11th (Northern) Division

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11th (Northern) Division
Divisional patch (Ankh) for the British 11th (Northern) Division.svg
"Ankh" Insignia of the 11th (Northern) Division
Active21 August 1914 – 28 June 1919
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Infantry
Size Division
Engagements First World War

The 11th (Northern) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, raised from men who had volunteered for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front. The division's insignia was an ankh or ankhus.

Contents

History

The division came into existence on 21 August 1914 under Army Order No. 324, which authorised the formation of the first six new divisions of Kitchener's Army. The division was composed of early wartime volunteers and assembled at Belton Park near Grantham.

By mid-1915, the recruits were judged to be ready for active service, and the division sailed for the Mediterranean in June-July 1915. As part of the Suvla Bay landing force, it reinforced the British expeditionary force at Gallipoli, on 7 August. The 6th (Service) Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales Own (Yorkshire Regiment) (32nd Brigade) was the first "Kitchener unit" to be involved in a major offensive operation of the war. Its action at Lala Baba Hill, on 7 August, was costly: all but three of its officers were killed, including the CO, Colonel E. H. Chapman, were killed. Afterwards the hill was known to the Allies as York Hill. [1] The division continued to serve at Gallipoli, suffering high casualties, until the evacuation of Suvla in December 1915. It then spent a period of time in Egypt, guarding the Suez Canal.

The division was transferred to France in mid-1916 and saw action in the Battle of the Somme. It remained on the Western Front until the armistice of 11 November 1918.

On 28 June 1919, exactly five years since the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the 11th (Northern) Division was officially disbanded, having sustained more than 32,100 casualties during the war. [2]

Order of battle

The division comprised the following units and formations: [3] [4] [5]

32nd Brigade
Infantrymen of the 6th (Service) Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment at a Lewis gun post, on the front line near Cambrin, Pas-de-Calais, France, 6 February 1918. The British Army on the Western Front, 1914-1918 Q8460.jpg
Infantrymen of the 6th (Service) Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment at a Lewis gun post, on the front line near Cambrin, Pas-de-Calais, France, 6 February 1918.
33rd Brigade
34th Brigade
1/2nd South-Western Mounted Brigade

(Serving dismounted) – attached at Suvla 9 October to 15 November 1915

Divisional Mounted Troops
Divisional Royal Artillery

Also attached:

After 1916 reorganisations [7]

After Winter 1916–17 reorganisation

Divisional Royal Engineers
Divisional Pioneers
Divisional Machine Gun Troops
Divisional Medical Services
Divisional Transport

Commanders

The following officers served as General Officer Commanding: [3]

Battles

The division took part in the following actions: [3]

Gallipoli Campaign
1915

Western Front
1916

1917

1918

See also

Footnotes

  1. Aspinall-Oglander 1932, p. 336.
  2. Spring 2008, p. 107.
  3. 1 2 3 Becke, pp. 19–25.
  4. "11th (Northern) Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  5. "11th (Northern) Division at Regimental Warpath". Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
  6. Drake, pp. 58–63.
  7. Farndale, p. 134.
  8. 1 2 Young, Annex Q.

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References