{{Short description|Infantry division of the British Army during the First World War}} {{For|the unrelated Second World War formation|18th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}} {{Use British English|date=March 2015}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = 18th (Eastern) Division | image = 18th (Eastern) Division WW1.svg | caption = | dates = September 1914 – 20 March 1919 | country = {{flag|United Kingdom}} | allegiance = | branch = {{army|United Kingdom|23px}} | type = [[Infantry]] | role = | size = [[Division (military)|Division]] | command_structure = | current_commander = | garrison = | ceremonial_chief = | colonel_of_the_regiment = | nickname = | patron = | motto = | colors = | march = | mascot = | battles = {{Tree list}} *[[World War I]] **[[Battle of the Somme]] **[[Battle of Passchendaele]] **[[Battle of Épehy]] {{Tree list/end}} | notable_commanders = [[Ivor Maxse]] | anniversaries = }} The '''18th (Eastern) Division''' was an [[infantry]] [[Division (military)|division]] of the [[British Army]] formed in September 1914 during the [[World War I|First World War]] as part of the K2 Army Group, part of [[Herbert Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]]'s [[Kitchener's Army|New Armies]]. From its creation the division trained in [[England]] until 25 May 1915 when it landed in France and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], becoming one of the elite divisions of the British Army. During the [[Battle of the Somme]] in the latter half of 1916, the 18th Division was commanded by [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[Ivor Maxse]].
== History == ===Formation=== The division was formed in September 1914 during the [[World War I|First World War]] as part of the K2 Army Group, part of [[Herbert Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]]'s [[Kitchener's Army|New Armies]]. It was formed in the [[Colchester]] area but relocated to the [[Salisbury Plain Training Area]] in May 1915.<ref name=trail>{{cite web |last1=Baker |first1=Chris |title=18th (Eastern) Division |url=http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/18th-eastern-division/ |website=The Long, Long Trail |access-date=17 November 2018}}</ref> Major-General [[Ivor Maxse]] took command in October 1914, leading it until January 1917.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/MAXSE.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070731053916/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/MAXSE.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 July 2007|title=Ivor Maxse |publisher= Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives|access-date=18 May 2020}}</ref>
==Order of battle== The following units served in the division.<ref name=trail/> ; '''[[53rd Brigade (United Kingdom)|53rd Brigade]]''' : * 10th (Service) Battalion, [[Essex Regiment]] * 8th (Service) Battalion, [[Norfolk Regiment]] (''disbanded February 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion, [[Suffolk Regiment]] (''disbanded February 1918'') * 6th (Service) Battalion, [[Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment)]] (''disbanded February 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) (''joined February 1918'') * 7th (Service) Battalion, [[Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)]] (''joined from 55th Brigade February 1918'') *53rd Machine Gun Company (''joined 13 February 1916, left to move into 18th MG Battalion 16 February 1918'') *53rd Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 17 June 1916'')
; '''[[54th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|54th Brigade]]''' : *10th (Service) Battalion, [[Royal Fusiliers]] (''left October 1914'') * 11th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers * 6th (Service) Battalion, [[Northamptonshire Regiment]] (''joined November 1914'') * 12th (Service) Battalion, [[Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment)]] (''disbanded February 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion, [[Royal Sussex Regiment]] (''reformed as divisional pioneers February 1915'') * 7th (Service) Battalion, [[Bedfordshire Regiment]] (''joined February 1915 merged with 2nd Battalion in May 1918'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/bedfordshire-regiment/|title=Bedfordshire Regiment|publisher=The Long, Long Trail|access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> * 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (''joined May 1918'') *54th Machine Gun Company (''joined 13 February 1916, left to move into 18th MG Battalion 16 February 1918'') *54th Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 1 June 1916'')
; '''[[55th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|55th Brigade]]''' : * 7th (Service) Battalion, [[Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)]] * 7th (Service) Battalion, [[Buffs (East Kent Regiment)]] * 8th (Service) Battalion, [[East Surrey Regiment]] * 7th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (''transferred to 53rd Brigade February 1918'') *55th Machine Gun Company (''joined 13 February 1916, left to move into 18th MG Battalion 16 February 1918'') *55th Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 17 June 1916'')
'''Divisional Troops''' *6th (Service) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment (''left November 1914'') *10th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (''joined October 1914, left March 1915'') *8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (''joined as Pioneer Battalion in February 1915 from 54th Brigade'') *15th Motor Machine Gun Battery (''joined 22 July 1915, left 4 May 1916'') *18th Battalion [[Machine Gun Corps]] (M.G.C.) (''formed 16 February 1918 absorbing brigade MG companies'') *Divisional Mounted Troops **C Sqn, [[Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry]] (''joined 15 June 1915, left 10 May 1916'') **18th Divisional Cyclist Company, [[Army Cyclist Corps]] (''formed 8 December 1914, left 21 May 1916'') *18th Divisional Train [[Royal Army Service Corps|Army Service Corps]] **150th, 151st, 152nd and 153rd Companies *30th Mobile Veterinary Section [[Royal Army Veterinary Corps|Army Veterinary Corps]] *219th Divisional Employment Company (''joined 3 June 1917'')
'''[[Royal Artillery]]''' *LXXXII Brigade, [[Royal Field Artillery]] (R.F.A.) *LXXXIII Brigade, R.F.A. *LXXXIV Brigade, R.F.A. (''left 25 January 1917'') *LXXXV (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. (''broken up 3 December 1916'') *18th Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A. *18th Heavy Battery, [[Royal Garrison Artillery]] (''raised with the Division but moved independently to Egypt in October 1915'') *V.18 and W. 18 Heavy Trench Mortar Batteries R.F.A. (''V battery formed 28 April 1916, left for [[II Corps (United Kingdom)|II Corps]] on 19 February 1918. W battery formed 21 May 1916, but broken up by 26 November 1916'') *X.18, Y.18 and Z.18 Medium Mortar Batteries R.F.A. (''formed 19 June 1916, Z battery broken up 19 February 1918 and distributed to X and Y batteries'')
'''[[Royal Engineers]]''' *79th Field Company *80th Field Company *92nd Field Company *18th Divisional Signals Company
'''[[Royal Army Medical Corps]]''' *54th Field Ambulance *55th Field Ambulance *56th Field Ambulance *35th Sanitary Section (''left 24 March 1917'')
== Battles ==
'''1916''' *[[Battle of the Somme (1916)|First Battle of the Somme]] **[[Battle of Albert (1916)|Second Battle of Albert]] ***[[Capture of Montauban]] **[[Battle of Bazentin Ridge]] ***[[Capture of Trônes Wood|First Capture of Trônes Wood]]: 14–15 July 1916. **[[Battle of Delville Wood]] **[[Battle of Thiepval Ridge]] **[[Battle of the Ancre Heights]] ***[[Capture of Schwaben Redoubt]] ***[[Capture of Regina Trench]] **[[Battle of the Ancre]]
'''1917''' *[[Operations on the Ancre, January–March 1917|Operations on the Ancre]] **[[Actions of Miraumont]] **[[Capture of Irles]] *[[Operation Alberich]] *[[Battle of Arras (1917)|Second Battle of Arras]] **[[Third Battle of the Scarpe]] ***[[Capture of Chérisy]] *[[Third Battle of Ypres]] **[[Battle of Pilkem Ridge]] **[[Battle of Langemarck (1917)|Battle of Langemarck]] **[[First Battle of Passchendaele]] **[[Second Battle of Passchendaele]]
'''1918''' *[[Operation Michael]] **[[Operation Michael#St. Quentin|Battle of St Quentin]] **[[First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux]] **[[Battle of the Avre]] **[[Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux]] *[[Hundred Days Offensive]] **[[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Battle of Amiens]] **[[Second Battle of the Somme]] ***[[Battle of Albert (1918)|Third Battle of Albert]] ****[[Capture of Tara-Usna Hills]] ****[[Second Capture of Trônes Wood]] ***[[Second Battle of Bapaume]] **[[Hindenburg Line|Battles of the Hindenburg Line]] ***[[Battle of Épehy]] ***[[Battle of St Quentin Canal]] **Final Advance on Artois ***[[Battle of the Selle]] ***[[Battle of the Sambre (1918)|Battle of the Sambre]]
==Commanders== {|class="wikitable" |- !style="#ffffff;"|Rank !style="#ffffff;"|Name !style="#ffffff;"|Date !style="#ffffff;"|Notes |- |[[Lieutenant general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]] |[[Lawrence Parsons (British Army officer)|Sir Lawrence Parsons]] |14 September 1914 |Transferred to [[16th (Irish) Division]] 22 September 1914 |- |[[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] |[[Ivor Maxse]] |2 October 1914 | |- |Major-General |[[Richard Philipps Lee|Richard Lee]] |15 January 1917 | |}
==Footnotes== {{reflist|20em}}
==See also== {{Portal|United Kingdom}} *[[List of British divisions in World War I]] *[[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke]], who served with this division from 1916−1917 and ultimately rose to become [[Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Imperial General Staff]] (CIGS) during the [[World War II|Second World War]]
==References== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|title=The 18th Division in the Great War|last=Nicholls|first=G.H.F.|date=1922|url=http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100022557085.0x000002|publisher=William Blackwood and Sons|place=Edinburgh}} {{refend}}
== External links == *[http://www.1914-1918.net/18div.htm The British Army in the Great War: The 18th (Eastern) Division]
==Further reading== *{{cite book|title=The 18th Division in the Battle of the Ancre, 1916|author-link=Ivor Maxse|last=Maxse|first=Ivor|date=1917|url=http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100007720574.0x000002}}
{{British Army Divisions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:18 Infantry Division}} [[Category:Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War I]] [[Category:Kitchener's Army divisions]] [[Category:Military units and formations established in 1914]] [[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1919]] [[Category:1914 establishments in the United Kingdom]]