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The 4th Battalion's service in the Great War
They were based at Bedford when war broke
out on the 4th August 1914, and were moved to Felixstowe to
provide home defence around Harwich as well as drafts for the
front line Battalions. After the disaster on the Somme in July
1916, more front line units were badly needed and the 4th Battalion,
along with the equivalent units from other Regiments, were mobilised
and sent to the Western Front. They landed in France on the
25th July 1916 and were formed - with other similar battalions
- into the 190th Brigade of the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division,
where they would remain until the Armistice. The Royal Naval
Division was a three Brigade Division, of which the 190th Brigade
was comprised:
- 4th Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment.
- 7th Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers.
- 1st Honourable Artillery Company [left
in June 1917].
- 1st/28th Battalion, the London Regiment
[known as "The Artists Rifles", who joined 28th June 1917]
- 10th Battalion, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers
[left in October 1917].
Major battles
The Battalion were engaged in the following major
battles throughout the war:
In 1916
they were engaged in the Operations on the Ancre (also called
the Battle of the Ancre) in November.
In 1917,
they were involved in the continuing Operations on the Ancre,
specifically at the actions at Miraumont in February. During
the Battle of Arras they were heavily engaged in the Second
Battle of the Scarpe (when they captured Gavrelle) and the phase
of Arleux in April. In the Battles of Ypres 1917 (also referred
to as the Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele), the battalion
were engaged during the Second Battle of Passchendaele in October
and November. Their final battle of the year was a localised
defensive battle called the Action at Welch Ridge in December.
In 1918
the battalion were again heavily engaged in a series of major
battles. They were in the opening phases of the First Battles
of the Somme 1918 (also called the German Spring Offensives,
Operation Michael or Kaiserschlacht), specifically during the
Battle of St Quentin and the First Battle of Bapaume in March,
as well as the Battle of the Ancre in April. The Second Battles
of the Somme 1918 saw the battalion engaged in the Battle of
Albert in August and during the Second Battle of Arras 1918
they were engaged at the Battle of Drocourt-Queant in September.
They were next involved in the Battles of the Hindenburg Line,
specifically at the Battle of the Canal du Nord in September
and the Battle of Cambrai in October. The final action of the
war would be during the Final Advance in Picardy, namely at
the passage of the Grand Honelle.
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