5th Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)
5th Cavalry Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 1815 1914–1919 1920–1942 |
Country | Second World War) |
Engagements | Napoleonic Wars
First World War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Sir Colquhoun Grant Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode Frank Wormald |
The 5th Cavalry Brigade was a
History
Napoleonic Wars
From June 1809, Wellington organized his cavalry into one, later two, cavalry divisions (1st and 2nd) for the Peninsular War.[1] These performed a purely administrative, rather than tactical, role;[2] the normal tactical headquarters were provided by brigades commanding two, later usually three, regiments.[3] The cavalry brigades were named for the commanding officer, rather than numbered.[a] For the Hundred Days Campaign, he numbered his British cavalry brigades in a single sequence, 1st to 7th.[b] The 5th Cavalry Brigade consisted of:
- 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars)
- 15th (The King's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars)
- 2nd Hussars, King's German Legion
It was commanded by Sir John Colquhoun Grant (British cavalry general).[10] The 13th Regiment of Light Dragoons was attached to the brigade (from 7th Cavalry Brigade) in the absence of the 2nd Hussars, KGL.[11]
The brigade took part in the Battle of Waterloo. During the battle, the 7th Hussars suffered 155 casualties (56 killed, 99 wounded), the 15th Hussars 79 (23 killed, 51 wounded, 5 missing)[12] and the 13th Light Dragoons 108 (12 killed, 78 wounded, 18 missing).[13] This represented a loss rate of about 27%.[c]
First World War
Mobilization
5th Cavalry Brigade was a peacetime formation of the British Army, based in
Early Actions
In its independent role, the brigade took part in the
2nd Cavalry Division
In 1914, the brigade, with the division, took part in First Battle of Ypres, notably the battle of Gheluvelt (29–31 October). In 1915, the division was in action at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–12 March 1915) and the Second Battle of Ypres notable the Battle of St Julien (26 April–3 May) and the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge (24–25 May).[16]
On 26 February 1916, a Machine Gun Squadron was formed from the machine gun sections of the brigade's constituent regiments.[18]
1916 saw no notable actions, but in 1917 the division saw action in the Battle of Arras (First Battle of the Scarpe, 9–11 April). and the Battle of Cambrai (the Tank Attack of 20–21 November, the Capture of Bourlon Wood of 24–28 November and the German Counter-Attack of 30 November–3 December).[16] At other times, the brigade formed a dismounted unit and served in the trenches as a regiment under the command of the brigadier.[19]
War of movement
1918 saw the return of the war of movement and the division took part in the
The division was then split up with the 5th Cavalry Brigade serving with
Armistice
At the
In late December, the division moved to winter quarters south and south-east of Liège. It remained here until 30 January 1919 when it exchanged regiments with 1st and 3rd Cavalry Divisions then gradually moved back to England. The division ceased to exist at midnight 31 March / 1 April 1919.[20]
Order of battle
Unit | From | To |
---|---|---|
2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) |
Mobilization | |
12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) | Mobilization | |
20th Hussars | Mobilization | |
J Battery, RHA |
Mobilization | 16 September 1914[d] |
E Battery, RHA |
17 September 1914[e] | |
4th Field Troop, Royal Engineers | Mobilization | 15 October 1914[f] |
5th Signal Troop, Royal Engineers | Mobilization | |
5th Cavalry Brigade Field Ambulance | Mobilization | 13 September 1914[g] |
5th Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, MGC | 28 February 1916[22] |
Second World War
The 5th Cavalry Brigade was a pre-war First Line
With the 1st Cavalry Division, the 5th Cavalry Brigade departed the United Kingdom in January 1940, transited across France, and arrived in Palestine on 29 January 1940. It served as a garrison force under British Forces, Palestine and Trans-Jordan.[24]
On 1 August 1941, the division was converted to the
Order of battle
Unlike in the First World War, when brigade compositions rarely changed, there was considerable movement of units between the 4th, 5th and 6th Cavalry Brigades in the Second World War.
Unit | From | To |
---|---|---|
Yorkshire Hussars | 3 September 1939 | 22 March 1941[h] |
Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry | 3 September 1939 | 2 February 1941[i] |
Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons | 3 September 1939 | 18 March 1942 |
North Somerset Yeomanry | 20 March 1941[j] | 20 March 1942 |
Cheshire Yeomanry | 21 March 1941[k] | 7 June 1941 |
15 July 1941 | 21 March 1942 | |
Staffordshire Yeomanry | 30 April 1941[l] | 4 June 1941[l] |
Of the three regiments with the brigade when it was broken up:
- the Cheshire Yeomanry was the last but one mounted cavalry regiment in the British Army.[29] It formed 5th Lines of Communications Signal Regiment in North Africa until 1944 and later 17th Lines of Communications Signal Regiment in the North West Europe campaign.[30]
- the Yorkshire Dragoons had the distinction of being the last active Cavalry unit of the British Army,Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.[32]
- the North Somerset Yeomanry formed 4th Air Formations Signal Regiment (to provide communications between the Army and the RAF) in North Africa and later in Sicily and Italy.[33] It was redesignated as 14th Air Formations Signal Regiment and served throughout the North West Europe campaign.[27]
Commanders
The 5th Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders during the First World War:[15]
From | Rank | Name |
---|---|---|
Mobilization | Brigadier-General |
Sir P.W. Chetwode, Bt. |
15 July 1915 | Brigadier-General | F. Wormald (killed, 3 October 1915) |
4 October 1915 | Brigadier-General | T.T. Pitman (tempy.) |
5 October 1915 | Brigadier-General | C.L.K. Campbell (died, 31 March 1918) |
21 March 1918 | Lieutenant-Colonel |
W.F. Collins (acting) |
8 April 1918 | Brigadier-General | N.W. Haig |
4 November 1918 | Lieutenant-Colonel | A.C. Little (acting) |
10 November 1918 | Brigadier-General | N.W. Haig |
The 5th Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders during the Second World War:[24]
From | Rank | Name |
---|---|---|
3 September 1939 | Brigadier | T. Preston |
3 January 1940 | Brigadier | C.H. Miller |
8 September 1940 | Lieutenant-Colonel |
The Lord Grimthorpe (acting) |
8 October 1940 | Brigadier | K.F.W. Dunn |
16 September 1941 | Lieutenant-Colonel | W.L. Wilson (acting) |
22 September 1941 | Lieutenant-Colonel | D.E. Williams (acting) |
27 September 1941 | Colonel | C.H. Gaisford St. Lawrence (acting) |
3 January 1942 | Brigadier | C.H. Gaisford St. Lawrence |
23 April 1942 | Brigadier | C.E.L. Harris |
See also
- Order of battle of the Waterloo campaign
- British Army during World War I
- British Cavalry Corps order of battle 1914
- British cavalry during the First World War
- List of British brigades of the Second World War
- Structure of the British Army in 1939
Notes
- ^ This could be a source of confusion as brigades acquired new commanders, or they moved between brigades. For example, Fane's Brigade became De Grey's Brigade from 13 May 1810 when Henry Fane went to Estremadura;[4] De Grey's Brigade was broken up 29 January 1812.[5] On 20 May 1813, Fane took over Slade's Brigade;[6] the second Fane's Brigade was unrelated to the original one although coincidentally, and to add to the potential confusion, the 3rd Dragoon Guards served in both.[7]
- ^ The British cavalry included five regiments of the King's German Legion.[8][9]
- ^ 7th Hussars had a strength of 362, 15th Hussars 450, and 13th Light Dragoons 455.[11]
- J Battery, RHA transferred to 4th Cavalry Brigade.[21]
- E Battery, RHA was permanently attached to 5th Cavalry Brigade from the Division's III Brigade, RHA.[17]
- ^ 4th Field Troop, RE absorbed into 2nd Field Squadron, RE of 2nd Cavalry Division.[17]
- ^ 5th Cavalry Brigade Field Ambulance transferred to 2nd Cavalry Division when the brigade joined the division.[17]
- ^ Yorkshire Hussars transferred to 6th Cavalry Brigade.[26]
- ^ Sherwood Rangers transferred to HQ, Middle East Forces and was later converted into an Armoured Regiment with the 8th Armoured Brigade (former 4th Cavalry Brigade).[27]
- ^ North Somerset Yeomanry joined from 4th Cavalry Brigade.[28]
- ^ Cheshire Yeomanry joined from 6th Cavalry Brigade.[26]
- ^ a b Staffordshire Yeomanry joined from, and returned to, 6th Cavalry Brigade.[26]
References
- ^ Reid 2004, p. 79
- ^ Haythornthwaite 1990, p. 103
- ^ Reid 2004, p. 75
- ^ Reid 2004, p. 80
- ^ Reid 2004, p. 83
- ^ Reid 2004, p. 85
- ^ Reid 2004, pp. 79–86
- ^ "The Anglo-Allied Army at napoleonic-literature.com". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ "Wellington's Army in 1815". Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 540
- ^ a b "Battle of Waterloo". Napolun.com. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 544
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 545
- ^ Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914". Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ a b c Becke 1935, p. 10
- ^ a b c Becke 1935, p. 14
- ^ a b c d Becke 1935, p. 12
- ^ Baker, Chris. "Cavalry units of the Machine Gun Corps". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- ^ Becke 1935, p. 11
- ^ a b c d e Becke 1935, p. 15
- ^ Becke 1935, p. 4
- ^ Baker, Chris. "The 2nd Cavalry Division in 1914-1918". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ "5 Cavalry Brigade". ordersofbattle.com. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d Joslen 2003, p. 190
- ^ a b Joslen 2003, p. 33
- ^ a b c Joslen 2003, p. 191
- ^ a b Bellis 1994, p. 19
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 189
- ^ Mileham 1994, p. 80
- ^ Bellis 1994, p. 16
- ^ Mileham 1994, p. 118
- ^ Bellis 1994, p. 88
- ^ Mileham 1994, p. 109
Bibliography
- Becke, Major A.F. (1935). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 1. The Regular British Divisions. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-09-4.
- Bellis, Malcolm A. (1994). Regiments of the British Army 1939–1945 (Armour & Infantry). London: Military Press International. ISBN 0-85420-999-9.
- Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1990). The Napoleonic Source Book. London: Guild Publishing.
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- Mileham, Patrick (1994). The Yeomanry Regiments; 200 Years of Tradition. Edinburgh: Canongate Academic. ISBN 1-898410-36-4.
- Reid, Stuart (2004). Wellington's Army in the Peninsula 1809–14. Vol. 2 of Battle Orders Series. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-517-1.
- Smith, Digby (1998). The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
External links
- Baker, Chris. "The 2nd Cavalry Division in 1914-1918". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- "2nd Cavalry Division on The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918 by PB Chappell". Archived from the original on 26 November 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- "5th Cavalry Brigade". Orders of Battle.com.