battalion,

Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot, 87th (Prince of Wales's I ...

''(left 30 April 1918)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion, Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) ''(absorbed by the 5th Battalion 2 November 1916, )'' * 2nd Battalion, Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) ''(joined 2 November 1916)'' *31st Machine Gun Company ''(formed 11 May 1916, left to move into 10th Battalion M.G.C. 7 May 1918)'' *31st Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined 17 October 1916, transferred to Divisional TMB 17 October 1917)'' The brigade was reorganised with Indian Army units from April to June 1918 * 6th (Service) Battalion, Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) *

74th Punjabis The 74th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1776, when they were raised as the 14th Carnatic Battalion. The regiment first saw action during the Carnatic Wars. This was followed by th ...

''(joined 29 April 1918)'' * 2nd Battalion, 101st Grenadiers ''(joined 1 May 1918)'' * 38th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

''(attached 11 June – 17 July 1918)'' * 2nd Battalion, 42nd Deoli Regiment ''(joined 18 July 1918)''; Pioneers : Divisional Troops *5th (Service) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment ''(joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion June 1915, left April 1918)'' * 2nd Battalion, 155th Pioneers (Indian pioneers)''(from July 1918)'' *Divisional Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 17 October 1917, broken up 9 June 1918)'' *Divisional Mounted Troops **10th Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps ''(left 7 December 1916)'' *10th Divisional Train Army Service Corps **108th, 109th, 110th and 111th Companies ''(left October 1915)'' **471st, 472nd, 473rd and 474th Companies ''(joined October 1915 from 52nd Division)'' *25th Mobile Veterinary Section Army Veterinary Corps *212th Divisional Employment Company ''(formed by 23 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 ...

*LIV Brigade,

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

(R.F.A.) ''(left 29 August 1917'') *LV Brigade, R.F.A. ''(left January 1916)'' *LVI Brigade, R.F.A. ''(left January 1916)'' *LVII (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. ''(left 28 August 1917)'' *10th Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A. ''(the original column did not go overseas with the Division. The 29th Divisional Ammunition Column joined in Egypt in October 1915. Suffered losses when transport “Marquette” torpedoed off Salonika on 23 October. Numbers were made up by men, horses and equipment from 42nd Division Ammunition Column. Formally renumbered 10th DAC on 4 March 1916)'' *LXVII Brigade, R.F.A. ''(joined October 1915)'' *LXVIII Brigade, R.F.A. ''(joined October 1915)'' *10th Heavy Battery

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

(R.G.A.) ''(joined March 1915, left by 10 August 1915)'' *15th Heavy Battery R.G.A. ''(joined 10 August 1915, left by 19 December 1915)'' * IV Highland (Mountain) Brigade, R.G.A. ''(joined 13 August 1915)'' *2nd Mountain Battery R.G.A. ''(joined 30 December 1915, left 27 February 1916)'' *CXXXII (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. ''(joined 26 April 1916, broken up 25 January 1917)'' *Hong Kong & Singapore Mountain Battery R.G.A. ''(joined 1 September 1918, left 26 October 1918)''

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

*65th Field Company ''(left 14 July 1918)'' *66th Field Company *85th Field Company ''(joined January 1915)'' *10th Divisional Signals Company *18/3 Sappers & Miners ''(joined by 17 July 1918)''

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

*30th, 31st and 32nd Field Ambulances ''(left 20 May 1918)'' *154th, 165th and 166th Camel Field Ambulances ''(joined 20 May 1918)'' *21st Sanitary Section ''(left 31 July 1915, rejoined October 1915, left again 22 October 1917)'' *18th Sanitary Section ''(joined 22 October 1917)''

Battles and engagements

Gallipoli Campaign * The landing at Suvla. *

Battle of Sari Bair The Battle of Sari Bair (), also known as the August Offensive (), represented the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. At the time of ...

. * Capture of Chocolate Hill. * Hill 60.

Salonika front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

. * Retreat from Serbia. * Capture of the Karajokois. * Capture of Yenikoi.

Sinai and Palestine Campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revol ...

. * Capture of the Sheria Position. * Capture of Jerusalem. * Defence of Jerusalem. * Tell 'Asure. *

Battle of Nablus The Battle of Nablus was fought from April 5 to April 8, 2002, in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian forces, as part of Operation Defensive Shield in the Second Intifada. I ...

General Officers Commanding

Commanders included:Army Commands
* 24 August 1914 – 16 August 1915: Lieutenant-General Sir Bryan Mahon * 16–19 August 1915: Brigadier-General F. F. Hill (''acting'') * 19–23 August 1915: Major-General

William Peyton General Sir William Eliot Peyton, (7 May 1866 – 14 November 1931) was a British Army officer who served as Military Secretary to the British Expeditionary Force from 1916 to 1918. He was Delhi Herald of Arms Extraordinary at the time of t ...

* 23 August – 18 November 1915: Lieutenant-General Sir Bryan Mahon * 18 November – 20 December 1915: Brigadier-General L. L. Nicol (''acting'') * 20 December 1915 – 12 July 1916: Major-General John Longley * 12 July – 24 September 1916: Brigadier-General L. L. Nicol (''acting'') * 24 September 1916 – 11 June 1918: Major-General John Longley * 11 June – 18 August 1918: Brigadier-General E. M. Morris (''acting'') * 18 August 1918 – June 1919: Major-General John Longley * June 1919 – 1921: Major-General Sir George Gorringe

Great War Memorials

Irish National War Memorial Gardens The Irish National War Memorial Gardens () is an Irish war memorial in Islandbridge, Dublin, dedicated "to the memory of the 49,400 Irish soldiers who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914–1918",Dúchas The Heritage Service, Visitors Guide ...

Dublin. *

Island of Ireland Peace Park The Island of Ireland Peace Park and its surrounding park (), also called the Irish Peace Park () or Irish Peace Tower in Messines, near Ypres in Flanders, Belgium, is a war memorial to the soldiers of the island of Ireland who died, were wound ...

Messines, Belgium. * Menin Gate Memorial Ypres, Belgium. * Ulster Tower Memorial Thiepval, France. * Dojran Celtic Cross, Doiran Lake, Macedonia.

References

External links

*
A website with information relating to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who had battalions which were a part of the 10th (Irish) Division.

* ttp://www.irishwarmemorials.ie/ The Irish War Memorials Project - listing of monuments throughout Ireland
The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust

{{DEFAULTSORT:10 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 Ireland in World War I 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom