40th Infantry Division (United Kingdom) - World War I

World War I

The 40th Infantry Division was originally formed as a Kitchener's Army 'Bantam' division between September and December 1915 for service in World War I. 'Bantam' personnel were those who were under the Army regulation height but otherwise fit for service. It comprised the 119th, 120th, and 121st Brigades. It moved to the Western Front in June 1916 and served there throughout the war.

The most notable action of the division may be its participation in the Battle of Cambrai in 1917. By the 22nd of November the British were left exposed in a salient on the battlefield. Haig wanted Bourlon Ridge and the exhausted 62nd Division was replaced by the 40th Division under John Ponsonby on the 23rd. Supported by almost a hundred tanks and 430 guns, the 40th attacked into the woods of Bourlon Ridge on the morning of the 23rd. They made little progress. The Germans had put two divisions of Gruppe Arras on the ridge with another two in reserve and Gruppe Caudry was reinforced. The British 40th Division reached the crest of the ridge but were held there and suffered over 4,000 casualties for their efforts in three days. The division was substequtnly driven back in the German counter-attacks, suffering many more losses.

From July 1918 until March 1919, the division was led by General Sir William Peyton and took part in the Hundred Days advance through Flanders.