The British 29th Division, known as the Incomparable Division, was a First World War regular army infantry division formed in early 1915 by combining various units that had been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. Under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, the division fought throughout the Battle of Gallipoli, including the original landing at Cape Helles. From 1916 to the end of the war the division fought on the Western Front in France.

Unit history

The 29th Division served on the Gallipoli peninsula for the duration of the ill-fated campaign. It made the first landings in April of 1915 and was among the last to leave in January of 1916. The division suffered through the worst of the fighting at Cape Helles before being moved to fight on the Suvla front as well.

On the morning of April 25, 1915 the Battle of Gallipoli began when battalions from the division's 86th and 87th Brigades landed at five beaches around Cape Helles at the tip of the peninsula. Three of the landings faced little or no opposition but were not exploited. The two main landings, at V and W Beaches on either side of the cape, met with fierce Turkish resistance and the landing battalions were decimated.

The original objectives of the first day of the campaign had been the village of Krithia and the nearby hill of Achi Baba. The first concerted attempt to capture these was made by the division three days after the landings on April 28. In this First Battle of Krithia an advance up the peninsula was made but the division was halted short of its objective and suffered around 3,000 casualties. The attack was resumed on May 6 with the launch of the Second Battle of Krithia. On this occasion the 88th Brigade attacked along Fig Tree Spur and, after two days of fighting without significant progress, it was relieved by the New Zealand Infantry Brigade.

On June 4 the 88th Brigade was once more required to make an advance along Fig Tree Spur in the Third Battle of Krithia. In the subsequent counter-attacks, Second Lieutenant G.R.D Moor of the 2nd Hampshires was awarded the Victoria Cross for shooting four of his own men who attempted to retreat.

The division finally saw successful fighting at Helles during the Battle of Gully Ravine on June 28 when the 86th Brigade managed to advance along Gully Spur. As a prelude to the launch of the August Offensive, a "diversion" was carried out at Helles on August 6 to prevent the Turks withdrawing troops. In what became known as the Battle of Krithia Vineyard, the 88th Brigade made another costly and futile attack along the exposed Krithia Spur.

At Suvla, the Battle of Scimitar Hill on August 21 was the final push of the failed August Offensive. The 29th Division had been moved from Helles to Suvla to participate. The 87th Brigade was briefly able to capture the summit of the hill but was soon forced to retreat.

The division was evacuated from Gallipoli and January 2, 1916 and moved to Egypt before being sent to France in March.

Western Front.

Formation

The division comprised three infantry brigades which at various times contained the following battalions:

86th Brigade 

• 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
• 1st Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers (until April 1916)
• 1st Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers
• 1st Battalion, The Royal Guernsey Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
• 2/3rd (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (until January 1916)
• 16th Battalion (Public Schools Battalion), The Middlesex Regiment (from April 1916, disbanded February 1918)

87th Brigade 

• 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers
• 1st Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
• 1st Battalion, The Border Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers

88th Brigade 

• 1st Battalion, The Essex Regiment
• 1st Battalion, The Newfoundland Regiment
• 1/5th Battalion, The Royal Scots Regiment (until July 1916)
• 2nd Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, The Leinster Regiment
• 2/1st (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (until January 1916)
• 4th Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment

Battles

• Battle of Gallipoli
  • Landing at Cape Helles
  • First Battle of Krithia
  • Second Battle of Krithia
  • Third Battle of Krithia
  • Battle of Gully Ravine
  • Battle of Sari Bair
    • Battle of Krithia Vineyard
    • Battle of Scimitar Hill
• Battle of the Somme (1916)
• Third Battle of Ypres
• Battle of Cambrai

External links

The British Army in the Great War: The 29th Division