10th (Irish) Division 10th Division |
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10th (Irish) Division insignia
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Active | August 1914 – January 1919 |
Country | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Part of | K1 Army Group |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
Bryan Mahon |
The 10th (Irish) Division, was one of the first of Kitchener's New Army K1 Army Group divisions (formed from Kitchener's 'first hundred thousand' new volunteers), authorized on 21 August 1914, after the outbreak of the Great War. It included battalions from the various provinces of Ireland. It was led by Irish General Bryan Mahon and fought at Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine. It was the first of the Irish Divisions to take to the field and was the most travelled of the Irish formations. The division served as a formation of the United Kingdom's British Army during World War I.
Formed in Ireland on 21 August 1914, the 10th Division was sent to Gallipoli where, as part of General Sir Frederick Stopford's IX Corps, at Suvla Bay on 7 August it participated in the Landing at Suvla Bay and the August offensive. Some battalions of the division were landed at Anzac and fought at Chunuk Bair.
In September 1915, when the Suvla front became a stalemate, the division was moved to Salonika where it remained for two years and fought the Battle of Kosturino.
The division moved to Egypt in September 1917 where it joined General Chetwode's XX Corps. It fought in the Third Battle of Gaza which succeeded in breaking the resistance of the Turkish defenders in southern Palestine.