The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer auxiliary created in 1908. It was designed to reinforce the British Army overseas during war without resorting to conscription, but for political reasons it was constituted as a home defence force in which foreign service was voluntary. It was not well regarded by the military authorities. On the outbreak of the First World War, the regular army was expanded by raising the New Army from scratch rather than relying on the Territorial Force. Territorials volunteered for foreign service in large numbers, and territorial divisions filled the gap between the near destruction of the regular army during the German offensive of 1914 and the arrival of the New Army in 1915. The force also provided the bulk of the British contingent in the Sinai and Palestine campaign. The territorial identity was eroded by the introduction of conscription in 1916, and by the war's end there was little to distinguish between regular, territorial and New Army formations.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_Force> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1823: American sailor Benjamin Morrell erroneously reported the existence of New South Greenland, a phantom island, near Antarctica. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Greenland> 1916: Six days after Pancho Villa and his cross-border raiders attacked Columbus, New Mexico, U.S. general John J. Pershing led a punitive expedition into Mexico to pursue him. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_Villa_Expedition> 1917: Russian Revolution: Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate in the February Revolution, ending three centuries of Romanov rule. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_Revolution> 1943: The deportation of 50,000 Jews from the Greek city of Thessaloniki began. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Greece> 1951: The Iranian oil industry was nationalized in a movement led by Mohammad Mosaddegh. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalization_of_the_Iranian_oil_industry> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: foot-dragging: (also attributive) The deliberate delaying of, or reluctance to take, obligatory action. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/foot-dragging> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: To make life a little better for people less fortunate than you, that’s what I think a meaningful life is. One lives not just for oneself but for one’s community. --Ruth Bader Ginsburg <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
