The newly appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward.

The concept of a 'battalion of pals' serving together originated with the 'Stockbrokers Battalion' of the Royal Fusiliers raised in the City of London and was taken up enthusiastically by the Earl of Derby, a former soldier himself.

By the time they assembled, these battalions had all been in existence for some months and had already overcome the early difficulties of the Kitchener units: lack of uniforms, equipment, weapons and instructors.

After three months' intensive training on Salisbury Plain, 37th Division was considered ready to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front.

At the end of August 37th Division entrained for Doullens and then marched to Foncquevillers in the Somme sector, where the BEF was taking over more of the line from French troops.

From 23 to 27 September during the Battle of Loos the division was stationed at La Cauchie to act as reserve for the French Tenth Army's attack, but then returned to Foncquevillers and began alteernating periods of trench holding with billets in Souastre through the autumn and winter.

In two days the battalion had pushed the line forward materially, captured a battery of field artillery, several machine guns and nearly 200 prisoners for casualties that were moderate by the standards of the Somme.

111th Brigade spent early August digging and wiring new trenches in the High Wood area, suffering casualties from enemy shellfire.

[49][50][51][52] 111th Brigade's (and Third Army's) objective for this attack was the village of Monchy-le-Preux on the high ground above the River Scarpe, and the operation was carefully rehearsed.

The attack was to begin on 9 April after four days of bombardment, with the assaulting formations taking a succession of objectives, the Black, Blue and Brown lines.

The fresh 37th Division waiting in the Arras suburbs would then pass through to capture the final (Green Line) objective, just beyond Monchy, but it was unclear whether this could be tackled on the first day.

At the time 37th Divisional Signal Company was unable to locate 111th Bde HQ and the brigade could not be redirected towards 15th (S) Division's more promising advance.

During the night the troops of 111th and 112th Bdes were disentangled from those of 12th (E) Division, but an attack by 10th and 13th RF failed to reach Monchy and they had to fall back and dig in about 500 yards (460 m) short of the village.

Progress up the slope was slow and casualties heavy, but the two battalions finally made their way to Monchy, followed by 10th RF, who stormed into the village itself about 11.00.

While the brigade took its first and second objectives, 13th RB had to follow through a barrage of German heavy artillery, and the leading companies lost all their officers, some of the Lewis gun teams advancing with 63rd Bde by mistake.

Later, 13th RB carried out a successful night raid, and on 6 August its patrols established observation posts in front of the line; the division was relieved that evening, then spent three more weeks training.

[13][14][65][66][67][68] After 3 September the brigade did further tours of duty in the front and reserve lines and provided working parties, suffering some casualties from Mustard gas shelling and raids.

[73][74] By early 1918 the BEF was suffering a manpower crisis, and infantry brigades were reduced from four to three battalions each, many of the surplus units being disbanded to provide reinforcements to the remainder.

The line occupied after the fighting had died down was poor for observation, and headquarters ordered 13th RB to carry out a minor operation to improve matters.

[85][86] On 11 May 10th RF at Foncquevillers was subjected to a saturation bombardment with high explosive and gas shells; most of Battalion HQ and hundreds of men were put out of action.

111th Bde advanced at 11.00 with 13th KRRC and 13th RB in line, supported by tanks, then 10th RF passed through at 13.20 behind a fresh hour-long barrage and took Bihucourt despite strong opposition and an open flank where a neighbouring battalion had not kept up.

The German line now formed an acute salient, and at 04.00 on 24 August 13th RB was ordered to straighten this out by occupying the high ground north-east of Bihucourt.

Just as the battalions were moving into their assembly area the Germans put down a barrage in front of the village and on the valley up which they were to advance; it was suspected that the divisional telegraph message ordering the attack had been intercepted.

During the night the brigade had managed to establish outposts at the edge of the wood, despite enemy gas shelling, and jumped off from this line at 05.25, 13th RB on the right, 13th KRRC on the left, with 10th RF in support.

The enemy kept up a persistent bombardment, and next evening repeated the counter-attack of the previous day: a few got into 13th RB's trench but were thrown out and shot down when they became entangled in the wire.

[13][14][97][98][99][100][101] The Allies carried out a series of coordinated attacks along the Western Front on 26–29 September, including an assault crossing of part of the Canal du Nord.

On 30 September 111th Bde found that the German bridgehead at Banteux had been abandoned, and closed up to form an outpost line along the bank of the Escaut Canal.

37th Division gained all its objectives, and its advance now became a pursuit of the beaten enemy to the River Selle, but 111th Bde was withdrawn for rest at Bapaume.

When it went forward at 10.00, with 13th KRRC and 13th RB in the lead, it reached its objective by 14.30 and patrols found Neuville and the railway embankment clear of the enemy as far as the River St George.

These were based on colours to identify brigades (111th Bde's signs were blue), geometric shapes for battalions, and horizontal stripes to indicate companies.