10th (Irish) Division

10th (Irish) Division
10th Division

10th (Irish) Division insignia
Active August 1914 – January 1919
Country  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Branch  British Army
Type Infantry
Size Division
Part of K1 Army Group
Engagements

World War I

Gallipoli Campaign
Battle of Sari Bair
Battle of Chunuk Bair
Salonika Front
Battle of Kosturino
Palestine 1917–18
Third Battle of Gaza
Battle of Nablus
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Bryan Mahon

The 10th (Irish) Division, was one of the first of Kitchener's New Army K1 Army Group divisions (formed from Kitchener's 'first hundred thousand' new volunteers), authorized on 21 August 1914, after the outbreak of the Great War.[1] It included battalions from the various provinces of Ireland.[2] It was led by Irish General Bryan Mahon and fought at Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine. It was the first of the Irish Divisions to take to the field and was the most travelled of the Irish formations.[3] The division served as a formation of the United Kingdom's British Army during World War I.

History

Formed in Ireland on 21 August 1914,[2] the 10th Division was sent to Gallipoli where, as part of General Sir Frederick Stopford's IX Corps, at Suvla Bay on 7 August it participated in the Landing at Suvla Bay and the August offensive. Some battalions of the division were landed at Anzac and fought at Chunuk Bair.

In September 1915, when the Suvla front became a stalemate, the division was moved to Salonika where it remained for two years and fought the Battle of Kosturino.

The division moved to Egypt in September 1917 where it joined General Chetwode's XX Corps. It fought in the Third Battle of Gaza which succeeded in breaking the resistance of the Turkish defenders in southern Palestine.

Heavy losses on the Western Front following Operation Michael, the great German Spring Offensive in 1918, resulted in the transfer of ten of the division's battalions from Palestine to France, their place being taken by Indian Army units. This left only one British battalion per brigade.[4] The remainder of the division remained in Palestine until the end of the war with Turkey on 31 October 1918.

On 12 November 1918 the Division concentrated at Sarafand, ready for moving back to Egypt. By 1 December it had returned to Cairo.

Order of battle

A church service at the 10th (Irish) Division's Basingstoke camp, 1915

The division comprised the following brigades:[5]

29th Brigade
30th Brigade 
31st Brigade 
Pioneers 

Battles and engagements

Gallipoli Campaign

Salonika Front

Sinai and Palestine Campaign

General Officers Commanding

Commanders included:[7]

Great War Memorials

Guildhall Derry stained-glass window which commemorates
the Three Irish Divisions, left the 36th, right the 10th and 16th

See also

References

  1. Murphy, 2007, Irish Regiments in the World Wars, The Irish Divisions, 1914–18,
    The 10th (Irish) Division: p.10, Osprey Publishing (2007) ISBN 978-1-84603-015-4
  2. 1 2 Murphy, 2007, p.10
  3. Murphy, 2007, p.11
  4. Chappell, P (2009). "The Regimental Warpath 1914–1918 10th (Irish) Division". warpath.orbat.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  5. Baker, Chris. "10th (Irish) Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  6. 10th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment was attached to the division from August 1914 but was unbrigaded.
  7. Army Commands

Further reading

External links

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