66th Division (United Kingdom)

2nd East Lancashire Division
66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division
66th Infantry Division
Active 1914–19
1939–40
Country  United Kingdom
Branch Territorial Force (1914–19)
Territorial Army (1939–40)
Type Infantry
Size Division
Nickname(s) Clickety-Clicks[1]
Engagements

Third Battle of Ypres

Spring Offensive

Hundred Days Offensive

Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Charles Beckett
Neill Malcolm
Alan Cunningham
Insignia
Divisional Patch A blue triangle divided by a horizontal yellow bar[1]

The 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, which saw service in the trenches of the Western Front, during the later years of the Great War. Disbanded after the war, it was reformed in 1939 in the Territorial Army as the 66th Infantry Division but disbanded in 1940, without seeing active service in the Second World War.

The division was created shortly after the outbreak of the First World War at the end of August 1914, as the 2nd East Lancashire Division, a second-line formation of the East Lancashire Division, composed primarily of soldiers from eastern Lancashire and the industrial towns around Manchester. After training and home service, it deployed to the Western Front in early 1917; its first major combat came in October of that year, at the Battle of Poelcappelle. In March 1918, it suffered extremely heavy losses during the German Army's Spring Offensive and was withdrawn from the line and reduced to a cadre in order to rebuild. It returned to the front in time for the Battle of Cambrai, part of the Hundred Days Offensive and the Battle of the Selle. Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918, it was stationed in Belgium, where it was demobilised in March 1919.

The division was not reformed after the war but was reconstituted as the 66th Infantry Division (with no regional title), again as a duplicate of the 42nd Division, during the hurried expansion of the Territorial Army in early 1939. It was active for slightly over a year, before finally being disbanded in June 1940, having only seen home service with most of its component units being transferred to other divisions.

Formation and home service

The division was created at the end of August 1914, as the 2nd East Lancashire Division, a second-line formation of the East Lancashire Division. Territorial Force soldiers could not be deployed overseas without their consent and the Territorial units were accordingly split into a "first line", with men who had volunteered for overseas service and a "second line", which was intended for home service, by the ten percent who refused to volunteer on 12 August.[2] The second line units also served to absorb the large number of recruits who had joined the Territorial Force following the outbreak of war.[1] Its initial commander was Brigadier-General Charles Beckett, a 65-year-old retired officer, who had commanded a Yeomanry brigade some years earlier.[3]

As with the original East Lancashire Division, the 2nd East Lancashire was organised into three infantry brigades of four battalions each. These were later numbered as the 197th, composed of the 2/5th, 2/6th, 2/7th and 2/8th Lancashire Fusiliers; the 198th, composed of the 2/4th and 2/5th East Lancashire Regiment and the 2/9th and 2/10th Manchester Regiment; and the 199th, composed of the 2/5th, 2/6th, 2/7th and 2/8th Manchester Regiment.[1] The 197th drew its men from Bury and Salford;[4] the 198th from Blackburn, Burnley,[5] Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham;[6] and the 199th from Wigan, Manchester, and Ardwick.[6] The division also raised second-line Territorial artillery, Royal Army Medical Corps, and Royal Engineer units, all from the Lancashire–Manchester recruiting area, and had an attached squadron of the Bedfordshire Yeomanry.[1]

For two years, the 2nd East Lancashire Division (numbered the 66th Division in August 1915), provided trained replacements for its parent unit and carried out home defence duties in England.[1] Elements of the division assembled near Southport in late 1914, then moved south to the Kent–Sussex area in May 1915 and to Essex in early 1916. In early 1915, the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers, a second-line battalion, was detached for overseas service and joined the 51st (Highland) Division. The battalion was replaced by another duplicate battalion, the 3/5th Lancashire Fusiliers, which became one of the few third-line territorial battalions to see active service. One of the three companies of Royal Engineers, was sent to France in 1915 to join the 48th (South Midland) Division and during 1916, three of the division's four heavy and howitzer artillery batteries were withdrawn or broken up.[1] Following the Military Service Act of January 1916, all Territorial soldiers were deemed to liable for overseas service. In February 1917, the 66th Division was instructed to prepare for a move to continental Europe and received a new and experienced commander, Major-General Herbert Lawrence.[7][8]

Western Front

Flanders and Poelcappelle, 1917

An observer from 2/4th East Lancashire Regiment at the extreme left of the British front line in September 1917, manning a position on the Belgian coast at Nieuport Bains.

The division arrived in France in early 1917 as part of the last batch of second-line Territorial divisions to be sent from Britain, and was attached to the First Army.[9] On 12 April, Brigadier-General Godfrey Matthews, a former Royal Marine officer commanding 198th Brigade, was wounded by shellfire and died the next day.[10] In June the division was transferred to the XV Corps of the Fourth Army on the relatively quiet coastal sector in Flanders. During the summer, XV Corps was held ready for Operation Hush, an amphibious landing by the 1st Division and a coastal offensive by the rest of XV Corps, which was planned to support an advance from Ypres by the Fifth Army. The operation was postponed several times, and was finally cancelled in October.[11] At the end of September, the 66th Division was relieved by its parent unit, the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. After a few days of overlap, where many men were able to meet friends and relations they had not seen since 1914, the division moved south to the Ypres area, where on 9 October, it took part in its first battle (Battle of Poelcappelle).[12] The division was assigned to II Anzac Corps, a predominantly Australian formation and the 199th Brigade moved into the front line to replace the 3rd Australian Division on 5 October.[13] The relief was badly mismanaged, leading the Australian staff officers to doubt the efficiency of the division.[14]

On the night of 8/9 October, the 197th and 198th brigades began to cover the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the front line, which usually took about 1 1⁄2 hours. Despite starting ten hours before the attack, the 197th Brigade was late.[15] At zero hour, the 198th Brigade attacked on the left flank of the divisional front, into defences which had been little damaged by the artillery bombardment, advancing behind a meagre creeping barrage and were held up 300 yards (270 m) short of the first objective. The 197th Brigade arrived late on the right flank, exhausted and disorganised after a twelve-hour march through mud but attacked as soon as it arrived. The brigade rapidly advanced over drier sandy ground and reached the final objective, 700 yards (640 m) short of Passchendaele village at 10:00 a.m.; an officer's patrol entered the village and found it empty. Around midday, the 197th Brigade battalions near the village withdrew their flanks, to gain touch with the units on either side at the first objective; the troops in the centre misinterpreted this and also withdrew the same distance. A German counter-attack was repulsed at 5:10 p.m. and before nightfall, the divisional commander ordered a short withdrawal, to link with the 49th Division on the left and to avoid enfilade fire from the Bellevue Spur. The brigade ended the day 500 yards (460 m) beyond the start line and the division had incurred 3,119 casualties; the division was relieved by the 3rd Australian Division on the night of 10/11 October.[16][17]

A second senior officer was killed in action, when Brigadier-General Arthur Lowe, commanding the divisional artillery, was killed near Ypres on 24 November.[10] In late December 1917, a new commanding officer, Major-General Neill Malcolm was appointed to the 66th Division. Malcolm was a decorated veteran of several colonial wars, who had served in staff posts since being wounded in the Second Boer War and had most recently served as chief of staff of the Fifth Army.[18] The division was reorganised over the winter, with the brigade machine-gun companies being consolidated into a battalion and a pioneer battalion, the 1/5th Border Regiment joined the division. The most substantial change was the loss of three battalions, the 3/5th Lancashire Fusiliers and 2/8th and 2/10th Manchester Regiment, one from each brigade.[1] This was a change made in all British divisions, to bring the remaining battalions in France up to strength and to increase the ratio of artillery to infantry.[19] At this point, there was a general exchange of men between the 42nd and 66th Divisions; the core of the 1/6th Lancashire Fusiliers, 1/4th East Lancashires, and 1/9th Manchesters were transferred to the 66th Division, where they amalgamated with their second-line counterparts, while the 42nd Division received the men from the disbanded battalions in the 66th Division.[20] The division remained in the Passchendaele area until February 1918.[21]

Battle of St. Quentin

Main article: Operation Michael
Map of the Spring Offensive; over ten days, the 66th Division retreated from east of Peronne, off the centre right of the map, to outside Amiens, on the centre left.

In March 1918, the 66th Division was assigned to XIX Corps in the Fifth Army, holding an area north of Saint-Quentin, bordering the 24th Division of XIX Corps on the right and 16th (Irish) Division of VII Corps on the left. The Corps sector was between two small rivers, the River Cologne in the north and the River Omicron in the south.[22] Under a new defence in depth doctrine, small strongpoints in a "forward zone" would delay and disrupt any attack, harassing it with heavy machine-gun fire. while the main body of the division remained in a "battle zone" behind it, where they could launch local counterattacks, or in reserve in a third "rear zone". While sound in principle, there were flaws in the implementation; the British forces, used to static trench warfare, were unused to planning rapid counterattacks and felt vulnerable in what they saw as exposed positions. Combat units were still kept too close to the front lines (across the front, 84 percent of battalions were in the two forward zones), leaving them vulnerable to an attack and a lack of manpower meant that very few defensive positions had actually been prepared in the rear zone of the Fifth Army.[23]

On the morning of 21 March, a large-scale German attack began the Battle of St. Quentin, the first part of the Spring Offensive. Elements of the German 25th Division and 208th Division attacked through heavy fog at dawn, overwhelming the two battalions (4th East Lancashires and 2/8th Lancashire Fusiliers) which held positions in the forward zone. By 10.30 am, they had reached the "battle zone", where the fighting intensified. On the right flank, near the boundary with 24th Division, a reserve company of 2/7th Manchesters held a defensive position from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, when they surrendered, having taken 70 percent casualties and run out of ammunition. To their left, the 2/6th Manchesters held out until the early afternoon, when the 160 survivors were forced to retreat further into the battle zone. The northern element of the division's defensive plan was a heavily fortified quarry outside the village of Templeux-le-Guérard, held by the 2/7th Lancashire Fusiliers and 1/5th Border Regiment; however, this was quickly surrounded and bypassed by the attackers, to be mopped up later in the day, with only a few men escaping. The village itself was defended by the 2/6th Lancashire Fusiliers and an artillery battery, and in the course of the day, the artillery battery was destroyed while the Fusiliers were pushed back towards the edge of the village, clinging on to their positions as night fell.[24] During the day, 711 men of 66th Division had been killed; while detailed figures are not available this would suggest around 1,000 men were wounded and another 2,000 captured.[25]

German situation map of the Spring Offensive, covering 21 March 1918 to 4 April 1918. The lines show the position of the advance at nightfall each day; the approximate position of the 66th Division has been marked in red until the end of March.

On the morning of 22 March, a strong attack continued to push back the remaining units of the 66th, now supported by 1st Cavalry Division and a handful of tanks. They managed a fighting retreat, with most units successfully avoiding encirclement. Shortly after noon the remnants of the division were ordered to retreat behind 50th (Northumbrian) Division, which were preparing fresh defences on the original "Green Line" along the edge of the rear zone.[26] The 66th passed through the new defensive line by 4:00 pm, with the aid of the 5th Durham Light Infantry (DLI), which had been temporarily transferred to support them, and the 50th Division took over the front line.[27] Over the following days, the divisions of XIX Corps fell back towards the line of the River Somme, where the 66th Division (plus 5th DLI) took up positions on the west bank of the river around Barleux and Foucaucourt-en-Santerre, west of Peronne. On 24 March, the German army crossed the Somme, and the 2/8th Lancashire Fusiliers counterattacked the bridgeheads at Peronne without success but continued to hold a line close to the river.[28] In anticipation of a follow-up attack the next day, 149th Brigade was temporarily attached to 66th Division; both saw very heavy fighting and were finally pushed back from the banks of the Somme, withdrawing to Assevillers as night fell on 25 March.[29]

At this point, the remnants of the 66th were holding a position south of the Somme, with the 50th Division to their right and troops from Third Army over the river to the left. A heavy attack on the morning of 26 March, opening the Battle of Rosières, pushed back the units on the north bank, and the 66th fell back; in doing so, it lost contact with the 50th Division, who were forced to fall back on Rosières-en-Santerre to avoid their flank being turned. "Little's Composite Battalion" with the remaining troops of the 198th Brigade, moved from reserve to Foucaucourt and defended the village until the early afternoon, retired to Framercourt and then filled a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) gap between the 66th and 39th divisions.[30] The battalion had been formed from stragglers and reinforcement drafts by Lieutenant-Colonel W.B. Little, commander of 1/5th Borders, who had been on leave when the German offensive began, and moved up towards the front line during 25 March.[31] Other British troops were north of the 66th, positioned around Vauvilliers, and by that night the line south of the Somme was held by 16th, 39th, 66th and 50th Divisions.[32] Heavy fighting and localised counterattacks continued through 27 March, with the 66th pushed back to Harbonniers.[33] That night, the division took up positions between Wiencourt and Guillaucourt, facing north on a line of about 1 mile (1.6 km).[34] The three brigade headquarters had moved forward to reinforce the front line; until the 66th Division was reorganised later in the year, casualties were so numerous that the brigade structure was not reformed and the brigadiers took turns to command the infantry.[35] On the morning of 28 March, a German attack broke through at Guillaucourt and the 66th Division retreated south to Cayeux-en-Santerre, with the 39th Division on the left. By nightfall, the line had been pushed back to Ignaucourt, a few miles from Amiens.[36]

Elements of the division remained in the fighting line as late as 30 March, when they fought in a counterattack near Aubercourt under the command of one of the 66th Division brigadiers.[37] The division was relieved by part of the 18th Division on the night of 30/31 March.[38] After ten days' fighting, only 2,500 men remained in the division and it had almost ceased to function as an organised unit.[39] Two of the three infantry brigades and eight of the twelve infantry battalions had lost their commanders, and the division's front-line strength was reduced to 1,200 riflemen – less than a company per battalion. A proposal to disband the division was discussed in the first week of April but quickly countermanded.[40] On 29 March, near Vauchelles-lès-Domart, Malcolm had been badly wounded in his good leg (he was lame in the other, following an injury in South Africa) and left the division to recover, command being taken over temporarily by Brigadier-General A. J. Hunter.[18][41] On 31 March, Keppel Bethell, who had commanded the New Army 74th Brigade in the 25th Division since October 1916, was promoted to take over the division.[42][43] At 35, Bethell became the youngest man to command a division during the war; while a temporary Major-General, he still held the substantive rank of Captain.[44]

A driven and mercurial figure, Bethell inspired both admiration and loathing from his contemporaries, who saw him as an outstanding commander but with a furious and often unjustified, temper. During his time at 74th Brigade, relations with his staff had diminished to the point where they refused to take meals with him.[45] He also believed in taking whatever he felt he needed from other units, regardless of their needs or wishes and after leaving 25th Division, he repeatedly returned to poach staff officers and battalion commanders. The 74th Brigade would later provide the new divisional GSO.2, Walter Guinness (transferred after Bethell's intervention to the Chief of Staff at Army headquarters) and the GSO.3, John Marriott (simply taken by Bethell from hospital).[46] This approach extended to reorganising his new command. On 2 April, Bethell sent Gordon Macready, the divisional GSO.1, to acquire several hundred guns in order to reform the 66th Division as a machine-gun division, an idea that appears to have been entirely Bethell's own. After raiding other divisions and emptying the Machine Gun Corps training school, Bethell reported to Field Marshal Douglas Haig that the division was ready to return to combat; he was surprised to find that his friend "Duggie" disapproved of these methods, rejected the proposal and informed him that his division would instead be withdrawn and used as a training unit.[45] Bethell was later offered a new division but chose to retain the 66th, hoping that they would return to the front lines at a later date.[47]

Reconstitution

Following the heavy losses, the 66th Division was reduced to cadre early in May; which meant that infantry battalions were cut to ten officers and about 45 men, any surplus being sent to base depots and the artillery, engineer and machine-gun units were distributed among other formations.[48] The divisional artillery was attached to XIX Corps during the Battle of the Avre on 4 April and with XI Corps at the Battle of the Lys later in the month.[49] During the summer, Bethell continued to plan for rebuilding the division, having recruited a staff he felt he could work with, and expecting that experienced men would become available as drafts returned from the Mediterranean; the divisions there had not taken such heavy casualties, and the reduction from four to three battalions per brigade meant that large numbers would be returning in the coming months.[50] While reinforcements were assembled, the divisional cadres of the 66th Division and the 39th Division were used to train five American divisions in the British zone.[51] The training process was complicated by a rigid schedule laid down by the American high command, who strongly objected to any deviation from their plans.[52] In July, the American divisions moved up to the front and the new British troops began to arrive from Salonika and Palestine, though the assembly of the division was delayed by the returning men being given home leave and having to spend time acclimatising.[53]

The division had a complicated organisational history during this period, with a large number of units being attached or withdrawn for short periods, while others were merged or disbanded. About thirty infantry battalions were attached for short periods and the divisional artillery and supply columns remained in support of the front line, while one ambulance company was later transferred to serve with the American 27th Division.[1] The future of the division was again in doubt by early September; the 197th Brigade had been transferred to a training role and the others were expected to be dispersed in order to disband the division. Bethell argued for retaining the division and was ordered to prepare it for front-line service; the 197th Brigade was replaced by the South African Brigade in order to bring the division back up to strength.[54] By the end of September, following amalgamations and reorganisation, the division was left with the South African Brigade (1st, 2nd, and 4th South African Infantry regiments), the 198th Brigade (5th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers and 6th Lancashire Fusiliers) and the 199th Brigade (9th Manchester Regiment, 5th Connaught Rangers and 18th King's (Liverpool Regiment)). The divisional pioneers were the 9th Gloucestershire Regiment. Less than a year and a half after arriving in France, the division retained only two of the twelve infantry battalions it had initially possessed (the 6th Lancashire and 9th Manchester) and both of these had been amalgamated with other units from the 42nd Division.[1]

Hundred Days Offensive

The division reached the forward areas on 27 September, under the command of XIII Corps, the reserve corps of the Fourth Army and moved into the line on 5 October, relieving the 25th Division. The division attacked at dawn on 8 October, in the opening phase of the Second Battle of Cambrai and captured the village of Serain by nightfall against determined resistance. After this breakthrough, the division moved forward 14 miles (23 km) in three days, with patrols of the Connaught Rangers entering the outskirts of Le Cateau on 10 October.[55] On the night of 16 October, the divisional pioneers and engineers bridged the Selle and the South African Brigade crossed in thick fog to capture Le Cateau, in a costly attack.[56] The river crossing was the opening stage of the Battle of the Selle (17–25 October), the final advance into Germany.[57]

The division was withdrawn for a short rest, moving back into the line on 2 November. From this point onwards the 66th Division moved almost continually, in close pursuit of the retreating German army. It supported the 25th Division at the Battle of the Sambre on 4 November and on 7 November leapfrogged past the 25th Division to advance as one of the leading units of the Fourth Army. Supplies ran short and the supply services struggled to bring up sufficient food and ammunition over cratered roads and wrecked bridges and the main British advance was forced to halt.[58] On 9 November, to maintain the pursuit, the Fourth Army improvised "Bethell's Force", consisting of 5th Cavalry Brigade, the South African Brigade and two RAF squadrons, along with various support units from 66th Division. It began pushing forward on 10 November and advanced several miles along a broad front, with a second advance on 11 November, only stopped at the last minute by the divisional staff, who had received warning that the armistice would begin at 11 am.[59]

At the Armistice of 11 November 1918, Bethell's Force had reached the Sivry–Beaumont area.[57] From 27 September to 12 November the division had incurred 2,195 casualties, and during the Hundred Days offensive was one of only two Allied divisions to succeed in every attack.[60][61] The 66th Division was ordered to move north to secure eastern Belgium. On 18 November, it began to move north into the Namur region, where it was stationed between Huy and Rochefort. The division remained there while it demobilised and was disbanded on 24 March 1919.[1] Bethell remained in Germany as Colonel-Commandant of the 2nd Rhine Brigade, headquartered at Wiesbaden.[62]

Second World War

The division was not re-established in the Territorial Army after the war, but in the spring and summer of 1939 the existing Territorial divisions were instructed to form a second line formation, as part of the preparation for the Second World War. At this point, the 66th Division was re-created, duplicating units of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, as the 66th Infantry Division. It was headquartered in Manchester and retained its local association with the North-West of England, though it now contained units from Liverpool and Cumberland, as well as Lancashire and Manchester. It did not see active service and was disbanded in June 1940, shortly after the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated at Dunkirk. Divisional commanders during its second incarnation were Arthur Purser, then Alan Cunningham.[63] A reason for the disbandment of the 66th Division was due to the experiment of motorised divisions, containing only two infantry brigades which had been seen as a failure during the Battle of France. It was decided after the fighting in France to reform the motor divisions as standard infantry divisions. The 66th Division was one of three disbanded in this way, the others being 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division and the 23rd (Northumbrian) Division, which had both suffered severe casualties in the fighting in France.[64]

Men from No. 5 Beach Group, formerly of the 8th (Irish) Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool), coming ashore at Sword Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944.

Following the disbandment of the 66th Division, its constituent units were dispersed. The 197th Brigade, with the 257th Field Company RE and 110th (Manchester) Field Regiment RA was assigned to the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division and reformed it as a standard infantry division of three brigades, having been organised as a motorised division. With the 59th Division, the 197th Brigade fought in the Battle of Normandy from July–August 1944 before its battalions were disbanded in August, due to a severe shortage of infantry, to make up combat losses in other divisions.[65][66] The brigade headquarters was then assigned a number of support units for battlefield clearance duties.[67]

The 198th Brigade was assigned to the 1st London Infantry Division and in December 1940 was then assigned to the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division. After the 54th Division was disbanded at the end of 1943, it became an administrative headquarters for line of communications units.[65][67] The 8th (Irish) Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) and 6th Battalion, Border Regiment were retrained as Beach groups and landed in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944. The 7th Battalion, Border Regiment was later transferred to the 222nd Brigade and, in April 1944, redesignated the 5th Battalion.[68] The 199th Brigade with 109th Field Regiment, RA, was assigned to 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division, reforming it as a standard infantry division, and renumbered the 166th Infantry Brigade in August 1944.[65][67]

The 111th Field Regiment, RA was assigned to the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, then to the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and in 1942 was sent to the Middle East, where it served in the British Eighth Army in Africa, Tunisia, Sicily and Italy.[65][69] In 1944–45, it was detached to Land Forces Adriatic and operated from Vis on the Croatian coast.[70] The 256th Field Company, Royal Engineers later served with the 78th Battleaxe Infantry Division in Africa and Italy.[65]

Order of battle

Organisation details are taken from The British Army in the Great War unless otherwise noted.[1]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Baker, Chris (2010). "The 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division". The British Army in the Great War.
  2. ↑ Gibbon, 1920, p. 5
  3. ↑ BECKETT, Brig.-Gen. Charles Edward, in Who Was Who (2008)
  4. ↑ Baker, Chris (2010). "The Lancashire Fusiliers". The British Army in the Great War.
  5. ↑ Baker, Chris (2010). "The East Lancashire Regiment". The British Army in the Great War.
  6. 1 2 Baker, Chris (2010). "The Manchester Regiment". The British Army in the Great War.
  7. ↑ Baker, Chris (2010). "The Territorial Force". The British Army in the Great War.
  8. ↑ "Lawrence, Sir Herbert Alexander (1861–1943)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34438. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  9. ↑ Falls, 1940, p. 64
  10. 1 2 Davies & Maddocks
  11. ↑ Edmonds, 1948, pp. 116–118
  12. ↑ Gibson (1920), p. 106
  13. ↑ Edmonds 1948, p. 323
  14. ↑ Bean, p. 886
  15. ↑ Bean, pp. 887–8
  16. ↑ Bean, pp. 888–9
  17. ↑ Edmonds, 1948, pp. 334, 339
  18. 1 2 Beckett, Ian F.W. "Malcolm, Sir Neill (1869–1953)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/37730. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  19. ↑ Stevenson, pp. 49–50
  20. ↑ Gibson, pp. 122–123
  21. ↑ Wyrall, p. 283
  22. ↑ Murland, p. 74
  23. ↑ Carpenter, pp. 51–52
  24. ↑ Murland, pp. 74–75, 84–90
  25. ↑ Middlebrook, p. 315; Carpenter, p. 55. The total figures for the British front are 7,500 killed, 10,000 wounded, 21,000 captured; 66th Division are known to have lost 711 killed, and other figures taken in rough proportion.
  26. ↑ Gray, p. 45
  27. ↑ Wyrall, p. 263
  28. ↑ Wyrall, p. 275
  29. ↑ Wyrall, pp. 278–279; Hart, pp. 161–162
  30. ↑ Edmonds 1937 p. 21, Edmonds, 1935 p. 504
  31. ↑ Moore, pp. 143–144
  32. ↑ Wyrall, pp. 288–292
  33. ↑ Wyrall, pp. 293–296
  34. ↑ Wyrall, pp. 300–301
  35. ↑ Edmonds, 1937 p. 22
  36. ↑ Wyrall, pp. 301–302
  37. ↑ Stirling, pp. 196–7; Moore, p. 187
  38. ↑ Edmonds 1937 p. 95
  39. ↑ Edmonds, 1937 p. 491
  40. ↑ Bond, pp. 198–99
  41. ↑ Edmonds, 1937, p. 91
  42. ↑ Quarterly Army List for the quarter ending 31st December 1919 (N & M Press 2001 ed.). London: HMSO. 1920. p. 153. ISBN 1-84342-055-4.
  43. ↑ Kincaid-Smith, 1918, p. 194
  44. ↑ Harvey, A.D. (1992). Collision of Empires: Britain in Three World Wars, 1793–1945. London: A & C Black. pp. 312–313. ISBN 1852850787.
  45. 1 2 Bond, pp. 16–18
  46. ↑ Bond, p. 210
  47. ↑ Bond, p. 215
  48. ↑ Edmonds, 1939, pp. 5, 25
  49. ↑ Stirling, pp. 197, 224; Edmonds, 1937, pp. 123, 160
  50. ↑ Bond, pp. 215–216
  51. ↑ Edmonds 1939 p. 169
  52. ↑ Bond, pp. 216–218
  53. ↑ Bond, pp. 222–223; Griffith, pp. 67–68
  54. ↑ Bond, pp. 225–227
  55. ↑ Bond, pp. 228–234; Edmonds (1947), pp.193–195, 215–217, 237; Hart, pp. 474–475
  56. ↑ Stirling, pp. 198–99; Bond, pp. 235–236
  57. 1 2 Stirling, p. 200
  58. ↑ Stirling, p. 200; Bond, pp. 239–240
  59. ↑ Edmonds, 1947, p. 528; Bond, pp. 240–242
  60. ↑ Edmonds, 1945, pp. 552–553, 561
  61. ↑ Griffith, p. 56
  62. ↑ Edmonds, 1944, p. 292
  63. ↑ "66 (East Lancashire) Infantry Division". Orders of Battle.com. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  64. ↑ http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/53657-british-army-units-and-reorganisation-immediately-after-dunkirk/
  65. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nafziger, George (1992). "Organization of British Infantry Divisions, 1939–1945" (PDF).
  66. ↑ Morss, Robert (2011). "59th Division, 1939–44".
  67. 1 2 3 Nafziger, George (1992). "British Infantry Brigades, 1st thru 214th, 1939–1945" (PDF).
  68. ↑ Latham, H. B. (1958). "The Assault Landings in Normandy: Order of Battle, Second British Army" (PDF).
  69. ↑ "Units That Served With The 4th Armoured Brigade: Royal Artillery Regiments". The History of the British 4th and 7th Armoured Brigades. 2005.
  70. ↑ "Index: Private Papers of Brigadier T de F Jago OBE". Imperial War Museum. 2014.

References

External links

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