The 39th 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 marine i ...

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 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 ...

. The division was part of Kitchener's New Armies and saw service on the Western Front and in Italy from 1916 onwards.

History

The division was formed as part of the fifth wave (K5) of divisions in the New Army; it did not have a regional title, but was composed primarily of recruits from the Midlands, London, and the south of England. Several of its battalions had been raised by local communities, and were named for their towns or industries. After training and home service, it deployed 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 majo ...

in early 1916, and fought in the

Battle of the Somme 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 bet ...

. The following year, it saw action at 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 t ...

, and in 1918 took heavy losses in the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

's Spring Offensive. The General Officer Commanding, Major-General Edward Feetham, was killed in the action in March 1918. Following near-destruction at the Battle of the Lys, the division was reduced to a cadre, which spent the remainder of the war training newly arrived units of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

(AEF). The division demobilised after the

Armistice with Germany 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 ...

, and had ceased to exist by July 1919.

Order of battle

The following units served with the division: 116th Brigade The brigade was originally numbered the 121st intended for the 40th Division of the Fifth New Army. The brigades first commander was

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Reginald Barnes Major-General Sir Reginald Walter Ralph Barnes (13 April 1871 – 19 December 1946) was a cavalry officer in the British Army. He served in several regiments, and commanded a battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry, the 10th (Prince of Wales's Own) ...

. * 11th (Service) Battalion (1st South Down),

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 ...

''(left June 1918)'' * 12th (Service) Battalion (2nd South Down), Royal Sussex Regiment ''(disbanded 8 February 1918)'' * 13th (Service) Battalion (3rd South Down), Royal Sussex Regiment ''(left June 1918)'' The US Army on the Western Front, 1917-1918 Q9085

The US Army on the Western Front, 1917-1918 Q9085

* 14th (Service) Battalion (1st Portsmouth),

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 regi ...

''(disbanded 23 February 1918)'' * 1/1st Battalion,

Herefordshire Regiment The Herefordshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1861 to 1967. The regiment had no lineal connection with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. History Formation The 1st Administrative Battali ...

(

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

) ''(joined 8 February 1918, left 9 May 1918)'' * 1/4th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment (TF) ''(joined as a

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

15 July 1918, demobilised 7 November 1918)'' * 116th Machine Gun Company ''(formed 18 May 1916, moved to 39th 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 tank ...

(M.G.C.) 14 March 1918)'' * 116th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 16 June 1916)'' 117th Brigade * 16th (Service) Battalion (Chatsworth Rifles),

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 f ...

''(left 16 August 1918)'' * 17th (Service) Battalion (Welbeck Rangers), Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) ''(disbanded 8 February 1918)'' * 17th (Service) Battalion (British Empire League),

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

''(left 16 August 1918)'' * 16th (Service) Battalion (St. Pancras),

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

''(left August 1918)'' * 117th Machine Gun Company ''(formed 18 May 1916, moved to 39th Battalion, M.G.C. 14 March 1918)'' * 117th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 18 June 1916)'' 118th Brigade * 10th (Service) Battalion (Kent County),

Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

''(left 16 October 1915)'' * 11th (Service) Battalion (Lewisham), Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) ''(left 16 October 1915)'' *

13th (Service) Battalion (Wandsworth), East Surrey Regiment The 13th (Service) Battalion (Wandsworth), East Surrey Regiment was a British New Army infantry battalion during the First World War. Formed in 1915 as a hostilities-only battalion, it was part of the East Surrey Regiment garrisoned at Witley, ...

''(remained in England 23 February 1916)'' * 20th (Service) Battalion (Shoreditch),

Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Ref ...

''(remained in England 23 February 1916)'' * 21st (Service) Battalion (Islington), Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) ''(remained in England 23 February 1916)'' * 14th (Service) Battalion,

Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) , colors = , colors_label = , march = "The 8th Hussars" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

''(remained in England 23 February 1916)'' * 1/6th (T.F.) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment ''(joined 29 February 1916, left 28 May 1918)'' * 1/4th (T.F.) Battalion,

Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

''(joined 29 February 1916, merged with 1/5th Battalion March 1916, became 4th/5th Battalion)'' * 1/5th (T.F.) Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) ''(joined 29 February 1916, merged with 1/4th Battalion March 1916, became 4th/5th Battalion)'' * 1/1st (T.F.) Battalion,

Cambridgeshire Regiment The Cambridgeshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, and was part of the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. Originating in units of Volunteer Force (Great Britain), rifle volunteers formed in 1860, the regiment ...

''(joined 29 February 1916, left 9 May 1918)'' * 1/1st (T.F.) Battalion,

Hertfordshire Regiment The Hertfordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originating in units of Rifle Volunteers formed in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and the First and Second Wor ...

''(joined 29 February 1916, left 8 April 1918)'' * 118th Machine Gun Company, ''(formed 21 March 1916, moved to 39th Battalion, M.G.C. 14 March 1918)'' * 118th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 1 July 1916)'' 39th Divisional Composite Brigade ''Formed on 10 April 1918 after the Division suffered heavy losses and placed under command of Brig-Gen. A. Hubback. Fought in the Battles of the Lys as an independent command attached to XXII Corps. Returned to Division and men deployed to old units by 6 May 1918.'' *1st Battalion (''formed from remnants of 11th Royal Sussex and 1/1st Hertfordshire'') *2nd Battalion (''formed from remnants of 13th Gloucestershire and 13th Royal Sussex'') *3rd Battalion (''formed from remnants of units of 117th Brigade'') *4th Battalion (''formed from remnants of units 118th Brigade'') *5th Battalion (''formed from remnants of units of all three Brigades'') *118th Trench Mortar Battery *No 4 (287th) Company, 39th Divisional Train Army Service Corps (A.S.C.) Divisional Troops *13th (Service) Battalion, (Forest of Dean)

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 ...

(''divisional pioneers, left as a cadre by 6 May 1918'') *228th Machine Gun Company (''joined 19 July 1917, moved to 39th Battalion M.G.C. 14 March 1918, left 11 September 1918'') *39th Battalion M.G.C. (''formed 14 March 1918, absorbing the brigade MG companies'') *Divisional Mounted Troops **E Squadron,

South Irish Horse The South Irish Horse was a Special Reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Formed as an Imperial Yeomanry regiment in 1902 as the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry, it perpetuated a unit formed during the Second Boer War. It transferred t ...

(''joined 17 March 1916, left 10 May 1916'') **39th 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 ...

(''joined 14 November 1915, left 10 May 1916'') *39th Divisional Train A.S.C. **284th, 285th, 286th and 287th Companies *50th Mobile Veterinary Section

Army Veterinary Corps The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and ca ...

*236th Divisional Employment Company (''joined 30 June 1917'') ''For short periods in the summer of 1918, 47 battalion cadres from reorganised divisions that had suffered heavy losses in the German spring offensives were attached to the brigades and division HQ.''

39th (Deptford) Divisional Artillery Rrr The 39th (Deptford) Divisional Artillery (39th DA) was a Royal Artillery force raised as part of ' Kitchener's Army' in early 1915. Recruited in Deptford, South London, the units served with the 'Pals battalions' of the 39th Division on the W ...

''The whole divisional artillery was raised by the Mayor and Corporation of Deptford; operated as an independent formation after April 1918''Lt-Col H.W. Wiebkin, ''A Short History of the 39th (Deptford) Divisional Artillery, 1915–1918'', London: Berryman, 1923/Uckfield: Royal Artillery Museum and Naval & Military Press, 2004, . * CLXXIV (Deptford) 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 t ...

(RFA) * CLXXIX (Deptford) Brigade, RFA (''broken up 18 January 1917'') * CLXXXIV (Deptford) Brigade, RFA (''broken up 30 November 1916'') * CLXXXVI (Deptford) Howitzer Brigade, RFA *39th (Deptford) Divisional Ammunition Column, RFA * 39th Divisional Trench Mortar Brigade **V.39 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA (''formed 27 August 1916; broken up 7 February 1918'') **X.39, Y.39 and Z.39 Medium Mortar Batteries, R.F.A. (''formed 21 March 1916; Z broken up redistributed to X and Y batteries 7 February 1918; X and Y disbanded 15 May 1918'')

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

*225th (Stockton on Tees) Field Company *227th (Stockton on Tees) Field Company *234th (Stockton on Tees) Company *39th Divisional Signals Company (Empire)

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

*132nd Field Ambulance *133rd Field Ambulance *134th Field Ambulance *82nd Sanitary Section (''left 17 April 1917'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:39 Infantry Division Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War I Kitchener's Army divisions Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1915 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

Order of battle

See also

References