12th (Eastern) Division

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12th (Eastern) Division
WW1 British 12th Division.svg
Insignia of the 12th (Eastern) Division
Active1914–1919
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 12th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division raised by the British Army during the First World War from men volunteering for Kitchener's New Armies. The division saw service in the trenches of the Western Front from June 1915 to the end of the war.

Contents

Formation and First World War

The memorial to the glory of the 12th British Infantry Division to Epehy. Epehy Memorial 1.jpg
The memorial to the glory of the 12th British Infantry Division to Epehy.

The 12th (Eastern) Division, was one of the first Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener. It was formed within Eastern Command as a result of Army Order No. 324 of 21 August 1914, as part of the K1 wave of divisions. [1]

Royal Artillery gunners at the 12th Divisional Canteen on the Arras road near St. Pol, February 1917. The British Army on the Western Front, 1914-1918 Q4688.jpg
Royal Artillery gunners at the 12th Divisional Canteen on the Arras road near St. Pol, February 1917.

It fought on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War. One of its most notable actions was the Battle of Épehy where there is a memorial cross to the 12th Division.

In the First World War, the division's insignia was the Ace of Spades, which has since been adopted by the present 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade.

Order of Battle

35th Brigade

36th Brigade

37th Brigade

Divisional Troops

Royal Artillery

Royal Engineers [2]

Royal Army Medical Corps

General Officer Commanding

See also

Notes

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    References

    1. The British Army in the Great War: The 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division, accessed October 2009 Archived 5 February 2004 at the Wayback Machine
    2. Watson & Rinaldi, p. 29.

    Bibliography