62nd (2nd West Riding) Division

The 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw active service on the Western Front during the First World War.

2nd West Riding Division
62nd (2nd West Riding) Division
Division insignia
Active1914–1919
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsWorld War I
* Battle of Arras (1917)
* Battle of Cambrai (1917)
* Operation Michael (Somme, 1918)
* Second Battle of the Marne
* Second Battle of the Somme (1918)
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Walter Braithwaite

History

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During the First World War the division fought on the Western Front at Bullecourt[1] in the Battle of Arras and Havrincourt in the Battle of Cambrai. During Operation Michael, in 1918, they were in the line near Arras and in the Second Battle of the Marne, in the Ardre Valley. At the opening of Second Battle of the Somme (1918), they fought the Battle of Havrincourt and continued across the Saint Quentin Canal at Marcoing, before beginning the fighting advance to Maubeuge on the Sambre.[2]

Order of Battle

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The order of battle was as follows: [3][4][5]

185th (2/1st West Riding) Brigade
186th (2/2nd West Riding) Brigade
187th (2/3rd West Riding) Brigade
62nd (2nd West Riding) Divisional Artillery
  • 2/I West Riding Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (RFA) (became CCCX Brigade May 1916)
  • 2/II West Riding Brigade, RFA (became CCCXI Brigade May 1916; left as independent Army Field Artillery Brigade January 1917)
  • 2/III West Riding Brigade, RFA (became CCCXII Brigade May 1916)
  • 2/IV West Riding (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA (broken up May 1916)

General Officer Commanding

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Anderson 1920, p. 15.
  2. ^ Anderson 1920, p. 102.
  3. ^ Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 41–7.
  4. ^ Magnus, pp. 78–81.
  5. ^ "62nd (2nd West Riding) Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  6. ^ Wyrall, Everard (1924). The History of the 62nd (West Riding) Division.

Bibliography

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  • Anderson, Austin Thomas (1920). War services of the 62nd West Riding Divisional Artillery. Cambridge: Heffer and Sons. OCLC 558510602.
  • Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8.
  • Laurie Magnus, The West Riding Territorials in the Great War, London: Keegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1920//Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2004, ISBN 1-845740-77-7.
  • Wyrall, E. (1924). The Story of the 62nd (West Riding) Division, 1914–1919. Vol. I. London: The Bodley Head. OCLC 6256569. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  • Wyrall, E. (2003) [1928]. The Story of the 62nd (West Riding) Division, 1914–1919. Vol. II (Naval & Military Press ed.). London: The Bodley Head. ISBN 1-84342-582-3.
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