British 33rd Division
Encyclopedia
The British 33rd Division was a New Army
division
formed in 1914 as the 40th Division in the K5 Army group then renumbered in April 1915 as part of the new K4 Army Group.
A 33rd Division had been formed as part of the reserve K4 Army in October 1914 but was dissolved in April 1915 at which point the 40th division of the K5 Army became the 33rd of the K4.
The division landed in France
in November 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War
in action on the Western Front
.
The division's insignia was the "double-three" from a set of dominoes
.
The brigade originally comprised four battalions of the Royal Fusiliers.
From February 1916, the brigade comprised the following battalions:
99th Brigade :
The brigade transferred to the 2nd Division in November 1915, swapping with the 19th Brigade.
100th Brigade :
19th Brigade :
The brigade joined from the 2nd Division in November 1915, swapping with the 99th Brigade.
Kitchener's Army
The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, Kitchener's Mob, was an all-volunteer army formed in the United Kingdom following the outbreak of hostilities in the First World War...
division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
formed in 1914 as the 40th Division in the K5 Army group then renumbered in April 1915 as part of the new K4 Army Group.
A 33rd Division had been formed as part of the reserve K4 Army in October 1914 but was dissolved in April 1915 at which point the 40th division of the K5 Army became the 33rd of the K4.
The division landed in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in November 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in action on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
.
The division's insignia was the "double-three" from a set of dominoes
Dominoes
Dominoes generally refers to the collective gaming pieces making up a domino set or to the subcategory of tile games played with domino pieces. In the area of mathematical tilings and polyominoes, the word domino often refers to any rectangle formed from joining two congruent squares edge to edge...
.
Formation
98th Brigade :The brigade originally comprised four battalions of the Royal Fusiliers.
- 18th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (to 19 Bde November 1915)
- 19th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
- 20th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (to 19 Bde November 1915)
- 21st (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
From February 1916, the brigade comprised the following battalions:
- 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment)
- 1/4th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment (until February 1918)
- 1st Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment (from 19 Bde November 1915)
- 2nd Battalion2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland HighlandersThe 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were formed in 1881 when the 91st Regiment of Foot was amalgamated with the 93rd Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.-Early history:...
, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (from 19 Bde November 1915)
99th Brigade :
The brigade transferred to the 2nd Division in November 1915, swapping with the 19th Brigade.
- 17th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
- 22nd (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
- 23rd (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
- 24th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
100th Brigade :
- 16th (Service) Battalion (Public SchoolsPublic Schools BattalionThe Public Schools Battalions were British First World War Pals battalions of Kitchener's Army, originally made up exclusively of former public schoolboys...
), The Middlesex Regiment (until February 1916) - 16th (Service) Battalion (Church Lads Brigade), King's Royal Rifle CorpsKing's Royal Rifle CorpsThe King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
- 1st Battalion, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (to 19 Bde February 1918)
- 2nd Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment
- 1/9th Battalion (Glasgow HighlandersGlasgow HighlandersThe Glasgow Highlanders was a former Territorial Army regiment in the British Army, it eventually became part of The Highland Light Infantry regiment in 1881, which later became The Royal Highland Fusiliers in 1959...
), Highland Light InfantryHighland Light InfantryThe Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...
(from May 1916)
19th Brigade :
The brigade joined from the 2nd Division in November 1915, swapping with the 99th Brigade.
- 18th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (from 98 Bde November 1915 until February 1916)
- 20th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (from 98 Bde November 1915 disbanded February 1918)
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers (to 115 Bde 38th DivisionBritish 38th (Welsh) DivisionThe 38th Infantry Division was a British Army division. A 38th Division was in existence in both the First and Second World Wars, but not between the wars and there is no direct link between the two formations....
February 1918) - 1st Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)The Cameronians was an infantry regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry...
- 1/5th Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (merged with 1/6th Battalion in May 1916 becoming 5th/6th Battalion)
- 1st Battalion, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (from 100 Bde February 1918)
Battles
- Battle of the Somme (1916)Battle of the Somme (1916)The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
- Battle of Bazentin RidgeBattle of Bazentin RidgeThe Battle of Bazentin Ridge, launched by the British Fourth Army at dawn on 14 July 1916, marked the start of the second phase of the Battle of the Somme. Dismissed beforehand by one French commander as "an attack organized for amateurs by amateurs", it turned out to be "hugely successful" for...
and High WoodHigh WoodHigh Wood is a small forest near Bazentin le Petit in the Somme département of northern France which was the scene of intense fighting for two months from 14 July to 15 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.-Background:...
- Battle of Bazentin Ridge
- Battle of ArrasBattle of Arras (1917)The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
- Third Battle of Ypres