The British Army on the Western Front, 1914-1918 Q8699

The 58th (2/1st London) 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 created in 1915 as part of the massive expansion 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 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 ...

. It was a 2nd Line

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 ...

formation raised as a duplicate of the 56th (1/1st London) Division. After training in Britain, the division joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) 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 ...

in 1917. It saw action at the battles of

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

and Passchedaele in 1917 and the German spring offensive in 1918. It then took part in the Battle of Amiens and the final Allied

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 ...

of the war. The division was recreated during the

Second World War 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 ...

, as an imaginary deception formation.

Origin

The formation of reserve or 2nd Line TF units was authorised by 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 ...

on 31 August 1914. At first they comprised those members of the pre-war parent unit who had not volunteered for or were unfit for overseas service, who trained the flood of volunteers who came forward. Later, the 2nd Line formations were also prepared for overseas service and 3rd Line units were formed to provide replacements. In the case of the 2/1st London Division, this process began early, when the 2/1st London Brigade went to Malta in December 1914 to relieve its 1st Line counterpart that had been despatched there on the outbreak of war. It was replaced in the 2/1st London Division by its 3rd Line (the battalions were renumbered when the original 2nd Line battalions were disbanded in 1916). The artillery, engineers and two infantry battalions of the 1/1st London Division had not gone overseas, and these were attached to the 2/1st Division for the first year of its existence.Becke, pp. 9–15.

Training

In August 1915, the division concentrated around

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

in Eastern England and received the number 58, its brigades being numbered 173–5. Here it formed part of First Army in Central Force. In September 1915 the 1st Line artillery brigades went to France and were replaced by the division's own 2nd Line units. In the Spring of 1916 the division took over a sector of the East Coast defences. Then in July 1916 it went to

Sutton Veny Sutton Veny is a village and civil parish in the Wylye valley, to the southeast of the town of Warminster in Wiltshire, England; the village is about from Warminster town centre. 'Sutton' means 'south farmstead' in relation to Norton Bavant, on ...

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 ...

for final training before deploying overseas. The artillery were now equipped with modern

18-pounder The Ordnance QF 18-pounder,British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately or simply 18-pounder gun, was the standard British Empire field gun of the First World War ...

field guns and 4.5-inch howitzers while the infantry had been issued with the .303 Lee-Enfield service rifle in place of the .256-in Japanese Ariska rifles with which they had done their early training. The division began embarking for France on 20 January 1917 and had concentrated by 8 February. It then served for the remainder of the war on the

Order of battle

The division had the following composition during the war:

2/1st London Brigade

''Brigade left to relieve 1/1st London Brigade at Malta between December 1914 and February 1915'' * 2/1st (City of London) Battalion,

London Regiment London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army: * London Regiment (1908–1938) The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). The ...

(

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 ...

) * 2/2nd (City of London) Bn, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) * 2/3rd (City of London) Bn, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) * 2/4th (City of London) Bn, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers)

173rd (3/1st London) Brigade

''Formed in April 1915'' * 3/1st (City of London) Bn, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) – ''became 2/1st Bn in June 1916; disbanded January 1918 and drafted to 2/2nd, 2/3rd, 2/4th and 1/4th Bns'' * 3/2nd (City of London) Bn, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) – ''became 2/2nd Bn in June 1916'' * 3/3rd (City of London) Bn, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) – ''became 2/3rd Bn in June 1916; amalgamated with 1/3rd Bn from 56th (1/1st London) Division January 1918 and became 3rd Bn'' * 3/4th (City of London) Bn, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) – ''became 2/4th Bn in June 1916; absorbed by 2/2nd Bn September 1918'' * 2/24th (County of London) Bn, London Regiment (The Queen's) – ''joined September 1918 from

60th (2/2nd London) Division The 60th (2/2nd London) Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised during the First World War. It was the second line-formation of the 47th (1/2nd London) Division, and was the second of two such Territorial Force divisions for ...

in Palestine'' * 214th Coy,

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 ...

MGC – ''joined March 1917; to 58th Bn, MGC, March 1918'' * 173rd Trench Mortar Battery (TMB) – ''formed before embarkation in January 1917''

174th (2/2nd London) Brigade

* 2/5th (City of London) Bn, London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade) – ''disbanded January 1918 and drafted to 1/18th, 1/28th and 2/10th Bns'' * 2/6th (City of London) Bn, London Regiment ( City of London Rifles) – ''amalgamated with 1/6th Bn from

47th (1/2nd London) Division The 47th (1/2nd London) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. Formation The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Res ...

January 1918 and became 6th Bn'' * 2/7th (City of London) Bn, London Regiment – ''amalgamated with 1/7th Bn from 47th (1/2nd London) Division January 1918 and became 7th Bn'' * 2/8th (City of London) Bn, London Regiment ( Post Office Rifles) – ''amalgamated with 1/8th Bn from 47th (1/2nd London) Division January 1918 and became 8th Bn'' * 198th Coy, MGC – ''joined from

12th (Eastern) Division The 12th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division raised by the British Army during the First World War from men volunteering for Kitchener's New Armies. The division saw service in the trenches of the Western Front from June 1915 to the e ...

March 1917; to 58th Bn, MGC, March 1918'' * 174th TMB – ''formed before embarkation in January 1917''

175th (2/3rd London) Brigade

* 2/9th (County of London) Bn, London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles) – ''amalgamated with 1/9th Bn from 56th (1/1st London) Division January 1918 and became 9th Bn'' * 2/10th (County of London) Bn, London Regiment (Hackney) * 2/11th (County of London) Bn, London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles) – ''disbanded January 1918 and drafted to 1/20th, 1/21st and 1/22nd Bns'' * 2/12th (County of London) Bn, London Regiment (The Rangers) – ''amalgamated with 1/12th Bn from 56th (1/1st London) Division January 1918 and became 12th Bn'' * 44th Coy, MGC – ''attached from

15th (Scottish) Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served in the First World War. The 15th (Scottish) Division was formed from men volunteering for Kitchener's Army, and served from 1915 to 1918 on the West ...

23 February–22 March 1917'' * 215th Coy, MGC – ''joined March 1917; to 58th Bn, MGC, March 1918'' * 175th TMB – ''formed before embarkation in January 1917''

Support Troops

Mounted Troops * Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry (less A Squadron) – ''left early 1915'' * A Squadron, 1/ Hampshire Carabiniers – ''joined March 1916, left January 1917'' * Wessex Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps – ''remained in UK'' * 1/1st Kent Cyclist Bn, ACC – ''joined October, left December 1915'' Artillery * 1/I City of London 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) – ''joined from 1st London Division; left September 1915'' * 1/II County of London Brigade, RFA – ''joined from 1st London Division; left September 1915'' * 1/III County of London Brigade, RFA – ''joined from 1st London Division; left September 1915'' * 1/IV County of London (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA – ''joined from 1st London Division; left September 1915'' * CCXC (2/I City of London) Brigade, RFA – ''joined September 1915'' * CCXCI (2/II County of London) Brigade, RFA – ''joined September 1915'' * CCXCIII (2/III County of London) Brigade, RFA – ''joined September 1915; left on arrival in France'' ** 1/Glamorganshire Royal Horse Artillery ( RHA) – ''joined August 1916'' ** 1/Shropshire RHA – ''joined August 1916'' * 2/IV County of London (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA – ''joined September 1915; broken up between 2/I and 2/II Bdes in July 1916'' * 1/1st London 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) ...

(RGA) – ''joined from 1st London Division; left 11 February 1916'' * 2/1st London Heavy Battery, RGA – ''joined September 1915; remained in UK'' * 58th Divisional Trench Mortar Brigade – ''formed December 1916 from Shropshire and Glamorgan RHA Ammunition Columns and other volunteers'' ** V.58 Heavy TMB ** X.58 Medium TMB ** Y.58 Medium TMB ** Z.58 Medium TMB * 58th (2/1st London) Divisional Ammunition Column, RFA 58th Divisional Engineers * 2/1st London 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 ...

(RE) – ''rejoined 56th (1st London) Division February 1916'' * 2/2nd London Field Co, RE – ''rejoined 56th (1st London) Division February 1916'' * 511th (1/5th London) Field Co, RE – ''joined November 1915'' * 503rd (2/1st Wessex) Field Co, RE – ''joined from 45th (2nd Wessex) Division February 1916'' * 504th (2/2nd Wessex) Field Co, RE – ''joined from 45th (2nd Wessex) Division February 1916'' * 1/1st London Signal Co, RE – ''rejoined 56th (1st London) Division February 1916'' * 58th (2/1st Wessex) Signal Co, RE – ''joined from 45th (2nd Wessex) Division February 1916'' Pioneers * 4th Bn

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 ...

– ''joined February 1918 from 33rd Division'' Machine Guns * 206th Co, MGC – ''joined March 1917'' * 58th Bn, MGC – ''formed March 1918 from 214th, 198th, 215th and 206th Cos'' * 100th (

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

& South Nottinghamshire Yeomanry) Bn, MGC – ''attached 7–25 September 1918'' Medical * 2/1st London 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) – ''rejoined 56th (1st London) Division February 1916'' * 2/2nd London Field Ambulance, RAMC – ''rejoined 56th (1st London) Division February 1916'' * 2/3rd London Field Ambulance, RAMC – ''rejoined 56th (1st London) Division February 1916'' * 2/1st Home Counties Field Ambulance, RAMC – ''joined from

67th (2nd Home Counties) Division The 2nd Home Counties Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Force division of the British Army in World War I. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 44th (Home Counties) Division in November 1914. As the name suggests, the division recruit ...

February 1916'' * 2/2nd Home Counties Field Ambulance, RAMC – ''joined from 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division February 1916'' * 2/3rd Home Counties Field Ambulance, RAMC – ''joined from 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division February 1916'' * 58th Sanitary Section – ''left to take over No 8 Sanitary Area,

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars *VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army ...

, 30 March 1917'' Veterinary * 58th (2/1st London) 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 ...

– ''joined November 1915'' Labour * 249th Divisional Employment Co, Labour Corps – ''formed June 1917'' Supply * 58th (2/1st London) Divisional Train, Army Service Corps (ASC) ** 509th Horse Transport Co, ASC ** 510th Horse Transport Co, ASC ** 511th Horse Transport Co, ASC ** 512th Horse Transport Co, ASC Attached * 1/10th (County of London) Bn, London Regiment (Paddington Rifles) – ''joined from 1st London Division; left April 1915'' * 1/11th (County of London) Bn, London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles) – ''joined from 1st London Division; left April 1915''

Actions

The division was engaged in the following actions: 1917 * German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line (17–28 March) * Battle of Arras ** 2nd Battle of Bullecourt (4–17 May) – ''175 Bde with 2nd Australian Division, 173 Bde with 5th Australian Division'' * Actions of the Hindenburg Line (20 May–16 June) *

3rd 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 the Menin Road Ridge (20–25 September) ** Battle of Polygon Wood (26–27 September) ** Second Battle of Passchendaele (26 October– 10 November) 1918 * German spring offensive (21 March–3 April) ** Battle of St Quentin (21–23 March) **

Battle of the Avre The Battle of the Avre (4–5 April 1918), part of the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, constituted the final German attack towards Amiens in World War I. It was the point at which the Germans got the closest to Amiens. It was fought between ...

(4 April) – ''6th and 7th Bn Londons attached to

18th (Eastern) Division The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England u ...

'' ** Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (24–25 April) * Battle of Amiens (8–11 August) *

Second Battle of the Somme The Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought during the First World War on the Western Front from late August to early September, in the basin of the River Somme. It was part of a series of successful counter-offensives in response to th ...

** Battle of Albert (22–23 August) ** Second Battle of Bapaume (31 August–1 September) * Battle of Épehy (18 September) * Final advance in Artois and Flanders (2 October–11 November)

Demobilisation

After the Armistice with Germany the division was billeted in the area of Peruwelz in Belgium. Skilled tradesmen and 'pivotal' men began to be demobilised during December 1918, and by March 1919 the division had dwindled to a brigade group concentrated around Leuze as units were reduced to cadres. The artillery left for the UK on 4 April, and the last units left France at the end of June, when 58th Division ceased to exist.

General Officers Commanding

The following officers commanded the division: * Brig-Gen E.J. Cooper, appointed 4 May 1915 * Maj-Gen H.D. Fanshawe, appointed 5 September 1916 * Maj-Gen A.B.E. Cator, appointed 6 October 1916; sick 10 May 1918 * Brig-Gen C.G. Higgins, acting 10–21 May, 10–13 June 1918 * Maj-Gen N.M. Smyth, VC, appointed 21 May; sick 10 June 1918 * Maj-Gen F. W. Ramsay, appointed 13 June 1918

Second World War

The division was 'reformed' as a 'phantom division' created as part of ' Operation Fortitude North' as a replacement for the 3rd Infantry Division which was going south to take part in a D-Day rehearsal. Unlike other 'phantom divisions' the 58th's number was chosen on the basis of

Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. '' ...

reports that showed the Germans believed a 58th Infantry Division existed in the vicinity of Windsor. This misidentification was then supported by simulated radio traffic and by fictitious reports from double agents working for the British Security Service, MI5.Hesketh.Martin, pp. 185-8. As part of the Fourth Army's

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 ...

, the division took the role of a mountain trained assault formation in 'Fortitude North' (HQ: Aberlour) and the role of follow up unit in 'Fortitude South' (HQ: Gravesend). It was disposed of by announcing that the division had moved to Hertfordshire and been disbanded in April 1945.Holt.Levine, pp. 217, 223. The formation's insignia, a stag's face full on a black square was chosen to support the division's fictional back-story, that it had been formed in the Scottish Highlands around cadres from combat experienced Highland regiments. Imaginary formations assigned to the division included the 173rd Infantry Brigade, 174th Infantry Brigade, 175th Infantry Brigade, and support units.

References

Bibliography

* Anon, (2002) ''Short History of the London Rifle Brigade'', Aldershot: Gale & Polden, 1916//Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, . * Barnes, Maj R. Money (1963) ''The Soldiers of London'', London: Seeley Service. * Becke, Maj A.F. ''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,'' London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Godfrey, Capt E.G. ''The "Cast Iron Sixth": A History of the Sixth Battalion London Regiment (The City of London Rifles)'', London: Old Comrades' Association, 1935//Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, . * Grey, Maj W.E. ''2nd City of London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) in the Great War 1914–19'', Westminster: Regimental HQ, 1929/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, * Grimwade, Capt F. Clive ''The War History of the 4th Battalion The London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) 1914–1919'', London: Regimental Headquarters, 1922/Uckfield, Naval & Military press, 2002, . * Harrison, Derek; Duckers, Peter (2006) ''Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery 1908–1920'', Shrewsbury: Kingswood/Shropshire Regimental Museum. * Hesketh, Roger (1999) ''Fortitude: The D-Day Deception Campaign'', St Ermine, . * Holt, Thaddeus (2005) ''The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War'', Phoenix, . * Keeson, Maj C.A. Cuthbert ''The History and Records of Queen Victoria's Rifles 1792–1922'', London: Constable, 1923//Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, * Levine, Joshua (2011) ''Operation Fortitude: The Greatest Hoax of the Second World War'', London: Collins, . * Martin, David (2014) ''Londoners on the Western Front: The 58th (2/1st London) Division in the Great War'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books, . * Martin, Lt-Col H.R. ''Historical Record of the London Regiment'', 2nd Edn (nd) * Planck, C. Digby ''The Shiny Seventh: History of the 7th (City of London) Battalion London Regiment'', London: Old Comrades' Association, 1946/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, .

External links

The Long, Long Trail

{{DEFAULTSORT:58 Infantry Division Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War I Operation Quicksilver (deception plan) formations Military units and formations in London