The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918Bewsher, F. W. (Frederick William)
History
The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918
Bewsher, F. W. (Frederick William)
Great Britain. Army. Division, 51st (Highland); World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- Great Britain
In February 1916 further changes took place; the 4th and 5th Black Watch
were posted to General Headquarters, and the 4th Camerons to the Base.
These three battalions were replaced in the 154th Infantry Brigade by
the 9th Royal Scots, the 4th Gordon Highlanders, and the 7th Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders.
All the battalions in the reconstituted 154th Infantry Brigade had
landed in France some months before the remainder of the Division, being
posted to various regular brigades as an additional battalion.
Thus, as regards the infantry, the original composition of the Highland
Division was restored, with the exception of the 4th Cameron
Highlanders, the 6th Gordon Highlanders, and the 9th Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders.
During the same month changes were also made as regards the organisation
of machine-guns. The infantry battalions had joined the Expeditionary
Force each equipped with two machine-guns under the command of the
battalion machine-gun officer. In July 1915 the battalion machine-gun
section was increased by an additional two guns.
In January 1916 a machine-gun company of sixteen guns was affiliated to
each brigade. These companies were formed by the amalgamation of the
four battalion machine-gun sections in each brigade, Captains Hardie,
Calder, and Board commanding the companies of the 152nd, 153rd, and
154th Infantry Brigades respectively.
In the early part of 1916 the trench-mortar situation was greatly
improved. Three 2-inch trench-mortar batteries were formed by the
Divisional artillery. These mortars fired the 60-pound bomb already
described known as the "Donald Dinnie." They were still considerably
inferior to the German trench-mortars in range, but they constituted a
considerable advance on all previous experiments. Their chief faults lay
in their liability to misfire, and in their frequent inaccuracy, due to
the boxes containing the component parts not being water-tight.
When the "Donald Dinnie" did burst on its target, the effect was
gratifying. The retaliation they almost invariably drew from the enemy
was the best evidence of their efficacy, and made the duty of serving
the mortars an extremely hazardous one.
In May 1916 a light trench-mortar battery, consisting of four Stokes
mortars, was formed for each brigade. The Stokes gun proved the most
satisfactory British light trench-mortar invented, and remained the
weapon of the light trench-mortar batteries throughout the war.
On 1st March 1916 orders were received for the Division to march
northwards and take over from the 23rd French Division of the XII^{me}
Corps d'Armée in a sector north of Arras, now known to history as the
Labyrinth. This move was due to the necessity for the British to take
over more line from the French. The object was to free as many French
Divisions as possible for the defence of Verdun, against which the
German was delivering his great attack.
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