The 21st 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 during World War I The British Army during the First World War fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, the British Army was made up exclusively of volunteers—as opposed to conscripts—at the beginnin ...

, raised in September 1914 by men volunteering 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 moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in September 1915 and served on the Western Front for the duration of 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's insignia was the "triple-seven".

Unit history

The British Army on the Western Front, 1914-1918 Q9756

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 The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

in September 1915, 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 autumn 1916, the Battle of Arras in April 1917, the

Battle of Passchendaele 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 ...

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 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 ...

(''renamed 12th/13th battalion in August 1917'') * 13th (Service) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (''merged with 12th Northumberland Fusiliers in August 1917'') *

8th (Service) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment The 8th (Service) Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment (8th EYR), was a unit of 'Kitchener's Army' raised shortly after the outbreak of World War I. Following a short period of training it went to the Western Front with other Kitchener battal ...

(''left November 1915'') * 1st Battalion,

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

(''joined November 1915'') * 10th (Service) Battalion,

Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment) The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under variou ...

(''disbanded February 1918'') * 3/4th Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (''joined August 1917 disbanded 11 February 1918'') * 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment (''joined February 1918'') * 62nd Machine Gun Company (''joined 4 March 1916, transferred into 21st MG Battalion 24 February 1918'') * 62nd Trench Mortar Battery (''joined by 16 June 1916'') 63rd Brigade In July 1916 the brigade moved to the 37th Division, swapping with the 110th Brigade. * 8th (Service) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment * 8th (Service) Battalion,

Prince Albert's (Somerset Light Infantry) The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

* 12th (Service) Battalion,

Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...

(''until November 1915'') * 4th Battalion,

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 ...

(''from November 1915'') * 10th (Service) Battalion,

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

* 63rd Machine Gun Company (''joined 4 March 1916'') * 63rd Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 16 June 1916'') 64th Brigade * 9th (Service) Battalion,

King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

* 10th (Service) Battalion, King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) (''disbanded February 1918'') * 14th (Service) Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

(''left November 1915'') * 15th (Service) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry * 1st Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment (''joined November 1915'') * 2nd Battalion,

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...

(''attached 21 to 30 June 1918'') * 64th Machine Gun Company (''joined 4 March 1916, transferred into 21st MG Battalion 24 February 1918'') * 64th Trench Mortar Battery (''joined by 16 June 1916'') 110th Brigade (the Leicester Tigers) In July 1916 the brigade joined from the 37th Division, swapping with the 63rd Brigade. * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

* 7th (Service) Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment * 8th (Service) Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (''leftJune 1918'') * 9th (Service) Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (''disbanded February 1918'') * 1st Battalion,

Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment) The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. The ...

(''from June 1918'') * 110th Machine Gun Company (''transferred into 21st MG Battalion 24 February 1918'') * 110th Trench Mortar Battery Divisional Troops * 14th (Service) Battalion, the Northumberland Fusiliers became Divisional Pioneer Battalion in February 1915 * 13th (Service) Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps (''left April 1915'') * 13th (Service) Battalion,

Rifle Brigade 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 April 1915'') * 237th Machine Gun Company (''joined 17 July 1917, transferred into 21st MG Battalion 24 February 1918'') * 21st Battalion Machine Gun Corps (''formed 24 February 1918'') * Divisional Mounted Troops ** A Sqn,

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 January 1915, left May 1916'') * 21st 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 February 1915, left 10 May 1916'') * 21st Divisional Train Army Service Corps ** 182nd, 183rd, 184th and 185th Companies * 33rd 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 ...

* 222nd Divisional Employment Company (''joined 30 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 ...

* XCIV Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (R.F.A.) * XCV Brigade, R.F.A. * XCVI Brigade, R.F.A. (''broken up 13 January 1917'') * XCVII (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A (''broken up 28–31 August 1916'') * 21st Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A. * 21st Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery (R.G.A.) (''transferred to XXIII Heavy Artillery Brigade on 21 August 1915'') * V.21 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery R.F.A. (''joined 1 June 1916, left February 1918'') * W.21 Medium Mortar Battery R.F.A. (''joined May, left August 1916'') * X.21, Y.21 and Z.21 Medium Mortar Batteries R.F.A. 4 x 6-inch mortars each (''joined 1–13 March 1916; in February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch mortars each'')

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 ...

* 85th Field Company (''left January 1915'') * 86th Field Company (''left February 1915'') * 97th Field Company * 98th Field Company * 126th Field Company (''joined March 1915'') * 21st 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 ...

* 63rd Field Ambulance * 64th Field Ambulance * 65th Field Ambulance * 38th Sanitary Section (''left 1 April 1917'')

Commanders

During its existence, 21st Division had the following commanders: * 16 September 1914 Lt Gen Edward Hutton * 11 April 1915 Major-General

George Forestier-Walker Major-General Sir George Townshend Forestier-Walker Order of the Bath, KCB (2 August 1866 – 23 January 1939) was a senior British Army officer during World War I. Early life and education Forestier-Walker was born in Camberley, the third son ...

* 18 November 1915 Major-General

Claud Jacob Field Marshal Sir Claud William Jacob, (21 November 1863 – 2 June 1948) was a British Indian Army officer. He served in the First World War as commander of the Dehra Dun Brigade, as General Officer Commanding 21st Division and as General Offi ...

(wounded, 4 March 1916) * 4 March 1916 Brig.-General G.M. Gloster (temporary) * 1 April 1916 Major-General Claud Jacob * 22 May 1916 Major-General David Campbell

References

Bibliography

External links

The British Army in the Great War: The 21st Division

21st division 1914–18

21st Infantry Division on the Western Front 1914–1918: A Case Study in Tactical Evolution, Kathryn Snowden (2001)
{{DEFAULTSORT:21 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