33rd Division (United Kingdom)


The 33rd Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was raised in 1914, during the First World War. The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, that was originally made up of infantry battalions raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the War Office in September 1915. It served in France and Belgium in the trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war. The division's insignia was the "double-three" from a set of dominoes.

Unit history

The Division was one of the six created for the Fourth New Army on 10 December 1914. It landed in France in November 1915. Major-General Herman Landon took command of the division on its arrival. It saw action at the Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916 and, after Major General Reginald Pinney had taken command, it also saw action at the Battle of Arras in April / May 1917 and the Battle of Passchendaele in autumn 1917. It was disbanded in June 1919.

Order of battle

The following units served with the Division:
; 19th Brigade :
; 98th Brigade :
; 99th Brigade :
; 100th Brigade :
Divisional Troops
Royal Artillery
33rd Divisional Engineers
Royal Army Medical Corps