British 27th Division
Encyclopedia
The British 27th Division was a First World War
regular army infantry
division
formed in late 1914 by combining various units that had been acting as garrison
s about the British Empire
. The division spent most of 1915 on the Western Front
in France
before moving to Salonika where it remained with the British Salonika Army
for the duration of the war. In 1916 its commander Hurdis Ravenshaw
was captured by an Austrian submarine whilst sailing to England. In 1918 in Salonika the division took part in the Battle of Doiran
.
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
battalion served with the brigade from November 1914 until joining the Canadian 3rd Division in November 1915.
81st Brigade :
The following battalions also served with the brigade for periods in 1915:
82nd Brigade :
19th Brigade (May 31, 1915 to August 19, 1915) :
The brigade joined the division in May 1915 from the 6th Division before joining the 2nd Division in August.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
regular army infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
formed in late 1914 by combining various units that had been acting as garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
s about the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The division spent most of 1915 on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
before moving to Salonika where it remained with the British Salonika Army
British Salonika Army
The British Salonika Army was a British field army of the British Army during World War I.-First World War:The Army was formed in Salonika in May 1916 under Lieutenant General George Milne to oppose Bulgarian advances in the region as part of the Macedonian front...
for the duration of the war. In 1916 its commander Hurdis Ravenshaw
Hurdis Ravenshaw
Major General Hurdis Secundus Lalande Ravenshaw CMG was a senior British Army officer during the First World War who served at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and saw action on the North-West Frontier of India, in South Africa during the Second Boer War and in France and Greece during the...
was captured by an Austrian submarine whilst sailing to England. In 1918 in Salonika the division took part in the Battle of Doiran
Battle of Doiran
The third Battle of Doiran was fought from 18 September to 19 September 1918, with the Greeks and the British assaulting the positions of the Bulgarian First Army near Dojran Lake. The battle was part of World War I and took place in the Balkan Theatre...
.
Formation
80th Brigade :- 2nd Battalion, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry
- 3rd Battalion, the King's Royal Rifle CorpsKing's Royal Rifle CorpsThe King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
- 4th Battalion, the King's Royal Rifle Corps
- 4th Battalion, the Rifle Brigade
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is one of the three regular force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army. The regiment is composed of four battalions including a primary reserve battalion, for a total of 2,000 soldiers...
battalion served with the brigade from November 1914 until joining the Canadian 3rd Division in November 1915.
81st Brigade :
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Scots
- 2nd Battalion, the Queen's Own Cameron HighlandersQueen's Own Cameron HighlandersThe Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. In 1961 it was merged with the Seaforth Highlanders to form the Queen's Own Highlanders...
- 1st Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
- 2nd Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment (to 82nd Bde. November 1916)
- 13th (Scottish Horse Yeomanry) Battalion, the Black WatchBlack WatchThe Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The unit's traditional colours were retired in 2011 in a ceremony led by Queen Elizabeth II....
(from October 1916)
The following battalions also served with the brigade for periods in 1915:
- 1/9th (Highlanders) Battalion, the Royal Scots
- 1/9th (The Dumbartonshire) Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
82nd Brigade :
- 2nd Battalion, the Duke of Cornwall's Light InfantryDuke of Cornwall's Light InfantryThe Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. Its lineage is continued today by The Rifles....
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish RegimentRoyal Irish Regiment (1684-1922)The Royal Irish Regiment, until 1881 the 18th Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1684. Also known as the 18th Regiment of Foot and the 18th Regiment of Foot, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, its home depot in...
(until November 1916) - 2nd Battalion, the Royal Irish FusiliersRoyal Irish FusiliersThe Royal Irish Fusiliers was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th Regiment of Foot and the 89th Regiment of Foot in 1881. The regiment's first title in 1881 was Princess Victoria's , changed in 1920 to The Royal Irish Fusiliers...
(until November 1916) - 1st Battalion, the Prince of Wales's Leinster RegimentPrince of Wales's Leinster RegimentThe Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot...
(until November 1916) - 2nd Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment (from 81st Bde. November 1916)
- 10th (Service) Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment (from November 1916)
- 1/1st Battalion, the Cambridgeshire RegimentCambridgeshire RegimentThe Cambridgeshire Regiment was a territorial infantry regiment of the British Army from 1908 to 1961.-Pre 1908:The regiment had its origins in the rifle volunteer corps formed in Cambridgeshire in 1860. By 1880 the volunteer units in the county had amalgamated as the battalion-size 1st...
(from February 1915 to November 1915) - 10th (Lovat's Scouts) Battalion TF, the Cameron Highlanders (from October 1916 to June 1918)
19th Brigade (May 31, 1915 to August 19, 1915) :
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Welch FusiliersRoyal Welch FusiliersThe Royal Welch Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II and the imminent war with France...
- 1st Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 1/5th Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 1st Battalion, the Middlesex RegimentMiddlesex RegimentThe Middlesex Regiment was a regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms when the 57th and 77th Regiments of Foot were amalgamated with the county's militia and rifle volunteer units.On 31 December 1966 The Middlesex Regiment was amalgamated with three...
- 2nd Battalion2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland HighlandersThe 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were formed in 1881 when the 91st Regiment of Foot was amalgamated with the 93rd Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.-Early history:...
, The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
The brigade joined the division in May 1915 from the 6th Division before joining the 2nd Division in August.