Category: 66th Infantry Division, United Kingdom

Categories: British Army | British Army in World War I

The 66th Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was created at the end of August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War as the 2nd East Lancashire Division, a Territorial Force formation of the East Lancashire Division, composed primarily of soldiers from eastern Lancashire and the industrial towns around Manchester.

It was deployed to the Western Front in early 1917 and on 9 October, fought at the Battle of Poelcappelle. In March 1918, it suffered extremely heavy losses during Operation Michael the German Spring Offensive and was withdrawn from the line and reduced to a cadre to be rebuilt. It returned to the front in time for the Battle of Cambrai, part of the Hundred Days Offensive and the Battle of the Selle. Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918, it was stationed in Belgium, where it was demobilised in March 1919.

The division was reformed in 1939 in the Territorial Army as the 66th Infantry Division and disbanded again in 1940, without seeing active service in the Second World War.

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