33rd Division (United Kingdom)

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33rd Division
WW1 British 33rd Division.svg
ActiveJuly 1915 – 30 June 1919
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Infantry
Part ofK4 Army Group
Engagements First World War
Battle of the Somme (1916)
Battle of Bazentin Ridge
Battle of High Wood
Battle of Arras (1917)
Third Battle of Ypres
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Herman Landon
Reginald Pinney

The 33rd 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 The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, that was originally made up of infantry battalions raised by public subscription or private patronage.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. The division's insignia was the "double-three" from a set of dominoes.

Contents

Formation history

The Division was one of the six created for the Fourth New Army on 10 December 1914. [1] It landed in France in November 1915. [1] Major-General Herman Landon took command of the division on its arrival. [2] It saw action at the Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916 and, after Major General Reginald Pinney had taken command, [3] it also saw action at the Battle of Arras in April / May 1917 and the Battle of Passchendaele in autumn 1917. [1] It was disbanded in June 1919. [1]

Order of battle

The following units served with the Division: [1]

19th Brigade

(The brigade joined from the 2nd Division in November 1915, swapping with the 99th Brigade.)

98th Brigade
99th Brigade

(The brigade transferred to the 2nd Division in November 1915, swapping with the 19th Brigade.)

100th Brigade

Divisional Troops

33rd (Camberwell) Divisional Artillery

33rd Divisional Engineers

Royal Army Medical Corps

Commanders

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Baker, Chris. "33rd Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  2. Quarterly Army List for the quarter ending 30th June 1919. London: HMSO. 1919. pp.  32.
  3. Dunn, Captain J. C. (1994). The War the Infantry Knew 1914–1919: A Chronicle of Service in France and Belgium. London: Abacus. pp. xl–xli. ISBN   0-349-10635-5.
  4. "Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals and Militaria". Spink. 19 July 2012. p. 127. Retrieved 8 January 2023.

Bibliography