The Seventh Division 1914-1918 by C.T. Atkinson.
The Seventh Division 1914-1918 by C.T. Atkinson. 529 pages, 36 maps, 8 illustrations. The Naval and Military Press. Hardback.
The 7th Division officially came into being on 27th August 1914, the date of the appointment of Major-General T Capper as GOC, who died of wounds received at Loos in September 1915. It was a Regular army Division, hastily assembled, and of its 12 infantry battalions eight had come from Gibraltar, Malta, the Cape and Egypt, the other four uncommitted battalions still in the UK, including one from Guernsey. The attached cavalry was not regular but a complete Yeomanry regiment, the Northumberland Hussars.
The Division's first foray into the war was a trip to Zeebrugge, but it was too late to assist the Belgians in Antwerp retreating into Flanders to join the BEF as it transferred up from the Aisne. The Division was practically wiped out during the First Battle of Ypres, suffering 9,700 casualties, this severe fighting is probably the most memorable of its many exploits. When it was rebuilt, the Division became part of Haig’s First Army, taking a major role in the battles of Neuve Chappelle, Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos; its casualties in the latter were 5,426. It fought on the Somme in 1916 and Third Ypres in 1917, and at the end of 1917 it was withdrawn from the Western Front and sent to Italy, where it saw out the rest of the war supporting the Italians. Cyril Falls in War Books describes the Seventh Division as one of the greatest fighting formations Britain ever put into the field. Its total casualties amounted to over 68,000, among the highest recorded for any Division and was awarded 14 VCs. This is an excellent Divisional history.
The Seventh Division 1914-1918 by C.T. Atkinson. 529 pages, 36 maps, 8 illustrations. The Naval and Military Press. Hardback.
The 7th Division officially came into being on 27th August 1914, the date of the appointment of Major-General T Capper as GOC, who died of wounds received at Loos in September 1915. It was a Regular army Division, hastily assembled, and of its 12 infantry battalions eight had come from Gibraltar, Malta, the Cape and Egypt, the other four uncommitted battalions still in the UK, including one from Guernsey. The attached cavalry was not regular but a complete Yeomanry regiment, the Northumberland Hussars.
The Division's first foray into the war was a trip to Zeebrugge, but it was too late to assist the Belgians in Antwerp retreating into Flanders to join the BEF as it transferred up from the Aisne. The Division was practically wiped out during the First Battle of Ypres, suffering 9,700 casualties, this severe fighting is probably the most memorable of its many exploits. When it was rebuilt, the Division became part of Haig’s First Army, taking a major role in the battles of Neuve Chappelle, Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Loos; its casualties in the latter were 5,426. It fought on the Somme in 1916 and Third Ypres in 1917, and at the end of 1917 it was withdrawn from the Western Front and sent to Italy, where it saw out the rest of the war supporting the Italians. Cyril Falls in War Books describes the Seventh Division as one of the greatest fighting formations Britain ever put into the field. Its total casualties amounted to over 68,000, among the highest recorded for any Division and was awarded 14 VCs. This is an excellent Divisional history.