61st (2nd South Midland) Division

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61st (2nd South Midland) Division
61st division ww1.svg
Division insignia
ActiveJanuary 1915 – January 1919
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Infantry
Engagements First World War
Battle of Fromelles

The 61st (2nd South Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised in 1915 during the Great War as a second-line reserve for the first-line battalions of the 48th (South Midland) Division. The division was sent to the Western Front in May 1916 and served there for the duration of the First World War.

Contents

Unit history

Battle of Hazebrouck. Men of the 2/7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, moving a bed-ridden elderly man of Robecq, 12 April 1918. The German Spring Offensive, March-july 1918 Q6511.jpg
Battle of Hazebrouck. Men of the 2/7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, moving a bed-ridden elderly man of Robecq, 12 April 1918.

The division landed in France in May 1916. [1] On 19 July 1916, together with the 5th Australian Division, the 61st Division fought the Battle of Fromelles, designed as a feint attack as part of the Somme Offensive. [1] The attack, against well prepared German positions based on a ridge, was a disaster and responsible for the subsequent poor reputation of the Division. [2] The division later took part in the advance to the Hindenburg Line and the Third Battle of Ypres. [1]

Order of Battle

The order of battle was as follows: [1]

182nd (2nd Warwickshire) Brigade
183rd (2nd Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade

The brigade contained the following battalions until February 1918 when most of them were disbanded.

Between February and June 1918 the 183rd Brigade contained the following battalions.

From May 1918 the following battalions joined the Brigade.

184th (2nd South Midland) Brigade
Divisional Troops
Divisional Mounted Troops
61st (2nd South Midland) Divisional Artillery
(the artillery of 59th Division was also attached between 8 and 26 August 1918)
61st (2nd South Midland) Divisional Engineers
Royal Army Medical Corps
Other Divisional Troops

Battles

General Officer Commanding

Commanding officers were:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "61st (2nd South Midland) Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 The 61st Division had the Reputation of Being a poorly Performing Formation. How did it Acquire this Reputation and was it a Justified Description? (PDF) (MA) (online ed.). Birmingham: University of Birmingham. 984318. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Becke, Archibald Frank (1935). Order of Battle of Divisions. H. M. Stationery Office. p. 33.
  4. ↑ "Richard Bannatine-Allason". Centre for First World War Studies, University of Birmingham. Archived from the original on 16 February 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "British Divisional Commanders During the Great War – First Thoughts: Note 19". Western Front Association. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
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