46th (North Midland) Division

The 46th (North Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, that saw service in the First World War. At the outbreak of the war, the 46th Division was commanded by Major-General Hon. E.J. Montagu-Stuart-Wortley. Originally called the North Midland Division, it was redesignated as the 46th Division in May 1915.[1]

For the similarly numbered formation in the Second World War, see 46th Infantry Division (United Kingdom).

North Midland Division
46th (North Midland) Division
First World War division insignia
Active1908 – June 1919
1922–1935
Country United Kingdom
Branch Territorial Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Peacetime HQLichfield
EngagementsHohenzollern Redoubt
Gommecourt
Hill 70
St Quentin Canal
Selle
Sambre

Formation

The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which combined and re-organised the old Volunteer Force, the Honourable Artillery Company and the Yeomanry. On formation, the TF contained 14 infantry divisions and 14 mounted yeomanry brigades.[2] One of the divisions was the North Midland Division.[3]

The North Midland Division was created by combining two existing Volunteer Infantry brigades, the Staffordshire Brigade and the North Midland Brigade. The Staffordshire Brigade was composed of battalions of the South Staffordshire Regiment and the Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment). The North Midland Brigade was split into two, one, the Lincoln and Leicester Brigade, composed of battalions of the Lincolnshire and Leicestershire Regiments, the other, the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Brigade, comprising the four TF battalions of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment (later the Sherwood Foresters).[4] In peacetime, the divisional headquarters was in Lichfield.[3][5]

History

The North Midland Division was sent to France in February 1915 and served on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War. On 12 May 1915 the division was numbered 46th (North Midland) Division and the brigades were also numbered. During the Battle of Loos the 46th Division was decimated in an attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13 October 1915.[6]

A barbed wire gate in a trench system to form a block against raiders at Cambrin in trenches held by the 1/7th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), 16 September 1917.

It was later involved in the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, where in the opening phase as part of VII Corps, the southernmost corps of the British Third Army, the Division took part in the diversionary attack at Gommecourt on the first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, which was a catastrophic failure resulting in heavy losses.[7]

The event dogged the division afterwards with a poor reputation until 29 September 1918, during the Hundred Days Offensive, when it re-established its name at the Battle of St. Quentin Canal where, utilising life-belts and collapsible boats, it crossed the formidable obstacle of the canal and used scaling ladders to surmount the steep gradient of the opposite bank and captured multiple fortified machine-gun posts.[8]

Order of battle
Brig-Gen J. V. Campbell on Riqueval Bridge addresses men of 137th Brigade after breaking the German's Hindenburg Line defences on 29 September 1918

During the war, the composition of the division was as follows:[1][9][10][11]

137th (Staffordshire) Brigade
138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade
  • 1/4th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment (left January 1918)
  • 1/5th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
  • 1/4th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment
  • 1/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment
  • 138th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed 22 February 1916, moved to 46th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 28 February 1918)
  • 138th Trench Mortar Battery (formed 2 March 1916)
139th (Sherwood Foresters) Brigade
  • 1/5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters
  • 1/6th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters
  • 1/7th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (disbanded January 1918)
  • 1/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters
  • 1/4th Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) (joined and left November 1915)
  • 1/3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) (joined and left November 1915)
  • 139th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed 16 February 1916, moved to 46th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 26 February 1918)
  • 139th Trench Mortar Battery (formed 9 March 1916)
Mounted Troops
Artillery
  • I North Midland Brigade, RFA (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Lincolnshire Batteries, and I North Midland Brigade Ammunition Column) (numbered CCXXX Bde on 13 May 1916)
  • II North Midland Brigade, RFA (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Staffordshire Batteries, and II North Midland Brigade Ammunition Column) (numbered CCXXXI Bde on 13 May 1916)
  • III North Midland Brigade, RFA (4th, 5th, and 6th Staffordshire Batteries, and III North Midland Brigade Ammunition Column) (numbered CCXXXII Bde on 13 May 1916; left 3 January 1917)
  • IV North Midland (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA (1st and 2nd Derbyshire Batteries, and IV North Midland (H) Brigade Ammunition Column) (numbered CCXXXIII Bde on 13 May 1916; broken up 29 August 1916)
  • North Midland (Staffordshire) Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery (until 18 April 1915)
  • 46th Divisional Trench Mortar Brigade, RFA
    • V.46 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery (joined 20 June 1916; absorbed partly by X and Y and partly by I Corps HTM Bty on 3 February 1918)
    • X.46 Medium Trench Mortar Battery (joined 9 March 1916)
    • Y.46 Medium Trench Mortar Battery (formed 17 March 1916)
    • Z.46 Medium Trench Mortar Battery (formed 17 March 1916; absorbed by X and Y on 3 February 1918)
  • North Midland Divisional Ammunition Column, RFA (formed before embarkation, later numbered 46th; absorbed brigade ammunition columns 22 May 1916)
Engineers
  • North Midland Divisional Engineers (later numbered 46th)
    • 1/1st North Midland Field Company, Royal Engineers (served with 28th Division from 26 December 1914 to 6 April 1915; later numbered 465th Field Company)
    • 1/2nd North Midland Field Company, RE (later numbered 466th Field Company)
    • 57th Field Company, RE (joined from 3rd Division 7 April, left 10 July 1915)
    • 2/1st North Midland Field Company, RE (joined 10 July 1915, later numbered 468th Field Company)
    • North Midland Signal Company, RE (later numbered 46th Signal Company)
Pioneers
Machine Guns
  • 46th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (formed on 28 February 1918)
    • 137th Company, MGC (moved from 137th Brigade)
    • 138th Company, MGC (moved from 138th Brigade)
    • 139th Company, MGC (moved from 139th Brigade)
    • 178th Company, MGC (joined on 28 March 1917)
Medical Services
  • 1st North Midland Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps
  • 2nd North Midland Field Ambulance, RAMC
  • 3rd North Midland Field Ambulance, RAMC
  • 17th Sanitary Section (joined 4 March 1915; left 21 March 1917)
  • North Midland Divisional Ambulance Workshop, Army Service Corps (joined 4 March 1915, later numbered 46th, moved to Divisional Train 6 April 1916)
  • 1st North Midland Mobile Veterinary Section, Army Veterinary Corps
Transport
  • North Midland Divisional Train, ASC (later numbered 46th)
    • 451st Horse Transport Company, ASC
    • 452nd HT Company, ASC
    • 453rd HT Company, ASC
    • 454th HT Company, ASC
Labour
  • 240th Divisional Employment Company, Labour Corps (formed 25 June 1917)

Memorials
  • The 46th (North Midland) Division memorial on the road between Vermelles and Hulluch
  • The memorial honouring the casualties of the 46th Division at the Hohenzollern Redoubt
  • 46th Division Memorial near Bellenglise (Hindenburg Line)

Postwar

The Territorial Force was disbanded after the war. It was reformed as the Territorial Army in 1920 as was the 46th Division. However, the 46th Division was disbanded in 1936, the headquarters was converted into 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division and several of its infantry battalions into AA units.[12] Most of the remainder of 46th Division's units were sent to other divisions, mainly the 49th (West Riding).[13]

Commanders

The following officers commanded the division at various times:[14]

Appointed General officer commanding
April 1908 Brigadier-General Hugh J. Archdale
January 1911 Major-General Hubert I. W. Hamilton
June 1914 Major-General Edward Montagu-Stuart-Wortley
July 1916 Major-General William Thwaites
September 1918 Major-General Gerald F. Boyd
June 1919 Major-General Sir A. Reginald Hoskins
June 1923 Major-General Casimir C. van Straubenzee
May 1927 Major-General Sir Percy O. Hambro
May 1931 Major-General Oswald C. Borrett
December 1932 Major-General Maurice G. Taylor
April 1934 Major-General Sir Hereward Wake

Victoria Cross recipients

See also

References
  1. Becke, pp. 61–7.
  2. Westlake 1992, p. 3
  3. Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914". Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  4. Monthly Army List.
  5. Westlake, Ray (2011). The Territorials, 1908–1914: A Guide for Military and Family Historians. Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1848843608.
  6. Priestley 1919, p. 18
  7. Priestley 1919, p. 19
  8. Priestley 1919, p. 22
  9. 46th Div at Long, Long Trail.
  10. MacDonald, Appendix 3.
  11. Priestley, Appendices IV & V.
  12. "2 AA Division 1936–38 at British Military History" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  13. "Field Companies of the Royal Engineers". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  14. "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 13 June 2020.

Bibliography
  • Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56), London: HM Stationery Office, 1935/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8.
  • Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945, London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1843424746.
  • Alan MacDonald, A Lack of Offensive Spirit? The 46th (North Midland) Division at Gommecourt, 1st July 1916, West Wickham: Iona Books, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9558119-0-6.
  • Priestley, R.E. (1919). Breaking the Hindenburg Line: the story of the 46th (North Midland) Division. London: T. Fisher Unwin./Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1-843422-66-2.
  • Westlake, Ray (1992). British Territorial Units 1914–18. Men-at-Arms Series. 245. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-85532-168-7.
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