7th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

The 7th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, first established by The Duke of Wellington as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army for service in the Peninsular War, and was active also during the First World War from 1914–1919, and in the Second World War from 1938–1939 in Palestine and Egypt.

7th Division
7th Infantry Division
Active1811–1814
1914–1919
October 1938–November 1939
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsPeninsular War
Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
Battle of Vitoria
Battle of the Pyrenees
Battle of Nivelle
Battle of the Nive
Battle of Orthez
First World War
First Battle of Ypres
Battle of Neuve Chapelle
Battle of Aubers Ridge
Battle of Festubert
Battle of Loos
Battle of the Somme
Battle of Passchendaele
Battle of Vittorio Veneto

Peninsular War

The 7th Division was formed during the Peninsular War by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and was present at the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro the Battle of Vitoria the Battle of the Pyrenees the Battle of Nivelle the Battle of the Nive and the Battle of Orthez.[1]

Peninsular War order of battle

The order of battle in summer 1813 was:[2]

From April to June 1814 a militia brigade under Major-General Henry Bayly was attached to the 7th Division, the only militia to serve overseas during the war. It comprised three "provisional battalions" formed from militia regiments: the 1st Battalion under Colonel the Marquess of Buckingham, the 2nd Battalion under Colonel Edward Bayly (brother of the brigade commander), and the 3rd Battalion under Colonel Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn.[3]

Second Boer War

The 7th Division was re-activated during the Second Boer War.[4] The division took part in the Battle of Poplar Grove (March 1900) and the following occupation of Bloemfontein, then took part in Lord Roberts′ march to Pretoria.[5]

Its composition in May and June 1900 was as follows:[6]

2nd Boer War order of battle

14th Brigade Maj-Gen John Grenfell Maxwell

15th Brigade Maj-Gen Archibald Graham Wavell

Artillery

Mounted Troops

Engineers

First World War
Column of the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders marching to the trenches along the Becordel–Fricourt road, France, October 1916.

The 7th Division was a Regular Army formation that was formed in September 1914 by combining units returning from garrison outposts in the British Empire at the outbreak of the First World War the previous month.[7][8] The division landed at Zeebrugge in Belgium on 6 October 1914 in an attempt to support the Belgian Army’s defence of Antwerp, but was soon forced to retreat south-west as that city fell a few days later. It then played a crucial part in the stabilisation of the front during the First Battle of Ypres, preventing a German breakthrough, although at a high cost in terms of casualties.[9] A floating division, the 7th was the first British Division to enter Ypres on 14 October. It was ordered to hold the line, while General French brought up his remaining six divisions and redeployed them from the Aisne to the sea. The division held an 8 mile front for two weeks, opposite some 340,000 Germans. Some 18,000 soldiers strong on 15 October, the 7th left the line on 31 October, with just 2,000 troops remaining, mostly transport and supply.[10]

The 7th Division fought in most of the major battles on the Western Front through to 1917 before being sent to the Italian Front for the remainder of the war. At the battle of Loos in late 1915, the division’s General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major-General Thompson Capper, was killed in action at the height of the fighting. Unlike the first six regular divisions of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), a third of whose strength was made up of regular reservists, the 7th Division was originally composed entirely of serving regular soldiers, which gave rise to the division's nickname, ‘The Immortal Seventh’.[8]

First World War order of battle

The composition of the 7th Division during the First World War was as follows:[7][8]

21st Brigade

The brigade transferred to the 30th Division on 19 December 1915, swapping with the 91st Brigade.

22nd Brigade

91st Brigade

The brigade joined from the 30th Division in December 1915, swapping with the 21st Brigade. A number of battalions swapped to the brigade from other 7th Division brigades during the transition.

Artillery

Engineers[11]

  • 54th Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 55th Field Company, RE (until 1 September 1915)
  • 95th Field Company, RE (from 30 August 1915)
  • 2nd Highland Field Company, RE (joined 17 January 1915; to 51st (Highland) Division 24 January 1916)
  • 3rd Durham Field Company, RE (joined from 51st (Highland) Division 30 January 1916; renumbered 528th (Durham) Field Company 3 February 1917)

Pioneers

  • 24th (Service) Bn Manchester Regiment (from 22 May 1916).

Battles during the First World War

Second World War

Richard O'Connor served as Military Governor of Jerusalem and General Officer Commanding, 7th Infantry Division, in Palestine and Egypt from 29 September 1938 to 3 November 1939.[12] When O’Connor was formally appointed on 4 October 1938, the division had not yet been fully formed,[13] but the 19th Infantry Brigade had been earmarked for the new formation.[14]

The Times noted on 19 October 1938 that, "There will be enough infantry to give ... two divisions [the other apparently being the 8th Infantry Division]. Already on duty are the 14th, 16th, 17th and 19th Brigades, the brigade from India, and one made up from home and Malta. Soon there will be added units of a mounted brigade."[15] The composition of the division just prior to the outbreak of war was as follows:[16]

Second World War order of battle

Cavalry

Infantry

Engineers

  • 56 Field Company, Royal Engineers

Division HQ moved from Jerusalem to Cairo on 31 August 1939, giving up command of the above troops and taking over the troops in the Cairo area (the Cairo Brigade became the 29th Infantry Brigade on 20 September 1939). 7th Division HQ then moved to Mersa Matruh on 4 September, taking over all troops in the area except The Armoured Division. The Division was redesignated the 6th Infantry Division on 3 November 1939, and became HQ Western Desert Force in 1940.[18]

General officers commanding

Commanders have included:[19]

See also

Notes
  1. "Battle of Orthez". British Battles. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  2. Lipscombe, Nick (2014). Bayonne and Toulouse 1813–14: Wellington invades France. Osprey. p. 23. ISBN 978-1472802774.
  3. "No. 16847". The London Gazette. 22 January 1814. pp. 184–185.
  4. "Maurice: History – Vol 1: Appendix 10 - Distribution of troops in South Africa on 11th February, 1900, when the march from Ramdam began". Anglo-Boer War. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  5. "Latest Intelligence - The occupation of Bloemfontein". The Times (36092). London. 17 March 1900. p. 7.
  6. Amery (1909), Appendix to Chapters I-XIV, pp. 503–14
  7. Becke (1934) pp. 81–7
  8. "The 7th Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  9. Lomas D. (1999) First Ypres 1914: Graveyard of the Old Contemptibles, Osprey Publishing Ltd., Oxford: 96 pp.
  10. Forbes, Helen Emily Craven, Lady (1920). The saga of the Seventh division. J. Lane. p. 9.
  11. Richard A. Rinaldi, Royal Engineers, World War I, at Orbat.com Archived 24 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Keegan, John (ed., 2005) Churchill's Generals, London: Cassell Military. ISBN 0-304-36712-5., p.199
  13. 7th Division Commander, The Times, 5 October 1938, p.8
  14. Joslen (1960), p. 261
  15. 7th Division Staff, The Times, 19 October 1938, p.18
  16. Joslen (1960), p.51
  17. "7th Infantry Division". Unit Histories. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  18. Joslen (1960), pp. 51, 276–7, 474
  19. "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  20. "No. 27460". The London Gazette. 1 August 1902. p. 4969.

References
  • L.S. Amery (ed.), The Times History of the War in South Africa 1899-1902, London: Sampson Low, Marston, 6 Vols 1900–09
  • Maj. A.F. Becke, History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 1: The Regular British Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1934/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-38-X
  • 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 1-843424-74-6

External sources
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