The history of 46th (North Midland) Division
The North Midland Division was a formation of the Territorial Force (TF). It was created as a result of the reforms of the army carried out in 1908 under the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane and was one of fourteen divisions of the peacetime TF. All units were mobilised for full time war service on 5 August 1914.
1914
The units of the division concentrated in the Luton area by mid August 1914.
1915
King George V inspected the division on 19 February. Advance parties landed at Boulogne on 23 February and eight days later the units began to arrive. Concentration was completed by 8 March. The North Midland was thus the first TF division to arrive complete in a theatre of war. The first months were spent in the Ypres salient.
On 12 May 1915 it was retitled as the 46th (North Midland) Division and the brigades were also retitled as shown below.
The division then took part in the following engagements:
The German liquid fire attack at Hooge (30-31 July 1915)
The attack at the Hohenzollern Redoubt (13 October 1915)
On 23 December 1915 the Division was ordered to proceed to Egypt, leaving the Divisional Ammunition Column (for the 55th Division), the Divisional Train (with the 56th Division) and the Mobile Veterinary Section. Most units reached Egypt via Marseilles by 13 January.
1916
After just a few days in Egypt, the move of the Division was countermanded and the units were returned to France, whereupon the DAC, Train and Vets rejoined. The Division remained in France and Flanders for the rest of the war, taking part in the following engagements:
The diversionary attack at Gommecourt (1 July 1916)
1917
Operations on the Ancre (March)
Occupation of the Gommecourt defences (4 March)
The attack on Rettemoy Graben (12 March)
The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line
The attack on Lievin (1 July)
The Battle of Hill 70 (15-25 August)
1918
The Battle of the St Quentin canal, including the passage of the canal at Bellenglise*
The Battle of the Beaurevoir Line*
The Battle of Cambrai*
* the battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line 1918
The Battle of the Selle**
The Battle of Sambre**
** the battles marked ** are phases of the Final Advance in Picardy
The forward units of the division were at Sains-du-Nord on 11 November 1918. Not selected to join the Army of Occupation, the division moved back to the Landrecies area on 14-15 November. Units moved to the Le Cateau area in early January 1919 and demobilisation began. By June it was down to cadre level. The division reformed as part of the Territorial Army in April 1920.
The order of battle of the 46th (North Midland) Division
| 137th (Staffordshire) Brigade | |
| 1/5th Bn, the South Staffordshire Regiment | |
| 1/6th Bn, the South Staffordshire Regiment | |
| 1/5th Bn, the North Staffordshire Regiment | left January 1918 |
| 1/6th Bn, the North Staffordshire Regiment | |
| 4th Bn, the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) | joined November 1915, left December 1915 |
| 1/4th Bn, the Seaforth Highlanders | joined and left November 1915 |
| 1/4th Bn, the London Regiment | joined and left November 1915 |
| 137th Machine Gun Company | joined 7 March 1916, moved to 46th Bn MGC 28 February 1918 |
| 137th Trench Mortar Battery | joined 2 March 1916 |
| 138th (Lincoln & Leicester) Brigade | |
| 1/4th Bn, the Lincolnshire Regiment | left January 1918 |
| 1/5th Bn, the Lincolnshire Regiment | |
| 1/4th Bn, the Leicestershire Regiment | |
| 1/5th Bn, the Leicestershire Regiment | |
| 138th Machine Gun Company | joined 22 February 1916, moved to 46th Bn MGC 28 Feb 1918 |
| 138th Trench Mortar Battery | joined 2 March 1916 |
| 139th (Sherwood Forester) Brigade | |
| 1/5th Bn, the Sherwood Foresters | |
| 1/6th Bn, the Sherwood Foresters | |
| 1/7th Bn, the Sherwood Foresters | left January 1918 |
| 1/8th Bn, the Sherwood Foresters | |
| 1/4th Bn, the Black Watch | joined and left November 1915 |
| 1/3rd Bn, the London Regiment | joined and left November 1915 |
| 139th Machine Gun Company | joined 16 February 1916, moved to 46th Bn MGC 26 Feb 1918 |
| 139th Trench Mortar Battery | joined 9 March 1916 |
| Divisional Troops | |
| 1/1st Bn, the Monmouthshire Regiment | joined as Divisional Pioneer Bn September 1915 |
| 178th Machine Gun Company | joined 28 March 1917, moved to 46th Bn MGC 28 Feb 1918 |
| 46th Battalion MGC | formed 28 February 1918 |
| 100th Battalion MGC | joined 26 September 1918, left 1 October 1918 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | |
| B Sqn, the Yorkshire Hussars | left 5 May 1916 |
| North Midland Divisional Cyclist Company | left 9 May 1916 |
| Divisional Artillery | |
| CCXXX Brigade, RFA | |
| CCXXXI Brigade, RFA | |
| CCXXXII Brigade, RFA | left January 1917 |
| CCXXXIII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA | broken up August 1916 |
| North Midland (Staffordshire) Heavy Battery, RGA | a battery of four 4.7-inch guns which left for XIII HA Brigade, RGA on 18 April 1915 |
| 46th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA | |
| V.46 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA | joined 20 June 1916; left for I Corps 3 February 1918 |
| X.46, Y.46 and Z.46 Medium Mortar Batteries, RFA | joined 9-17 March 1916; on 3 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 465th (1st North Midland) Field Company | left January 1915, rejoined April 1915 |
| 466th (2nd North Midland) Field Company | |
| 468th (2/1st North Midland) Company | |
| 57th (3rd East Lancashire) Field Company | joined April 1915, left July 1915 |
| 46th Divisional Signals Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 1st North Midland Field Ambulance | |
| 2nd North Midland Field Ambulance | |
| 3rd North Midland Field Ambulance | |
| 17th Sanitary Section | joined 4 March 1915, left for V Corps 21 March1917 |
| Other Divisional Troops | |
| 46th Divisional Train ASC | retitled from the North Midland Divisional Transport and Supply Column, and the units also retitled as 451, 452, 453 and 454 Companies ASC |
| 1st North Midland Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | |
| 46th Divisional Ambulance Workshop | absorbed into Divisional Supply Column 6 April 1916 |
| 240th Divisional Employment Company Labour Corps | joined 25 June 1917 |
Divisional memorials
The memorial to the 46th (North Midland) Division at Vermelles. There are other memorials to the Division at the site of the Hohenzollern Redoubt (near Auchy-les-Mines), Gommecourt and Riqueval.
Links
History of the North Midland Divisional artillery