The 18th (Eastern) 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 ...

formed in September 1914 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 ...

as part of the K2 Army Group, part of 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 ...

. From its creation the division trained in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 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 ...

in the latter half of 1916, the 18th Division was commanded by

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Ivor Maxse General Sir Frederick Ivor Maxse, (22 December 1862 – 28 January 1958) was a senior British Army officer who fought during the First World War, best known for his innovative and effective training methods. Early life Ivor Maxse was the eldest ...

Formation history

The division was formed in September 1914 during the

as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's

. It was formed in the

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

area but re-located to

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

in May 1915. Major-General

took command in October 1914.

Order of battle

The following units served in the division. ; 53rd Brigade : * 10th (Service) Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

* 8th (Service) Battalion,

Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

(''disbanded February 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion,

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

(''disbanded February 1918'') * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

(''disbanded February 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) (''joined February 1918'') * 7th (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' ...

(''joined from 55th Brigade February 1918'') *53rd Machine Gun Company (''joined 13 February 1916, left to move into 18th MG Battalion 16 February 1918'') *53rd Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 17 June 1916'') ; 54th Brigade : *10th (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 wars ...

(''left October 1914'') * 11th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

(''joined November 1914'') * 12th (Service) Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) (''disbanded February 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion,

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 ...

(''reformed as divisional pioneers February 1915'') * 7th (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (''joined February 1915 merged with 2nd Battalion in May 1918'') * 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (''joined May 1918'') *54th Machine Gun Company (''joined 13 February 1916, left to move into 18th MG Battalion 16 February 1918'') *54th Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 1 June 1916'') ; 55th Brigade : * 7th (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 Ar ...

* 7th (Service) Battalion, Buffs (East Kent Regiment) * 8th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment * 7th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (''transferred to 53rd Brigade February 1918'') *55th Machine Gun Company (''joined 13 February 1916, left to move into 18th MG Battalion 16 February 1918'') *55th Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 17 June 1916'') Divisional Troops *6th (Service) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment (''left November 1914'') *10th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (''joined October 1914, left March 1915'') *8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (''joined as Pioneer Battalion in February 1915 from 54th Brigade'') *15th Motor Machine Gun Battery (''joined 22 July 1915, left 4 May 1916'') *18th 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 tanks ...

(M.G.C.) (''formed 16 February 1918 absorbing brigade MG companies'') *Divisional Mounted Troops **C Sqn,

Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry The Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army with its origins in 1798. The regiment provided troops for the Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War and served on the Western Front in World War I ...

(''joined 15 June 1915, left 10 May 1916'') **18th 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 ...

(''formed 8 December 1914, left 21 May 1916'') *18th Divisional Train Army Service Corps **150th, 151st, 152nd and 153rd Companies *30th 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 ...

*219th Divisional Employment Company (''joined 3 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 ...

*LXXXII 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 ...

(R.F.A.) *LXXXIII Brigade, R.F.A. *LXXXIV Brigade, R.F.A. (''left 25 January 1917'') *LXXXV (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. (''broken up 3 December 1916'') *18th Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A. *18th Heavy Battery,

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

(''raised with the Division but moved independently to Egypt in October 1915'') *V.18 and W. 18 Heavy Trench Mortar Batteries R.F.A. (''V battery formed 28 April 1916, left for II Corps on 19 February 1918. W battery formed 21 May 1916, but broken up by 26 November 1916'') *X.18, Y.18 and Z.18 Medium Mortar Batteries R.F.A. (''formed 19 June 1916, Z battery broken up 19 February 1918 and distributed to X and Y batteries'')

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 ...

*79th Field Company *80th Field Company *92nd Field Company *18th Divisional Signals Company

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 ...

*54th Field Ambulance *55th Field Ambulance *56th Field Ambulance *35th Sanitary Section (''left 24 March 1917'')

Battles

Battle of the Somme (1916) 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 betw ...

** Battle of Albert ** Capture of Trônes Wood: 14–15 July 1916. **

Battle of Delville Wood The Battle of Delville Wood was a series of engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War, between the armies of the German Empire and the British Empire. Delville Wood , was a thick tangle of trees, chiefly beech and ...

** Battle of Thiepval Ridge ** Battle of the Ancre Heights **

Battle of the Ancre The Battle of the Ancre was fought by the British Fifth Army ( Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough), against the German 1st Army (General Fritz von Below). The Reserve Army had been renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October. The battle was the la ...

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 ...

Battle of Épehy The Battle of Épehy was a battle of the First World War fought on 18 September 1918, involving the British Fourth Army under the command of General Henry Rawlinson against German outpost positions in front of the Hindenburg Line. The village ...

Footnotes

References

External links

The British Army in the Great War: The 18th (Eastern) Division