Kitchener's third New Army is formed
On 13 September 1914 the British War Office issued Army Order No. 388, which created the third of the so-called New Armies. Like the two before it, it was to consist of six infantry divisions formed from volunteers.
The Secretary of State for War, Lord Herbert Kitchener, had foreseen a long war from the start and the need to raise an army of millions. There was no shortage of volunteers. By 12 September almost half a million men had joined up, more than could be absorbed by the first New Army, formed in August, and the second, created two days earlier. The third New Army, known as “K3”, comprised the divisions numbered 21 to 26. Its battalions were formed as part of existing regiments, and the recruits were gathered in camps in southern England, among others on Salisbury Plain. They lacked everything: uniforms, rifles, billets and instructors, and many lived in tents for the first weeks.
The K3 divisions went into action in 1915. The 21st and 24th Divisions, newly arrived in France, suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Loos in September 1915. The 22nd and 26th Divisions went in the autumn of 1915 to the Salonika front, where they remained until the end of the war. The 23rd and 25th Divisions fought on the Western Front, and from the end of 1917 the 23rd Division also fought in Italy.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 12 September 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the Aisne beginsOn 12 September 1914 the British and French, pursuing the Germans after the Marne, reached the Aisne. The Germans dug in on the heights beyond the river.
- 12 September 1914 · Asia and the PacificBattle of Bita PakaIn September 1914 Australians captured the German radio station at Bita Paka on New Britain. Six soldiers died in Australia's first fight of the war.
- 12 September 1914 · Western FrontEnd of the Battle of the Grand CouronnéOn 12 September 1914 the Battle of the Grand Couronné ended. The German 6th Army withdrew from Nancy, and the French recovered Lunéville and Pont-à-Mousson.
- 14 September 1914 · War at seaCarmania sinks Cap TrafalgarOn 14 September 1914 off Trindade in the South Atlantic the British armed merchant cruiser Carmania sank the German Cap Trafalgar. Both were liners.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 11 September 1914 · MilitaryKitchener's second New Army is formedOn 11 September 1914 the British government ordered the formation of a second New Army of volunteers. It comprised six infantry divisions, the 15th to 20th.
- 21 August 1914 · MilitaryKitchener's first New Army is formedOn 21 August 1914 the British War Office ordered the formation of the first New Army, six divisions strong, from volunteers.
- 6 August 1914 · PoliticsLord Kitchener becomes Secretary of State for WarOn 6 August 1914 Field Marshal Lord Kitchener took over the British War Office, replacing Prime Minister Asquith, who had headed it since March 1914.
- 25 October 1914 · MilitaryGeneral Sir Charles Douglas diesOn 25 October 1914 the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Sir Charles Douglas, died in London. The cause of death was overwork.