Over 200 divisions fought on the Western Front during the first year of World War I and those best suited to the challenges of trench warfare were the six infantry divisions of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Their superiority was partially due to the high quality of the divisions' personnel and the first-class equipment provided to them. This book describes the organization and equipment of the BEF at the outbreak of the war in 1914, and relates how its structure changed both to accommodate the waves of Territorial and New Army units that were raised and to adapt to the rigours of conditions on the Western Front.