45th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
45th Infantry Division 45th (Holding) Division 45th Division | |
---|---|
Active | 7 September 1939 – 15 August 1944 1 September 1944 – c. December 1945 |
Branch | Territorial Army (1939–1944) British Army (1944–1945) |
Type | Infantry |
Role | Infantry, home defence, and training |
The 45th Infantry Division was an
It was intended that the division would remain in the United Kingdom to complete training and preparation, before being deployed to France within twelve months of the war breaking out. Instead, the division was largely dispersed in order to protect strategically important points. As a result of the rapid German victory on mainland Europe during the
The division was reformed in September as the 45th (Holding) Division, composed of personnel from the disbanded
Background
During the 1930s, tensions increased between Germany and the United Kingdom and its allies.[1] In late 1937 and throughout 1938, German demands for the annexation of Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia led to an international crisis. To avoid war, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler in September and brokered the Munich Agreement. The agreement averted a war and allowed Germany to annexe the Sudetenland.[2] Although Chamberlain had intended the agreement to lead to further peaceful resolution of issues, relations between both countries soon deteriorated.[3] On 15 March 1939, Germany breached the terms of the agreement by invading and occupying the remnants of the Czech state.[4]
On 29 March, British Secretary of State for War Leslie Hore-Belisha announced plans to increase the part-time Territorial Army (TA) from 130,000 to 340,000 men and double the number of TA divisions.[5][a] The plan was for existing TA divisions, referred to as the first-line, to recruit over their allowed complements (aided by an increase in pay for Territorials, the removal of restrictions on promotion which had hindered recruiting, construction of better-quality barracks and an increase in supper rations) and then form a new division, known as the second-line, from cadres around which the divisions could be expanded.[5][10] This process was dubbed "duplicating". The 45th Division was to be a second-line unit, a duplicate of the first-line 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division.[11] It was envisioned that the duplicating process and recruiting the required numbers of men would take no more than six months. Some TA divisions had made little progress by the time the Second World War began; others were able to complete this work within a matter of weeks.[12][13] In April, limited conscription was introduced. This resulted in 34,500 twenty-year-old men being conscripted into the regular army, initially to be trained for six months before deployment to the forming second-line units.[11][14]
History
Formation and home defence
On 28 August 1939, the embryo of the division was formed.
It was envisioned that the TA divisions each be deployed intact to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France as equipment became available, with all 26 TA divisions deployed by the end of the first year of the war. The deployment timetable called for waves being sent to France in the fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth, and twelfth months of the war.[24] By February 1940, the 45th Division had been earmarked for the fourth contingent of TA divisions to be deployed. To do so, the division was to be concentrated to complete its training; a process that had thus far been complicated by having 2,600 of the division's troops assigned to guarding vulnerable points.[23] In May 1940, due to the swift nature of the German operations on mainland Europe, Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces General Walter Kirke grew concerned over the threat posed by the Germans to South East England. As a result, the division was assigned to Eastern Command and deployed to Sussex to defend the coast.[22][25] As a consequence of the German victory in the Battle of France and the return of the BEF following the Dunkirk evacuation, the division was not deployed overseas.[22][26]
On 25 May, the 135th Brigade (based at
Assigned to I Corps in November, the division was moved off the south coast to Nottinghamshire. It was then placed directly under the command of Home Forces, and rotated between coastal defence duties in Essex and maintaining a position in the English hinterlands as a counter-attack formation.[22][39][40] In July, the division was placed under the command of XI Corps.[22] In December, the division was placed on the lower establishment and was deployed to the Essex coastline in 1942.[39][41][42][c] After a year in this position, during March 1943, the division deployed to Northern Ireland, where elements were based in County Down.[22][45] This deployment was used for training. This deployment lasted until December 1943, when the division was again placed directly under the command of Home Forces and returned to the mainland.[39][45][46] The division's moves to and from Northern Ireland were leaked through double agents as part of Operation Fortitude.[47] The division then moved to Sussex, and started to supply drafts of men to higher establishment divisions.[39][45][46] By mid-1944, the five lower establishment divisions allocated to home defence duties (the 38th (Welsh), the 45th, the 47th (London), the 55th (West Lancashire), and the 61st) had a combined total of 17,845 men. Of this number, around 13,000 were available as replacements for the 21st Army Group fighting in France.[48][d] The remaining 4,800 men were considered ineligible at that time for service abroad for a variety of reasons, including a lack of training or being medically unfit. Over the following six months, up to 75 per cent of these men were deployed to reinforce 21st Army Group following the completion of their training and certification of fitness.[50] On 15 August, what was left of the division was dispersed. This process took until the end of the month, at which point the division and its brigades were disbanded.[41]
Holding Division and end of the war
During 1944, the British Army suffered a severe shortage of manpower. In an effort to downsize the army, while efficiently maintaining as many formations as possible at full strength, the
On 1 December 1944, the division was renamed the 45th Division.[41] On 1 February 1945, a new 136th Infantry Brigade was formed and attached to the division. This was followed by a new 137th Brigade on 28 March, and the 178th Brigade on 21 April.[57] Joslen describes these brigades as being "for the reception and training of personnel returned from overseas temporarily unfit from wounds and other causes." These brigades had no specific battalions assigned to them, instead, according to Joslen, "the Units of the Bde were Reception Camps and Selection and Training Battalions."[58] The 178th Brigade was disbanded in August.[59] In the aftermath of the war, the British Army demobilised, which included the 45th Division.[60][61] The TA was reformed in 1947 on a much smaller scale of nine divisions, which did not include the 45th.[62][e]
General officers commanding
Appointed | General officer commanding |
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7 September 1939 | Major-General Frederick Witts[f] |
5 February 1940 | Major-General Desmond Anderson[41] |
12 May 1940 | Major-General Edmond Schreiber[41] |
25 April 1941 | Brigadier Harold de Riemer Morgan (acting)[41] |
8 May 1941 | Major-General Harold de Riemer Morgan[41] |
12 January 1943 | Major-General John Edwards[41] |
1 September 1944 | Major-General Godwin Michelmore[41] |
Order of battle
45th Infantry Division (1939–1944)[41] | |
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134th Infantry Brigade[65]
135th Infantry Brigade[67]
136th Infantry Brigade[68]
Divisional Troops
|
45th (Holding) Division / 45th Division (1944–1945)[41] | |
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134th Infantry Brigade[72]
135th Infantry Brigade[73]
136th Infantry Brigade[68]
137th Infantry Brigade[74]
178th Infantry Brigade[75]
1 September onwards: Divisional Troops
|
See also
- List of British divisions in World War II
- British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)
Notes
Footnotes
- British Government decided, territorial soldiers could be deployed overseas for combat. (This avoided the complications of the First World War-era Territorial Force, whose members were not required to leave Britain unless they volunteered for overseas service.)[6][7][8][9]
- ^ Following the return of the British Army from France, it began implementing lessons learnt from the campaign. This included a decision that the standard division would be based around three brigades, and the abandonment of the motor division concept. This process involved the break up of four-second-line territorial divisions to reinforce depleted formations and aid in transforming the Army's five motor divisions, each made up of two brigades, into infantry divisions made up of three brigades.[27][28][29] This included the break-up of the 23rd (Northumbrian) Division at the end of June. One of its brigades was allocated to the 1st London Division, and following which the 135th Brigade reverted to the 45th Division.[30]
- ^ During the war, divisions of the British Army were divided between being listed as higher establishment formations, and lower establishment ones. The former were intended for deployment overseas and combat, whereas the latter were restricted to home defence in a static role.[43][44]
- ^ The war establishment – the paper strength – of a higher establishment infantry division at this point in the war was 18,347 men.[49]
- ^ Witts became GOC on 28 August 1939, but the division did not become active until 7 September.[41][64]
- ^ In June 1942, the Reconnaissance Corps universally adopted cavalry nomenclature. As a result, all companies were redesignated as squadrons.[70]
Citations
- ^ Bell 1997, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Bell 1997, pp. 258–275.
- ^ Bell 1997, pp. 277–278.
- ^ Bell 1997, p. 281.
- ^ a b Gibbs 1976, p. 518.
- ^ Allport 2015, p. 323.
- ^ French 2001, p. 53.
- ^ Perry 1988, pp. 41–42.
- ^ Simkins 2007, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Messenger 1994, p. 47.
- ^ a b Messenger 1994, p. 49.
- ^ a b Perry 1988, p. 48.
- ^ Levy 2006, p. 66.
- ^ French 2001, p. 64.
- ^ "No. 34482". The London Gazette. 15 February 1938. p. 968., "No. 34536". The London Gazette. 29 July 1938. p. 4885., and "No. 34684". The London Gazette. 15 September 1939. p. 6333.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 313–315.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 320.
- ^ a b Joslen 2003, p. 321.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 322.
- ^ "Badge, formation, 45th (West County) Infantry Division". Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Joslen 2003, p. 74.
- ^ a b Newbold 1988, pp. 60–61.
- ^ Gibbs 1976, pp. 455, 507, 514–515.
- ^ Newbold 1988, pp. 87, 121–122.
- ^ Fraser 1999, pp. 72–77.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 37, 41, 61, 90.
- ^ French 2001, pp. 189–191.
- ^ Perry 1988, p. 54.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 37, 73, 282, 321.
- ^ a b Newbold 1988, p. 415.
- ^ Collier 1957, p. 125.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 131.
- ^ Newbold 1988, p. 260.
- ^ Newbold 1988, p. 153.
- ^ Newbold 1988, pp. 259–260.
- ^ Newbold 1988, p. 373.
- ^ Collier 1957, p. 219.
- ^ a b c d "The 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 30th Battalions The Devonshire Regiment in World War Two". The Keep Military Museum: The Devonshire Regiment in the Second World War. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ Collier 1957, p. 229.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Joslen 2003, p. 73.
- ^ Collier 1957, p. 292.
- ^ Perry 1988, p. 65.
- ^ French 2001, p. 188.
- ^ a b c Molesworth 1951, p. 125.
- ^ a b Godfrey & Goldsmith 1966, p. 29.
- ^ a b c Hesketh 2000, p. 246.
- ^ Hart 2007, p. 52.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 130–131.
- ^ Hart 2007, pp. 48–51.
- ^ Messenger 1994, p. 122.
- ^ Allport 2015, p. 216.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 73, 100.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 320–321.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 100.
- ^ Rissik 2012, p. 315.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 73, 322–323, 356.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 322–323, 356.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 356.
- ^ Allport 2009, pp. 26, 43.
- ^ "No. 37404". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 December 1945. p. 6280.
- ^ a b Messenger 1994, p. 157.
- ^ Lord & Watson 2003, p. 89.
- ^ "No. 34684". The London Gazette. 15 September 1939. p. 6333.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 73, 320.
- ^ a b c d 45th Recce Regiment at Reconnaissance Corps website.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 73, 321.
- ^ a b Joslen 2003, pp. 73, 322.
- ^ Nalder, p, 597.
- ^ Doherty 2007, p. 4.
- ^ Kemsley, Riesco & Chamberlin, pp. 1–4.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 73, 320, 366.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 73, 321, 372.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 73, 323.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 73, 356.
References
- ISBN 978-0-300-14043-9.
- Allport, Alan (2015). Browned Off and Bloody-minded: The British Soldier Goes to War 1939–1945. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-17075-7.
- Bell, P. M. H. (1997) [1986]. The Origins of the Second World War in Europe (2nd ed.). London: Pearson. ISBN 978-0-582-30470-3.
- OCLC 375046.
- Doherty, Richard (2007). The British Reconnaissance Corps in World War II. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-122-9.
- ISBN 978-0-304-35233-3.
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- Godfrey, Ernest Gordon; Goldsmith, Robert Frederick Kinglake (1966). The History of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, 1939-45. Aldershot: Gale and Polden. OCLC 492949523.
- ISBN 978-0-116-30181-9.
- Hart, Stephen Ashley (2007) [2000]. Colossal Cracks: Montgomery's 21st Army Group in Northwest Europe, 1944–45. Mechanicsburg: ISBN 978-0-8117-3383-0.
- ISBN 978-1-58567-075-8.
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- ISBN 978-0-742-54537-3.
- Capt Walter Kemsley & Capt Michael R. Riesco, The Scottish Lion on Patrol: Being the History of the 15th Scottish Reconnaissance Regiment, 1943–46, Bristol: White Swan Press, 1950/Revised edn (Tim Chamberlin, ed), Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2011, ISBN 978-1-39901-874-6.
- Messenger, Charles (1994). For Love of Regiment 1915–1994. A History of British Infantry. Vol. II. London: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-0-850-52422-2.
- Molesworth, George Noble (1951). The History of the Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's), 1919-1945. Taunton: Regimental Committee, Somerset Light Infantry. OCLC 13508675.
- Maj-Gen R.F.H. Nalder, The Royal Corps of Signals: A History of its Antecedents and Developments (Circa 1800–1955), London: Royal Signals Institution, 1958.
- Newbold, David John (1988). British Planning And Preparations To Resist Invasion on Land, September 1939 – September 1940 (PDF) (PhD thesis). London: King's College London. OCLC 556820697.
- Perry, Frederick William (1988). The Commonwealth Armies: Manpower and Organisation in Two World Wars. War, Armed Forces and Society. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-2595-2.
- Rissik, David (2012) [1953]. The D. L. I. at War: The History of the Durham Light Infantry 1939–1945 (ePub ed.). Luton: Andrews UK. ISBN 978-1-78151-535-8.
- Simkins, Peter (2007) [1988]. Kitchener's Army: The Raising of the New Armies 1914–1916. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-844-15585-9.
- Lord, Cliff; Watson, Graham (2003). The Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents. West Midlands: Helion. ISBN 978-1-874622-07-9.