Guards Division (United Kingdom)
| Guards Division | |
|---|---|
King George V | |
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Earl of Cavan |
The Guards Division was an
There was also a Guards Division in the Second World War which was formed on 12 June 1945 from the Guards Armoured Division which had undergone reorganisation.
History
First World War
Formation
In July 1915, during the First World War (1914–1918), George V approved the formation of a Guards Division and in August 1915 the division was formed at Lumbres, near St Omer, France.[1]
The
The division was provided with three artillery brigades
War service
In 1915, the Guards Division took part in the
In February 1918, British[b] divisions on the Western Front were reduced from a 12-battalion to a 9-battalion basis (brigades from four to three battalions).[8] As a result, the 4th Guards Brigade was formed on 8 February 1918 by taking a battalion from each of the brigades:
- 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards from 1st Guards Brigade
- 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards from the 2nd Guards Brigade and
- 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards from the 3rd Guards Brigade.[2]
The 4th Guards Brigade was transferred to the 31st Division at noon on the same day.[9] On 25 February, the pioneer battalion – 4th Battalion, Coldstream Guards – was reorganized from a four-company to a three-company basis.[10]
1918 saw the return of the war of movement. It had to withstand the
Post-war
At the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the division was in and around Maubeuge, and on 17 November it regained 4th Guards Brigade which was broken up and the battalions returned to their original brigades. The next day it began the march on Germany and crossed the frontier on 11 December. By 19 December it had reached the Cologne area. Units started returning to England on 20 February 1919 and the last had completed the move by 29 April.[11]
Second World War
The Guards Division was reformed during the Second World War on 12 June 1945 by the reorganization and redesignation of the Guards Armoured Division.[13] The division retained all of its original units,[14] but with some changes:
- 5th Guards Armoured Brigade (three armoured battalions and one motorized infantry battalion) was converted to infantry as 5th Guards Brigade[15][16]
- 32nd Guards Infantry Brigade remained unchanged except that 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards (originally the reconnaissance unit of the Guards Armoured Division[14]) was converted to infantry[17] and joined the brigade[18]
- 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment was transferred from XXX Corps on 12 June 1945 as the new reconnaissance unit[19]
- 6th Guards Tank Brigade (three tank battalions) was converted to infantry as 6th Guards Brigade and joined the division on 19 June[20][21]
- 92nd (5th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery joined the division on 12 June from 5th Infantry Division as the third field artillery regiment to match three infantry brigades[22][23]
Orders of battle
| Orders of Battle – August 1915, November 1918, June 1945 | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
1st Guards Brigade
|
Royal Artillery
|
Mounted Troops
Pioneers
Medical Guards Divisional Train, ASC
|
2nd Guards Brigade
| ||
3rd Guards Brigade
| ||
|
| ||
1st Guards Brigade
|
Royal Artillery | Royal Engineers
Pioneers
Machine Gunners
Medical
Divisional Employment Company
Guards Divisional Train, ASC
|
2nd Guards Brigade
| ||
3rd Guards Brigade
| ||
1945
Order of battle when reformed from the Guards Armoured Division, June 1945[13]
- 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards[k]
- 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards[l]
- 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards[l]
- 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards[l]
Royal Artillery
- 55th (Wessex) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 92nd (5th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery[m]
- 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 75th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
Royal Engineers
- 14th Field Company
- 615th Field Company
- 148th Field Park Company
- 11th Bridging Troop
Signals
Reconnaissance
- 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment[o]
Infantry
- 1st Independent MG Company[p]
- 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards[l]
- 4th Battalion, Coldstream Guards[l]
- 3rd Battalion, Scots Guards[l]
- 5th Battalion, Coldstream Guards
- 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards
- 3rd Battalion, Irish Guards
- 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards[q]
Notable members
2nd Lieutenant Jack Kipling, son of the famous author Rudyard Kipling, served with the Guards Division in France as a platoon commander in the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards. He was aged just 18, his birthday being only a month before, and was killed in the 1915 Battle of Loos, yet exactly how he died still remains a mystery even nearly 100 years later.
Commanders
The division had the following General Officers Commanding (GOCs):[28][29]
| From | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 15 August 1915 | Brigadier-General F. J. Heyworth |
temporary |
| 18 August 1915 | Major-General Earl of Cavan |
|
| 3 January 1916 | Major-General G. P. T. Feilding | |
| 11 September 1918 | Major-General T. G. Matheson | disestablished 1919 |
| 12 September 1942 | Major-General A. H. S. Adair | on re-establishment[r] |
| December 1945 | Major-General J. C. O. Marriott |
See also
- List of British divisions in World War I
- List of British divisions in World War II
- Guards Division for the administrative formation
Notes
- ^ The basic organic unit of the Royal Artillery was, and is, the Battery.[3] When grouped together they formed brigades, in the same way that infantry battalions or cavalry regiments were grouped together in brigades. At the outbreak of the First World War, a field artillery brigade of headquarters (4 officers, 37 other ranks), three batteries (5 and 193 each), and a brigade ammunition column (4 and 154)[4] had a total strength just under 800 so was broadly comparable to an infantry battalion (just over 1,000) or a cavalry regiment (about 550). Like an infantry battalion, an artillery brigade was usually commanded by a lieutenant colonel. These figures refer to brigades of three 6-gun batteries; artillery brigades of Kitchener's Army were reorganized on a four 4-gun basis in January and February 1915,[5][6] so strengths would be approximately unchanged. Artillery brigades were redesignated as regiments in 1938.
- ^ As distinct from the Australian, Canadian and the New Zealand divisions which remained on a 12-battalion basis.
- ^ 18 pounder guns.[25]
- 4.5" howitzers.[25]
- 1st Life Guards.[2]
- 2nd Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards.[2]
- ^ a b c Eight 3-inch Stokes mortars.[27]
- ^ a b Eighteen 18-pounder guns and six QF 4.5-inch howitzer.[27]
- 2-inch Medium Mortars each.[27]
- ^ Formed 1 March 1918 from 1st, 2nd and 3rd Guards Brigade and 4th (Divisional) M.G. Companies.[2]
- ^ Converted from a Motor Battalion.[17]
- ^ a b c d e f Converted from an Armoured Battalion.[17]
- ^ Transferred from the 5th Infantry Division on 12 June 1945.[22][23]
- ^ Redesignated from Guard Armoured Division Signals, RCS.[14]
- ^ Transferred from XXX Corps on 12 June 1945.[19]
- ^ 1st Independent MG Company was formed from the 4th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.[13]
- 32nd Guards Infantry Brigade on 20 June 1945.[18]
- A. H. S. Adair was in command of the Guards Armoured Division when it was renamed the Guards Division.[14]
References
- ^ a b Becke 1935, p. 30
- ^ a b c d e f Becke 1935, p. 29
- ^ "The Royal Artillery". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ Baker, Chris. "What was an artillery brigade?". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ Becke 1938, p. 65
- ^ a b Becke 1938, p. 23
- ^ a b Becke 1938, p. 68
- ^ a b c Becke 1935, p. 28
- ^ Becke 1945, p. 16
- ^ Becke 1935, p. 27
- ^ a b Becke 1935, p. 31
- ^ BEF GHQ 1918, p. 75
- ^ a b c d Joslen 1990, p. 34
- ^ a b c d e f Joslen 1990, p. 11
- ^ a b Joslen 1990, p. 156
- ^ a b Joslen 1990, p. 236
- ^ a b c d Bellis 1994, pp. 40–43
- ^ a b c Joslen 1990, p. 280
- ^ a b Bellis 1994, p. 10
- ^ a b Joslen 1990, p. 157
- ^ a b Joslen 1990, p. 239
- ^ a b Joslen 1990, p. 47
- ^ a b Bellis 1995, p. 96
- ^ "Guards Division Disbanded". The Times. No. 50655. London. 10 January 1947. p. 2.
- ^ a b Becke 1935, p. 126
- ^ BEF GHQ 1918, p. 38
- ^ a b c Becke 1935, p. 127
- ^ Mackie, Colin (9 January 2015). "Army Commands 1900-2011" (PDF). www.gulabin.com. p. 183. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ Becke 1935, p. 25
Bibliography
- Becke, Major A. F. (1935). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 1. The Regular British Divisions. London: ISBN 978-1-871167-09-2.
- Becke, Major A. F. (1938). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 3A. New Army Divisions (9–26). London: ISBN 978-1-871167-08-5.
- Becke, Major A. F. (1945). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 3B. New Army Divisions (30–41) & 63rd (RN) Division. London: ISBN 978-1-871167-08-5.
- Bellis, Malcolm A. (1994). Regiments of the British Army 1939–1945 (Armour & Infantry). London: Military Press International. ISBN 978-0-85420-999-6.
- Bellis, Malcolm A. (1995). Regiments of the British Army 1939–1945 (Artillery). London: Military Press International. ISBN 978-0-85420-110-5.
- ISBN 978-1-84342-124-5.
- ISBN 978-1-84342-124-5.
- Joslen, Lt-Col H. F. (1990) [1st. Pub. ISBN 978-0-948130-03-8.
- Order of Battle of the British Armies in France (including Lines of Communication Units) and Order of Battle of the Portuguese Expeditionary Force. France: General Staff, GHQ. 1918. OCLC 74447069.
External links
- Baker, Chris. "The Guards Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- Guards Division on The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918 by PB Chappell at the Wayback Machine (archived 15 February 2013)
- "Guards Division". Orders of Battle.com.