The 21st Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I, raised in September 1914 by men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division moved to France in September 1915 and served on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War. The divisional insignia was the "triple-seven".

History

thumb|King George V passing down a village street lined by cheering troops of the 21st Division. Photograph was taken near to Le Quesnoy, on 2 December 1918.

The Division was the first of the six created for the Third New Army on 13 September 1914. It moved to France in September 1915. It took part in the Battle of Loos in September 1915, the Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916, the Battle of Arras in April 1917, the Battle of Passchendaele in autumn 1917 and the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. The division suffered 55,581 killed, wounded and missing, being the highest number of casualties suffered by any New Army division.

Order of battle

The following units served with the division:

  • 16 September 1914 Lt Gen Edward Hutton
  • 11 April 1915 Major-General George Forestier-Walker
  • 18 November 1915 Major-General Claud Jacob (wounded, 4 March 1916)
  • 4 March 1916 Brig.-General G.M. Gloster (temporary)
  • 1 April 1916 Major-General Claud Jacob
  • 22 May 1916 Major-General David Campbell

See also

  • List of British divisions in World War I

References

Bibliography

Further reading

  • The British Army in the Great War: The 21st Division
  • 21st division 1914–18
  • 21st Infantry Division on the Western Front 1914–1918: A Case Study in Tactical Evolution, Kathryn Snowden (2001)