1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

"1st Division (United Kingdom)" redirects here. For other uses, see 1st Division (United Kingdom) (disambiguation).

1st Division 1st Infantry Division 1st Mixed Division 1st Armoured Division 1st (United Kingdom) Division
A white triangle, red outline for illustration purposes, was used as the divisional insignia during the Second World War and through to the 1980s.
Active	1809–Present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Nickname(s)	Peninsular War: The Gentlemen's Sons' Second Boer War: Mobile Marvels Mudcrushers The Salvation Army Beecham's
Anniversaries	Peninsular Day
Engagements	Napoleonic Wars Crimean War Second Boer War First World War Second World War
Website	1st UK Division on British Army website and Division's twitter account
Insignia
Identification symbol	The divisional insignia, which was adopted during the First World War.

The 1st Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed and disestablished numerous times between 1809 and the present. It was raised by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley for service in the Peninsular War (part of the Coalition Wars of the Napoleonic Wars). It was disestablished in 1814, but re-formed the following year for service in the War of the Seventh Coalition. The formation fought at the Battle of Waterloo. It then marched into France and became part of the Army of Occupation before being disbanded a few years later.

It was reformed for service in the Crimean War and the Second Boer War, before a permanent 1st Division was established in the early 20th Century. It then fought in the First, and the Second World Wars. In the post-war years, it was disbanded in 1960 in England. Its title and insignia where then transferred to the 5th Division, based in Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine and it was then renumbered as the 1st. The division served in Germany throughout the Cold War, being converted into the 1st Armoured Division in 1978. Five years later, the insignia was updated to incorporate elements of the Second World War's 1st Armoured Division. The division then fought in the Gulf War and in the 1990s was redesignated as the 1st (United Kingdom) Division.

Napoleonic Wars

Peninsular War

Further information: British Army during the Napoleonic Wars

During the French Revolutionary Wars and early in the Napoleonic Wars, the largest permanent organised structure within the British Army was the brigade. The brigade, which consisted of two or more battalions grouped together under the command of a major-general, suited the small size of the army and the operations that it conducted. When needed, larger forces were organised on an ad hoc basis. This included multiple brigades grouped into 'lines' or 'columns'. As the army and its operations grew, it implemented divisions—a single formation of two or more brigades, usually commanded by a lieutenant-general. The division concept was not new and had been used by other European armies towards the end of the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). On 18 June 1809, Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley, commander of British forces in Spain and Portugal during the Peninsular War, reorganised his force into four divisions: the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd, and the 4th.

Depiction of the French sortie at the Battle of Bayonne, April 1814, by William Heath and Thomas Sutherland (click to enlarge).

On formation, the division consisted of a brigade of Foot Guards, one of British line infantry, and two brigades of troops from the King's German Legion (KGL). Due to the inclusion of guardsmen, the division was considered a social (but not a military) elite and obtained the nickname "The Gentlemen's Sons'". Just shy of 6,000 men strong, the division first saw action at the Battle of Talavera where they formed the centre of the Allied army. A brief action was fought on 27 July 1809, resulting in 188 casualties while the main engagement of the battle took place the following day. Under intense French artillery fire, the 1st was approached by two divisions (15,000 men). The British-German troops had been instructed to hold fire until the French were within close range, to deliver one volley, and then charge. Charles Oman, a historian of the Peninsular War, wrote that the division did just that and the leading French ranks "went down in swathes", with casualties amounting to one third within ten minutes. The division then charged recklessly after the routed troops and ran straight into the French second line, who rebuked the British and German troops forcing them to conduct a fighting retreat back to the main Allied position. Redeployed British forces ensured the division was not routed and the line held. By the end of the battle, the 1st had suffered 2,249 casualties. The next engagement was at the Battle of Bussaco (27 September 1810) were it suffered 141 casualties. This was followed by a general retreat to the Lines of Torres Vedras and skirmishing during the Battle of Sobral. The following year, 828 casualties were suffered at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811). In early 1812, the division took part in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and then later in the year fought at in the Battle of Salamanca (22 July 1812). At the latter, it formed the left wing of the army and defended the village of Arapiles that saw back and forth fighting for its control although only 158 casualties were suffered. In September 1812, the division invested the castle at Burgos. Over the next four weeks, it repulsed several French sorties and launched two failed assaults with heavy losses. By the end of the unsuccessful siege, close to 2,000 casualties had been suffered. A general retreat followed from Burgos, during which the commanding officer (Edward Paget) was captured. His replacement, William Stewart, delayed part of the retreat when he ignored orders issued by Wellington.

In May 1813, a new campaign was launched. After a march north through Portugal, the Allied Army again entered Spain. The division then fought in a string of battles in June: San Millan-Osma, Vittoria, Tolosa, and was present during the opening days of the Siege of San Sebastián in July. The following month, the division sent around 400 volunteers to assist in the storming of San Sebastián, with nearly half being rendered casualties. The invasion of France followed, with the division in action at the Battle of the Bidassoa in October. It forded the Bidasoa, pushed back the French defenders and seized the village of Béhobie for around 160 casualties. Engagements at the battles of Nivelle (November, 193 casualties) and Nive (December, 289 casualties) followed. After a brief rest, the division forced the Adour in February 1814. Meanwhile, Napoleon, Emperor of the French, had abdicated following the capture of Paris on 31 March. This occurred while the 1st Division was besieging Bayonne. On 14 April, the French sortied and the division fought in the final battle of the War of the Sixth Coalition suffering just over 700 casualties in the process. With the war over, the division was broken up. The troops marched to Bordeaux, where they either returned to the UK or were transported to North America to take part in the ongoing War of 1812.

Waterloo campaign

Main articles: Battle of Waterloo and Hougomont

At the end of the fighting, British and Hanoverian troops moved into the Southern Netherlands (previously Austrian Netherlands), as part of an Anglo-Dutch effort to secure the territory while they awaited a political outcome to the war at the Congress of Vienna. On 11 April 1815, after the outbreak of the War of the Seventh Coalition upon Napoleon's return to power and the arrival of allied reinforcements, the force in the Southern Netherlands was reorganised into divisions. The 1st Division was reformed under Major-General George Cooke and contained four foot guard battalions, including one that had previously served with the division during the Peninsular War. The First British Brigade, under Major-General Peregrine Maitland, contained the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards; and the Second British Brigade, under Major-General John Byng, contained the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, and the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards. The division was the only one within Wellington's new army that was composed completely of British infantry, the other British formations included Hanoverian troops.

The division's first action of the new war came at the Battle of Quatre Bras. Arriving on the right flank at around 18:30 on 16 June 1815, by which point fighting had been ongoing for several hours, the division launched a counterattack to recaptured Bossu Wood that had just been taken. The attack drove out the French, but as the British troops advanced beyond the wood, they were repulsed by a second French line and forced back. Fighting continued in and around the woods and included the repulse of a French cavalry attack. Casualties were reported for the period 16–17 June, and amounted to 46 men killed and 508 wounded. Two days later, at the Battle of Waterloo, the division formed the right flank of the front line of the allied army. Its four battalions were arranged on the reverse slope of the ridge that had been occupied by the allied army. Their light infantry companies - alongside Hanoverian and Nassau troops – took up an advanced position at Hougomont, a walled farm complex within a wooded area that lay in front of the occupied ridge. The farmhouse and its surrounding area became a vital tactical location.

A depiction of Hougomont, after the battle, J.B. Romberg (1820).

In the late morning, Napoleon ordered the farm complex and its environs to be captured, thus beginning the battle. As French troops moved forward, the guns of the division opened fire and were able to check several advances. They were not able to completely halt the French, who soon pushed into the woods and drove the division’s infantry back into the farm complex. Sous-Lieutenant Legros, leading a group of French troops, used an axe to breach the gates allowing a large number of French troops to enter the complex's courtyard. In the following melee the gates were closed, despite the efforts of additional French troops to enter, trapping those within who were all eventually killed in hand-to-hand fighting or from being shot from defenders within the buildings. Lieutenant-Colonel James Macdonell and Corporal James Graham were both noted for their efforts. As the fighting wore on around the farm, Byng’s brigade was fully committed to the defense. French attempts were made to encircle Hougomont and attack from the rear. The division’s guns again caused the French problems and fresh infantry were moved to check the French moves. An attempt to assault and scale the northern wall of the complex, and to open the gate from the inside, were also repulsed. French artillery fire was maintained throughout the day, causing some damage to the walls, setting several buildings ablaze, and collapsing the main building’s roof. A renewed attack in the late afternoon was also thrown back. When the final main French assault of the day was launched, in the evening, it was spearheaded by skirmishers who engaged with the Hougomont garrison while the main assault pushed past the area. Following its defeat, the allied army conducted a general advance and poured into the Hougomont area to reinforce and clear the position.

Maitland’s brigade spent the entire day under heavy French cannon fire, while based on the crest of the ridge, and fought off several cavalry and infantry attacks. Around 19:00, the final French attack of the day was launched by the Middle Guard of the Imperial Guard. In preparation, Maitland’s brigade was formed into a line four ranks deep and told to lay down. The French attack, due to the disorganized manner in how the troops assembled, came in several waves. The 3rd and 4e Régiment de Chasseurs led under heavy cannon fire that diminished as they closed on the ridge, due to dwindling ammunition stocks. Wellington then allegedly shouted “Up, Guards' make ready!”. The sudden appearance of the brigade caused the French to halt and start to deploy to exchange volleys. The 4th Chasseurs was heavily engaged by Maitland’s two battalions and forced to retreat. The British guards followed with a bayonet charge. The sight of these two events, in conjunction with being under heavy attack themselves, resulted in the 3rd Chasseurs also retreating. The next wave was spearheaded by the 3e Régiment de Grenadiers, who were joined by other Midde Guard units and regular French infantry. Maitland’s troops halted their chase of the chasseurs and reformed. Both sides then engaged in a ferocious exchange of volleys. While the French were concentrated on Maitland’s men, the British 2nd Division conducted a flanking maneuver, unleashed close range volleys upon the French and charged causing them to retreat.

During the course of the battle, the division suffered 232 killed, 819 wounded, and four men were reported missing. The following day, in conjunction with the rest of the army, the division marched into France and arrived on the outskirts of Paris on 1 July. The French capitulated a short while later, ending the war. The division was chosen to form part of the Army of Occupation and remained in France until December 1818, when it was disbanded when the British military withdrew from the country and back to the UK.

Victorian Era

Further information: British Army during the Victorian Era and List of British Army formations during the Victorian-era

Per the 1st Division's official website, its lineage is described as including the Peninsular War, the Battle of Waterloo, the Crimean War, the Anglo-Zulu War, and the Second Boer War. Outside of this lineage, other 1st Divisions were raised during the 19th century, each on an ad hoc basis. A 1st Division was organised in 1851 under Major-General Henry Somerset, during the Eighth Xhosa War. In 1857, an expeditionary force was formed from the Indian Army for service in the Second Opium War. The force contained a 1st Division, which was under the command of Major-General John Michel. Major-General Charles Staveley took command of a 1st Division, which was around 10,000-men strong and had been formed in September 1871 solely for training manoeuvres in England. During the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, Lieutenant-General George Willis commanded another newly established 1st Division.

Crimean War

Main article: Crimean War

Richard Caton Woodville's depiction of the division's attack during the Battle of the Alma, although it includes inaccurate uniforms.

On 28 March 1854, in support of the Ottoman Empire, the British and the Second French Empire declared war on the Russian Empire. Anglo-French forces landed at Gallipoli, to be in a position to defend Constantinople if needed, and then moved to Varna, on the Black Sea coast of Ottoman Bulgaria, where it was reorganised into divisions. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was appointed to command the division. Clive Ponting, an historian of the conflict, wrote Cambridge "was chosen ... soley because he was Queen Victoria's cousin." On 14 September, the Anglo-French expeditionary landed north of Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula. They marched south and encountered the Russians at the Alma River, which blocked further progress. During the afternoon of 20 September, on the left wing of the expeditionary force, the division went into action. It crossed the Alma River, then attacked and cleared a Russian redoubt on Kourgané Hill suffering 439 casualties in the process. The advance resumed on 23 September, and the expeditionary force surrounded the Russian port in October. This began the Siege of Sevastopol.

In October, at the Battle of Balaclava, the division moved from besieging Sevastopol to reinforce the British forces in the Balaclava area due to a Russian buildup of troops. Delays in the arrival of additional infantry and a changing tactical situation resulted in the division not engaging Russian forces, and the charge of the Light Brigade was ordered. Following the ill-fated cavalry charge, it was decided not to commit the infantry to assaulting the Russian positions. If they were captured, they would then need to be occupied by the division and could invoke additional Russian attacks in the area that were not wanted. Moreso, the division was more needed around Sevastopol. On 5 November, the Russian Army launched a major attack known as the Battle of Inkerman. The division, containing just three battalions after leaving half its force to defend Balaclava, moved to reinforce the embattled 2nd Division. In a heavy mist, the Russian force was engaged in close range fighting with bayonets. Over the course of the morning, 582 men of the division were killed, wounded, or reported missing in the fighting. During the fighting, the Duke of Cambridge had his horse shot from under him and he retired from the battle. Although the battle ended in an Allied victory, it created the conditions that dragged the siege on through the winter into 1855. Over the following year, the Light and the 2nd Divisions bore the brunt of the fighting. During the assault on Sevastopol in June 1855, the 1st Division was tasked in a supporting role. A later attack in September, the Battle of the Great Redan, it was held in reserve. The expeditionary force remained in the Crimea until the war ended in 1856, after which the army demobilised.

1870s

Further information: Anglo-Zulu War

Following the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), the British Army reviewed and attempted to implement a similar organisation to that used by the Prussian Army. The resultant 1875 mobilisation scheme called for 24 divisions spread across eight army corps. These formations did not exist, and the scheme looked for scattered units to coalesce in a time of crisis. This method was used to form three divisions, including the 1st, in 1871 when regular, reserve, militia, and yeomanry units as well as volunteers from across the UK converged on Aldershot.

The Anglo-Zulu War broke out in January 1879 and saw back and forth fighting over the following three months that included the Battle of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift. Reinforcements were dispatched to Natal to prepare for a second invasion of Zululand, which resulted in the formation of two divisions including No. 1 Division. The division consisted of British, colonial, and Africa troops and was 9,215 men strong. It made a slow advance into Zululand along the coastal plain, established forts and improved infrastructure as it moved and was not engaged in combat. At the close of the campaign, the division was near Port Durnford on the uMlalazi River and accepted the surrender of neighbouring Zulus. With the war over, the division was broken up in July. Frances Colenso, who wrote about the campaign, stated "an earlier advance and a little dash would have given the laurels of the second campaign to the 1st Division ... but it was not to be." Craig Stockings wrote that Lieutenant-General Garnet Wolseley, who had arrived to oversee the final stage of the campaign, considered the division to have been "entirely irrelevant".

Second Boer War

Main article: Second Boer War

The Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, after tensions rose between the British Empire and the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. In response, and to reinforce the outnumbered British military presence in southern Africa, the British Government mobilised the Natal Field Force in the UK. This force, also known as the First Army Corps, corresponded with the I Corps of the 1875 mobilisation scheme, and include the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Divisions. On mobilisation, the 1st Division consisted of the 1st (later dubbed the Guards Brigade) and the 2nd Infantry Brigades and was placed under the command of Lieutenant-General Paul Methuen. The majority of the division departed the UK between 20 and 24 October and arrived at Cape Town around three weeks later. Before the division arrived in southern Africa, the Boers invaded the British Cape and Natal colonies, and besieged Kimberley and Ladysmith respectively. The loss of these two towns changed the initial plan for the army corps to march on the Boer capital of Bloemfontein. Instead, the majority of arriving forces, which included the division's 2nd Brigade, were ordered to Natal to lift the siege of Ladysmith. The 1st Division was ordered to lift the siege of Kimberley and was assigned the 9th Infantry Brigade, newly formed from troops already based in southern Africa, to replace the loss of the 2nd Brigade. This brought the division to a strength of 7,726 infantry and 850 cavalry and mounted infantry. Additional support was provided by the 3rd (Highland) Brigade, which secured the division's lines of communication.

The advance towards Kimberley started on 21 November and followed the Cape Town–Kimberley train line. After skirmishing with Boer forces, the first prepared defensive position was encountered near Belmont, where the Boers had entrenched themselves on several hills that dominated the train track. The Battle of Belmont, fought on 23 November, saw the division assault and capture these positions just after daybreak, although the majority of the Boers were able to withdraw in good order. British losses amounted to 54 killed and 243 wounded. Boer losses included 80 killed and 70 taken as prisoner, in addition to the capture of draft animals and supplies. Frederick Maurice, author of the British official history of the war, lauded the small unit tactics utilised by the division but conceded Methuen failed to convert the "successful engagement into a decisive victory". Stephen Miller, a historian who has wrote about the war, noted that the battle "was a victory of sorts" for the division, but that it was not "the decisive victory Methuen had wanted" due to the lack of mounted troops. This deficiency meant the division was unable to press or attempt to encircle the retreating Boers, who were able to escape and fought again two days later.

They followed up and attacked again at Graspan (25 November) and at Modder River (28 November), again forcing the Boers from their positions but without landing a decisive punch. After receiving reinforcements, Methuen attacked at Magersfontein (11 December 1899). Despite the heavy artillery preparation and night approach, the attack failed. Together with failed attacks on the other fronts at Stormberg and Colenso, the news of Magersfontein led to the political crisis of Black Week in Britain.

Having failed to break through at Magersfontein, Methuen was obliged to stand on the Modder River, apart from sending 9th Brigade raiding into the Orange Free State. Behind the screen provided by 1st Division, the newly arrived commander-in-chief, Lord Roberts, assembled a large army to renew the offensive. After the disaster it had suffered at Magersfontein, where Wauchope was killed, the Highland Brigade and its new commander, Brig-Gen Hector MacDonald, refused to serve under Methuen, and Roberts transferred them to a new 9th Division under Colville. He also sacked Babington from command of the cavalry. And when Roberts advanced in February 1900, he stripped the Guards Brigade from 1st Division to join a new 11th Division under Pole-Carew and took much of the artillery and transport, This left Methuen and a reduced 1st Division to cover Roberts's lines of communication.

Following the Battle of Paardeberg (18–27 February), the reliefs of Kimberley and Ladysmith, and the fall of Bloemfontein, Roberts reorganised his force to pursue the defeated Boers. Methuen was tasked with clearing the country along the Vaal River on the Boers' flank and driving towards Mafeking, which was still besieged. On 5 April Methuen led out his Mounted Infantry under Brig-Gen Lord Chesham, with the Kimberley Mounted Corps and 4th Battery RFA, and caught a Boer Commando led by a French volunteer, the Comte de Villebois-Mareuil. At the small Battle of Boshof, the Imperial Yeomanry (in action for the first time) surrounded the Boers and then closed with the bayonet. De Villebois-Mareuil was killed and his men killed or captured.

Increasingly, Roberts' forces were operating as mobile columns rather than formed divisions. Methuen's 1st Division became known as the 'Mobile Marvels' and the 'Mudcrushers' because of their prodigious marches. They also acquired the nicknames 'The Salvation Army' and 'Beechams' (from Beecham's Pills, a popular cure-all) because they relieved so many outposts and besieged garrisons. With 9th Brigade and the Imperial Yeomanry, Methuen's Column took part in the operations of June 1900 to trap the elusive Boer leader Christiaan de Wet. Advancing along the Kroonstad railway, they encountered de Wet at Rhenoster River. After a heavy artillery bombardment, the Loyal North Lancashires broke through the Boer lines and many Boers surrendered. But de Wet got away with most of his mounted men and Methuen's troops were too exhausted to pursue. The frustrating pursuit of de Wet and other Boer leaders went on for months. After July 1900 1st Division existed only on paper, and Methuen's Column consisted of an ad hoc brigade of raw recruits – 'colonel's work', Methuen described it.

Prior to First World War

With the return of the troops from South Africa at the end of the Boer War, 1st Division was reformed at Aldershot as part of the I Corps, with two brigades (the 1st Guards and the 2nd Infantry Brigades, comprising eight battalions), 'fairly well organised for mobilization'. Under Lord Haldane's 1907 reforms, which laid down plans for the dispatch of a British Expeditionary Force in case of war, 1st Division was one of the two permanent divisions in Aldershot Command that would constitute I Corps.

Establishment May 1907

The order of battle was:
1st Division GOC: Maj-Gen James Grierson

• 1st Brigade (Aldershot)
• 2nd Brigade (Blackdown)
• 3rd Brigade (Bordon)
• Three Field Artillery Brigades (each of three batteries)
• One Field Artillery (Howitzer) Brigade
• Two Field Companies, Royal Engineers
• Two Divisional Telegraph Companies, Royal Engineers.

(Brigades consisted of four battalions Actual units within this structure varied as battalions, batteries and RE companies rotated between home and overseas stations.)

First World War

Main article: World War I

British Trench First World War

The division was a permanently established Regular Army division that was amongst the first to be sent to France at the outbreak of the First World War. It served on the Western Front for the duration of the war. On 31 October 1914 divisional commander General Samuel Lomax was seriously wounded by an artillery shell and died on 10 April 1915 never having recovered from his wounds. After the war the division was part of the occupation force stationed at Bonn.

The division's insignia was the signal flag for the 'Number 1'. During the war, the division was involved in the following battles: Battle of Mons, First Battle of the Marne, First Battle of the Aisne, First Battle of Ypres, Battle of Aubers Ridge, Battle of Loos, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Pozières, Third Battle of Ypres, Battle of Épehy.

Second World War

At the start of the Second World War, the 1st Infantry Division was stationed at Aldershot and commanded by Major General the Hon. Harold Alexander (who had assumed command in 1938). The division was sent to France in mid-September 1939, arriving there on 20 September, where it formed part of I Corps (Lieutenant General Sir John Dill) of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The division, unlike in the First World War, was not immediately engaged in fighting, and was to remain in France for the next few months until evacuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo in June 1940.

North Africa

In late February 1943, the 1st Division, now commanded by Major General Walter Clutterbuck, left the United Kingdom, destined for North Africa to take part in the final stages of the Tunisian Campaign. The division, arriving there on 9 March, was initially under the direct command of the British First Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson, who had commanded the division in the retreat to Dunkirk until May 1941.

As a charge explodes nearby, troops of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment scramble up cliffs during a live-firing exercise at Cromer in Norfolk, 21 April 1942.

Soon, the division, which had been stationed in the Medjez-Bou Arada sector, became part of Lieutenant General Charles Allfrey's V Corps The division was engaged mainly in patrolling and began preparations for an offensive to end the war in North Africa. On the night of 20/21 April the division took part in the Battle of the Medjez Plain, where it was pitted against the Hermann Göring Division which, with the commander having anticipated an offensive, had launched his own offensive with the intention of spoiling the Allied attack. The offensive, however, was soon repulsed (although an entire company of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment had been overrun) with the aid of the divisional artillery (which had been moved forward for the upcoming battle) and Churchill tanks of the 142nd (Suffolk) Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (142 RAC), part of the 25th Army Tank Brigade, and the 1st Division suffered only 106 casualties.

Men of the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters firing a captured German MG42 machine gun, 27 April 1943.

The next few days saw the 1st Division engaged in particularly hard fighting, with the 2nd Brigade, attacking a ridge known as Gueriat el Atach. The attack failed, at a cost of over 500 casualties, with the supporting 142 RAC losing 29 of 52 tanks, mainly from enemy Tiger tanks. Among those killed were Lieutenant Willward Alexander Sandys-Clarke of the 1st Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism in stalking and destroying an enemy machine gun. The ridge was taken the next day, 24 April, by the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, of the 3rd Brigade.

Two days later, the 24th Guards Brigade moved to an attack an objective named Bou Aoukaz. No opposition was encountered, aside from mines, and they were ordered by Division HQ to assault Bou Aoukaz on the afternoon of 27 April. The Bou was taken, but with heavy casualties to the 1st Irish and 5th Grenadiers, mostly from enemy shells and mortar. It was discovered that the Germans had retreated, being apparently amazed at the tenacity of the Guards. The 1st Scots Guards had been ordered to assault the Bou from the left flank. However, a machine gun had held them up, which was taken out by Captain Charles Lyell and four guardsmen. They were then fired on by an 88mm gun, which was silenced by Captain Lyell, who was killed while bayoneting the 88 crew, with the survivors fleeing. Captain Lyell was posthumously awarded the VC. The Bou was taken but soon given up, due to a communications issue. The Scots Guards renewed the assault upon the Bou the following day, only to be repulsed. The day afterwards, the enemy, realising how vital the Bou was, being the key to Tunis, launched a huge counterattack, which fell upon the 24th Brigade. It was during this period that the division earned its third VC, belonging to Lance Corporal John Kenneally of the 1st Irish Guards.

Fighting continued for the next few days until mid-May, when the Axis forces in North Africa finally surrendered, prompting Alexander, commander of the Allied 18th Army Group (and who had previously commanded the 1st Division), to cable to Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, "Sir, it is my duty to report that the Tunisian campaign is over. All enemy resistance has ceased. We are masters of the North African shores".

Italy

The division, commanded from October 1943 by Major General Ronald Penney, arrived on the Italian Front in December 1943, initially to serve under command of the Eighth Army (General Sir Bernard Montgomery) but soon became part of the US Fifth Army (Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark). Operation Shingle was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was intended to outflank German forces at the Winter Line and enable an attack on the Italian capital of Rome. The resulting combat is commonly called the Battle of Anzio. The division came under the command of the US VI Corps (Major General John P. Lucas).

The landings began on 22 January 1944. Although resistance had been expected, as seen at the Salerno landings during September 1943, the initial landings were unopposed, with the exception of desultory Luftwaffe strafing runs. By midnight, 36,000 soldiers and 3,200 vehicles had landed on the beaches. A mere 13 Allied troops were killed, and 97 wounded; about 200 Germans had been taken as POWs. The British 1st Division penetrated 2 miles (3 km) inland, the U.S. Army Rangers captured Anzio's port, the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion captured Nettuno, and the US 3rd Infantry Division penetrated 3 miles (5 km) inland.

Men of the 2/7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment carry out maintenance on a Vickers machine gun at Anzio, Italy, 21 February 1945.

There was severe fighting throughout the next few weeks as the Germans launched several fierce counterattacks in an attempt to drive the Allied force back into the sea. Testimony to this was when, on 17 February, Penney was wounded by shellfire and command of the 1st Division was taken by Major General Gerald Templer of the recently arrived 56th (London) Infantry Division, from 18 to 22 February, when Penney resumed command.

Because of the fighting seen by the division throughout February and March, the 24th Guards Brigade was withdrawn from the division, due to a lack of Guards replacements (even at this stage of the war the Guards were the only infantry regiments in the British Army to receive drafts of replacements from their own regiment), and replaced by the 18th Infantry Brigade from the 1st British Armoured Division, which was in North Africa at the time.

Operation Diadem was the final battle for Monte Cassino the plan was the U.S. II Corps on the left would attack up the coast along the line of Route 7 towards Rome. The French Expeditionary Corps (CEF) to their right would attack from the bridgehead across the Garigliano into the Aurunci Mountains. British XIII Corps in the centre right of the front would attack along the Liri valley whilst on the right 2nd Polish Corps would isolate the monastery and push round behind it into the Liri valley to link with XIII Corps. I Canadian Corps would be held in reserve ready to exploit the expected breakthrough. Once the German Tenth Army had been defeated, the U.S. VI Corps would break out of the Anzio beachhead to cut off the retreating Germans in the Alban Hills.

As the Canadians and Polish launched their attack on 23 May, Major General Lucian Truscott, who had replaced Lucas as commander of U.S. VI Corps, launched a two pronged attack using five (three American and two British) of the seven divisions in the bridgehead at Anzio. The German 14th Army facing this thrust was without any armoured divisions because Kesselring had sent his armour south to help the German 10th Army in the Cassino action. The 18th Infantry Brigade, which was temporarily attached to the division from February to August, returned to command of the 1st British Armoured Division and were replaced by the 66th Infantry Brigade became a part of the division for the rest of the war.

Major General W. R. C. Penny, GOC 1st Division, takes the salute during a march-past of the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, 23 June 1944. A Humber Mk IV armoured car passes the saluting base.

In the fighting for the Anzio beachhead, 8,868 officers and men of the British 1st Infantry Division were killed, wounded or missing in action.

Post war

After the war, the division only remained in Palestine for a short time. It was transferred to Egypt for a few months before going back to Palestine in April 1946. Two years later, as the British mandate over Palestine ended, the division returned to Egypt, also spending periods in Libya up until 1951. In October of that year, as British forces pulled out of Egypt outside of the Suez Canal Zone, the division garrisoned that small area. After British forces withdrew from Egypt, the division returned to the UK for a short while in 1955 and 1956. In 1960, it was disbanded before being reformed as the 1st Division based in Verden an der Aller in Germany as part of I (British) Corps in the British Army of the Rhine.

See also

• List of commanders of the British 1st Division
• List of wartime orders of battle for the British 1st Division (1809–1945)
• British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)

References

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Further reading

• Wilson, Peter Liddell (1985). The First Division 1809-1985: A Short Illustrated History. Viersen, Germany: 1st Armoured Division. OCLC 500105706.
• Wilson, Peter Liddell (1993). The First Division 1809-1993: A Short Illustrated History (2nd ed.). Herford, Germany: 1st Division. OCLC 29635235.

External links

• Imperial War Museam. "Memorial: 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
• National Army Museam. "Defence of the Chateau de Hougoumont by the flank Company, Coldstream Guards, 1815". National Army Museam. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
• National Army Museam. "'The 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards (now Scots Guards) at the battle of Waterloo, Jun 18th 1815. Repulsing the final charge of the old Guard'". National Army Museam. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
• War Memorials Online. "1st Division Porchway". War Memorials Online. Retrieved 27 June 2022.