118th Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 10 December 1914–27 April 1915 12 July 1915–4 December 1918 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | 3–4 Battalions |
Part of | 39th Division |
Engagements | Battle of the Somme Battle of the Ancre Third Battle of Ypres German spring offensive |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Brig-Gen Edward Bellingham |
The 118th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. Originally raised in December 1914 as part of 'Kitchener's Army' it was later redesignated and the number was transferred to a new brigade formed in July 1915. This initially commanded 'Pals battalions' under training; later it took over experienced Territorial Force battalions that were already serving on the Western Front. It fought with 39th Division on the Somme and the Ancre, at Ypres and in the German spring offensive. After the appalling casualties in that campaign it was relegated to a training organisation preparing US Army units for active service. It was disbanded shortly after the Armistice with Germany.
On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army. The newly-appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'. [1] [2] The K2, K3 and K4 battalions, brigades and divisions followed soon afterwards. But the flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the Army to absorb them, and the K5 units were largely raised by local initiative rather than at regimental depots, often from men from particular localities or backgrounds who wished to serve together: these were known as 'Pals battalions'. The 'Pals' phenomenon quickly spread across the country, as local recruiting committees offered complete units to the War Office (WO). On 10 December 1914 the WO authorised the formation of another six divisions and their brigades to command these K5 units, including 118th Brigade in 39th Division. The original 118th Bde comprised four 'Public Schools Battalions': [3] [4]
However, on 10 April 1915 the WO decided to convert the K4 battalions into reserve units. The K4 divisions and brigades were broken up and the K5 formations took over their numbers, so that 118th Brigade in 39th Division became 98th Bde in 33rd Division. [3] [4] [6] Authorisation for three new infantry brigades – 116th, 117th and 118th – to constitute a new 39th Division was issued on 12 July 1915. [6] [7]
The new 118th Brigade was formed in London under the command of Brigadier-General W. Bromilow, composed of the following Pals battalions: [7] [8]
39th Division began to assemble around Winchester early in August 1915, but it was not until after it had moved to Aldershot at the end of September that 118th Bde joined it from London. However, on arrival at Aldershot 118th Bde was reorganised, the 10th and 11th Royal West Kent battalions moving to 41st Division on 16 October, being replaced by: [7] [8]
In November the division moved to Witley Camp in Surrey, where it continued its training. Mobilisation orders were received during February 1916 and advance parties left for France. However, the Pals battalions of 118th Bde had not completed their training, so it was decided to leave them behind to join 40th Division. On 23rd February Brig-Gen Bromilow and his staff left Witley, disembarked at Le Havre next day, and on 29 February took over five different battalions at Renescure to reconstitute 118th Bde. These were all experienced Territorial Force units that had been sent as reinforcements to various formations on the Western Front earlier in the war: [7] [8]
The reconstituted brigade moved to the divisional concentration area at Blaringhem in First Army's area. The two weak Black Watch battalions were amalgamated on 16 March as the 4th/5th Battalion, bringing the brigade to the standard four-battalion establishment that was retained until February 1918. The brigade was completed by forming its auxiliary units: [7] [10] [8]
The brigade took part in the following actions: [7] [8] The brigade took part in the following actions: [7] [8]
1916
1917
1918
Each brigade was now hardly stronger than a single battalion, and the infantry of 39th Division was reorganised as '39th Composite Brigade', under the new commander of 118th Bde, Brig-Gen Hubback. No 4 Battalion and part of D Company, No 5 Battalion, were provided by 118th Bde, and 118th Bde TMB supported the composite brigade. The composite brigade then fought in the following actions with XXII Corps: [7] [8] [24] [25]
While the composite brigade was still in action, 39th Divisional HQ moved to Éperlecques, north-west of Saint-Omer. No 5 Battalion returned to the division on 30 April and its components returned to their brigades; the rest of 39th Composite Bde was broken up and rejoined the division on 6 May. Following their crippling losses during the German spring offensive, the infantry brigades of 39th Division were withdrawn from active service. Their battalions were reduced to training cadres (TCs) and the TMBs broken up, the surplus personnel being drafted as reinforcements to other units. All three of 118th Bde's TCs left by the end of May to be reconstituted in other formations, and it became a holding formation for a number of TCs from other divisions: [7] [8] [24] [9] [10] [11]
The 77th US Division had arrived at Éperlecques, and it began training under the guidance of the 39th Division TCs on 7 May. On 7 June 39th Divisional HQ moved to Wolphus, also near Saint-Omer, and over the next two months its TCs trained the 30th, 78th and 80th US Divisions in turn. In mid-August 39th Division moved to the French coast with 118th Bde at Le Havre. On 1 November the division was ordered to demobilise its remaining TCs, and 118th Bde completed this before hostilities ended with the Armistice with Germany on 11 November. 118th Brigade was disbanded on 4 December. [7]
118th Brigade was not reactivated during World War II [27]
The following officers commanded the brigade: [7]
39th Division's formation badge was a white square with three light blue vertical stripes. This was worn on the upper arm. [5] Within 118th Bde, the battalions wore the following identification signs on both sleeves: [28]
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