Territorials in 1915
In this lecture, Dr Bill Mitchinson talks about the arrival of the Territorial Force divisions, their period of trench acclimatisation in 1915 and their use as infantry.
In early 1915, there were about 39 Territorial battalions in France, which amounted to about a quarter of the BEF. The rapid expansion of the army in France diluted this percentage of TF battalions, but further divisions of territorials arrived during 1915, and even into 1917. How efficient were these 'weekend' soldiers and did they contribute effectively to the British Army's battles in the early part of the war?
Using examples of contemporary reports, were some of these units 'hopeless' or did the regional cohesion of these units give them a degree of superiority in effectiveness over other war-time raised battalions?
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