In the British Army, the numbering of divions went no lower than brigade level; assigned regiments were known by their names (in the 20th Century anyway). As has already been posted in another topic, each regiment usually had two battalions, but only the first battalion would be assigned to duty- the second would be a replacement, garrison or reserve formation.
Of course, in wartime extra battalions were formed in many regiments- sometimes as many as 15. These extra battalions would not be assigned to the same division as their "parent" battalion.
Of course, even in the 20th Century, there were were plenty of battalion and regimental commanders who would use the older (Napoleonic War or earlier) numbered designation for their units as a way of highlighting the link with past campaigns (the 42nd Foot as a name for the Black Watch, for example).
|