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Divisional Insignia Of The British Army
Formation signs at the division level were first introduced in the British Army in the First World War. They were intended (initially) as a security measure to avoid displaying the division's designation in the clear. They were used on vehicles, sign posts and notice boards and were increasingly, but not universally, worn on uniform as the War progressed. Discontinued by the regular army after 1918, only a few Territorial divisions continued to wear them before 1939. Reintroduced officially in late 1940 in the Second World War, divisional formation signs were much more prevalent on uniforms and were taken up by many other formations, independent brigades, corps, armies, overseas and home commands, military districts and lines of communication areas. The sign could be based on many things, geometry (simple or more complex), heraldry, regional or historical associations, a pun, the role of the division or a combination. First World War Until 1916, unit names were written on vehicl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Gurkhas, and 28,330 volunteer reserve personnel. The modern British Army traces back to 1707, with antecedents in the English Army and Scots Army that were created during the Restoration in 1660. The term ''British Army'' was adopted in 1707 after the Acts of Union between England and Scotland. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief, but the Bill of Rights of 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Therefore, Parliament approves the army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. The Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
9th (Scottish) Division
The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War. After the 1st South African Infantry Brigade Group joined in early 1916, the division was known colloquially as the '' Jock and Springboks''. History Background A 9th Division had been formed for service during the Second Boer War, and was commanded by Henry Edward Colvile. In 1902, a 9th Division was as formed and was commanded by Edward Pemberton Leach, but it was broken-up at some point prior to the start of the war. First World War In the Battle of Loos, notable for being the first battle in which British forces used poison gas, the 9th (Scottish) Division assaulted the Hohenzollern Redoubt, the 5th Camerons suffered horrific casualties, and Corporal James Dalgleish Pollock gained a Victoria Cross for his actions. The 9th (Sco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
22nd Division (United Kingdom)
The 22nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I, raised in September 1914, from men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division moved to France in September 1915, but it was transferred to Greece only one month later. It served in the Balkans Campaign for the duration of the First World War. The 22nd Division's insignia was a solid black bar. Unit history The Division was one of the six created for the Third New Army on 13 September 1914. It moved to France in early September 1915 and then to Salonika in October 1915 seeing action in the Retreat from Serbia in December 1915, the Battle of Horseshoe Hill in August 1916, the Battle of Machukovo in September 1916 and the Battle of Doiran in April / May 1917. The Division was disbanded by 31 March 1919. Order of Battle The following units served with the division: 65th Brigade *9th (Service) Battalion, King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) *14th (Service) Battalion, King's (Liverp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
21st Division (United Kingdom)
The 21st Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I, raised in September 1914 by men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division moved to France in September 1915 and served on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War. The division's insignia was the "triple-seven". Unit history The Division was the first of the six created for the Third New Army on 13 September 1914. It moved to France in September 1915. It took part in the Battle of Loos in September 1915, the Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916, the Battle of Arras in April 1917, the Battle of Passchendaele in autumn 1917 and the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. The division suffered 55,581 killed, wounded and missing, being the highest number of casualties suffered by any New Army division. The Division ceased to exist on 19 May 1919. Order of battle The following units served with the division: 62nd Brigade * 12th (Service) Battalion, Northumberland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
20th (Light) Division
The 20th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Kitchener's Army, raised in the First World War. The division was formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division landed in France July 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front. The division was disbanded after the end of the war in early 1919. History 1914–15 Formation and training The 20th (Light) Division was authorised on 11 September 1914 and was to be composed of newly raised battalions from quick marching rifle and light infantry regiments. The 59th and 60th Brigades were concentrated at Blackdown with the Division Headquarters and other division troops. The 61st Brigade was concentrated at Aldershot, where the medical component also trained, the Artillery was formed near Deepcut, the engineers were trained at Chatham. Clothing, in the form of emergency ''Kitchener Blue'' uniforms did not arrive until November, together with a few o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
19th (Western) Division
The 19th (Western) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Kitchener's Army, formed in the Great War. Formation history The 19th (Western) Division was created under Western Command in September 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the Great War, from men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division, whose first commander was Major General Charles Fasken, a 59-year old Indian Army officer brought out of retirement, was formed as part of Kitchener's Second New Army (K2) and, in common with most other newly-raised Kitchener units, there was a severe shortage of trained officers and NCO's to train the men, alongside a lack of modern equipment, training facilities and billets. However, by June 1915, training had progressed well and the division was sent to the Western Front, where it remained for the rest of the war. Order of battle The 19th (Western) Division was constituted as follows during the war: ; 56th Brigade : * 7th (Service) Batt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th (Eastern) Division
The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England 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 Ivor Maxse. Formation history The division was formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. It was formed in the Colchester area but re-located to Salisbury Plain in May 1915. Major-General Ivor Maxse took command in October 1914. Order of battle The following units served in the division. ; 53rd Brigade : * 10th (Service) Battalion, Essex Regiment * 8th (Service) Battalion, Norfol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
17th (Northern) Division
The 17th (Northern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, a Kitchener's Army formation raised during the Great War. Formation history The 17th (Northern) Division was created under Northern Command in September 1914, just a month after the British entry into the Great War, from men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. Most of the volunteers had had little prior military experience. Worsening the situation was an acute lack of experienced officers and NCO's to train the new men as, due to the huge expansion of the British Army, experienced soldiers were needed everywhere. Furthermore, weapons and equipment, along with billets, were scarce. The division, commanded by Major General Walter Kenyon-Slaney, part of Kitchener's Second New Army (K2), concentrated throughout Dorset for training, moving to Hampshire in late May 1915. In early July the division sent advance parties to France in preparation for a move overseas, the rest of the division following ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
16th (Irish) Division
The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the 'National Volunteers', initially in September 1914, after the outbreak of the Great War. In December 1915, the division moved to France, joining the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), under the command of Irish Major General William Hickie, and spent the duration of the war in action on the Western Front. Following enormous losses at the Somme, Passchendaele and Ypres, the 16th (Irish) Division required a substantial refit in England between June and August 1918, which involved the introduction of many non-Irish battalions. History Moved by the fate of Belgium, a small and Catholic country, John Redmond had called on Irishmen to enlist "in defence of the highest principles of religion and morality and right". More Catholic Irish enlisted than Protestants.Jeff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
15th (Scottish) Division
The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served in the First World War. The 15th (Scottish) Division was formed from men volunteering for Kitchener's Army, and served from 1915 to 1918 on the Western Front. The division was later disbanded, after the war, in 1919. First World War The division was a New Army unit formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division moved to France in July 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front. The division fought in the Battle of Loos in which it seizing the village of Loos and Hill 70, the deepest penetration of the German positions by the six British divisions involved in the initial day. It later fought in the Battle of the Somme (1916) which included the battles of Pozières and Flers–Courcelette, the Battle of Arras 1917 and the Third Battle of Ypres. The North Uist-born war poet Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna, a highly important figur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
14th (Light) Division
The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast marching rifle or light infantry regiments, hence the title "Light". It fought on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War. The division was disbanded by March 1919, and was not reformed in the Second World War. Order of battle The division comprised the following infantry brigades, which underwent major changes between February 1918 (the Army's brigade reorganisation from 4 to 3 infantry battalions) and June 1918 (rebuilt after the losses of the German spring offensive). ; 41st Brigade: *Before June 1918 **7th Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps (''left February 1918'') **8th Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps **7th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) **8th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
13th (Western) Division
The 13th (Western) Division was one of the Kitchener's Army divisions in the First World War, raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener. It fought at Gallipoli, in Mesopotamia (including the capture of Baghdad) and Persia. War service 1914–1915 1914 The 13th (Western) Division was formed as part of the First New Army at Salisbury Plain in August 1914. During the formation of the division, Major-General Robert Kekewich was appointed as its first commander. On 5 November 1914, while on sick leave he committed suicide. Although initially meant for service in France, with the rest of the Kitchener New Armies, it was ordered to the Mediterranean as reinforcements for the Anglo-French expedition at Gallipoli. Gallipoli 1915 The 13th (Western) Division landed at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in July 1915 in preparation for the Battle of Sari Bair (The August Offensive) beginning on 6 August. Although all of its component infantry battalions arrived, the divisional artil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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