Who did the Essex Regiment face?

[Guest]

Hi - total newb here to the period but working on a project and looking for a few pointers so I can go off and do some research (rather than bug old hands with a question they have been asked a thousand times.

 

In short I would like to know which units fought the Essex Regiment in the last couple years of the War.

 

I have found the following:

• The 1st Battalion sailed from Egypt to France on 16 March 1916.
• The 15th Battalion went to France in May 1918.
• The 9th, 10th and 11th Service Battalions all travelled to France in 1915.

 

Not sure when they left (i.e. before the fighting finished) or even if I have got it round my neck by misunderstanding what I have read. Specifically I am looking for the German units they faced.

[EastSurrey]

That's a very big question! Even most British regimental histories have little to say on this subject. There would be a very considerable number of different German units involved, particularly as British divisions moved between fronts quite frequently.The brigade and division war diaries, through the National Archives, often  have intelligence reports which report identifications from raids, etc.

Once you have identified some German units, if you can read German the I.W.M. has, or certainly had, a fairly large collection of German regimental histories. If you don't read German, you can read Jack Sheldon's excellent series of books on the Germans on the Western Front. Whilst they are from the German perspective, British units are mentioned, to an extent.

Good luck!

Michael

[Guest]

Ha - thanks for the response. Suspected the answer would be more complicated than that (my usual interest in history is about 2000 years earlier than the Great War so I am used to sparse documentation).

 

I will start with Jack Sheldon and work my way from there. I know a little German (enough to buy food and beer but I suspect it isn't going to help here).

[EastSurrey]

Start by identifying the appropriate British brigades and divisions your battalions served with, noting especially that divisions were re-organised in early 1918, because of manpower shortages. Instead of  each division having 12 battalions , 4 to a brigade, plus a pioneer infantry battalion, each division then had 9 battalions in 3 brigades, plus a smaller pioneer infantry battalion. There was also some further re-organisation- of some divisions which suffered especially heavily in the German spring offensives.

Jack's books are understandably less helpful on the 'quieter' periods. However, there was generally a slower turnover of units in the less active sectors and especially during the winter, as not much was going on. For example, 9/E. Surrey of 72nd Brigade, 24th Division, was on the relatively quiet front near Hargicourt south of Cambrai  for 5 months. It was facing 183 Division from September 1917, then 5 Guard Division from 24/25 November, then from late December until the British division was moved on  in late February, 9 Bavarian Reserve Division.

Michael

[EastSurrey]

For those on the same trail as yourself, there are a good number of references to individual British battalions facing Saxon units in Flanders in 'Fighting the Kaiser's War-The Saxons in Flanders 1914--1918' by Andrew Lucas & Jurgen Schmieschek, but unfortunately not from the Essex Regiment.

Michael

[Guest]

For the larger set piece battles the Official History is a reasonably good guide for which units were opposite the various British formations. Most of the earlier OH have been digitised and are free online.

 

1st Bn Essex Regt was in 88th Inf Bde, 27th Div. in Feb 1918 it transfered to 112th Inf Bde 37th Div

9th Bn Essex Regt was in 35th Inf Bde  throughout

10th Bn Essex Regt was in 52rd Inf Bde 18th Div, throughout

11th Bn Essex Regt was in 71st Inf Bde, 24th Div. In Oct 1915  transfered to 71st Inf Bde 6th Div then almost immediately to 18th Inf Bde 6th Div.

15th Bn Essex Regt was a Garrison Guard Battalion. To France in May 1918, then to 177th Inf Bde 59th Div.

 

Their diaries and published histories might also help identify which German units were opposite on occasion. Rather like the continual rotation of British troops through the front line, the Germans were also doing this, so the units opposing each  other were in a constant state of flux.

 

MG

Edited 8 October , 2016 by Guest