introduction
In 1914, Germany and its allies went to war not just with Britain, but with the entire British Empire. Over 3 million soldiers and labourers from across the Empire and Commonwealth served alongside the British Army during the First World War. Their contributions were particularly significant during the Battle of the Somme. On 1 July 1916, a battalion from Newfoundland fought alongside the 29th Division, while the 1st Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment included a contingent from the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps. Soldiers from the British West Indies Regiment, although often relegated to ‘labour’ duties, were crucial to the war effort. Despite being denied the opportunity to fight alongside white soldiers as equals, their roles expanded as the Battle of the Somme progressed. With mounting casualties among the frontline troops, reinforcements from the BWIR were needed at the front. A division of Indian cavalry and a South African brigade were part of the reserve forces of the Fourth Army, ready to exploit any breakthroughs during the initial stages of the offensive. Both went into action on 14 July 1916. They were soon joined by troops from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, all of whom played vital roles in the gruelling, attritional fighting that defined the Battle of the Somme.
Britain
In 1914, Britain entered the war with a relatively small, professional army that had primarily been structured to maintain its overseas empire. The British Army consisted of just over 250,000 regular soldiers. When combined with 250,000 Territorials and 200,000 Reservists, the total number of trained troops amounted to 700,000. In contrast to the vast conscripted armies of Germany, France, and Russia, this was a modest force.
men answer the call to arms
Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, quickly recognized that the conflict would be prolonged and on an unprecedented scale, meaning Britain would need to form a new, mass army.At the outbreak of war, thousands of eager volunteers rushed to enlist, but most were completely untrained. Their first months in the army were spent learning the fundamentals of soldiering. These ‘New Armies’ faced their first major tests in the battles of 1915-16, while the Regulars, supported by the Territorial and Reservists, had been taking the lead up until that point.
Despite the large number of volunteers, Britain still required more men. In 1916, conscription was introduced, eventually expanding the British Army to over 4 million men by the end of the war in 1918.
West Indies
The first of nine contingents of West Indian soldiers arrived in Britain in the autumn of 1915. By the end of the war, more than 15,000 men from the West Indies had served in active duty. The British West Indies Regiment was formally established in November 1915, and 11 battalions served in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, suffering 1,325 casualties, including 185 killed in action.
In September 1916, the 3rd and 4th Battalions were ordered to leave Egypt and move to France, where they were assigned as labour units. Their duties included carrying ammunition, building roads, and constructing gun emplacements. Stationed near Albert, they worked in several forward support areas, including Montauban, Fricourt, and Bazentin. As winter set in, both battalions were moved to Boulogne in November 1916 to assist with work at the docks.
A photograph of these men is on display in the ‘Total War’ area of our exhibit. Around 15,000 West Indians enlisted, with about 10,000 from Jamaica. Others came from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Bahamas, British Honduras (now Belize), Grenada, British Guiana (now Guyana), the Leeward Islands, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent.
While some served in regular British Army units, most Caribbean soldiers joined the West India Regiment and the British West Indies Regiment (formed in October 1915). These men served in France, Italy, Africa, and the Middle East. Twelve battalions of the British West Indies Regiment were raised, primarily for labor roles such as working in ammunition dumps and gun emplacements, often under heavy fire. Toward the war’s end, two battalions saw combat in Palestine and Jordan, fighting against the Ottoman Empire’s Turkish forces.
India
In August 1914, an Indian Corps comprising infantry and cavalry was deployed to Europe. Before the infantry relocated to Mesopotamia in December 1915, the Corps endured 35,000 casualties. The cavalry remained on the Western Front, supported by labour units, and in March 1916, the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was attached to the British Fourth Army.
On 1 July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, the Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade moved to a reserve position, ready to exploit any breakthroughs. On 14 July, they advanced to Montauban to support the attack on the Bazentin-Longueval ridge. At 5:30 p.m., the British 7th Dragoon Guards and the Indian 20th Deccan Horse galloped between High Wood and Delville Wood but achieved little. By 3:30 a.m. on 15 July, they had returned to Montauban after suffering 74 men and 110 horse casualties.
Cavalry units were again called forward on 15 September to support the attack on Flers-Courcelette but were not engaged in combat. Beyond this, their role in the Somme was limited to labour in reserve.
Troops from the Indian subcontinent (modern-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) fought in all major theatres of World War I. By the end of 1914, two infantry and two cavalry divisions had served on the Western Front, with 140,000 Indian soldiers eventually deployed there. In 1915, Indian troops reinforced the Middle East campaigns, fighting the Ottoman Turks in Palestine and Mesopotamia (Iraq), and participated in the Gallipoli campaign alongside British, Australian, and New Zealand forces.
Indian forces also contributed significantly to Allied operations in East Africa, the Balkans, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus. Overall, 1.27 million Indians voluntarily served as combatants and labourers, making a decisive contribution to the war effort against the Central Powers.
South Africa
After fighting in Egypt, the South African Infantry Brigade arrived in France in April 1916 and joined the 9th (Scottish) Division. On 14 July, they supported the Division’s attack on Longueval and, the next day captured most of Delville Wood. Over the following five days, the Brigade endured fierce combat to hold the wood, suffering over 2,300 casualties. Delville Wood was not fully secured until 27 August.
Following a recovery period near Vimy Ridge, the 9th Division returned to the Somme in October, where the South Africans participated in an assault on the Butte de Warlencourt. By the time they were withdrawn on 20 October, the Brigade had suffered an additional 1,150 casualties.
In addition to combat troops, approximately 25,000 black South Africans served on the Western Front in 1916–17 as part of the South African Native Labour Contingent.
In 1915, an expeditionary force of 67,000 white South African troops invaded German South-West Africa (modern-day Namibia). Many of these soldiers later fought in the East African campaign.
White South African units were also deployed to the Western Front. On 14 July 1916, the 1st South African Brigade, comprising 3,153 officers and men, entered Delville Wood during the Battle of the Somme. After six days of relentless fighting under horrific conditions, only about 750 officers and men remained unharmed.
Australia
Over 410,000 Australians served in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during World War I, sustaining approximately 200,000 casualties
In April 1915, Australian troops landed at Gallipoli in Turkey alongside forces from New Zealand, Britain, and France. In 1916, Australian forces fought on the Western Front and in the Middle East. In the Middle East, they defended the Suez Canal, captured Sinai, and later advanced into Palestine, helping secure Gaza and Jerusalem.
In 1918, Australian troops played a key role in the Allied advances on the Western Front from August until the war’s end. The AIF had arrived in France in March 1916, with five Australian divisions serving on the Western Front. However, only three divisions participated in the Battle of the Somme. Between 23 July and 5 August, the 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions captured Pozières and surrounding positions, while the 4th Division continued the assault north towards Mouquet Farm. Over 45 days, the Australians launched 19 separate attacks, suffering over 23,000 casualties. Relieved by Canadian forces in early September, they returned to the Somme in October. In November, they conducted three further attacks near Gueudecourt, resulting in an additional 2,000 casualties. The Australians lost nearly as many men on the Somme in 1916 as they had during nine months at Gallipoli.
New Zealand
At the outbreak of World War I, New Zealand forces joined Australia in capturing Germany’s Pacific colonies. Nearly 100,000 New Zealanders served overseas in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF), including 2,700 Māori and Pacific Islanders.
The war claimed the lives of approximately 18,000 New Zealanders. This included 2,700 men killed at Gallipoli and over 12,000 lost on the Western Front.
For New Zealand soldiers, like their Australian and Canadian counterparts, fighting alongside one another far from home helped forge a unique national identity. With a population of just 1.1 million, New Zealand’s contribution was immense: over 100,000 soldiers served abroad.
The NZEF’s first major engagement was at Gallipoli, where they fought from April to December 1915. After Gallipoli, a full New Zealand Division was formed in Egypt and deployed to France in April 1916. By mid-September, they were at the heart of the Somme battlefield.
On 15 September, the New Zealand Division launched a successful assault between High Wood and Delville Wood, aiding in the capture of Flers. Over the next 23 days, they mounted repeated attacks toward Gueudecourt. Finally, on 25 October, the Division withdrew to Flanders to regroup, having suffered around 7,000 casualties, including more than 1,500 dead.
New Zealand’s contribution to the war effort was remarkable, with its soldiers demonstrating courage and resilience in some of the war’s most brutal campaigns.
Canada
In September 1916, the Canadian Corps, comprising four divisions, moved to the Somme, taking over positions near Pozières from the Australians. On 15 September, during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions launched an assault on the German third line of defences, successfully capturing the village of Courcelette.
For the next two months, Canadian forces fought almost continuously between Courcelette and Grandcourt, capturing key German positions, including the formidable Regina Trench. By 4 November, the 4th Canadian Division had advanced 700 yards beyond Regina Trench. The Canadians suffered 24,000 casualties during the Somme campaign.
Their primary memorial stands between Pozières and Courcelette, while the names of those with no known graves are inscribed on the Vimy Memorial near Arras. Following the outbreak of war, Canada raised the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) to serve on the Western Front. From 1915 onwards, Canadian troops fought in many major battles, earning distinction at the Second Battle of Ypres (1915), the Somme (1916), Vimy Ridge (1917), and Passchendaele (1917). In 1918, Canadian forces played a leading role in the Hundred Days Offensive, spearheading numerous decisive Allied attacks. By the war’s end, the CEF had suffered over 60,600 fatalities, representing nearly 10% of the 620,000 Canadians who enlisted.
Newfoundland `
Newfoundland, which did not become part of Canada until 1949, also contributed troops during the First World War. The Newfoundland Regiment fought at Gallipoli in 1915 and was nearly annihilated at Beaumont-Hamel on the Somme the following year. It later saw action at Arras and Passchendaele in 1917 and repelled the German Spring Offensive of 1918.
In 1914, Newfoundland had a population of just 250,000. Despite this, over 6,000 men served in the Newfoundland Regiment during the war. Tragically, 1,305 of them—more than one in five—lost their lives.
The Newfoundland Regiment joined the British 29th Division at Gallipoli in September 1915 and arrived in France in March 1916. On 1 July 1916, during the 29th Division’s attack on Beaumont-Hamel, the Regiment suffered devastating losses: 684 casualties, with only 68 men emerging unscathed.
After ten weeks in Flanders to recover, the Regiment returned to the Somme in October. On 12 October, they successfully captured Hilt Trench, north of Gueudecourt, at the cost of 239 casualties.
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