18th (Eastern) Division

18th (Eastern) Division
Active	September 1914 – 20 March 1919
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Engagements	First World War Battle of the Somme Battle of Passchendaele Battle of Épehy
Commanders
Notable commanders	Ivor Maxse

The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England until 25 May 1915 when it landed in France and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front, becoming one of the elite divisions of the British Army. During the Battle of the Somme in the latter half of 1916, the 18th Division was commanded by Major General Ivor Maxse.

Order of battle

53rd Brigade 

• 10th (Service) Battalion, Essex Regiment
• 8th (Service) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment (until February 1918)
• 8th (Service) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (until February 1918)
• 6th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) (until February 1918)
• 8th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) (from February 1918)
• 7th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (from 55th Bde February 1918)

54th Brigade 

• 11th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
• 6th (Service) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
• 12th (Service) Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) (until February 1918)
• 8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (to pioneers February 1915)
• 7th (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (from February 1915 until May 1918)
• 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (from May 1918)

55th Brigade 

• 7th (Service) Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
• 7th (Service) Battalion, Buffs (East Kent Regiment)
• 8th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment
• 7th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (to 53rd Bde February 1918)

Pioneers 

• 8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (from 54th Bde February 1915)

Battles

• Battle of the Somme (1916)
  • Battle of Albert
  • Capture of Trônes Wood: 14–15 July 1916.
  • Battle of Delville Wood
  • Battle of Thiepval Ridge
  • Battle of the Ancre Heights
  • Battle of the Ancre
• Third Battle of Ypres
• Battle of Épehy

See also

• List of British divisions in World War I

External links

• The British Army in the Great War: The 18th (Eastern) Division

Further reading

• Maxse, Ivor (1917). The 18th Division in the Battle of the Ancre, 1916.
• Nicholls, G.H.F. (1922). The 18th Division in the Great War. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons.