26th Division (United Kingdom)

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26th Division
26th Division sign WW1.svg
Formation sign of the 26th Division, a strip of blue cloth on the shoulder strap. [1]
ActiveSeptember 1914 10 May 1919
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Infantry
Size Division
Engagements World War I

The 26th Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I. The division was created in September 1914 from men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies and was the last division to be raised under the K3 enlistment scheme. Although the 26th Division began to assemble in September 1914, it was not fully deployed on the Western Front until the following year. In November 1915, the division was redeployed to the Macedonian Front, where it remained until the end of the war.

Contents

Unit history

"C" (Howitzer) Battery of CXVII (howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, in the Salonika Campaign. 'c' (howitzer) Battery of Cxvii (howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, in the Salonika Campaign 1915-1918 HU93826.jpg
"C" (Howitzer) Battery of CXVII (howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, in the Salonika Campaign.

The Division was one of the six created for the Third New Army on 13 September 1914. It moved to France in September 1915 and then transferred to Salonika in November 1915. It saw action at the Battle of Horseshoe Hill in August 1916, the Battles of Doiran in April / May 1917, and the Third Battle of Doiran as well as the Pursuit to the Strumica Valley in September 1918. Demobilization began in February 1919, and the division was formally disbanded on 10 May 1919. [2]

General officers commanding

RankNameDatesNotesRef.
Major-General E. C. W. Mackenzie-Kennedy18 September 1914 – 4 January 1917Moved to command XII Corps [3]
Brigadier-General A. W. Gay4 January – 10 March 1917Temporary
Major-GeneralA. W. Gay10 March – 7 July 1917Sick 7/7/17
Brigadier-GeneralA. J. Poole7 July – 2 August 1917Acting
Major-GeneralA. W. Gay2 August – 27 September 1917
Brigadier-GeneralH. D. White-Thompson27 September – 4 November 1917Acting
Major-GeneralA. W. Gay4 November 1917 – 10 May 1919

Order of Battle

The order of battle was as follows: [2]

77th Brigade

78th Brigade

79th Brigade

Divisional Troops

Divisional Artillery

Royal Engineers

Royal Army Medical Corps

See also

Notes

  1. Chappell pp. 15-16
  2. 1 2 Baker, Chris. "26th Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  3. Becke (1938), p. 143.

Bibliography

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