104th Brigade (United Kingdom)

Last updated

The 104th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the First World War. It was raised as part of the new army, also known as Kitchener's Army, and assigned to the 35th Division. The brigade served on the Western Front.

Contents

The infantry was originally composed of Bantams, the name given to soldiers who would otherwise be excluded from service due to their short stature. [1] This became a regular infantry Brigade with the end of the Bantam experiment at the end of 1916, after it was noted that bantam replacements were not up to the physical standards of the original recruits. [2]

The brigade was disbanded in April 1919 at Ripon; [3] the brigade was not reformed in the Second World War. [4]

Order of battle

The composition of the brigade was as follows: [5]

Commanders

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancashire Fusiliers</span> Line infantry regiment of the British Army 1688–1968

The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 280 years of existence. In 1968 the regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Fusilier Brigade – the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and the Royal Fusiliers – to form the current Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">32nd Division (United Kingdom)</span> Infantry division of the British Army during the First World War

The 32nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was raised in 1914, during the First World War. The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, made up of infantry 'Pals battalions' and artillery brigades raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the War Office in September 1915. It served in France and Belgium in the trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war. It saw action at the Battle of the Somme, the Pursuit to the Hindenburg Line, the Defence of Nieuport, the German spring offensive, and the Allied Hundred Days Offensive beginning at the Battle of Amiens. After the Armistice it marched into Germany as part of the Army of Occupation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">40th Division (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 40th Division was an infantry division of the British Army active during the First World War, where it served on the Western Front. It was a division of Lord Kitchener's New Army volunteers, mostly "bantam" recruits of below regulation height. It was later briefly reformed as a deception formation in the Second World War, and during the early years of the Cold War was recreated a third time to garrison Hong Kong.

The 94th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as part of 'Kitchener's Army' and was assigned to the 31st Division. After the original formation was converted into a reserve brigade, the number was transferred to a brigade of 'Pals battalions' from Northern England. It was sent to Egypt at the end of 1915 but was recalled to France shortly afterwards and then served on the Western Front for the rest of the war. The brigade was shattered on the First day on the Somme, but later saw action at Arras and distinguished itself at the Capture of Oppy Wood. It was temporarily disbanded in early 1918 but was reconstituted from dismounted Yeomanry regiments in time to take part in the final battles of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">35th Division (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 35th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised during World War I as part of General Kitchener's fourth New Army. Its infantry was originally composed of Bantams, that is soldiers who would otherwise be excluded from service due to their short stature. The division served on the Western Front from early 1916, and was disbanded in 1919.

The Durham Light Infantry Brigade was formed in 1902 to command the part-time Volunteer battalions of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI). Previously these had been in a combined Tyne and Tees Brigade with battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers. It consisted of the 1st–4th Volunteer Battalions of the DLI, which were renumbered as the 5th–8th Battalions when the Volunteers were subsumed into the Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908. Consisting of 6th–9th Battalions, it became part of the TF's Northumbrian Division. During World War I it was numbered as the 151st Brigade on 14 May 1915, when the division became the 50th (Northumbrian) Division. The TF also raised 2nd Line units and formations, and the 190th Brigade was formed in 63rd Division. The 1st Line battalions adopted the prefix '1/'

<span class="mw-page-title-main">59th (2nd North Midland) Division</span> Former British Army infantry division

The 59th Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in late 1914/early 1915 as a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 46th Division. After training in the United Kingdom and saw service in the Easter Rising in April 1916, the division joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front in early 1917. It saw action at Ypres and Cambrai, and was almost destroyed during the German Army's Spring Offensive in March 1918. The reconstituted division took part in the final advances of the war.

The Liverpool Brigade, later 165th (Liverpool) Brigade was an infantry brigade of Britain's Volunteer Force that served during World War I with the 55th Division of the British Army. During World War II, again as part of the 55th Infantry Division, the brigade remained in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">140th (4th London) Brigade</span> Military unit

The 140th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) that had its origins in a South London Brigade of the former Volunteer Force. It served on the Western Front in the First World War and was recreated during the Second World War where it served only in the United Kingdom as a training formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">141st (5th London) Brigade</span> Military unit

The 141st Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, that served in the First World War and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the Second World War.

The 142nd Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, that served in the First and the Second World Wars, and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the latter.

215th Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army during the First and the Second World Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">219th Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 219th Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army during the First and the Second World Wars.

170th Brigade was a 2nd-Line infantry formation of the British Territorial Force raised during the First World War that served on the Western Front. The brigade's number was also used for deception purposes during the Second World War.

The 105th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the First World War. It was raised as part of the new army also known as Kitchener's Army and assigned to the 35th Division. The brigade served on the Western Front.

The 106th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the First World War. It was raised as part of the new army also known as Kitchener's Army and assigned to the 35th Division. The brigade served on the Western Front.

The 119th Brigade, originally the Welsh Bantam Brigade, was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army during World War I. Part of Lord Kitchener's 'New Armies', it served in the 40th Division on the Western Front. The brigade number was reactivated for deception purposes during World War II.

The 121st Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army during World War I. Part of Lord Kitchener's 'New Armies', it served in the 40th Division on the Western Front. The brigade number was reactivated for deception purposes during World War II.

The King's Own Rifle Militia, later the 4th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment was an auxiliary regiment raised in Staffordshire in the West Midlands of England in 1853. Under the Cardwell and Childers Reforms it became part of the North Staffordshire Regiment and saw active service during the Second Boer War. During World War I it trained reinforcements for the battalions serving overseas before proceeding to the Western Front itself and seeing a considerable amount of combat during the last year of the war. After a shadowy postwar existence it was formally disbanded in 1953.

The 23rd (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment was a Bantam battalion recruited in 1914 as part of 'Kitchener's Army' from men who were below the normal minimum height required by the British Army. It served in 35th Division, which was entirely composed of bantam battalions, and first saw action at the Battle of the Somme. The Bantam concept did not survive the losses of the Somme, and had to be abandoned when the battalions became filled with reinforcements who were not simply undersized but actually unfit for service. In 1917 the 23rd Manchesters became a conventional infantry battalion and saw further action during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line and at the Battle of Passchendaele before being broken up early in 1918 to provide reinforcements to other units.

References

  1. Davson, H.M. (1926). The History of the 35th Division in the Great War (2020 ed.). London: Naval & Military Press. p. 1-2. ISBN   9781843426431.
  2. Davson, H.M. (1926). The History of the 35th Division in the Great War (2020 ed.). London: Naval & Military Press. p. 81-82. ISBN   9781843426431.
  3. Davson, H.M. (1926). The History of the 35th Division in the Great War (2020 ed.). London: Naval & Military Press. p. 296. ISBN   9781843426431.
  4. Joslen p. 305
  5. "35th Division". The Long Long Trail. Archived from the original on 21 December 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.