The 11th (Northern) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, raised from men who had volunteered for Lord Kitchener's

New Armies The New Armies (Traditional Chinese: 新軍, Simplified Chinese: 新军; Pinyin: Xīnjūn, Manchu: ''Ice cooha''), more fully called the Newly Created Army ( ''Xinjian Lujun''Also translated as "Newly Established Army" ()), was the modernised a ...

. The division fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and on 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 ...

. The division's insignia was an ankh or ankhus.

History

The division came into existence on 21 August 1914 under Army Order No. 324, which authorised the formation of the first six new divisions of Kitchener's Army. The division was composed of early wartime volunteers and assembled at Belton Park near Grantham. By mid-1915, the recruits were judged to be ready for active service, and the division sailed for the Mediterranean in June-July 1915. As part of the Suvla Bay landing force, it reinforced the British expeditionary force at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

, on 7 August. The 6th (Service) Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales Own (Yorkshire Regiment) (32nd Brigade) was the first "Kitchener unit" to be involved in a major offensive operation of the war. Its action at Lala Baba Hill, on 7 August, was costly: all but three of its officers were killed, including the CO, Colonel E. H. Chapman, were killed. Afterwards the hill was known to the Allies as York Hill. The division continued to serve at Gallipoli, suffering high casualties, until the evacuation of Suvla in December 1915. It then spent a period of time in Egypt, guarding the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. The division was transferred to France in mid-1916 and saw action 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 ...

. It remained on the

until the armistice of 11 November 1918. On 28 June 1919, exactly five years since the

assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range whil ...

, the 11th (Northern) Division was officially disbanded, having sustained more than 32,100 casualties during the war.

Order of battle

The division comprised the following units and formations:Becke, pp. 19–25. ; 32nd Brigade : The British Army on the Western Front, 1914-1918 Q8460

* 9th Battalion, Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) – ''absorbed 1/1st Yorkshire Hussars October 1917 and became 9th (Yorkshire Hussars) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment'' * 6th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment – ''became divisional pioneers 18 January 1915'' * 6th Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales Own (Yorkshire Regiment) (Green Howards) – ''absorbed into 2nd Battalion 16 May 1918'' * 8th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) – ''from 34 Bde 18 January 1915; disbanded and drafted February 1918'' * 6th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment * 2nd Battalion, Green Howards – ''joined from 30th Division 14 May 1918'' * 32nd Brigade Machine Gun Company – ''formed March 1916; joined 11th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (MGC), 28 February 1918'' * 32nd Brigade Trench Mortar Battery – ''joined July 1917'' ; 33rd Brigade : * 6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment * 6th Battalion, Border Regiment – ''disbanded and drafted February 1918'' * 7th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment * 9th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters ( Nottingham and Derbyshire Regiment) * 5th Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment– ''from Army Troops; to 34 Bde 18 January 1915'' * 33rd Brigade Machine Gun Company – ''formed March 1916; joined 11th Battalion MGC 28 February 1918 '' * 33rd Brigade Trench Mortar Battery – ''joined July 1917'' ; 34th Brigade : * 8th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers * 9th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers – ''disbanded and drafted February 1918'' * 8th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment – ''to 32 Bde 18 January 1915'' * 11th Battalion, Manchester Regiment * 5th Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment – ''from 33 Bde 18 January 1915'' * 34th Brigade Machine Gun Company – ''formed March 1916; joined 11th Battalion MGC 28 February 1918 '' * 34th Brigade Trench Mortar Battery – ''joined July 1917'' ; 1/2nd South-Western Mounted Brigade (Serving dismounted) – ''attached at Suvla 9 October to 15 November 1915'' * 1/1st Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry *

1/1st Royal North Devon Yeomanry The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1798, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal ...

1/1st West Somerset Yeomanry The West Somerset Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1794, it participated in the Second Boer War and World War I before being converted to an artillery regiment. It served in World War II (as two field artille ...

* 1/2nd South-Western Signal Troop,

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 ...

(RE) * 1/2nd South-Western Field Ambulance,

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 ...

(RAMC) ; Divisional Mounted Troops: * 11th Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps – ''formed January–March 1915; to VI Corps Cyclist Battalion 12 July 1916'' * B Squadron, 1/1st Hertfordshire Yeomanry – ''joined 4 April 1916 in Egypt; to VI Corps in France 12 July 1916'' ; Divisional Royal Artillery: * LVIII 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) ** 184, 185, 186 Batteries – ''6-gun batteries reorganised by February 1915 as 4-gun batteries designated A, B, C and D'' ** LVIII Brigade Ammunition Column (BAC) * LIX Brigade, RFA ** 187, 188, 189 Batteries – ''A, B, C, D by February 1915'' ** LIX BAC * LX Brigade, RFA ** 190, 191, 192 Batteries – ''A, B, C, D by February 1915'' ** LX BAC * LXI (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA – ''remained in England when division went to Gallipoli; later joined

Guards Division The Guards Division is an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Guards reserve battalion. The Guards Division is responsible for providing two b ...

'' ** 193 (H), 194 (H), 195 (H) Batteries – ''A, B, C, D by February 1915'' ** LIX (H) BAC * 11th Divisional Ammunition Column – ''remained in England when division went to Gallipoli'' * 1st Hull Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and Ammunition Column – ''redesignated 11th (Hull) Heavy Battery May 1915; remained in England when division went to Gallipoli; later went to

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

'' ''Also attached'': * LV Brigade, RFA – ''attached from

10th (Irish) Division The 10th (Irish) Division, was one of the first of Kitchener's New Army K1 Army Group divisions (formed from Kitchener's 'first hundred thousand' new volunteers), authorized on 21 August 1914, after the outbreak of the Great War. It included b ...

at Suvla until the evacuation'' * LVII (H) Brigade, RFA – ''attached from 10th (Irish) Division at Suvla until the evacuation'' * IV Lowland (H) Brigade, RFA (TF) – ''attached from 52nd (Lowland) Division at Suvla until the evacuation'' * IV Highland (Mountain) Brigade, RGA (TF) – ''attached from 29th Division at Suvla until the evacuation'' * 10th Heavy Battery, RGA – ''attached from 10th (Irish) Division at Suvla until the evacuation'' * 91st Heavy Battery, RGA – ''attached in England; detached at Gallipoli and landed at Cape Helles'' ''After 1916 reorganisations''Farndale, p. 134. * LVIII Brigade, RFA ** A, B, C Batteries ** D Battery – ''became A (H) Battery, CXXXIII (H) Brigade 26 April 1916'' * LIX Brigade, RFA ** A, B, C Batteries ** D Battery – ''became B (H) Battery, CXXXIII (H) Brigade 26 April 1916'' * LX Brigade, RFA – ''broken up 25 January 1917'' ** A, B, C Batteries ** D Battery – ''became CXXXIII BAC 26 April 1916'' * CXXXIII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA – ''formed in 26 April 1916 as 'The Howitzer Brigade, RFA', renamed 31 May 1916; broken up between LVIII and LIX Brigades November–December 1916'' ** A (H) Battery – ''from LVIII Brigade 26 April 1916'' ** B (H) Battery – ''from LIX Brigade 26 April 1916'' ** CXXXIII BAC – ''from LX Brigade 26 April; became C (H) Battery 22 June; broken up between A (H) and B (H) Batteries 29 August 1916'' ** 501 (H) Battery – ''joined 15, left 27 November 1916'' * CXVIII (H) Brigade, RFA – ''joined from

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

15 July 1916 and broken up'' ** 458 (H) Battery – ''became D (H) Battery, LVIII Brigade'' ** 459 (H) Battery – ''became D (H) Battery, LIX Brigade'' ** 461 (H) Battery – ''became D (H) Battery, LX Brigade'' * X/11, Y/11, Z/11 Medium Trench Mortar Batteries – ''joined 9 August 1916'' * 11th Divisional Ammunition Column – ''rejoined in France 7 July 1916 and absorbed BACs'' ''After Winter 1916–17 reorganisation'' * LVIII Brigade, RFA ** A, B, C, D (H) Batteries * LIX Brigade, RFA ** A, B, C, D (H) Batteries * X/11 Medium Trench Mortar Battery * Y/11 Medium Trench Mortar Battery * Z/11 Medium Trench Mortar Battery – ''absorbed by X/11 and Y/11 on 3 February 1918'' * V/11 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery – ''left February 1918'' ;Divisional

: * 67th Field Company, RE * 68th Field Company, RE * 68th Field Company, RE – ''joined from 21st Division 7 February 1915'' * 11th Divisional Signal Company, RE ;Divisional Pioneers : * 6th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment ;Divisional Machine Gun Troops: * 11 Divisional Motor Machine Gun Company – ''joined 9 June 1915; remained in England when division went to Gallipoli'' * 250th Machine Gun Company, MGC - ''joined 16 November 1917'' * 11th Battalion, MGC – ''formed 28 February 1918'' ** 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 250th MG Companies ;Divisional Medical Services: * 33rd Field Ambulance,

(RAMC) * 34th Field Ambulance, RAMC * 35th Field Ambulance, RAMC * 22nd 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 ...

* 21st Sanitary Section – ''joined in Egypt; joined IV Corps 9 December 1916'' ;Divisional Transport: * 11th Divisional Train, Army Service Corps (ASC) – ''remained in England when division went to Gallipoli; later joined 26th Division in Salonika''Young, Annex Q. ** 112th, 113th, 114th 115th Companies, ASC * 11 Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop – ''remained in England when division went to Gallipoli and absorbed into Divisional Train'' * 11th Divisional Train, ASC – ''former 53rd (Welsh) Divisional Train left in England; joined 6 July 1916'' ** 479th, 480th, 481st, 482nd Companies, ASC

Commanders

The following officers served as General Officer Commanding: * Major General Frederick Hammersley ''(August 1914 – August 1915)'' * Major General Sir Edward Fanshawe ''(August 1915 – July 1916)'' * Lieutenant General Sir Charles Woollcombe ''(July–December 1916)'' * Brigadier-General J. Erskine (acting) ''(December 1916)'' * Major General Archibald Ritchie (wounded in action) ''(December 1916 – May 1917)'' * Major General Henry Davies (wounded in action) ''(May 1917 – September 1918)'' * Brigadier General Sir Ormonde Winter (acting) ''(September 1918)'' * Major-General H. Davies ''(September–October 1918)''

Battles

The division took part in the following actions: Gallipoli Campaign
1915 *Battle of Suvla (in IX Corps) ** Landing at Suvla Bay, 6–15 August ** Capture of Karakol Dagh (34th Bde), 7 August ** Battle of Scimitar Hill, 21 August ** Attack on 'W' Hills, 21 August ** Evacuation of Suvla, night 19/20 December

1916 *

(in

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

Reserve Army A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve f ...

) ** Capture of the Wonder Work (32nd Bde) 14 September ** Battle of Flers–Courcelette, 15–22 September **

Battle of Thiepval Ridge The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive of the Reserve Army (Lieutenant General Hubert Gough), during the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was intended to benefit from the Four ...

, 26–28 September 1917 * Operations on the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.IV Corps, Fifth Army) *

Battle of Messines Battle of Messines may refer to: *Battle of Messines (1914) *Battle of Messines (1917) The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front, near the village of ...

, 9–14 June (in IX Corps, Second Army) * Third Battle of Ypres (in XVIII Corps, Fifth Army) ** Battle of Langemarck, 16–18 August ** Fighting around St Julien, 19, 22 & 27 August ** Battle of Polygon Wood, 26 September–3 October ** Battle of Broodseinde, 4 October **

Battle of Poelcappelle The Battle of Poelcappelle was fought in Flanders, Belgium, on 9 October 1917 by the British Second Army and Fifth Army against the German 4th Army, during the First World War. The battle marked the end of the string of highly successful Briti ...

, 9 October 1918 *

Second Battle of Arras The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British Empire, British offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German Empi ...

(in XXII Corps, First Army) ** Battle of the Scarpe, 30 August ** Battle of the Drocourt-Quéant Line, 2–3 September * Battles of the Hindenburg Line (in

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December ...

, First Army) ** Battle of the Canal du Nord, 27 September–1 October ** Battle of Cambrai, 8–9 September ** Pursuit to the

Selle Selle may refer to: * Selle (Scheldt tributary), the name of a river in Nord, France * Selle (Somme tributary), the name of a river in Picardy, France * Pic la Selle, a mountain in Haiti * La Selle-Guerchaise, a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine depa ...

, 9–12 October * The Final Advance in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

(in XXII Corps, First Army) ** Battle of the Sambre, 4 November ** Passage of the Grande Honnelle, 5–7 November

Footnotes

References

* * Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3a: New Army Divisions (9–26)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1938/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Rupert Drake, ''The Road to Lindi: Hull Boys in Africa: The 1st (Hull) Heavy Battery Royal Garrison Artillery in East Africa and France 1914–1919'', Brighton: Reveille Press, 2013, . * Gen Sir Martin Farndale, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Western Front 1914–18'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1986, . * * Lt-Col Michael Young, ''Army Service Corps 1902–1918'', Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 2000, .

External links

The Long, Long Trail

{{DEFAULTSORT:11 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 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom