The Great War
The outbreak of the Great War found the 1st Battalion in Dublin, whence it was moved to France as part of the 5th Infantry Division. It was first engaged at Mons and later at Neuve Chapelle from which 300 men, commanded by a Lieutenant and a Second Lieutenant, emerged, the battalion having suffered 450 casualties. It spent most of the rest of war on the Western Front apart from a brief period from December 1917 to April 1918, when it was moved, with the 5th Division, to Italy.
The 2nd Battalion was shipped from Multan to Mesopotamia, via Bombay, arriving in Basra in February 1915, where it was attached to the 12th Indian Brigade. Two Companies were attached to the 30th Brigade (part of the 6th (Poona) Division) and were captured in the Siege of Kut in April 1916. The remaining Companies were attached to 34th Brigade (part of 15th Indian Division), and were transferred to 17th Indian Division in August 1917. The Battalion remained in Mesopotamia for the duration of the war.
Most of the Territorial battalions spent the war on garrison duty, particularly in India and Egypt, relieving the Regular battalions for front-line service. However, the 2/4th Battalion took part in the Gallipoli Campaign and the 3/4th Battalion served as a Pioneer battalion in France.
Several of the Service (sc. Hostilities-only) battalions of the New Army fought in France and Flanders and in the Italian Campaign. At Loos, the 8th Battalion lost all but one of its officers, and 550 men.
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