Some troops managed to reach their objectives, but others were unable to cross No Mans Land in the face of heavy machine gun fire. The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest encounters of the First World War. The front line had been increased from one trench line to a position of three lines 150200 yards (140180m) apart, the first trench (Kampfgraben) occupied by sentry groups, the second (Wohngraben) for the bulk of the front-trench garrison and the third trench for local reserves. The 27th to 29th Divisions were Regular Army divisions made up from units recalled from Imperial Garrison Duties. At this time, German Divisions were in the process of being converted from square to triangular, hence some had four infantry regiments, others had three. 1/4th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 1/6th Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment. The Somme also succeeded in relievingthe pressureon the French at Verdun. In 1914, Douglas Haig had been a lieutenant-general in command of I Corps and was promoted to command the First Army in early 1915 and then the BEF in December, which eventually comprised five armies with sixty divisions. The Allies made their final advance of the battle in mid-November, attacking the German positions in the Ancre River valley. [62][57] Until the 1930s the dominant view of the battle in English-language writing was that the battle was a hard-fought victory against a brave, experienced and well-led opponent. Moroccan Infantry Division When winter brought the offensive to a halt, the Allies had advanced about 6 miles. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Guillemont was on the right flank of the British sector, near the boundary with the French Sixth Army. Amongst the terms of service in the Territorial Force, service outside the United Kingdom was voluntary. The British captured La Boiselle, Contalmaison and Mametz Wood, and a night attack on 13/14 July broke through the second German defensive position at Bazentin. 39th Infantry Division 1/10th Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regt. The final British objectives were not reached until the Battle of the Ancre Heights (1 October 11 November). 1/4th (City of Bristol) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regt. [13], The Battle of Verdun (21 February 16 Royal Army Veterinary Corps. 4th Cavalry Division, All German order of battle derived from Hart, Appendix C unless stated otherwise. 10th Colonial Infantry Division We can help: click here for details of our WW1 Research Service. Early on the morning of July 15, British troops launched another artillery barrage followed by a massive attack, this time on Bazentin Ridge, in the northern part of the Somme. 47th Infantry Division 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. The trenches were traversed and had sentry-posts in concrete recesses built into the parapet. 43rd Infantry Division Progress of the Battle of the Somme between 1 July and 18 November. Researching a soldier who fought in WW1? In typical British county regiments, the 1st and 2nd Battalions were regular army, the 3rd was the special reserve battalion which did not normally serve overseas but remained at home as the regimental depot and training unit from which replacemetns were sent to the regular battalions. July 1, 1916, remains the single bloodiest day in the entire history of the British armed forces. 1/5th Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster Regt. The German offensive at Verdun was intended to threaten the capture of the city and induce the French to fight an attrition battle, in which German advantages of terrain and firepower would cause the French disproportionate casualties. 3rd Cavalry Division For many of the men who had volunteered to serve in the Pals and Chums battalions, it was their first experience of war. He was injured in the arm. [44] On 22/23 February, the Germans fell back another 3mi (4.8km) on a 15mi (24km) front. On 13 November, they launched their last attack across the Ancre. The mutually costly fighting at Delville Wood eventually secured the British right flank and marked the Western Front debut of the South African 1st Infantry Brigade (incorporating a Southern Rhodesian contingent), which held the wood from 15 to 20 July. Several truces were negotiated to recover wounded from no man's land north of the road. It was fought between French, British and Dominion forces and the German Empire in the Somme River valley and vicinity in northern France. Most of the British casualties were suffered on the front between the AlbertBapaume road and Gommecourt to the north, which was the area where the principal German defensive effort (Schwerpunkt) was made. Falkenhayn expected the relief offensive to fall south of Arras against the 6th Army and be destroyed. The campaign finally ended in mid-November after an agonising five-month struggle that failed to secure a breakthrough. Withdrawing to the new line was not an easy decision and the German high command struggled over it during the winter of 19161917. 6 minutes Many casualties were inflicted on the Germans but the French made slower progress. [87], Across Britain on 1 July 2016, 1400 actors dressed in replica World War I-period British Army uniforms walked about in streets and public open areas, from 7am to 7pm. That army never fully recovered from the loss of so many experienced junior and non-commissioned officers. Yet, in a time of censorship, compliant media. Thiepval Ridge was well fortified and the German defenders fought with great determination, while the British co-ordination of infantry and artillery declined after the first day, due to confused fighting in the maze of trenches, dug-outs and shell-craters. Larger operations resumed in January 1917. The costly defence of Verdun forced the army to divert divisions intended for the Somme offensive, eventually reducing the French contribution to 13 divisions in the Sixth Army, against 20 British divisions. 153rd Infantry Division The Marine Brigade from Flanders and fresh German divisions brought from quiet fronts counter-attacked frequently and the British objectives were not secured until 11 November. After 18 months of deadlock in the trenches on the Western Front, the Allies wanted to achieve a decisive victory. The New Zealand Division later joined II ANZAC Corps together with the 3rd and 5th Australian Divisions, National Archives: Naval Division (19141919). Winston Churchill had objected to the way the battle was being fought in August 1916, and Prime Minister David Lloyd George criticised attrition warfare frequently and condemned the battle in his post-war memoirs. No divisions were taken from the Sixth Army, despite it holding a shorter line with 17+12 divisions and three of the divisions in OHL reserve behind the 6th Army. [56][55] Philpott argues that the German army was exhausted by the end of 1916, with loss of morale and the cumulative effects of attrition and frequent defeats causing it to collapse in 1918, a process which began on the Somme, echoing Churchill's argument that the German soldiery was never the same again. The defenders on the commanding ground north of the road inflicted a huge defeat on the British infantry, who took an unprecedented number of casualties. British soldiers advancing under cover of . 46th Infantry Division The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was fought during the First World War from 1 July to 18 November 1916. The French would have to conduct a counter-offensive on ground dominated by the German army and ringed with masses of heavy artillery, leading to huge losses and bringing the French army close to collapse. Generalleutnant von Fuchs on 20 January 1917 said that, Enemy superiority is so great that we are not in a position either to fix their forces in position or to prevent them from launching an offensive elsewhere. A lot of shells were alsodefective. British soldiers advancing under. But the French demanded an operation at the point in the Allied line where the two armies met. Find out more, Fort Nelson 3rd Colonial Infantry Division Haig favoured a British offensive in Flanders, close to BEF supply routes, to drive the Germans from the Belgian coast and end the U-boat threat from Belgian waters. Corps Commander: General, II Cavalry Corps. The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme; German: Schlacht an der Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. South of the Ancre, St. Pierre Division was captured, the outskirts of Grandcourt reached and the Canadian 4th Division captured Regina Trench north of Courcelette, then took Desire Support Trench on 18 November. Dugouts had been deepened from 69 feet (1.82.7m) to 2030 feet (6.19.1m), 50 yards (46m) apart and large enough for 25 men. More than three million men fought in the battle, of whom one million were either wounded or killed, making it one of the deadliest battles in all of human history. The Somme defences had two inherent weaknesses that the rebuilding had not remedied. [33], The Battle of Guillemont was an attack on the village which was captured by the Fourth Army on the first day. German order of battle derived from Hart, Appendix C unless stated. This shocking total included more than 700 soldiers of the Newfoundland Regiment (who were not fighting as part of the Canadian Corps as Newfoundland did not become . [9] By 31 May, the ambitious Franco-British plan for a decisive victory had been reduced to a limited offensive to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun and inflict attrition on the German armies in the west. British troops sustained 420,000 casualtiesincluding 125,000 deathsduring the Battle of the Somme. To find out more about how we collect, store and use your personal information, read our Privacy Policy. The worst casualties were suffered by: Over the next few days, a series of smaller attacks developed. The Yorkshire regiments who took part in the attack on the first day suffered 9,000 men killed, wounded and missing, more than any other region in the UK. Thisrecord was only surpassed in 1977 by'Star Wars'. [1] Regular army divisions were numbered 1st to 8th. In 2016, historian Peter Barton argued in a series of three television programmes that the Battle of the Somme should be regarded as a German defensive victory. [36], The Battle of Morval was an attack by the Fourth Army on Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs held by the German 1st Army, which had been the final objectives of the Battle of FlersCourcelette (1522 September). The Germans were stationed behind a formidable set of defences, the strength of which had been underestimated by Allied intelligence. 125th Infantry Division What does it take to develop a Howitzer? The German offensive at Verdun was suspended in July, and troops, guns, and ammunition were transferred to Picardy, leading to a similar transfer of the French Tenth Army to the Somme front. We just do not have the troops. We cannot prevail in a second battle of the Somme with our men; they cannot achieve that any more. 62nd Infantry Division Find out more, Featured [48] The withdrawal took place from 1620 March, with a retirement of about 25mi (40km), giving up more French territory than that gained by the Allies from September 1914 until the beginning of the operation. Corps Commander: General, II Colonial Corps. Sign up to find out about the latest news from the Royal Armouries, including whats on, stories about our collection, offers from our shop, and ways you can support the Museum. Along the line, German machine gun and rifle fire cut down thousands of the attacking British troops, many of them caught in no mans land between the two sides. Great Battles An intermediate line of strongpoints (the Sttzpunktlinie) about 1,000 yards (910m) behind the front line was also built. 1/8th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1/4th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, 1/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, 1/4th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, 1/4th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 1/5th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, 1/5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 1/6th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, 1/7th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment (replaced by 19th Bn. 26th Infantry Division 12th Bn, Prince of Wales' Own West Yorkshires, 10th Bn, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regt, 8th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 8th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, 10th Battalion, Duke of Wellington Regiment, 9th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, 9th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, 12th Battalion, Sherwood Foreseter Regiment, 8th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 9th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles Regiment, 6th Battalion, South Wales Border Regiment, 18th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment, 17th Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, 16th Battalion (1st City) Manchester Regiment, 19th Battalion (4th City) Manchester Regiment, 19th Battalion, King's (Liverpool)Regiment, 17th Battalion (2nd City) Manchester Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Princess of Wales' Own Yorkshire Regt, 20th Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, 18th Battalion (3rd City) Manchester Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh's Wiltshire Regiment, 11th Battalion (St.Helens Pioneers) Prince of Wales's Volunteers, 12th Battalion, York & Lancaster Regiment, 13th Battalion, York & Lancaster Regiment, 14th Battalion, York & Lancaster Regiment, 12th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment. A more professional and effective army emerged from the battle. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images, Royal Engineers No 1 Printing Company/ IWM via Getty Images, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/battle-of-the-somme. [68] In the first 1916 volume of the British Official History (1932), J. E. Edmonds wrote that comparisons of casualties were inexact, because of different methods of calculation by the belligerents but that British casualties were 419,654, from total British casualties in France in the period of 498,054. But British Field Marshal Douglas Haig was determined to press on with the offensive, and over the next two weeks, the British launched a series of smaller attacks on the German line, putting increasing pressure on the Germans and forcing them to divert some weapons and soldiers from the Battle of Verdun. The Allied preparatory artillery bombardment began on 24 June and the Anglo-French infantry attacked on 1 July, on the south bank from Foucaucourt to the Somme and from the Somme north to Gommecourt, 2mi (3.2km) beyond Serre. The high Allied casualties of July 1916 are not representative of the way attrition turned in the Allies' favour in September, although this was not sustained as the weather deteriorated. 4th Infantry Division 1916 witnessed two of the longest and most notorious battles of the First World War. The Allies agreed upon a strategy of combined offensives against the Central Powers in 1916 by the French, Russian, British and Italian armies, with the Somme offensive as the Franco-British contribution. South of Serre, Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt-sur-l'Ancre were captured. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, Battle of the Somme (WW1 Documentary) | History Documentary | Reel Truth History, Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_the_Somme&oldid=1152371044, Battles of the Western Front (World War I), Battles of World War I involving Australia, Battles of World War I involving New Zealand, Battles of World War I involving South Africa, Battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom, Battles involving the French Foreign Legion, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 1 July 1916 18 November 1916 (141days), This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 20:56. List of Army/Corp/Divisions involved taken from Organigramme des Grandes Batailles. The battle took place during the First World War, between allied. On the night of 12 March, the Germans withdrew from the R. I Stellung between Bapaume and Achiet le Petit and the British reached the R. II Stellung (R. II Position) on 13 March. I will be attending a service at the Thiepval Memorial near the battlefield, and it's right that the whole country pauses to remember the sacrifices of all those who fought and lost their lives in that conflict. The 63rd Division (Royal Naval Division) was made up from Naval Reserves and did not follow this numbering pattern.[2]. Following such was a reviewal noting that the British companies present moved at full-kit due to the overconfidence of general field NCO's to the German Location after witnessing such a bombardment upon their location. The Reserve Army attacked to complete the capture of Regina Trench/Stuff Trench, north of Courcelette to the west end of Bazentin Ridge around Schwaben and Stuff Redoubts, during which bad weather caused great hardship and delay. 1/1st Battalionn, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Lt. Inf. Corps Commander: General Horace Fernand Achille Pentel, XX Corps. The battle became notable for the importance of air power and the first use of the tank in September but these were a product of new technology and proved unreliable. 127th Infantry Division These were devastating against troops in the open, but largelyineffective against concrete dugouts. General Service Corps. 10th Infantry Division Allied war strategy for 1916 was decided at the Chantilly Conference from 6th to 8th December 1915. Nearly 60,000 British casualties (including 20,000 killed) occurred on the . An Australian machine gun team on the Somme, 1916. General Erich von Falkenhayn, the German Chief of the General Staff, was sacked and replaced by Hindenburg and Ludendorff at the end of August 1916. Commander: General der Infanterie Fritz von Below But, gradually, the British tactics improved. During its first six weeks, the filmwas seen by nearly 20 million people in the UK, almost half the population. Find out more. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the river Somme in France. A telephone system was built, with lines buried 6 feet (1.8m) deep for 5mi (8.0km) behind the front line, to connect the front line to the artillery. A further 230,000 shells were fired in the hour before the attack, and when the attacking troops rose from their trenches ten huge mines were exploded. Armoured (Type 56, with Challenger 2 MBTs) The Queen's Royal Hussars The King's Royal Hussars (to re-equip with the Ajax as a "Medium armoured regiment . 77th Infantry Division In most cases they were unable to keep up with the barrage that was supposed to take them through to the German trenches. British operations on the Ancre from 10 January 22 February 1917, forced the Germans back 5mi (8.0km) on a 4mi (6.4km) front, ahead of the schedule of the Alberich Bewegung (Alberich Manoeuvre/Operation Alberich) and eventually took 5,284 prisoners. 1st Cavalry Division entering Malmedy, December 1918. 1/5th Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster Regt. [21], French losses at Verdun reduced the contribution available for the offensive on the Somme and increased the urgency for the commencement of operations on the Somme. 1/7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Though the exact number is disputed, German losses by the end of the Battle of the Somme probably exceeded Britains, with some 450,000 soldiers lost compared with 420,000 on the British side. The Somme through German eyes While the British Army was bleeding on the fields of France, its outgunned opponents were also suffering a terrible fate. Today it is the site of the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, and one of the most important and visited Great War sites in France. The British lost 419,634 men, the French 204,253 and the Germans an estimated 415,000. Thiepval was a fortress village, a British target during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. The swift increase in the size of the army reduced the average level of experience within it and created an acute equipment shortage. When a more flexible policy was substituted later, decisions about withdrawal were still reserved to army commanders. But due to the German attack on the French at Verdun, Britain and its Empire would have to take the lead on the Somme. The 30th to 41st were New Army and the 42nd to 74th were Territorial. This is the order of battle for the Battle of the Somme. [a] Philpott quoted Robin Prior (in Churchill's World Crisis As History [1983]) that the "blood test" is a crude measure compared to manpower reserves, industrial capacity, farm productivity and financial resources and that intangible factors were more influential on the course of the war, which the Allies won despite "losing" the purely quantitative test. More than anything else, the Battle of the Sommeand especially its devastating first daywould be remembered as the epitome of the brutal and seemingly senseless carnage that characterized trench warfare during World War I. British officers, especially Haig, would be criticized for continuing the offensive in spite of such devastating losses. Commander: General der Infanterie Fritz von Below On 19 July, split into the 1st Army (opposite the British) and the 2nd Army, Commander: General der Artillerie Max von Gallwitz (opposite the French) with authority over the 1st Army as Armeegruppe Gallwitz-Somme, this was not an army group, the term for which was Heeresgruppe In the south, where the bombardment was effective, the Allies advanced rapidly and captured the villages of Montauban and Mametz. Tracing British Battalions on the Somme, British Battalions on the Western Front January to June 1915, Voluntary Infantry, 1880-1908, Kitchener's Army, British Regiments at Gallipoli, British Battalions in France and Belgium 1914, English and Welsh Regiments, The Territorial Battalions, The British Army of August 1914: An Illustrated Directory . Corps Commander: General Antoine Baucheron de Boissoudy, VI Corps. The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.As of 2022, the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas, and 28,330 volunteer reserve personnel.. The British believed that the Germans would be so shattered by this bombardment that the infantry would rush over and occupy their trenches. On 19 July, von Falkenhayn had judged the British attack to be the anticipated offensive against the 6th Army. Corps Commander: General Louis Conneau, II Cavalry Corps. [28], The Battle of Fromelles was a subsidiary attack to support the Fourth Army on the Somme 80km (50mi) to the south, to exploit any weakening of the German defences opposite. 1/4th Battalion, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Lt. Inf. He was killed in action on 1 July 1916. [20] On the Somme front, Falkenhayn's construction plan of January 1915 had been completed. two years in the making and ten minutes in the destroying.. The battle for Guillemont was considered by some observers to be the supreme effort of the German army during the battle. This move was a direct consequence oftroop shortages resulting from the Somme fighting. The offensive was one of the bloodiest in human history. Tanks were used for the first time at Flers-Courcelette, but they were few in numbers and mechanically unreliable. 25th Infantry Division On the Somme the daily carry during attacks on a 12mi (19km) front was 20,000 long tons (20,000t) and a few wood roads and rail lines were inadequate for the number of lorries and roads. The maintenance of the strength of the 6th Army, at the expense of the 2nd Army on the Somme, indicated that Falkenhayn intended the counter-offensive against the British to be made north of the Somme front, once the British offensive had been shattered. The Battle of the Somme was an offensive fought on the Western Front during World War I from 1 July to 18 November 1916 as one of the greatest engagements of the war. The command change marked a change in German strategy: They would build a new defensive line behind the Somme front, conceding territory but allowing them to inflict even more casualties on the advancing Allied troops. After the end of the Battle of Guillemont, British troops were required to advance to positions which would give observation over the German third position, ready for a general attack in mid-September. The surviving British forces had also gained valuable experience, which would later help them achieve ultimate victory on the Western Front. [15], The Brusilov offensive (4 June 20 September) on the Eastern Front absorbed the extra forces that had been requested on 2 June by Fritz von Below, commanding the German Second Army, for a spoiling attack on the Somme. The attack on Serre failed, although a brigade of the 31st Division, which had attacked in the disaster of 1 July, took its objectives before being withdrawn later. This view sees the British contribution to the battle as part of a coalition war and part of a process, which took the strategic initiative from the German Army and caused it irreparable damage, leading to its collapse in late 1918. Until January 1917 a lull set in, as both sides concentrated on enduring the weather. [88] This event was called "Ghost Soldiers". Corps Commander: General Antoine de Mitry, Report of the Battles of the Somme: Nomenclature Committee as approved by Army Council, Cmnd 1138, London. Ginchy was 1.5km (0.93mi) north-east of Guillemont, at the junction of six roads on a rise overlooking Combles, 4km (2.5mi) to the south-east. The Battle of the Somme (1 July - 18 November 1916) was planned as a joint operation between British and French forces to break the deadlock on the Western Front. The 30th to 41st were again made up from New Army units while the 42nd to 74th were Territorial. [80][81][82] The Royal British Legion with the British Embassy in Paris and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, commemorate the battle on 1 July each year, at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. Just like a Remembrance Sunday silence, a bugler played The Last Post after the silence. On the first day on the Somme (1 July) the German 2nd Army suffered a serious defeat opposite the French Sixth Army, from Foucaucourt-en-Santerre south of the Somme to Maricourt on the north bank and by the Fourth Army from Maricourt to the vicinity of the AlbertBapaume road. Over 141 days, the British had advanced just seven miles and had failed to break the German line. The Some offensive ultimately included 12 separate battles, many of which became slogging matches that lasted for weeks. Abandoning themwould have greatly tested the unity of the Entente. The German defences were not destroyed and in many places the wire remained uncut. [49], At the start of 1916, most of the British Army was an inexperienced and patchily trained mass of volunteers. Detonation of Hawthorne Ridge mine, 1 July 1916, The 103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade advance towards La Boisselle, 1 July 1916. This commemorates 72,000 officers and men who have no known grave. The operational objectives of the Anglo-French armies were unfulfilled, as they failed to capture Pronne and Bapaume, where the German armies maintained their positions over the winter. Be the first to hear about our latest events, exhibitions and offers. Order of battle for the Battle of the Somme, Subsidiary Attack at Gommecourt Salient: 1 July 1916, Battle of Bazentin Ridge: 1417 July 1916, Subsidiary attack at Fromelles: 19 July 1916, Subsidiary attacks at High Wood: 2025 July 1916, Battle of Delville Wood: 15 July 3 September 1916, Battle of Pozires: 23 July 3 September 1916, Battle of Flers-Courcelette: 1522 September 1916, Battle of Ancre Heights: 118 October 1916, New Army divisions recruited under Kitchener Recruitment Plan. Joan of Arc The objectives of the attack were the villages of Bazentin le Petit, Bazentin le Grand and Longueval which was adjacent to Delville Wood, with High Wood on the ridge beyond. But the tanks were still early in their development stages, and many of them broke down before making it to the front line. High losses incurred in holding ground by a policy of no retreat were preferable to higher losses, voluntary withdrawals and the effect of a belief that soldiers had discretion to avoid battle. 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, 1/7th Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment, 1/5th Battalion, Prince of Wales's Volunteers, 1/9th Battalion, King's (Liverpool) Regiment, 1/5th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 1/4th Battalion, Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment), 1/12th (London Rangers) Battalion, London Regiment, 1/5th (London Rifle Brigade) Battalion, London Regiment, 1/13th (Kensington) Battalion, London Regiment, 1/9th (Queen's Victoria Rifles) Battalion, London Regiment, 1/14th (London Scottish) Battalion, London Regiment, 1/16th (Queen's Westminster Rifles) Battalion, London Regiment, 38th King George's Own Central India Horse, 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse, (attached to 2nd Indian Cavalry Division), Canadian Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, 87th (Canadian Grenadier Guards) Battalion, 12th (Tasmania, S and W Australia) Battalion, 50th (South Australia & Tasmania) Battalion, 52nd (West & South Australia, Tasmania) Battalion, British Expeditionary Force: Commander: General, Fifth Army: The Reserve Army was renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October 1916, Northern Army Group (Groupe d'armes du Nord): Commander: General, V Corps.