10th (Irish) Division

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10th (Irish) Division
10th Division
WW1 British 10th Irish Division.svg
10th (Irish) Division insignia
ActiveAugust 1914 – January 1919
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Infantry
Size Division
Part ofK1 Army Group
Engagements World War I
Gallipoli Campaign
Battle of Sari Bair
Battle of Chunuk Bair
Salonika front
Battle of Kosturino
Palestine 1917–18
Third Battle of Gaza
Battle of Nablus
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Bryan Mahon

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. [1] It included battalions from the various provinces of Ireland. [2] It was led by Irish General Bryan Mahon and fought at Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine. It was the first of the Irish Divisions to take to the field and was the most travelled of the Irish formations. [3] The division served as a formation of the United Kingdom's British Army during World War I.

Contents

History

Lord Kitchener, on the right on horseback, reviewing the 10th (Irish) Division at Basingstoke, Hampshire, June 1915. Lord Kitchener Reviewing Troops.jpg
Lord Kitchener, on the right on horseback, reviewing the 10th (Irish) Division at Basingstoke, Hampshire, June 1915.

Formed in Ireland on 21 August 1914, [2] 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 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 Salonika where it remained for two years and fought the Battle of Kosturino.

The division moved to Egypt in September 1917 where it joined General Chetwode's XX Corps. It fought in the Third Battle of Gaza which succeeded in breaking the resistance of the Turkish defenders in southern Palestine.

Heavy losses on the Western Front following Operation Michael, 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 units. This left only one British battalion per brigade. [4] 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, ready for moving back to Egypt. By 1 December it had returned to Cairo.

Order of battle

A church service at the 10th (Irish) Division's Basingstoke camp, 1915 10th (Irish) Division at Basingstoke.jpg
A church service at the 10th (Irish) Division's Basingstoke camp, 1915

The division comprised the following brigades: [5]

29th Brigade

The brigade was reorganised with Indian Army units from April to June 1918

30th Brigade

The brigade was reorganised with Indian Army units from April to June 1918

31st Brigade

The brigade was reorganised with Indian Army units from April to June 1918

Divisional Troops

Royal Artillery

Royal Engineers

Royal Army Medical Corps

Battles and engagements

Gallipoli Campaign

Salonika front

Sinai and Palestine Campaign

General Officers Commanding

Commanders included: [7] [8]

Great War Memorials

Guildhall Derry stained-glass window which commemorates
the Three Irish Divisions, left the 36th, right the 10th and 16th Great War Memorial Windows, Guildhall, Derry.jpg
Guildhall Derry stained-glass window which commemorates
the Three Irish Divisions, left the 36th, right the 10th and 16th

See also

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References

  1. Murphy, 2007, Irish Regiments in the World Wars, The Irish Divisions, 1914–18,
    The 10th (Irish) Division: p.10, Osprey Publishing (2007) ISBN   978-1-84603-015-4
  2. 1 2 Murphy, 2007, p.10
  3. Murphy, 2007, p.11
  4. Chappell, P (2009). "The Regimental Warpath 1914–1918 10th (Irish) Division". warpath.orbat.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  5. Baker, Chris. "10th (Irish) Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  6. Baker, Chris. "Royal Irish Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  7. Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Becke, A. F. (1938). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 3A New Army Divisions (9-26). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 11.

Further reading