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List of military divisions — List of British divisions in the First World War. This page is a list of British divisions that existed in the First World War. Divisions were either infantry or cavalry. Divisions were categorised as being 'Regular Army' (professional), 'Territorial Force' (part-time) or 'New Army' (wartime).
After 1907, the regular British Army, serving at home, was grouped into six divisions, each of three brigades numbered 1st–18th.Following the declaration of war, four infantry battalions, which had been intended to defend the lines of communication, were brigaded together as the 19th Brigade.
The first territorial divisions to be deployed were used to free up imperial garrisons overseas, but in 1915 they began to be deployed to the front lines on the Western Front and at Gallipoli. The pre-war territorial divisions were numbered in May 1915 in order of their deployment.
During the First World War the British Armed Forces was enlarged to many times its peacetime strength. This was done mainly by adding new battalions to existing regiments (the King's Royal Rifles raised a total of 26 battalions). Although sometimes identified by shoulder titles, generally the new battalions could not be identified from appearance.
List of wartime orders of battle for the British 6th Division (1810–1941) 7th Infantry Division (United Kingdom) 8th Infantry Division (United Kingdom) History of the British 8th Division during the First World War; 9th (Scottish) Division; 10th (Irish) Division; 11th (Northern) Division; 12th (Eastern) Division; 13th (Western) Division; 14th ...
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the six divisions the British Army sent to the Western Front during the First World War.Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the 1906–1912 Haldane Reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War (1899–1902).
Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 4: The Army Council, GHQs, Armies, and Corps 1914–1918, London: HM Stationery Office, 1944/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-43-6
By 1918, a British division consisted of three infantry brigades, each of three battalions. Each of these battalions had 36 Lewis machine guns, making a total of 324 such weapons in the division. Additionally, there was a divisional machine gun battalion, equipped with 64 Vickers machine guns in four companies of 16 guns.