The Western Frontier Force was raised from

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

troops during the Senussi Campaign from November 1915 to February 1917, under the command of the

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning of ...

(EEF). Orders for the formation of the force were issued on 20 November 1915, under Major-General Alexander Wallace, C.B. The force concentrated at Mersa Matruh on the coast and began operations against the Senussi in late 1915.

Organisational history

In January 1916, during the Band of Oases campaign, a Southern Force was formed under Major-General William Peyton, who replaced Wallace two weeks later and then the force was taken over by Major-General

John Adye Sir John Anthony Adye KCMG (born 24 October 1939) is a former Director of the British signals intelligence agency, GCHQ, a post he held from 1989 to 1996. Career Adye was born to Arthur Francis Capel Adye and Hilda Marjorie (née Elkes). Educat ...

. On 31 March, the Southern Force merged with the Western Force that was then divided into a North-West Section and a South-West Section and Adye was made Adjutant-General of the

(EEF). Peyton was appointed to the command of the Western Frontier Force (WFF) but was reappointed while in England. On 11 May, Lieutenant-General Sir

Bryan Mahon Bryan Thomas Mahon, (2 April 1862 – 29 September 1930) was an Irish general of the British Army, a senator of the short-lived Senate of Southern Ireland, and a member for eight years of the Irish Free State Senate until his death. Biograph ...

took over but got sunstroke and was invalided. Major-General Alister Dallas, in temporary command during Peyton's absence, resumed temporary command until 20 June, when Major-General Sir

Charles Dobell Lieutenant General Sir Charles Macpherson Dobell (22 June 1869 – 17 October 1954) was a Canadian soldier who served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers of the British Army. Career Born in Quebec City, the son of Richard Reid Dobell, an MP, and a g ...

took up the appointment. The North-West and South-West sections were abolished and a Coastal Section formed. On 4 October, Major-General W. A. Watson took over from Dobell, who was sent to command the

Eastern Force Eastern Force was a component in 1916, of the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force which took part in the early Sinai campaign of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War. Commanded by the Canadian Lieutenant-General Charl ...

(EF) in Sinai. On 5 March 1917, the quiet on the frontier led to the WFF being amalgamated with the Delta Command (Brigadier-General

Hugh Casson Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect. He was also active as an interior designer, as an artist, and as a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for t ...

), comprising a Coastal and a Southern section.

Commanders

(All data from Macmunn and Falls: Military Operations Egypt and Palestine, volume I

928 Year 928 ( CMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Rudolph I loses the support of Herbert II, count of Vermandois, who controls the pr ...

* Major-General A. Wallace * Major-General W. E. Peyton * Major-General A. G. Dallas (temp) * Lieutenant-General Sir B. Mahon * Major-General A. G. Dallas (temp) * Major-General Sir C. M. Dobell * Major-General W. A. Watson * Brigadier-General H. G. Casson

Orders of battle

January 1914

(All data from Macmunn and Falls: Military Operations Egypt and Palestine volume I (1928) unless specified. Later information suggested that there were * Derna district ** 3,000 paid regulars ** 6,000 volunteers (unpaid) * Benghazi district ** 3,000 paid regulars ** 5,000 volunteers * Tripoli district ** 600 African soldiers ** 800 Zowai Arabs ** 1,000

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

20 November 1915

(All data from Macmunn and Falls: Military Operations Egypt and Palestine volume I (1928) unless specified.) * Composite Yeomanry Brigade. (

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 ...

Tyndale Biscoe) ** 3 Composite yeomanry regiments from the

2nd Mounted Division The 2nd Mounted Division was a yeomanry ( Territorial Army cavalry) division that served in the First World War. At the outbreak of war it was assigned to defence of the Norfolk coast. In March 1915 it formed a 2nd Line duplicate of itself, the ...

, comprising details from more than twenty regiments ** 1 Composite regiment of

Australian Light Horse Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australia's part-ti ...

, made up of details from Australian light horse brigades **

1/1st Nottinghamshire Royal Horse Artillery The Nottinghamshire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Nottinghamshire in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in the Middle Eastin the Senussi Campaign and the Sin ...

** Ammunition Column * Composite Infantry Brigade (Brigadier-General Lord Lucan) ** 1/6th Battalion Royal Scots (Territorials) ** 2/7th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (Territorials) ** 2/8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (Territorials) **

15th Sikhs The 15th Ludhiana Sikhs was an infantry regiment in the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1846, when they were known as the Regiment of Ludhiana (or the Loodiana Regiment). During the Indian Mutiny they were relied upon to hol ...

* 1 Squadron

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

* Divisional Train from the

1st Australian Division The 1st Division is headquartered in Enoggera, a suburb of Brisbane. The division was first formed in 1914 for service during World War I as a part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). It was initially part of the Australian and New Zealand ...

* Detachment from the Egyptian Army Military Works Department took the place of the

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 ...

, none of the latter being available The composition of the force frequently changed and only settled in the middle of February 1916. Other units attached to the WFF included: *

1st South African Infantry Brigade The South African 1st Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the army of the Union of South Africa during World Wars I and II. During World War I, the Brigade served as a British formation in Egypt and on the Western Front, most famou ...

* 2nd Battalion

New Zealand Rifle Brigade The New Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own), affectionately known as The Dinks, was formed on 1 May 1915 as the third brigade of the New Zealand Division, part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. During the First World War it fough ...

Bikanir Camel Corps The Bikaner Camel Corps was a unit of Imperial Service Troops from India that fought for the Allies in World War I and World War II. The Corps was founded by Maharaja Ganga Singh of the Indian state of Bikaner, as the Ganga Risala after the Bri ...

Imperial Camel Corps The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (ICCB) was a camel-mounted infantry brigade that the British Empire raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East. From a small beginning the unit eventually grew to a brigad ...

* The Duke of Westminster's armoured car unit * Armoured train manned by the Egyptian Artillery *

1/1st North Midland Mounted Brigade The North Midland Mounted Brigade (later numbered as the 22nd Mounted Brigade) was a yeomanry brigade of the British Army, formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War. ...

plus attached artillery * 6th Mounted Brigade (The 6th and 22nd were new titles of the 1/2nd South Midland and 1/1st North Midland brigades.) * 22nd Mounted Brigade * 2nd Dismounted (Yeomanry) Brigade * 3rd Dismounted (Yeomanry) Brigade * 4th Dismounted (Yeomanry) Brigade ** Reconnaissance aircraft ** Auxiliary troops

Organisational history

Commanders

Orders of battle

January 1914

20 November 1915

Footnotes

References

Further reading