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33rd Division
British 33rd Division insignia
Active July 1915 – 30 June 1919
Country Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Branch Flag of the British Army British Army
Type Infantry
Part of K4 Army Group
Engagements

First World War

Battle of the Somme (1916)
Battle of Bazentin Ridge
Battle of High Wood
Battle of Arras (1917)
Third Battle of Ypres
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Herman Landon
Reginald Pinney

The 33rd Division was a New Army infantry division of the British Army formed in 1914 during the First World War as the 40th Division in the K5 Army group then renumbered in April 1915 as part of the new K4 Army Group.

A 33rd Division had been formed as part of the reserve K4 Army in October 1914 but was dissolved in April 1915 at which point the 40th division of the K5 Army became the 33rd of the K4.

The division landed in France in November 1915 and spent the duration of the Great War in action on the Western Front. The division's insignia was the "double-three" from a set of dominoes.

Formation history[]


Order of battle[]

The following units served with the Division:[1]

19th Brigade

(The brigade joined from the 2nd Division in November 1915, swapping with the 99th Brigade.)

98th Brigade
  • 18th (Service) Battalion, (1st Public Schools), Royal Fusiliers (transferred to 19th Brigade 27 November 1915)
  • 19th (Service) Battalion, (2nd Public Schools), Royal Fusiliers (left 28 February 1916)
  • 20th (Service) Battalion, (3rd Public Schools), Royal Fusiliers (to 19th Brigade 27 November 1915)
  • 21st (Service) Battalion, (4th Public Schools), Royal Fusiliers (left 28 February 1916)
  • 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (transferred from 19th Brigade 27 November 1915)
  • 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (transferred from 19th Brigade 27 November 1915)
  • 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) (joined February 1916)
  • 1/4th (T.F.) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (joined 28 February 1916 left February 1918)
  • 98th Machine Gun Company (joined 28 April 1916, moved to 33rd Battalion M.G.C. 19 February 1918)
  • 98th Trench Mortar Battery(formed by 30 June 1916)
99th Brigade

(The brigade transferred to the 2nd Division in November 1915, swapping with the 19th Brigade.)

  • 17th (Service) Battalion, (Empire), Royal Fusiliers
  • 22nd (Service) Battalion, (Kensington), Royal Fusiliers
  • 23rd (Service) Battalion (1st Sportsman's), Royal Fusiliers
  • 24th (Service) Battalion (2nd Sportsman's), Royal Fusiliers
100th Brigade
  • 13th (Service) Battalion, (West Ham), Essex Regiment (left 22 December 1915)
  • 16th (Service) Battalion (Public Schools), Middlesex Regiment (left 25 February 1916)
  • 17th (Service) Battalion, (1st Football) Middlesex Regiment (Left 8 December 1915)
  • 16th (Service) Battalion (Church Lads' Brigade), King's Royal Rifle Corps
  • 1st Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (joined 15 December 1915 transferred to 19th Brigade 14 February 1918)
  • 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (joined 20 December 1915)
  • 1/6th (T.F.) Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (joined and left February 1918)
  • 1/9th (T.F.) Battalion (Glasgow Highlanders), Highland Light Infantry (joined 29 May 1916)
  • 100th Machine Gun Company (joined 28 April 1916, moved to 33rd Battalion M.G.C. 19 February 1918)
  • 100th Trench Mortar Battery (formed by 13 June 1916)

Divisional Troops

  • 18th (Service) Battalion, (1st Public Works Pioneers), Middlesex Regiment (joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion July 1915)
  • 19th Motor Machine Gun Battery (joined November 1915 but left 6 February 1916)
  • 248th Machine Gun Company (joined 21 July 1917, moved to 33rd Battalion M.G.C. 19 Feb 1918)
  • 33rd Battalion M.G.C. (formed 19 February 1918 absorbing the brigade MG companies)
  • Divisional Mounted Troops
    • F Squadron, North Irish Horse (joined January 1915, redesignated B Sqn on 25 May 1916, left 19 April 1916)
    • 33rd Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps (left 19 April 1916)
  • 33rd Divisional Train Army Service Corps
    • 225th, 226th, 227th and 228th Companies (transferred to 29th Division in March 1916)
    • 170th, 171st, 172nd and 173rd Companies, (transferred from 28th Divisional Train on 13 November 1915. 172nd Company swapped with the 8th Company from 2nd Divisional Train in late November 1915)
  • 43rd Mobile Veterinary Section Army Veterinary Corps
  • 230th Divisional Employment Company (joined 1 June 1917)

Royal Artillery

  • CLVI Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (R.F.A.)
  • CLXII Brigade, R.F.A.
  • CLXVI Brigade, R.F.A. (broken up 12 September 1916)
  • CLXVII (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. (broken up 12 September 1916)
  • 126th (Camberwell) Heavy Battery Royal Garrison Artillery (R.G.A.) (left for XXII Heavy Artillery Group on 2 May 1916)
  • 33rd Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A.
  • V.33 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, R.F.A. (formed by 29 May 1916; broken up February 1918)
  • X.33, Y.33 and Z.33 Medium Mortar Batteries, R.F.A. (formed by 4 May 1916, February 1918, Z broken up redistributed to Z and Y batteries)

Royal Engineers

  • 212th (Tottenham) Field Company
  • 222nd (Tottenham) Field Company
  • 226th (Tottenham) Field Company (left for 2nd Division 2 December 1915)
  • 33rd (Tottenham) Divisional Signals Company
  • 11th Field Company (joined from 2nd Division 2 December 1915)

Royal Army Medical Corps

  • 99th Field Ambulance
  • 100th Field Ambulance (left for 2nd Division late November 1915)
  • 101st Field Ambulance
  • 73rd Sanitary Section (left 31 March 1917)
  • 19th Field Ambulance (joined from 2nd Division late November 1915)

Battles[]

Commanders[]

  • Major-General P. R. Wood
  • Major-General Herman Landon November 1915 – September 1916
  • Major-General Reginald John Pinney September 1916 – February 1919 (disbandment)

See also[]

References[]

Bibliography[]

  • Seton Hutchinson, G. (2005). The Thirty-Third Division in France and Flanders 1915–1919 (Naval & Military Press ed.). London: Waterlow & Sons. ISBN 1-84342-995-0. 

External links[]

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