The history of 48th (South Midland) Division
The South Midland Division was a formation of the Territorial Force. It was formed 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 14 Divisions of the peacetime TF.
1914
The units of the Division had just departed for annual summer camp when emergency orders recalled them to the home base. All units were mobilised for full time war service on 5 August 1914 and moved to concentrate in the Chelmsford area by mid August 1914.
1915
On 13 March the Division was warned that it would go on overseas service and entrainment began a week later. Divisional HQ, the Gloucester & Worcester and South Midlland Brigades went via Folkestone-Boulogne while all other units went from Southampton to Le Havre. By 3 April the Division had concentrated near Cassel. The Division then remained in France and Flanders until late 1917 and took part in the following engagements:
1916
The Battle of Albert* The Division held the line between the 56th (London) and the 31st Divisions, both of which were heavily engaged at Gommecourt and Serre respectively on 1 July 1916. Two of the Warwickshire battalions of the Division attacked on that day and suffered heavy casualties in assaulting the Quadrilateral (Heidenkopf)).
The Battle of Bazentin Ridge* in which the Division captured Ovillers
The Battle of Pozieres Ridge*
The Battle of the Ancre Heights*
The Battle of the Ancre*
* the battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916
1917
The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line, in which the Division occupied Peronne
The Battle of Langemarck**
The Battle of Polygon Wood**
The Battle of Broodseinde**
The Battle of Poelcapelle**
** the battles marked ** are phases of the Third Battles of the Ypres
Divisional HQ received orders on 10 November for a move to Italy. Entrainment began on 21 November and all units had detrained around Legnano (Adige) by 1 December. The Division them moved north to the area allotted to XI Corps.
1918
The Division relieved 7th Division to hold the front line sector at the Montello netween 1 and 16 March. It then moved west, to the Asiago sector. The Division took part in:
The fighting on the Asiago Plateau (15-16 June)
The Battle of the Vittoria Veneto (1-4 November) but in the Val d’Assa rather than the Vittoria Veneto itself.
The Division had the distinction on 3 November of surrounding and capturing the commender of the Austrian III Corps (General von Ritter-Romer), three Divisional commanders and about 14 battalions. By the Armitisce (which here was at 3pm on 4 November), the Division had pushed forward into the Trentino and was eight miles NW of Levico. In so doing the Warwickshire Brigade also took the distinction of being the first British formation to enter into what had been European enemy “home ground” before the war.
By 10 November the Division had withdrawn and was at Granezza; by five days later it was at Trissino.
The demobilisation of the Division began in early 1919 and the service of the Division came to an end on 31 March when the final cadres left for England. The Division reformed as part of the Territorial Army in April 1920.
The order of battle of the 48th (South Midland) Division
| 143rd (Warwickshire) Brigade | |
| 1/5th Bn, the Warwickshire Regiment | |
| 1/6th Bn, the Warwickshire Regiment | |
| 1/7th Bn, the Warwickshire Regiment | |
| 1/8th Bn, the Warwickshire Regiment | left September 1918 |
| 143rd Machine Gun Company | formed 8 January 1916, moved to 48th Bn MGC 22 March 1918 |
| 143rd Trench Mortar Battery | formed 14 June 1916 |
| 144th (Gloucester & Worcester) Brigade | |
| 1/4th Bn, the Gloucestershire Regiment | |
| 1/6th Bn, the Gloucestershire Regiment | |
| 1/7th Bn, the Worcestershire Regiment | |
| 1/8th Bn, the Worcestershire Regiment | left September 1918 |
| 144th Machine Gun Company | formed 23 January 1916, moved to 48th Bn MGC 22 March 1918 |
| 144th Trench Mortar Battery | formed 14 June 1916 |
| 145th (South Midland) Brigade | |
| 1/5th Bn, the Gloucestershire Regiment | left September 1918 |
| 1/4th Bn, the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry | |
| 1/1st Bucks Bn, the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry | |
| 1/4th Bn, the Royal Berkshire Regiment | |
| 145th Machine Gun Company | formed 11 January 1916, moved to 48th Bn MGC 22 March 1918 |
| 145th Trench Mortar Battery | formed 14 June 1916 |
| Divisional Troops | |
| 1/5th Bn, the Royal Sussex Regiment | joined as Divisional Pioneer Bn August 1915 |
| 251st Machine Gun Company | joined 16 Nov 1917, moved to 48th Bn MGC 22 March 1918 |
| 48th Battalion MGC | formed 22 March 1918 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | |
| B Sqn, the 1st King Edward’s Horse | joined April 1915, left June 1916 |
| South Midland Divisional Cyclist Company | left 14 May 1916 |
| Divisional Artillery | |
| CCXL (I South Midland) Brigade, RFA | |
| CCXLI (II South Midland) Brigade, RFA | |
| CCXLII (III South Midland) Brigade, RFA | left to become Army Brigade 20 January 1917 |
| CCXLIII (IV S.M.) (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA | broken up October 1916 |
| South Midland (Warwicks) Heavy Battery, RGA | left 16 April 1915 |
| 48th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA | |
| V.48 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA | formed 21 April 1916; disbanded 10 November 1917 |
| X.48, Y.48 and Z.48 Medium Mortar Batteries, RFA | formed by 15 March 1916; on 21 March 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 474th (1st South Midland) Field Company | left December 1914, rejoined May 1915 |
| 475th (2nd South Midland) Field Company | |
| 7th Field Company | joined April 1915, left June 1915 |
| 419th (1st West Lancashire) Field Company | attached 18-28 April 1915 |
| 476th (2/1st South Midland) Field Company | joined June 1915 |
| 48th Divisional Signal Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 1st South Midland Field Ambulance | |
| 2nd South Midland Ambulance | |
| 3rd South Midland Field Ambulance | |
| 48th Sanitary Section | formed 21 February 1915, left for III Corps 4 April 1917 |
| Other Divisional Troops | |
| 48th Divisional Train ASC | retitled from the South Midland Divisional Transport and Supply Column, and the units also retitled as 459, 460, 461 and 462 Companies ASC |
| 1st South Midland Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | |
| 48th Divisional Ambulance Workshop | absorbed into Divisional Supply Column 4 April 1916 |
| 242nd Divisional Employment Company | joined June 1917 |
Books
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Divisional memorials
There is no memorial to the Division.
Links
History of 48th Divisional Artillery
61st (2nd South Midland) Division