Division. Its first significant action came in May 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres – the only German offensive on the Western Front that year – in which the battalion held its ground, though at the cost of 505 casualties. At the end of 1915, the 27th Division was transferred to XVI Corps of the British Salonika Army on the Macedonian front, and the 2nd Battalion occupied positions west of Lake Beshik (modern day Lake Volvi, Greece). In July 1916, XVI Corps took over the line of the River Struma, and for the next two years the battalion was involved in operations along the Struma valley, from November 1916 as part of the 82nd Brigade. It was a relatively quiet sector, and although the battalion was involved in attacks across the Struma in September, October and December 1916 – the last costing the battalion 114 casualties – and conducted a number of raids in 1917, sickness was more of a threat than enemy action. In July 1918, the 27th Division was transferred to XII Corps south-west of Dojran, and the capture of the Roche Noire salient on 1 September, at a cost of 89 casualties, was the last action of the 2nd Battalion in the war. Territorial Force Each of the Territorial Force battalions volunteered for service overseas and raised a second battalion, the six battalions being numbered 1/4th, 2/4th, 1/5th, 2/5th, 1/6th, and 2/6th. The original territorial battalions also raised a third battalion each in 1915 as home-based reserves, though in 1916 these were merged to form the 4th (City of Bristol) Reserve Battalion. Another home-based territorial battalion, the 17th, was raised in 1917. First-line territorials The first-line territorials proceeded to France in March 1915 as part of the 48th (South Midland) Division; the 1/4th and 1/6th Battalions in the 144th Brigade, and the 1/5th Battalion in the 145th Brigade. Their first significant experience of battle came during the Somme offensive; on 16 July, during the Battle of Bazentin, the 1/4th Battalion fought north of Ovillers, and the 1/5th and 1/6th Battalions went into action in the same area on 20 and 21 July respectively. They returned to the area during the Battle of Pozières and fought a number of actions between 13 and 27 August. In February 1917, the 48th Division moved to positions opposite Péronne, and the territorials saw action in March and April during the