39th Division (United Kingdom)

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39th Division
39th Division ww1.svg
Division insignia
Active1915–1919
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Infantry
Size Division
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Gerald Cuthbert
Neill Malcolm
Cyril Blacklock

The 39th Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised during the First World War. The division was part of Kitchener's New Armies and saw service on the Western Front and in Italy from 1916 onwards.

Contents

History

The division was formed as part of the fifth wave (K5) of divisions in the New Army; it did not have a regional title, but was composed primarily of recruits from the Midlands, London, and the south of England. Several of its battalions had been raised by local communities, and were named for their towns or industries. After training and home service, it deployed to the Western Front in early 1916, and fought in the Battle of the Somme. The following year, it saw action at the Third Battle of Ypres, and in 1918 took heavy losses in the German Army's Spring Offensive. The General Officer Commanding, Major-General Edward Feetham, was killed in the action in March 1918. [1]

Following near-destruction at the Battle of the Lys, the division was reduced to a cadre, which spent the remainder of the war training newly arrived units of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). The division demobilised after the Armistice with Germany, and had ceased to exist by July 1919. [2]

Order of battle

The following units served with the division: [2]

116th Brigade

The brigade was originally numbered the 121st intended for the 40th Division of the Fifth New Army. The brigades first commander was Brigadier-General Reginald Barnes.

117th Brigade

118th Brigade

39th Divisional Composite Brigade

Formed on 10 April 1918 after the Division suffered heavy losses and placed under command of Brig-Gen. A. Hubback. Fought in the Battles of the Lys as an independent command attached to XXII Corps. Returned to Division and men deployed to old units by 6 May 1918.

Divisional Troops

For short periods in the summer of 1918, 47 battalion cadres from reorganised divisions that had suffered heavy losses in the German spring offensives were attached to the brigades and division HQ.

39th (Deptford) Divisional Artillery
The whole divisional artillery was raised by the Mayor and Corporation of Deptford; operated as an independent formation after April 1918 [3]

Royal Engineers

Royal Army Medical Corps

General Officers Commanding

See also

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References

  1. Davies, Frank; Maddocks, Graham (1995). Bloody Red Tabs: General Officer Casualties of the Great War 1914–1918. Pen & Sword. ISBN   978-0850524635.
  2. 1 2 Baker, Chris. "39th Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  3. Lt-Col H.W. Wiebkin, A Short History of the 39th (Deptford) Divisional Artillery, 1915–1918, London: Berryman, 1923/Uckfield: Royal Artillery Museum and Naval & Military Press, 2004, ISBN   1-845740-82-3.