A list of the battles in which a division has been present affords some idea of its services to the Empire, but opportunities varied according to the theatre, and while the work of those troops which went early to the East was of inestimable importance and while very many of their battalions fought in Mesopotamia, Palestine and elsewhere, they had no chance of employment as divisions in the field, hence, through no fault of their own, their honours as divisions are nil. In the case of some which operated in France the urgency of affairs, in the early years of the War, was such as to necessitate their employment as reinforcements in single battalions to Regular brigades, and it must not be forgotten that the component parts of some divisions, such as the 55th and 56th, were nearly a year, more in the case of some battalions, in France before they were concentrated as divisions. In their case again a mere list of battle honours in that formation is inadequate as a token of their value. Some of those so placed seem to have made up lost time splendidly.

It would be presumption to say that the following table is complete. There will be many claims which will require very careful scrutiny, and only the Authorities, with all the material of the Historical Section of the War Office at their disposal, will be competent to adjudicate upon them. On the other hand the despatches do mention certain units, and other works of a semi-official character, already published, supplement the reports of the various Commanders; from such sources a fairly complete list can be made up.

In this Appendix, where a division has been mentioned in despatches or works such as the “Story of the Fourth Army,” as taking part in a battle, or is shown in the maps appended to these, the Battle is in ordinary type; but where the information is derived from sources not so strictly official, the name of the Battle is printed in italics. In compiling this appendix it has been thought better not to ask information from units as to their own doings.

The geographical or boundary limits give trouble as regards divisions in support. Sometimes these seem to have been partly within and partly outside the limits. Where there is a probable claim this has been noted.

The chronological or time limits give no licence, and it is perhaps a little hard on some units that did some very severe fighting on one or more days before or after a recognised battle that they should be excluded. Particularly hard cases seem to be those of the 50th, 61st and 66th in connection with the fighting in the region of the Avre and Luce valleys, 28th-30th March, 1918, when these and other divisions by their splendid efforts prevented the line from being broken, and that after they had long passed all credible limits of endurance. The Battle of Rosières is given the dates 26th and 27th March, and that of the Avre, 4th April, by which latter date these three divisions were out of the line, the fighting 28th-30th March, south of the Somme, is thus outside both battles, although the despatch, in which these three divisions are mentioned, seems to give it an importance equal to that of the fighting on 4th April.

Again the Battle of the Somme, 1916, the Third Battle of Ypres, now the Battles of Ypres, 1917, and the First and Second Battles of the Somme, 1918, have each been sub-divided into a number of battles with fixed time limits; but in the course of these epic struggles certain divisions had intense fighting, with most serious losses, on days which are not within the dates of any of the recognised battles. For example, the 55th at the Somme, 1916, the 42nd and 47th at Ypres, 1917, and the 62nd at the Second Somme, 1918, all made big and costly endeavours on days outside the chronological boundaries of a recognised battle. No doubt they will get the general honour, such as “The Battles of Ypres, 1917,” and have to be content with that.

The Committee have clearly taken great pains to arrive at sound principles, and to apply these wisely, and as they had every possible advantage in the way of information, their decisions, although in odd cases causing disappointment, will doubtless be accepted in the true soldiers’ spirit.

In 1918 several Territorial divisions were practically destroyed, such as the 50th and 66th; these were during the last few months reconstituted, being made up largely with Regular or New Army battalions. Such divisions have been treated as Territorial to the end. If this is considered more than fair to the Territorial Force it is counterbalanced by the fact that some of the New Army Divisions, which had also been very hardly hit, such as the 34th, were, after the spring campaign of 1918, composed largely of Territorial battalions from Italy and Palestine. The 25th has most handsomely admitted their good fortune in receiving seasoned battalions from Italy, including a brigade of the 48th.

42nd (East Lancashire) Division. First Line.

Defence of Egypt.3-4 February, 1915.
The Battles of Helles, Dardanelles.Second Battle of Krithia.6-8 May, 1915.
Third Battle of Krithia.4 June, 1915.
Battle of Rumani, Egypt.4-5 Aug., 1916.
The Battles of Ypres, 1917.The Division was not mentioned in the despatch, but was in line from 1st to 18th September; it attacked on 6th and later dates. This was not one of the recognised battles.
The First Battles of the Somme, 1918.First Battle of Bapaume.24-25 March, 1918.
First Battle of Arras, 1918.28 March, 1918.
Battle of the Ancre, 1918.5 April, 1918.
The Second Battles of the Somme, 1918Battle of Albert, 191821-23 Aug., 1918.
Second Battle of Bapaume.31 Aug.-3 Sept., 1918.
The Battles of the Hindenburg Line.Battle of the Canal du Nord.27 Sept.-1 Oct., 1918.
The Final Advance.Battle of the Selle.17-25 Oct., 1918.
Battle of the Sambre.4 Nov., 1918.
The Division was not engaged at the Battle of the Sambre on 4th November. It was in second line (see map, p. 294, Messrs. Dent’s edition of despatches), but seems to have been within the official boundaries. It passed to front line on the 5th.