page_title: North Midland Divisional Engineers
section_title: Hohenzollern Redoubt
hierarchical_section_title: North Midland Divisional Engineers / World War I / 46th (North Midland) Division / Hohenzollern Redoubt
caption_attribution_description: The memorial to the British 46th (North Midland) Division on the road between Vermelles and Hulluch, France.
context_page_description: The North Midland Divisional Engineers was a Territorial Force unit of the British Royal Engineers created in 1908 by conversion of a volunteer infantry battalion from Staffordshire. It saw action in World War I at the Hohenzollern Redoubt, Gommecourt, Ypres, Cambrai, the German Spring Offensive and the Hundred Days Offensive, culminating in the assault crossings of the St Quentin Canal, the Selle and the Sambre. During World War II its component units saw action in the Battle of France, in Greece, Tunisia, Italy, Normandy and the Rhine crossing.
context_section_description: 46th Division's first offensive operation was the Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. This was an attempt to restart the failed Battle of Loos, and the division was moved down from Ypres on 1 October for the purpose. The Germans had recaptured the Hohenzollern trench system on 3 October, and the new attack was aimed at this point. The infantry went in at 14.00 on 13 October behind a gas cloud, 1/1st NM Fd Co supporting 138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade in the Left Attack, and 1/2nd NM Fd Co supporting 137th (Staffordshire Brigade) in the Right Attack, with one section of 1/2nd following the third line of each attack. The assault was a disaster, most of the leading waves being cut down by machine gun and shellfire.
  In December 1915 the division was ordered to Egypt, and most of it (with two of the field companies) arrived there by 13 January. A week later the move was countermanded and the troops re-embarked for France, concentrating near Amiens by mid-February. The only result of this move was an outbreak of infectious disease (Paratyphoid fever and Diphtheria) that weakened units and men for months to come.
caption: 46th Division memorial at Vermelles, starting point for the division's attack on 13 October 1915
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "CYBERSHOT", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2005:10:14 16:56:47", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "254", "Image CustomRendered": "Normal", "Image ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "Image WhiteBalance": "Auto", "Image SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Make": "SONY", "Thumbnail Model": "CYBERSHOT", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail DateTime": "2005:10:14 16:56:47", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "790", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2702", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:10:14 16:56:47", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:10:14 16:56:47", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "8", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1200", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1600", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed"}