*VIRTUAL TOUR - The Somme 1*

BRITISH ARMY FORMATION

 

During your time either reading this itinerary, or on the Battlefields, you may notice a number of words and phrases depicting the structure of the British Forces, we would like to explain these for you, before you continue.

In 1914, the British had around 247,400 regular Troops. About 120,000 of these were in the British Expeditionary Army, with the rest stationed abroad. Great Britain also had around 224,200 Reservists and 268,700 Territorials available. 

Lord Kitchener was appointed War Minister at the outbreak of The Great War; he immediately began a recruiting campaign for Volunteer Regular Troops. At first this was very successful, with an average of 33,000 men joining every day. Although, it created serious equipment and training problems, until 1916 the British Army remained short of guns, ammunition and uniforms. During the conflict there were around 8,700,000 who served their Country, with the majority serving on the Western Front.

THE WESTERN FRONT

A confusing term used by many Countries throughout the World is the Field Army (or numbered Army, or simply Army). It is a military formation composed of two or more Corps. Field Armies are usually named, or numbered to distinguish them from an entire National Land Military Force. In English, the typical style for naming Field Armies is word numbers, such as the Fourth Army; whereas Corps are distinguished by Roman numerals, for example IV Corps, and further subordinate formations are designated ordinal numbers. For example, the 3^rd Division, and the 8^th Battalion.

During the 1914-1918 campaign, the formation of each Army, Corps, and Division changed as required; therefore, the following structure is relevant to the beginning of the Somme offensive.

Generally, a British Field Army consisted of three Corps; although the Forth Army did include five Corps at the start of the Somme Offensive. Each Corps would usually be made up of five Divisions, who were the main fighting formation on the Battlefield. Each Infantry Division would include three Infantry Brigades, three Artillery Brigades, three Engineer Field Companies, three Transport Companies, three Field Ambulances, and sections from the Army Veterinary Corps. Each Infantry Brigade would consist of four Infantry Battalions.

NOVEMBER 1916 - MARCH 1917

The Infantry figures are quite overwhelming:

British Military 1916 = three Armies--------- 19,710 Officers + 590,625 Men

Army = three Corps----------------------------- 6,570 Officers + 196,875 Men

Corps = five Divisions-------------------------- 2190 Officers + 65,625 Men

Division = three Brigades---------------------- 438 Officers + 13,125 Men

Brigade = four Battalions---------------------- 146 Officers + 4,375 men

Battalion = ---------------------------------------36 Officers + 1,095 men

As the war progressed, Tactical requirements on the Battlefield meant that the composition of a Division changed regularly. In the Infantry Brigades from early 1916 onwards there was a Machine-Gun Company of the Machine-Gun Corps, and a Trench Mortar Battery equipped with 2” Stokes mortars.

In general, the British Field Armies were fluid, and able to change their structure as required. According to the British official historian after The Great War, Brigadier James E. Edmonds:

The British Army of 1914, was the best trained best equipped and best organized British Army ever sent to war

It could be argued that the British Army has maintained this status, even today.