56th Division (1st London Territorial Division) 1914-1918 PDF Download

Author: C. H. Dudley Ward
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781847340511
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Author: C. H. Dudley Ward
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781843421115
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
This is the history of a pre-war TF division, the 1st London Division. It had the unhappy experience of being broken up right at the beginning of the war to provide reinforcements elsewhere. By the beginning of 1915 the division had ceased to exist, but in January 1916 it was reconstituted in France and numbered 56th . Its first major engagement was the unsuccessful diversionary attack at Gommecourt on 1 July 1916 which resulted in 4,749 casualties. The division remained on the Somme till October and in the following year fought in the 1917 Arras offensive and again at Cambrai. In the German March 1918 offensive the 56th formed the right flank of First Army NE of Arras where, alongside 4th Division, it faced seven German divisions in the Mars offensive; the German advance here was checked. By the end of the war the division had suffered 34,809 casualties. This account is by an author with a reputation as a writer of regimental and divisional histories, and his experience as a regimental and staff officer in the war show clearly. There is an excellent appendix providing details on order of battle - commanders, staff and units - and the changes, with dates.

Author: Charles Humble Dudley Ward
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Author: Charles Humble Dudley Ward
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Author: Major C.H. Dudley Ward
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1781502870
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
This is the history of a pre-war TF division, the 1st London Division. It had the unhappy experience of being broken up right at the beginning of the war to provide reinforcements elsewhere. By the beginning of 1915 the division had ceased to exist, but in January 1916 it was reconstituted in France and numbered ‘56th'. Its first major engagement was the unsuccessful diversionary attack at Gommecourt on 1 July 1916 which resulted in 4,749 casualties. The division remained on the Somme till October and in the following year fought in the 1917 Arras offensive and again at Cambrai. In the German March 1918 offensive the 56th formed the right flank of First Army NE of Arras where, alongside 4th Division, it faced seven German divisions in the ‘Mars' offensive; the German advance here was checked. By the end of the war the division had suffered 34,809 casualties. This account is by an author with a reputation as a writer of regimental and divisional histories, and his experience as a regimental and staff officer in the war show clearly. There is an excellent appendix providing details on order of battle - commanders, staff and units - and the changes, with dates.

Author: John Stirling
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Author: K. W. Mitchinson
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1781496358
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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An impressive work of research which is not so much a regimental history as a social study of the three battalions of the 5th (London Rifle Brigade) London Regiment: 1/5th, 2/5th and 3/5th. The first two served on the Western Front, the third (3/5th) did not leave the UK. LRB was a battalion which required an entrance fee from its members and excluded the labourers' class. It had a strong esprit de corps, a high morale and was not ashamed of its exclusiveness. These characteristics and the reason for them are examined in detail. The author describes the background of those who served in the unit at various stages of the war, their civilian occupation, where they lived how long they had been with the LRB and so forth. Appendices list casualties, COs and adjutants and those who obtained commissions. This record is all the more interesting for the unusual perspective from which it is written.

Author: Matt Brosnan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781908916471
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Nearly a century on, the operational performance of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front during the First World War is still a hotly debated subject. The dominant perception is one of a conflict characterized by mud, trenches and futility, presided over by incompetent commanders. But over the last thirty years a different view has emerged and gained increasing prominence. Many historians have argued that the BEF deserves more credit for the wartime learning curve it underwent in evolving from a small professional force into a mass citizen army, which helped it to end the war victorious. The BEF has become the subject of even more detailed research, as historians have sought to investigate all aspects of its operational practice. This book enters into this debate by taking a detailed look at a single infantry division, one of the BEF's vital constituent parts. It focuses on the 56th (London) Division, a first-line Territorial division that served continuously on the Western Front between February 1916 and November 1918. By focusing on and comparing three key battles in the Division's service - the Battle of Gommecourt on 1 July 1916, the Battle of Arras on 9 April 1917 and the Battle of Albert on 23 August 1918 - this study provides detailed insight into 56th Division's tactical development. It suggests that by the last year of the war, 56th Division had developed sophisticated offensive tactics born out of years of hard-fought experience. This study utilizes a range of archival sources, including the official documents of war diaries, operational orders and battle reports. But it also references the private papers of the officers and men who served in 56th Division, gaining the insight of individuals who witnessed and took part in these events at first hand. The voices that emerge from these sources are a testament to the dedication of many of the men who served with the Division and who helped it to develop increasingly effective fighting methods, as was also the case with the BEF as a whole. The 56th (London) Division therefore deserves to be remembered for its contribution to a painful, but ultimately victorious war effort. Matt Brosnan was educated at the University of Birmingham, where he studied History and English at undergraduate level and then Twentieth Century British History at postgraduate level. His postgraduate research was on the tactical development of 56th Division on the Western Front, which has been extended to form the present study. Since 2006 he has worked at the Imperial War Museum in London, initially as a Curator in the Department of Art, which holds the largest collection of modern British art outside the Tate. He curated displays on the Hall of Remembrance art scheme of the First World War and Neo-Romantic art of the Second World War period. He currently works as a Historian in the Research and Information Department, where he is researching forthcoming exhibitions on Frontline Medicine and also for the centenary of the First World War. A Considerable Achievement is his first publication. He was born and lives in north London.

Author: Charles Humble Dudley Ward
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Author: Alan Hamer Maude
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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