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 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 included battalions from the various provinces of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

.Murphy, 2007, p.10 It was led by Irish General

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 ...

and fought at Gallipoli,

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

and Palestine. It was the first of the Irish Divisions to take to the field and was the most travelled of the Irish formations. The division served as a formation of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 ...

History

Formed in Ireland on 21 August 1914, the 10th Division was sent to Gallipoli where, as part of General Sir Frederick Stopford's IX Corps, at Suvla Bay on 7 August it participated in the

Landing at Suvla Bay The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the August Offensive, the final British attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipol ...

and the August offensive. Some battalions of the division were landed at Anzac and fought at Chunuk Bair. In September 1915, when the Suvla front became a stalemate, the division was moved to

where it remained for two years and fought the

Battle of Kosturino The Battle of Kosturino was a World War I battle, fought between 6 and 12 December 1915. The battle was fought in the initial stage of the Macedonian campaign, in the Balkans Theatre. On 6 December, a Bulgarian troops attacked the French and Br ...

. The division moved to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in September 1917 where it joined General Chetwode's XX Corps. It fought in the

Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the ...

which succeeded in breaking the resistance of the Turkish defenders in southern Palestine. Heavy losses on the Western Front following

Operation Michael Operation Michael was a major German military offensive during the First World War that began the German Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was t ...

, the great German spring offensive in 1918, resulted in the transfer of ten of the division's battalions from Palestine to France, their place being taken by

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

units. This left only one British battalion per brigade. The remainder of the division remained in Palestine until the end of the war with Turkey on 31 October 1918. On 12 November 1918 the Division concentrated at

Sarafand Sarafand or Sarafend may refer to: Places * Sarafand, Lebanon, also spelled Sarafend ** Sarepta, an ancient Phoenician city at the location of the modern Lebanese town * Tzrifin, area in central Israel previously known as "Sarafand" or "Sarafend", ...

, ready for moving back to Egypt. By 1 December it had returned to Cairo.

Order of battle

The division comprised the following

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

s: ; 29th Brigade: * 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment ''(left June 1915 to become the divisional pioneer battalion)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

''(disbanded May 1918)'' * 5th (Service) Battalion,

Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Foot (wh ...

''(left April 1918)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot ...

''(left April 1918)'' * 10th (Service) Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

''(joined March left October 1915)'' * 1st Battalion, Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) ''(joined November 1916)'' *29th Machine Gun Company ''(formed 10 May 1916 left to move into 10th 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.) 7 May 1918)'' *29th Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined 2 October 1916 as No 7 Stokes Mortar Battery transferred to Divisional TMB 17 October 1917)'' The brigade was reorganised with Indian Army units from April to June 1918 * 1st Battalion, Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) * 1st Battalion,

54th Sikhs The 54th Sikhs (Frontier Force) were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1846 as the 4th Regiment of Infantry The Frontier Brigade. It was designated as the 54th Sikhs (Frontier Force) in 1903 and became 4th Battalio ...

''(joined 27 April 1918)'' * 1st Battalion, 101st Grenadiers ''(joined 30 April 1918)'' * 2nd Battalion, 151st Sikh Infantry ''(joined 10 June 1918)'' ; 30th Brigade : * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Beng ...

''(left 30 April 1918)'' * 7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers ''(absorbed by the 6th Battalion 3 November 1916)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Dublin Fusiliers The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an Irish infantry Regiment of the British Army created in 1881, one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with its home depot in Naas. The Regiment was created by the amalgamation of two Brit ...

''(left 27 May 1918)'' * 7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers ''(left 30 April 1918)'' * 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment ''(joined 3 November 1916)'' *30th Machine Gun Company ''(formed 10 May 1916, left to move into 10th Battalion M.G.C. 7 May 1918)'' *30th Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined 28 September 1916 as No 8 Stokes Mortar Battery, transferred to Divisional TMB 17 October 1917)'' The brigade was reorganised with Indian Army units from April to June 1918 * 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment * 38th Dogras ''(joined 29 April 1918)'' * 1st Battalion, Kashmir Rifles ''(joined 30 April 1918)'' * 46th Punjabis ''(joined 25 May 1918)'' ; 31st Brigade : * 5th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

''(left 28 May 1918)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers ''(left 2 May 1918)'' * 5th (Service) Battalion, Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) ''(left 30 April 1918)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion, Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) ''(absorbed by the 5th Battalion 2 November 1916, )'' * 2nd Battalion, Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) ''(joined 2 November 1916)'' *31st Machine Gun Company ''(formed 11 May 1916, left to move into 10th Battalion M.G.C. 7 May 1918)'' *31st Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined 17 October 1916, transferred to Divisional TMB 17 October 1917)'' The brigade was reorganised with Indian Army units from April to June 1918 * 6th (Service) Battalion, Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) * 74th Punjabis ''(joined 29 April 1918)'' * 2nd Battalion, 101st Grenadiers ''(joined 1 May 1918)'' * 38th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers ''(attached 11 June – 17 July 1918)'' * 2nd Battalion,

42nd Deoli Regiment The 42nd Deoli Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traced their origins to 1857, when the Meena Battalion was raised during the Indian Mutiny. This battalion was the nucleus for the infantry of the Deoli Irr ...

''(joined 18 July 1918)''; Pioneers : Divisional Troops *5th (Service) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment ''(joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion June 1915, left April 1918)'' * 2nd Battalion, 155th Pioneers (Indian pioneers)''(from July 1918)'' *Divisional Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 17 October 1917, broken up 9 June 1918)'' *Divisional Mounted Troops **10th 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 ...

''(left 7 December 1916)'' *10th Divisional Train Army Service Corps **108th, 109th, 110th and 111th Companies ''(left October 1915)'' **471st, 472nd, 473rd and 474th Companies ''(joined October 1915 from 52nd Division)'' *25th Mobile Veterinary Section Army Veterinary Corps *212th Divisional Employment Company ''(formed by 23 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 ...

*LIV Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (R.F.A.) ''(left 29 August 1917'') *LV Brigade, R.F.A. ''(left January 1916)'' *LVI Brigade, R.F.A. ''(left January 1916)'' *LVII (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. ''(left 28 August 1917)'' *10th Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A. ''(the original column did not go overseas with the Division. The 29th Divisional Ammunition Column joined in Egypt in October 1915. Suffered losses when transport “Marquette” torpedoed off Salonika on 23 October. Numbers were made up by men, horses and equipment from 42nd Division Ammunition Column. Formally renumbered 10th DAC on 4 March 1916)'' *LXVII Brigade, R.F.A. ''(joined October 1915)'' *LXVIII Brigade, R.F.A. ''(joined October 1915)'' *10th 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) ...

(R.G.A.) ''(joined March 1915, left by 10 August 1915)'' *15th Heavy Battery R.G.A. ''(joined 10 August 1915, left by 19 December 1915)'' * IV Highland (Mountain) Brigade, R.G.A. ''(joined 13 August 1915)'' *2nd Mountain Battery R.G.A. ''(joined 30 December 1915, left 27 February 1916)'' *CXXXII (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. ''(joined 26 April 1916, broken up 25 January 1917)'' *Hong Kong & Singapore Mountain Battery R.G.A. ''(joined 1 September 1918, left 26 October 1918)'' Royal Engineers *65th Field Company ''(left 14 July 1918)'' *66th Field Company *85th Field Company ''(joined January 1915)'' *10th Divisional Signals Company *18/3 Sappers & Miners ''(joined by 17 July 1918)'' Royal Army Medical Corps *30th, 31st and 32nd Field Ambulances ''(left 20 May 1918)'' *154th, 165th and 166th Camel Field Ambulances ''(joined 20 May 1918)'' *21st Sanitary Section ''(left 31 July 1915, rejoined October 1915, left again 22 October 1917)'' *18th Sanitary Section ''(joined 22 October 1917)''

Battles and engagements

Gallipoli Campaign * The landing at Suvla. *

Battle of Sari Bair The Battle of Sari Bair ( tr, Sarı Bayır Harekâtı), also known as the August Offensive (), represented the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during the Firs ...

. * Capture of Chocolate Hill. * Hill 60.

Salonika front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...

. * Retreat from Serbia. * Capture of the Karajokois. * Capture of

Yenikoi Provatas (Greek: Προβατάς) is a larger village in Kapetan Mitrousi, Serres regional unit, northern Greece. It has 1,099 inhabitants (2011 census). Until 1923, the village was called ''Yenikoi'' or ''Yeniköy'' and inhabited mostly by Tur ...

. Sinai and Palestine Campaign *

. * Capture of the Sheria Position. * Capture of Jerusalem. * Defence of Jerusalem. * Tell 'Asure. * Battle of Nablus.

General Officers Commanding

Commanders included:Army Commands
* 24 August 1914 – 16 August 1915: Lieutenant-General Sir Bryan Mahon * 16 August – 19 August 1915: Brigadier-General F. F. Hill (''acting'') * 19 August – 23 August 1915: Major-General

William Peyton General Sir William Eliot Peyton, (7 May 1866 – 14 November 1931) was a British Army officer who served as Military Secretary to the British Expeditionary Force from 1916 to 1918. He was Delhi Herald of Arms Extraordinary at the time of th ...

* 23 August – 18 November 1915: Lieutenant-General Sir Bryan Mahon * 18 November – 20 December 1915: Brigadier-General L. L. Nicol (''acting'') * 20 December 1915 – 12 July 1916: Major-General John Longley * 12 July – 24 September 1916: Brigadier-General L. L. Nicol (''acting'') * 24 September 1916 – 11 June 1918: Major-General John Longley * 11 June – 18 August 1918: Brigadier-General E. M. Morris (''acting'') * 18 August 1918 – June 1919: Major-General John Longley * June 1919 – 1921: Major-General Sir George Gorringe

Great War Memorials

Great War Memorial Windows, Guildhall, Derry

Irish National War Memorial Gardens The Irish National War Memorial Gardens ( ga, Gairdíní Náisiúnta Cuimhneacháin Cogaidh na hÉireann) is an Irish war memorial in Islandbridge, Dublin, dedicated "to the memory of the 49,400 Irish soldiers who gave their lives in the Great ...

Dublin. *

Island of Ireland Peace Park The Island of Ireland Peace Park and its surrounding park ( ga, Páirc Síochána d'Oileán na hÉireann), also called the Irish Peace Park or Irish Peace Tower in Messines, near Ypres in Flanders, Belgium, is a war memorial to the soldiers of ...

Messines, Belgium. * Menin Gate Memorial Ypres, Belgium. *

Ulster Tower Memorial The Ulster Tower, located in Thiepval, France, is Northern Ireland's National War Memorial. It was one of the first memorials to be erected on the Western Front and commemorates the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division and all those from Ulster wh ...

Thiepval, France. * Dojran Celtic Cross, Doiran Lake, Macedonia.

References

External links

*
A website with information relating to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who had battalions which were a part of the 10th (Irish) Division.

* ttp://www.irishwarmemorials.ie/ The Irish War Memorials Project - listing of monuments throughout Ireland
The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust

{{DEFAULTSORT:10 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 Ireland in World War I 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom