23rd Division (United Kingdom)

23rd Division
23rd Division sign as used on signboards.
Active	September 1914 – March 1919
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Engagements	World War I Battle of the Somme Battle of Albert Battle of Pozières Battle of Flers–Courcelette Battle of Morval Battle of Le Transloy Battle of Messines Third Battle of Ypres Battle of the Menin Road Ridge Battle of Polygon Wood First Battle of Passchendaele Battle of the Asiago Plateau Battle of Vittorio Veneto

World War I

The 23rd Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised in 1914 in the Great War as part of Kitchener's Army. The division was sent to France in August 1915 under the command of Major-General Sir James Melville Babington C.B. C.M.G.. During the war the division fought on the Western Front until October 1917 when it moved to the Italian Front. It remained in Italy and was disbanded by March 1919.

The division formed part of Kitchener's third New Army, with concentration of units beginning on 16 September, the 68th Brigade at Bullswater and the 69th and 70th brigades, together with Royal Engineers companies at Frensham. It was commanded by Maj. Gen. James Melville Babington, who was at first hampered by a lack of clerks, cooks and a means of communicating orders, other than verbally. Together with other New Army divisions, uniforms of any description were not received until mid October, by which time many of the civilian clothes the men wore were reduced to rags. Division artillery began to be formed in early November. Initial weapons training was carried out with small numbers of Lee-Metford rifles and French 90mm guns. The division was concentrated at Aldershot in January 1915, where the division train was formed. Khaki uniforms were received at the end of February and the division moved to the Shorncliffe area in March and continued training. In May the division moved to Borden where 18 pounders and 4.5 inch howitzers were issued to the division artillery and in June the Infantry received its rifles. On 16 August the division was inspected by the King and next day received its orders for embarkation.