| 31st Division | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:31st_Division_sign_(1)_WW1.svg) Formation sign of the 31st Division (first pattern).[1] | |
| Active | April 1915 – March 1919 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch | &sq=&lang=&file=File:Flag_of_the_British_Army.svg){kind=small} New Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | Battle of the Somme Battle of the Ancre Battle of Arras German spring offensive Hundred Days Offensive |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Edward Fanshawe Robert Wanless O'Gowan |
The 31st Division was an infantry division of the British Army. It was raised in the Great War by volunteers from Kitchener's Army and formed in April 1915 as part of the K4 Army Group and taken over by the War Office on 10 August 1915. Comprising mainly infantry battalions from Yorkshire and Lancashire, the division was sent to Egypt in December 1915 before moving to France in March 1916 and spent the remainder of the First World War in action on the Western Front. The 31st Division was the quintessential New Army division, being made up entirely of Pals battalions.
The 31st Division's first major action was on the first day on the Somme (1 July 1916). The division suffered 3,600 casualties and failed to reach any of its objectives. Later it served at the Battle of the Ancre and at Oppy Wood. It took part in the defence against the German spring offensive in early 1918, and finally in the victorious battles of the Hundred Days Offensive.
- ^ Chappell p. 18