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WW1 Troop Movements and ORBATS

First World War Orders of Battle Maps

Follow in your ancestors' footsteps using our interactive maps. You can use this to track the progress of units throughout the course of the First World War, from the opening battle at Mons to the closing stages of the Battle of Amiens.

What is ORBATS?

Orders of Battle (ORBATS) are documents produced by the military to show the hierarchical structure, command organisation and disposition of units for particular engagements of the British Military. At the highest level they show a breakdown of the units involved in entire conflicts, the First World War in this case, including Divisional and Brigade commanding officers, the organisation of the divisions right down to the battalion level along with their attached units from for example, the Royal Artillery. With the ORBATS you are able to determine exactly where units were on a given date and the battle, action or event they took part in.

The sheer volume of information involved meant that our specialist data team worked flat out for a full two man-years to transcribe the official Orders of Battle publications, published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, as well as numerous official histories of the Great War, to help create this in-depth record of military operations and engagements by the British Army. All of this information is now available to Forces War Records members in the form of an interactive map, and we hope that it will provide an insight into the movements and actions of your ancestor.

Need help? Visit our Help Centre for more information.

Patrol of Indian cavalry attached to a British brigade passing through a village that has been wrecked in the fighting.