page_title: 55th (West Lancashire) Division
section_title: Early 1918
hierarchical_section_title: 55th (West Lancashire) Division / First World War / Early 1918
caption_attribution_description: English: A soldier of the 1/7th Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment, part of 165th Brigade, 55th Division, in a covered section of trench on the front line of a sector north of the La Bassee Cambrin Road, 15 March 1918.
context_page_description: The West Lancashire Division was an infantry division of the British Army, active during both the First and Second World Wars. The division was raised in 1908 following the creation of the Territorial Force. Following the outbreak of the First World War, the majority of the division's men volunteered for overseas service. Through 1915, the division was slowly wound down as entire units were dispatched overseas. Those who did not volunteer, were used to form new reserve units and eventually the 2nd West Lancashire Division.
  In 1916, the division was reformed in France as the 55th (West Lancashire) Division, and was reassigned the units that had been transferred. During the Battle of the Somme, the division fought several actions at Guillemont, Ginchy, and Morval. In 1917, the division fought at Pilckem and Menin Road Ridges during the Battle of Passchendaele, gaining an excellent reputation. Late in 1917, the division fought in the Battle of Cambrai. Towards the end of the battle, the division was forced back around 1 mile by a large German attack.
context_section_description: After Cambrai, the division was assigned to the First Army, and moved to the Bomy area for rest and training. In anticipation of a German attack, the 1/4SL (the divisional pioneers) and Royal Engineer (RE) troops fortified the defences in the Givenchy–Festubert sector. By 1918, the number of front line infantry within the British Army in France had decreased due to casualties and a lack of eligible replacements, leading to a manpower crisis. To consolidate manpower and to increase the ratio of machine guns and artillery support available to the infantry, the number of battalions in a division was reduced from twelve to nine. This had the effect of reducing the establishment of a division from 18,825 men to 16,035. An attempt was made to consolidate battalions from the same regiment within the same brigade. The Liverpool Irish (164th Brigade), the 1/9KR (165th Brigade), and the 1/5LR (166th Brigade) were transferred to the 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division to be merged with second-line units. The artillery was also reorganised: the third medium trench mortar battery was divided between the other two, and the heavy trench mortar battery became a Corps asset on 29 January.
  On 15 February, the division returned to the frontline. It replaced the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division northeast of Festubert. The first skirmish followed two days later, when a 30-strong German party attempted to raid a sector of the line. This attack was repulsed. A further raid was launched on 7 March, which was also driven off, but not before the 1/5SL suffered 43 casualties. The same day, a further divisional reorganisation took place. The brigade and divisional machine gun companies were consolidated, with the formation of the divisional machine gun battalion.
  In early March, military intelligence had established that the Germans had vastly increased their artillery presence in the area, and it was believed their attack would fall on the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, on the division's left. The 55th Division's reserves were tasked with reinforcing the Portuguese in event of an attack. On 18 March, a raiding party from the 1/5KR found the German trenches deserted; a second raid, on 25 March, penetrated into the reserve line, taking nine prisoners and captured a machine gun while suffering several wounded.
  On 21 March, Germany launched the opening salvo of their Spring Offensive, aimed to deliver a single, decisive, war-winning blow (a vernichtungsschlacht (battle of annihilation)) initially in the Saint-Quentin area. The intent was to inflict such a defeat upon the British Armies that the country would abandon the war, which in turn would force the French to sue for peace. During the final days of March and the opening of April, the division was aware that the Germans were preparing a major assault. Defensive preparations were undertaken, including a reorganisation of the frontline and artillery barrages of German positions that included firing 500 gas shells. Nightly patrols were also conducted, with the men able to continually enter the German frontline without encountering opposition. On 8 April, the 166th Brigade was ordered to relieve the Portuguese brigade on the left of the division; the handover was scheduled the following day. At this time, the 164th Brigade held positions on the right of the division between the La Bassée Canal and a point north of Givenchy (the 1/7KR on the right, the 1/5KR on the left, and the 1/6KR in both support and reserve positions); from which the 165th Brigade held the line north to Festubert (the 1/4KORL on the right, the 1/4LR on the left, with the 2/5LF in support). Coop described the infantry as being tasked with "hold[ing] their posts to the last, no matter whether outflanked or surrounded" and with launching "immediate local counter-attack[s]", which had been rehearsed in training exercises.
caption: A 1/7KR soldier in a covered trench on the La Bassée sector, March 1918
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