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The 29th Division was the last of the regular divisions formed after the outbreak of war from battalion serving overseas. They came from India, Burma, China, and Mauritius, but only 11 regular battalions were available so the 5th Royal Scots, a Territorial battalion was selected to make up the 12. One of the artillery brigades and the divisional troops were also provided by the Territorials, so will though reckoned as a regular division it was in reality something of a mixture. Originally intended for the Western Front the division’s destination was changed to Gallipoli, the only regular division to serve there. It became known as the “incomparable 29th” and was to win more Victoria Crosses than any other division, 27 in all. The 29th fought right through the Gallipoli campaign from the initial landing on 25th of April 1915 when 6 VC's were awarded to 1st Lancaster Fusiliers, until finally taken off in January 1916. It sailed for France in March 1916 and took over the Beaumont Hamel sector on the Somme and it was here the division attacked on the 1st of July incurring 5,240 casualties on that day. The division took part in the Arras offensive in April 1917 and later that year in Third Ypres. In November 1917 it was at Cambrai in the first mass tank attack. The principal contributors through this book of the three divisional commanders, supplemented by eyewitness accounts and official reports from other sources.
