The 23rd Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised in 1914 in the Great War as part of Kitchener's Army. The division was sent to France in August 1915 under the command of Major-General Sir James Melville Babington C.B. C.M.G. During the war the division fought on the Western Front until October 1917 when it moved to the Italian Front. It remained in Italy and was disbanded by March 1919.
History
1914–1915
Formation and training
The division formed part of Kitchener's third New Army, with concentration of units beginning on 16 September, the 68th Brigade at Bullswater and the 69th and 70th brigades, together with Royal Engineers companies at Frensham. It was commanded by Maj. Gen. James Melville Babington, who was at first hampered by a lack of clerks, cooks and a means of communicating orders, other than verbally. Together with other New Army divisions, uniforms of any description were not received until mid October, by which time many of the civilian clothes the men wore were reduced to rags. Division artillery began to be formed in early November. Initial weapons training was carried out with small numbers of Lee-Metford rifles and French 90mm guns. The division was concentrated at Aldershot in January 1915, where the division train was formed. Khaki uniforms were received at the end of February and the division moved to the Shorncliffe area in March and continued training. In May the division moved to Borden where 18-pounders and 4.5 inch howitzers were issued to the division artillery and in June the Infantry received its rifles. On 16 August the division was inspected by the King and next day received its orders for embarkation.
France
On arrival in France the division was concentrated near St Omer with the Guards and the 24th divisions, forming XI Corps, where it continued training. In early September the division was transferred to III Corps and in mid September took over part of the front line in the nursery sector of Armentières where, because of the high water table, much of the front line was defined by breastworks.
The 103rd and 105th Artillery brigades were lent to the 8th Division for a diversionary attack in support of the Battle of Loos in late September and won the division's first bravery awards, the rest of the division provided a smoke barrage.
In early October the 70th Brigade was exchanged with the (regular army) 24th Brigade of the 8th Division, with two battalions in it being exchanged with battalions in the other brigades (the 2nd East Lancashire Regiment going to the 68th Brigade, the 1st Sherwood Foresters to the 69th Brigade and the 13th Durham Light Infantry and the 10th Duke of Wellington's Regiment replacing them in the 24th Brigade, a similar process happening in the 8th Division). This not only gave the service battalions the benefit of the regulars experience but also gave the regulars a boost in morale by association with fresh troops.
The division's first V.C was won on 4 November by Pte Thomas Kenny of 13th D.L.I., rescuing an officer in heavy fog after a patrol was ambushed. On the night of the last day of the year the division launched its first trench raid with 116 officers and men of the 10th Northumberland Fusiliers and a party of Royal Engineers.
1916
In late February the division was relieved by the 34th Division, and after a short rest was sent to the front near Souchez, south of Lens. Here the division's artillery was used to support the 47th (1/2nd London) Division in early April as a feint and again in late May to counter a German advance. In mid June the division was relieved by the 47th Division and by the end of the month was in reserve at Rainneville behind the Somme front.
Somme
Ordered to relieve the 34th Division the 23rd entered the Somme battle on 3 July, and subsequently advanced toward and captured Contalmaison by 10 July. The divisions second V.C. was won by 2nd Lt Donald Bell of the 9th Yorkshire Regiment on 5 July when he and two others (who both won the D.C.M.) rushed a machine gun nest. The division was relieved on 11 July, except for the 68th Brigade which joined the 34th Division on 11 July and took part in an abortive attack on Pozières on the night of 16/17 July, the artillery remained in action supporting the 1st Division. Indicative of the high morale of the division, the sick list for 14 July was one man. By 20 July the division once again had its three original brigades, the 70th Brigade returning from 8th Division where it had suffered heavy losses in the first day of the Somme battle and the 68th returning from the 34th Division.