 The King 's contributed to the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917 and assisted in defensive actions as the new year neared . Acute manpower shortages in the BEF on the Western Front left many divisions understrength and so it was decided to adopt a nine @-@ battalion system through amalgamations and disbandments . The 5th , 8th , 9th , and 10th King 's integrated with their second @-@ line , while hundreds of their men were distributed to other King 's battalions . The 20th disbanded in February , with its strength dispersed to the other Liverpool Pals . 
