British Expeditionary Force order of battle ( 1914 ) The British Expeditionary Force order of battle 1914 , as originally despatched to France in August and September 1914 , at the beginning of the First World War . The British Army prior to World War I traced its origins to the increasing demands of imperial expansion together with inefficiencies highlighted during the Crimean War , which led to the Cardwell and Childers Reforms of the late 19th century . These gave the British Army its modern shape , and defined its regimental system . The Haldane Reforms of 1907 , formally created an " Expeditionary force " and the Territorial Force . The British Army was different from the French and German Armies at the beginning of the conflict in that it was made up from volunteers , not conscript s . It was also considerably smaller than its French and German counterparts . The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 saw the bulk of the changes in the Haldane reforms put to the test . The British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) of six divisions was quickly sent to the Continent . This order of battle includes all combat units , including engineer and artillery units , but not medical , supply and signal units . Commanders are listed for all formations of brigade size or higher , and for significant staff positions . Plans for the Expeditionary Force . Under pre - war plans , an expeditionary force was to be organised from among the Regular Army forces in the United Kingdom , with a strength of six infantry divisions and one cavalry division ( 72 infantry battalions and 14 cavalry regiments ) , plus support units . It was planned that the seven divisions would be centrally controlled by General Headquarters and as such no plans were made for intermediate levels of command . One corps staff was maintained in peacetime , but the decision was made on mobilisation to create a second ( and later a third ) in order to better conform with the French command structure ; both of these had to be improvised . At the time of mobilisation , there were significant fears of a German landing in force on the English east coast , and as such the decision was taken to hold back two divisions for home defence , and only send four , plus the cavalry division , to France for the present . The 4th was eventually despatched at the end of August , and the 6th in early September . GHQ . The initial Commander - in - Chief of the BEF was Field - Marshal Sir John French . His Chief of Staff was Lieutenant - General Sir A . J . Murray , with Major - General H . H . Wilson as his deputy . GSO 1 ( Operations ) was Colonel G . M . Harper , and GSO 1 ( Intelligence ) was Colonel G . M . W . Macdonogh . The Adjutant - General was Major - General Sir C . F . N . Macready , with Major - General E . R . C . Graham as Deputy Adjutant - General and Colonel A . E . J . Cavendish as Assistant Adjutant - General . The Quartermaster - General was Major - General Sir W . R . Robertson , with Colonel C . T . Dawkins as Assistant Quartermaster - General . The Royal Artillery was commanded by Major - General W . F . L . Lindsay , and the Royal Engineer s by Brigadier - General G . H . Fowke . Cavalry . There was no permanently established cavalry division in the British Army ; on mobilisation , the 1st through to 4th Cavalry Brigades were grouped together to form a division , whilst the 5th Cavalry Brigade remained as an independent unit . On 6 September , the 3rd Cavalry Brigade was detached to act jointly with the 5th , under the overall command of Brigadier - General Gough . This force was re - designated the 2nd Cavalry Division on 16 September . Cavalry Division . The Cavalry Division was commanded by Major - General Edmund Allenby , with Colonel John Vaughan as GSO 1 and Brigadier - General B . F . Drake commanding the Royal Horse Artillery . I Corps . I Corps was commanded by Lieutenant - General Sir Douglas Haig . His senior staff officers were Brigadier - General J . E . Gough ( Chief of Staff ) , Brigadier - General H . S . Horne ( commanding Royal Artillery ) and Brigadier - General S . R . Rice ( commanding Royal Engineers ) . 1st Division . 1st Division was commanded by Major - General S . H . Lomax , with Colonel R . Fanshawe as GSO 1 . Brigadier - General N . D . Findlay commanded the Royal Artillery , and Lieutenant - Colonel A . L . Schreiber commanded the Royal Engineers . 2nd Division . 2nd Division was commanded by Major - General C . C . Monro , with Colonel Hon . F . Gordon as GSO 1 . Brigadier - General E . M . Perceval commanded the Royal Artillery , and Lieutenant - Colonel R . H . H . Boys commanded the Royal Engineers . II Corps . II Corps was commanded by Lieutenant - General Sir James Grierson . His senior staff officers were Brigadier - General George Forestier - Walker ( Chief of Staff ) , Brigadier - General A . H . Short ( commanding Royal Artillery ) and Brigadier - General A . E . Sandbach ( commanding Royal Engineers ) . Lieutenant - General Grierson died on a train between Rouen and Amiens on 17 August ; General Sir Horace Smith - Dorrien took over command at Bavai , on 21 August at 4pm . 3rd Division . 3rd Division was commanded by Major - General Hubert I . W . Hamilton , with Colonel F . R . F . Boileau as GSO 1 . Brigadier - General F . D . V . Wing commanded the Royal Artillery , and Lieutenant - Colonel C . S . Wilson commanded the Royal Engineers . 5th Division . 5th Division was commanded by Major - General Sir C . Fergusson , with Lieutenant - Colonel C . F . Romer as GSO 1 . Brigadier - General J . E . W . Headlam commanded the Royal Artillery , and Lieutenant - Colonel J . A . S . Tulloch commanded the Royal Engineers . III Corps . III Corps was formed in France on 31 August 1914 , commanded by Major - General W . P . Pulteney . His senior staff officers were Brigadier - General J . P . Du Cane ( Chief of Staff ) , Brigadier - General E . J . Phipps - Hornby ( commanding Royal Artillery ) and Brigadier - General F . M . Glubb ( commanding Royal Engineers ) . 4th Division . The 4th Division landed in France on the night of 22 August and 23 . It was commanded by Major - General T . D ' O . Snow , with Colonel J . E . Edmonds as GSO 1 . Brigadier - General G . F . Milne commanded the Royal Artillery , and Lieutenant - Colonel H . B . Jones commanded the Royal Engineers . 6th Division . The 6th Division embarked for France on 8 and 9 September . It was commanded by Major - General J . L . Keir , with Colonel W . T . Furse as GSO 1 . Brigadier - General W . L . H . Paget commanded the Royal Artillery , and Lieutenant - Colonel G . C . Kemp commanded the Royal Engineers . ( Royal Garrison Artillery units ) Army troops . Royal Flying Corps . The Royal Flying Corps units in France were commanded by Brigadier - General Sir David Henderson , with Lieutenant - Colonel Frederick Sykes as his Chief of Staff . Unit strengths . A cavalry regiment contained three squadrons and was provided with two machine - guns . An infantry battalion contained four companies and two machine - guns . A Royal Horse Artillery battery contained six 13 - pounder guns , whilst a Royal Field Artillery battery contained six 18 - pounder guns , or six 4 . 5 - inch howitzers . A heavy battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery contained four 60 pounder guns . Each battery had two ammunition wagons per gun , and each artillery brigade contained its own ammunition column . Each division received an anti - aircraft detachment of 1 - pounder pom - pom guns in September , attached to the divisional artillery . The Cavalry Division had a total of 12 cavalry regiments in four brigades , and each infantry division had 12 battalions in three brigades . The strength of the Cavalry Division ( not counting 5th Cavalry Brigade ) came to 9 , 269 all ranks , with 9 , 815 horses , 24 13 - pounder guns and 24 machine - guns . The strength of each infantry division came to 18 , 073 all ranks , with 5 , 592 horses , 76 guns and 24 machine - guns . Units not employed in the Expeditionary Force . In broad numeric terms , the British Expeditionary Force represented half the combat strength of the British Army ; as an imperial power , a sizeable portion of the army had to be kept aside for overseas garrisons . Home defence was expected to be provided by the volunteers of the Territorial Force and by the reserves . The total strength of the Regular Army in July was 125 , 000 men in the British Isles , with 75 , 000 in India and Burma and a further 33 , 000 in other overseas postings . The Army Reserve came to 145 , 000 men , with 64 , 000 in the Militia ( or Special Reserve ) and 272 , 000 in the Territorial Force . Home service . The peacetime regular establishment in the British Isles was eighty - one battalions of infantry — in theory , one battalion of each line regiment was deployed on home service and one on overseas service at any given point , rotating the battalions every few years — and nineteen regiments of cavalry . Aside from those earmarked for the Expeditionary Force , there were three battalions of Guards and eight of line infantry ( including those in the Channel Islands ) - roughly a division ' s worth . In the event , six battalions of these regulars were deployed to the Continent along with the Expeditionary Force , to act as army troops . The Border Regiment and Alexandra , Princess of Wales ' s Own ( Yorkshire Regiment ) had the unusual distinction of being the only two regular infantry regiments not to contribute troops to the Expeditionary Force ; both would first see action with 7th Division , which landed in October . Given the rioting that had occurred during the national strikes 1911 - 12 , there was concern that there would be unrest in London at the outbreak of war . Consequently , three cavalry regiments — the 1st Life Guards , 2nd Life Guards , and Royal Horse Guards - were stationed in the London District and not earmarked for the Expeditionary Force ; these each provided a squadron for a composite regiment , which served with the 4th Cavalry Brigade . In addition , there were three Royal Field Artillery brigades , and a number of Royal Horse Artillery batteries , not earmarked for overseas service . After the Expeditionary Force had departed , this left a total regular establishment of three cavalry regiments ( somewhat depleted ) and five infantry battalions - less than a tenth of the normal combat strength of the home forces , and mostly deployed around London . This defensive force would be supplemented by the units of the Territorial Force , which were called up on the outbreak of war — indeed , many were already embodied for their summer training when mobilisation was ordered — and by the Special Reserve . The Territorial Force was planned with a mobilisation strength of fourteen divisions , each structured along the lines of a regular division with twelve infantry battalions , four artillery brigades , two engineer companies , & c . - and fourteen brigades of Yeomanry cavalry . It was envisaged that these units would be used solely for home defence , though in the event almost all volunteered for overseas service ; the first battalions arrived on the Continent in November . Overseas service . Forty - eight battalions of infantry were serving in India - the equivalent of four regular divisions — with five in Malta , four in South Africa , four in Egypt , and a dozen in various other Imperial outposts . A further nine regular cavalry regiments were serving in India , with two in South Africa and one in Egypt . The forces in the rest of the British Empire were not expected to contribute to the Expeditionary Force . A sizeable proportion of these were part of the ten - division Army of India , a mixture of local forces and British regulars ; planning had begun in August 1913 to arrange how the Indian forces could be used in a European war , and a tentative plan had been made for two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade to be added to the Expeditionary Force ; these were despatched , in the event , but did not arrive in France until October . In the event , most of the overseas garrison units were withdrawn as soon as they could be replaced with Territorial battalions , and new regular divisions were formed piecemeal in the United Kingdom . None of these units arrived in time to see service with the Expeditionary Force .