The 123rd Brigade (123rd Bde) was an infantry formation 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 ...

during

World War I 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 was raised as part of the New Armies (also known as

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

). After the original 123rd Bde was renumbered, a new brigade was formed and served with the 41st Division from 1916 to 1919 on the Western Front, in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and with the

British Army of Occupation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in Germany.

Original 123rd Brigade

On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war,

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular

. The newly appointed

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'. The K2, K3 and K4 battalions, brigades and divisions followed soon afterwards. The flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the army to absorb and organise them, and by the time the Fifth New Army (K5) was authorised on 10 December 1914, many of the units were already being organised as '

Pals battalion The Pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbour ...

s' under the auspices of mayors and corporations of towns up and down the country. Foe example, the

Tyneside Scottish Brigade The Tyneside Scottish Brigade was raised in 1914 as part of Kitchener's Army. Officially named the 102nd (Tyneside Scottish) Brigade, it contained four Pals battalions from Newcastle-on-Tyne. Origins The Tyneside Scottish Brigade was a British ...

of four

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s was raised by 16 November 1915 by Johnstone Wallace, Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, and a local committee, the recruits mainly being Scots working in the mines and industry of

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...

.Shakespear, p. 3. It was numbered as 123rd Brigade in 41st Division on 10 DecemberBecke, Pt 3b, Appendix 2. and the battalions were assigned to the local regiment, the

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 an ...

(NF):James, p. 47.Northumberland Fusiliers at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * 20th (Service) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (1st Tyneside Scottish) * 21st (Service) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (2nd Tyneside Scottish) * 22nd (Service) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (3rd Tyneside Scottish) * 23rd (Service) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (4th Tyneside Scottish) The brigade was concentrated in hutments at

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

by March 1915 under the command of retired

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 ...

Trevor Ternan brought back from the reserve. On 10 April 1915 the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

decided to convert the K4 battalions into reserve units, to provide reinforcement drafts for the K1–K3 battalions. The K5 divisions (30th–44th) and their brigades were renumbered: 123rd Brigade became 102nd (Tyneside Scottish) Brigade in 34th Division.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 41–50; Appendix 1.

New 123rd Brigade

A new 123rd Brigade and 41st Division were authorised on 27 April 1915, as part of a final batch of New Army divisions. They included the last K5 'Pals' battalions formed in the first half of 1915 and did not come together at

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 Alders ...

until September 1915. 123rd Brigade was composed as follows:Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 109–15. * 11th (Service) Battalion,

Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

(Lambeth) – ''raised on 16 May 1915 by the Mayor and Borough of Lambeth, London''James, p. 44. Queen's Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
/ref>Wylly, pp. 267–79. * 10th (Service) Battalion,

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' ...

(Kent County) – ''raised on 3 May 1915 at

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Lord Harris Colonel George Robert Canning Harris, 4th Baron Harris, (3 February 1851 – 24 March 1932), generally known as Lord Harris, was a British colonial administrator and Governor of Bombay. He was also an English amateur cricketer, mainly active f ...

; transferred from 39th Division 10 October 1915''James, pp. 90–1.QORWK Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * 23rd (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (2nd Football) – ''raised in July 1915 in London by

William Joynson-Hicks William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norm ...

, MP''James, p. 94.Wyrall, Vol I, Appendix.Middlesex Regimengt at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * 20th (Service) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (Wearside) – ''raised on 10 July 1915 by the Mayor and Recruiting Committee of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

''James, p. 101.DLI at Long, Long Trail.
/ref>

Training

During September and October the infantry brigades and divisional troops of 41st Division moved into the Aldershot Training Area and training began in earnest: musketry and route marches, and training of specialists such as signallers, Lewis gunners and '

bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircraf ...

'. In February 1916 the division was concentrated in Aldershot for final intensive training, with 123rd Bde in Wellington Lines. Entrainment for the embarkation ports began on 1 May 1916 and the division completed its disembarkation in France on 6 May. By 8 May it had concentrated between

Hazebrouck Hazebrouck (, nl, Hazebroek, , vls, Oazebroeke) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1 ...

and Bailleul, joining the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front. Once in France the brigades were joined by their specialist troops: * 123rd Machine Gun Company – ''landed at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

17 June 1916; joined 123rd Bde on 20 June'' * 123rd Trench Mortar Battery – ''formed in the brigade by 15 June''

Service

123rd Brigade was then engaged in the following operations:

1916

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 ...

: **

Battle of Flers–Courcelette The Battle of Flers–Courcelette (, 15 to 22 September 1916) was fought during the Battle of the Somme in France, by the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth Army and Reserve Army, against the German 1st Army, during the First World War ...

(15–17 September) ** Battle of the Transloy Ridges (4–10 October)

1917

* Battle of Messines (7–14 June) * Flanders Offensive: **

Battle of Pilckem Ridge The Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 July – 2 August 1917) was the opening attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The British Fifth Army, supported by the Second Army on the southern flank and the French (First Army) on the n ...

(31 July–2 August) **

Battle of the Menin Road Ridge The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, sometimes called "Battle of the Menin Road", was the third British general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle took place from 20 to 25 September 1917, in the Ypres Salient i ...

(20–22 September) ** Operations on the Flanders Coast (26 September–11 November)

Italy

On 7 November 1917 41st Division was informed that it was to be transferred to the Italian Front, and entrainment began on 12 November. The division completed its concentration in the

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

area by 18 November. It served in Italy through the winter of 1917–18, then on 28 February 1918 it concentrated in the

Camposampiero Camposampiero is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Padua, Veneto, northern Italy. The 15th-century Santuario del Noce, a Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to Anthony of Padua, is located in Camposampiero. Twin towns – sister cities Campos ...

entraining area to return to the Western Front. On 9 March the division completed detrainment at

Doullens Doullens (; pcd, Dourlin; former nl, Dorland) is a commune in the Somme department, Hauts-de-France, France. Its inhabitants are called ''Doullennais'' and ''Doullennaises''. Geography Doullens is situated on the N25 road, in the northern ...

and Mondicourt. On arrival on the Western Front, the brigades adopted the new 3-battalion organisation of the BEF, which resulted in 20th DLI being transferred to 124th Bde; 123rd MG Company also left to join a new 41st 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 ...

1918

123rd Brigade then took part in the following operations: * German spring offensive: ** Battle of St Quentin (22–23 March) **

First Battle of Bapaume Operation Michael was a major German Army (German Empire), German Offensive (military), 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 vi ...

(24–25 March) ** Third Battle of Arras (28 March) ** Battle of the Lys (9–29 April) *

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

: **

Fifth Battle of Ypres The Fifth Battle of Ypres, also called the Advance in Flanders and the Battle of the Peaks of Flanders (french: Bataille des Crêtes de Flandres) is an informal name used to identify a series of World War I battles in northern France and southe ...

(28 September–2 October) ** Battle of Courtrai (14–19 October) ** Ooteghem (25 October) ** Passage of the

Schelde The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

: On 6 November 11th Queen's tried to get a party across the flooded River Schelde, but the boat sank and the men had to be rescued from the enemy-held bank. On the evening of 8 November, in 123rd Bde's final operation before 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 ...

, a 40-strong patrol from 11th Queen's, assisted by 237th (Reading) Field Company,

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 ...

, got across in a collapsible boat that could only carry eight men at a time. The patrol found the village of Meersche clear of the enemy, and the whole battalion was ordered to cross. With only the single boat it took until 03.00 next morning, but 11th Queen's then pushed on until midday when it was relieved by the rest of 123rd Bde to continue the final pursuit of the Germans.

Post-Armistice

After hostilities ended, 41st Division was selected to form part of the occupation forces in Germany (the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

). It began its advance to the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

on 18 November. It was

billeted A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...

on the left bank of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

from 21 December to 6 January 1919, when entrainment began for Germany. On 12 January 41st Division took over the left sector of the

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

bridgehead. On 15 March 1919 41st Division was renamed London Division and 123rd Bde was now composed of battalions of the Queen's Regiment associated with South London. As

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

of the wartime veterans progressed, the battalions were kept up to strength by absorbing former training battalions shipped from England: Rinaldi.
/ref> * 2/4th Battalion, Queen's – ''joined from 34th Division; absorbed 53rd (Service) Battalion, Queen's, in April 1919'' * 10th (Service) Battalion, Queen's (Battersea) – ''joined from 124th Bde; absorbed 51st (Service) Battalion, Queen's, on 1 April 1919'' * 11th (Service) Battalion, Queen's (Lambeth) – ''absorbed 52nd (Service) Battalion, Queen's, on 17 April 1919'' London Division and its brigades were disbanded in October 1919. 102nd Brigade was not reformed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Joslen, p. 310.

Commanders

The following officers commanded 123rd Bde: * Brig-Gen T.P.B. Ternan (to original 123rd Bde) 28 December 1914 * Brig-Gen C.S. Davidson, 30 September 1915 * Brig-Gen C.W.E. Gordon, 23 September 1916, killed 23 July 1917 * Brig-Gen W.F. Clemson, temporary, 24 July 1917 * Brig-Gen E. Pearce Serocold, 3 August 1917 * Brig-Gen M. Kemp-Welch, 23 June 1918

Notes

References

* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3b: New Army Divisions (30–41) and 63rd (R.N.) Division'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1939/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-41-X. * Brig-Gen Sir

James E. Edmonds Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General Sir James Edward Edmonds (25 December 1861 – 2 August 1956) was an commissioned officer, officer of the Royal Engineers in the late-Victorian era British Army who worked in the Intelligence Corps ...

& Lt-Col R. Maxwell-Hyslop, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1918'', Vol V, ''26th September–11th November, The Advance to Victory'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1947/Imperial War Museum and Battery Press, 1993, ISBN 1-870423-06-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2021, ISBN 978-1-78331-624-3. * Brig E.A. James, ''British Regiments 1914–18'', London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9. * Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, ''Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/London: London Stamp Exchange, 1990, ISBN 0-948130-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-843424-74-6. *

Martin Middlebrook Martin Middlebrook (born 1932) is an England, English military historian and author. Education and military service Middlebrook was educated at various schools, including Ratcliffe College, Leicester. He entered National Service in 1950, was com ...

, ''The First Day on the Somme, 1 July 1916'', London: Allen Lane 1971/Fontana, 1975, ISBN 0-00-633626-4.
Richard A. Rinaldi, ''The Original British Army of the Rhine'', 2006.
* Lt-Col J. Shakespear, ''The Thirty-Fourth Division: The Story of its Career from Ripon to the Rhine 1915–1919'', London: Witherby, 1921/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 1998, ISBN 978-1-84342050-7. * ''Instructions Issued by The War Office During August, 1914'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1916 * ''Instructions Issued by The War Office During April, 1915'', London: HM Stationery Office. * ''Instructions Issued by The War Office During September, 1915'', London: HM Stationery Office. * Col H.C. Wylly, ''History of the Queen's Royal (West Surrey) Regiment in the Great War'', Aldershot: Gale & Polden, 1925/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 978-1-84342539-7.

External sources

Chris Baker, ''The Long, Long Trail''
{{refend Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Pals Brigades of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919