10th Entrenching Battalion

[Guest]

The 10th Entrenching Battalion battalion was formed in February 1918 from the disbanded 8th East Yorks and 12th West Yorks battalions. On 5 April 1918 the battalion itself was disbanded and the troops sent as reinforcements to the 7th East Yorks and 10th West Yorks which had suffered heavy casualties in the German spring offensive. Information about the 10th Entrenching Battalion is scarce and any detail of its location, Corps or Division links or operations would be most welcome. Its War Diary does not seem to be available on the National Archives site.

[Coldstreamer]

hello

welcome to the forum

not sure which regiments 10th battalion you a referring to. I d suggest looking at casualties killed (not died or died of wounds) to see roughly where they where on given dates 

[Colin W Taylor]

I don't believe a war diary survives for this battalion at Kew. There also may have been multiple '10th Entr Bns'. I have records of men posted to one iteration in 1916 in France. Another, likely different Bn was in Salonika in 1917 with 26 Division (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4558019 ) and yet another version was formed in France in 1918 as you have described. The latter, unlike some, has no obvious war diary, nor do the others. It might have been attached to a division and be mentioned in a divisional or corps diary but it will be hard to find which one.

 

Confused? I am as well...

 

Colin

Edited 22 January , 2020 by Colin W Taylor

[Guest]

Although there were Entrenching Battalions (EBs) before 1918, the greatest use seems to have been between February and April 1918 on the Western Front. Over 100 battalions were disbanded at this time as part of the restructuring of Brigades from 4 to 3 battalions. Most of the surplus men went to other battalions of their regiment but a significant number were posted to EBs whose task was to prepare a new defence system and to provide a source of reinforcements for front line battalions. I am researching Tom Haslam Broadhead's (my uncle) wartime service. In 1917 he served with 8 East Yorks which was disbanded on 14 February 1918 with some of the men merging with the disbanded 12 West Yorks to form 10 EB. The disbanded battalions had been part of 3 Division which was located south of Arras on 21 March 1918 when the the German offensive opened. I am particularly interested to find out whether 10 EB was in support of 3 Div and what happened to them when the attack came. To round off the story, on 5 April 1918, after the German offensive stalled, 10 EB was disbanded and its men were drafted as reinforcements to 7 East Yorks (my uncle's new battalion) and 10 West Yorks. They were part of 17 (Northern) Div which was located to the east of Bapaume on 21 March and suffered heavy casualties in the retreat to the Albert - Amiens sector.   

[Colin W Taylor]

John

 

I'd scan through the Divisional Adjutant and Quartermaster (A and Q) (I.e. administration) war diaries for 3 and 17 Divisions on Ancestry to see if any mention is made of the EB. 

 

Good luck!

 

Regards

 

Colin