1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

1st Division 1st Infantry Division
1st Division insignia used in World War I (the international signal pennant for '1')
Active	1809–1818 1854–1856 1899–1960
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Nickname(s)	'Mobile Marvels' 'Mudcrushers' 'The Salvation Army' 'Beecham's'
Engagements	Peninsular War Battle of Talavera Battle of Salamanca Siege of Tarragona Battle of Vitoria Siege of San Sebastián Battle of the Pyrenees Battle of the Bidassoa (1813) Battle of Toulouse (1814) Battle of Quatre Bras Battle of Waterloo Crimean War Battle of Alma Battle of Balaclava Battle of Inkerman Second Boer War Battle of Belmont Battle of Modder River Battle of Magersfontein Battle of Boshof First World War 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 Battle of Passchendaele Battle of Épehy Second World War Battle of France Fondouk Tunisia Campaign Battle of Anzio Battle of Monte Cassino Liri Valley Gothic Line
Commanders
Notable commanders	The Duke of Cambridge Lord Methuen Harold Alexander Kenneth Anderson Gerald Templer Charles Loewen Richard Gale Horatius Murray
Insignia
1st Infantry Division sign used in World War 2.

The 1st Infantry Division was a regular army infantry division of the British Army with a very long history. The division was present at the Peninsular War, the Crimean War, the First World War, and during the Second World War and was finally disbanded in 1960.

Napoleonic Wars[]

The British 1st Division was originally formed in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsula War, drawing initially from two British brigades and one Hanoverian brigade of the King's German Legion. During the Peninsula War, it was involved in most of the engagements between the Allies and France including the Battle of Talavera in 1809, the Battle of Salamanca in 1812, the Siege of Tarragona in 1813, the Battle of Vitoria in 1813, the Siege of San Sebastián in 1813, the Battle of the Pyrenees in 1813, the Battle of the Bidassoa in 1813 and the Battle of Toulouse in 1814.^[1]

Peninsular order of battle[]

The order of battle in summer 1813 was:^[1]

• General Officer: Lieutenant General Sir John Hope (Major General Kenneth Howard)
• Maitland's Brigade: Major General Maitland
  • 1/1st Foot Guards
  • 3/1st Foot Guards
  • 1 coy., 5/60th Foot
• Stopford's Brigade: Major General Stopford
  • 1st Bn., Coldstream Foot Guards
  • 1/3rd Foot Guards
  • 1 coy., 5/60th Foot
• Hinuber's Brigade: Major General von Hinuber
  • 1st Line Bn., King's German Legion
  • 2nd Line Bn., KGL
  • 5th Line Bn., KGL
  • 1st Light Bn., KGL
  • 2nd Light Bn., KGL
• Aylmer's Brigade: Major General Lord Aylmer
  • 1/37th Foot
  • 2/62nd Foot
  • 76th Foot
  • 77th Foot
  • 85th Foot

Gate on the north side of Hougoumont assaulted by the French 1st Legere^[2]

Waterloo campaign[]

Napoleon Bonaparte returned during the Congress of Vienna. On 13 March, seven days before Napoleon reached Paris, the powers at the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw; four days later the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria and Prussia, members of the Seventh Coalition, bound themselves to put 150,000 men each into the field to end his rule.^[3] This set the stage for the last conflict in the Napoleonic Wars and for the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the restoration of the French monarchy for the second time and the permanent exile of Napoleon to the island of Saint Helena, where he died in May 1821.^[4] 1st Division was involved in the Waterloo Campaign seeing its first action at the Battle of Quatre Bras then at the Battle of Waterloo, where it held Wellington's right flank. On the extreme right was the chateau, garden, and orchard of Hougoumont, which was defended by the division's 2nd Brigade under General John Byng.^[5]

A map of the Battle of Waterloo, showing Hougoumont on the French Left

The initial attack by Maréchal de Camp Bauduin's 1st Brigade of the 5th Division emptied the wood and park, but was driven back by heavy British artillery fire and cost Bauduin his life. The British guns were distracted into an artillery duel with French guns and this allowed a second attack by General de Brigade Baron Soye's 2nd Brigade of the 6th Division. They managed a small breach on the south side but could not exploit it. An attack by elements of the 1st Brigade of the 6th Division on the north side was more successful. This attack lead to one of the most famous skirmishes in the Battle of Waterloo – Sous-Lieutenant Legros, wielding an axe, managed to break through the north gate. A desperate fight ensued between the invading French soldiers and the defending Guards. In a near-miraculous attack, Macdonell, a small party of officers and Corporal James Graham fought through the melee to shut the gate, trapping Legros and about 30 other soldiers of the 1st Legere inside. All of the French who entered, apart from a young drummer boy, were killed in a desperate hand-to-hand fight.^[2] The French attack in the immediate vicinity of the farm was repulsed by the arrival of the 2nd Coldstream Guards and 2/3rd Foot Guards.^[6]

Waterloo order of battle[]

Commanding General: Major-General George Cooke

• 1st Brigade, Major-General Peregrine Maitland
  • 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Askew
  • 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, Lieutenant Colonel the Honorable William Stewart
• 2nd Brigade, Major-General Sir John Byng
  • 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, Colonel A. Woodford
  • 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Hepburn

Crimean War[]

Robert Gibb's painting, The Thin Red Line

The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought between Imperial Russia on one side and an alliance of France, Britain, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire on the other. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, with additional actions occurring in western Turkey, and the Baltic Sea region. The Crimean War is sometimes considered to be the first "modern" conflict and "introduced technical changes which affected the future course of warfare".^[7]

The Division, which now consisted of the Guards Brigade and the Highland Brigade, was involved in the Battle of Alma (20 September 1854), which is considered to be the first battle of the Crimean war. They were next in action during the Battle of Balaclava. The battle started with a successful Russian attack on Ottoman positions. This led to the Russians breaking through into the valley of Balaklava (anglicised as "Balaclava"), where British forces were encamped. The Russian advance was intended to disrupt the British base and attack British positions near Sevastopol from the rear. An initial Russian advance south of the southern line of hills was repulsed by the British. A large attacking force of Russian cavalry advanced over the ridgeline, and split into two portions. One of these columns drove south towards the town of Balaklava itself, threatening the main supply of the entire British army. That drive was repulsed by the muskets of the 93rd (Highland) Regiment, which had been formed into a lone line of two rows by its commander, Sir Colin Campbell. This action became known in history as "The Thin Red Line", this battle was also well known for the Charge of the Light Brigade. The division was also involved in the Battle of Inkerman (5 November 1854).^[8]

Crimean War order of battle[]

Commanding General: Duke of Cambridge

• Guards Brigade Major General Henry Bentinck
  • 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
  • 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards
  • 1st Battalion, Scots Fusilier Guards
• Highland Brigade, Colonel Sir Colin Campbell,
  • 42nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Highlanders, the Black Watch)
  • 79th Regiment of Foot (Cameron Highlanders)
  • 93rd Regiment of Foot (Sutherland Highlanders)

Second Anglo-Boer War[]

When an army corps of three divisions was mobilised and despatched to South Africa at the outbreak of the Boer War, Lt-Gen Lord Methuen was given command of 1st Division of two infantry brigades, 1st (Guards) under Maj-Gen Sir Henry Colville and 2nd under Maj-Gen Henry Hildyard, with 4th Brigade Division (three batteries) of the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) under Col C.J. Long.^[9][10][11] The British commander, Sir Redvers Buller, had intended to march with the whole army corps across the Orange River to Bloemfontein, capital of the Orange Free State, but by the time the troops reached Cape Town the Boers had seized the Orange River crossings and begun sieges of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. Buller was forced to split his forces, sending divisions to relieve Ladysmith and Kimberley. Methuen and 1st Division were assigned to the relief of Kimberley, but the situation at Ladysmith deteriorated, and Buller diverted Hildyard's 2nd Brigade and Long's artillery to that sector.^[12] The division that Methuen assembled at Orange River Station in November 1899 comprised Colville's Guards Brigade and a 'scratch' brigade numbered 9th under Maj-Gen S.R. Fetherstonehaugh, with the 9th Lancers and a brigade division of RFA under Col Hall. Methuen could also call on the 3rd (Highland) Brigade under Maj-Gen Andrew Wauchope (diverted from 2nd Division), in reserve at De Aar.^[13]

Order of battle at Belmont, Graspan and Modder River[]

The order of battle was:^[14]
GOC: Lt-Gen Lord Methuen
AAG: Col R. B. Mainwaring
DAAGs: Lt-Col H. P. Norcott
Maj R. H. L. Warner

1st (Guards) Brigade Maj-Gen Sir Henry Colville

• 3rd Bn Grenadier Guards
• 1st Bn Coldstream Guards
• 2nd Bn Coldstream Guards
• 1st Bn Scots Guards

9th Brigade Maj-Gen S. R. Fetherstonehaugh (wounded at Belmont))^[15]
Maj-Gen Reginald Pole-Carew^[16]

• 1st Bn Northumberland Fusiliers
• 2nd Bn Northamptonshire Regiment
• 2nd Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
• Half 1st Bn Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (remainder forming garrison of Kimberley)

Cavalry Col Bloomfield Gough

• 9th Lancers
• Two and a half companies Mounted Infantry (MI)
• Detachment New South Wales Lancers
• Rimington's Guides

Artillery Lt-Col F.H. Hall

• 18th Battery RFA
• 75th Battery RFA
• 62nd Battery RFA (arrived in time for Modder River)

Engineers

• 4 Companies Royal Engineers (RE)

Naval Brigade

South African Reserve

Methuen followed the railway in the direction of Kimberley, and encountered large Boer forces at Belmont, where 1st Division obtained 'a victory of sorts' on 23 November, though with heavy casualties.^[17] They followed up and attacked again at (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.^[18]

Order of battle at Magersfontein[]

The order of battle was:^[19]
GOC: Lt-Gen Lord Methuen

1st (Guards) Brigade (as above)

3rd (Highland) Brigade (arrived 10 December) Maj-Gen Andrew Wauchope

• 2nd Bn Royal Highlanders (Black Watch)
• 2nd Bn Seaforth Highlanders
• 1st Bn Highland Light Infantry
• 1st Bn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

9th Brigade (as above)

Cavalry Brigade Maj-Gen J.M. Babington

• 9th Lancers
• 12th Lancers
• 1st King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry MI company
• 1st Northumberland Fusiliers MI company
• 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regiment MI company
• Rimington's Guides

Artillery

• G Battery Royal Horse Artillery
• 18th Battery RFA
• 62nd Battery RFA
• 65th (Howitzer) Battery RFA
• 75th Battery RFA
• Australian Artillery

Divisional troops

• 1st Bn Gordon Highlanders

Total: 10,200 rifles, 800 sabres, 33 guns

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.^[20]

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.^[21]

Order of battle May–June 1900[]

The order of battle was:^[22][23]
1st Division (Methuen's Column) GOC: Lt-Gen Lord Methuen

9th Brigade Maj-Gen Charles Douglas

• 1st Bn Northumberland Fusiliers
• 1st Bn Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
• 3rd Volunteer Bn South Wales Borderers
• 2nd Bn Northamptonshire Regiment

20th Brigade Maj-Gen Arthur Paget

• 1st Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers
• 2nd Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
• 4th (Militia) Bn Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)^[24]
• 4th (Militia) Bn South Staffordshire Regiment

Mounted Troops

• 3rd Bn Imperial Yeomanry (Lt-Col G. J. Younghusband)
  • 9th (Yorkshire (Doncaster)) Company
  • 10th Nottinghamshire (Sherwood Rangers) Company
  • 11th (Yorkshire Dragoons) Company
  • 12th South Nottinghamshire Company
• 5th Bn Imperial Yeomanry (Lt-Col F.C. Meyrick)
  • 13th Shropshire Company
  • 14th Northumberland Company
  • 15th Northumberland Company
  • 16th Worcestershire Company
• 10th Bn Imperial Yeomanry (Lt-Col Eric Smith)
  • 37th Buckinghamshire Company
  • 38th Buckinghamshire Company
  • 39th (Berkshire) Company
  • 40th Oxfordshire Company
• 15th Bn Imperial Yeomanry (Lt-Col L. Sandwith)
  • 56th Buckinghamshire Company
  • 57th Buckinghamshire Company
  • 58th (Berkshire) Company
  • 59th Oxfordshire Company
• Warwick's Scouts

Artillery

• 4th Battery RFA
• 20th Battery RFA
• 37th Howitzer Battery RFA
• 38th Battery RFA
• Diamond Fields Artillery
• 23rd Company (Western) Royal Garrison Artillery

Engineers

• 11th Company RE

Increasingly, Roberts' forces were operating as mobile columns rather than formed divisions.^[25] 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.^[26] 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.^[27]

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 1st Corps, with two brigades (the 1st Guards brigade and 2nd Infantry Brigade, comprising eight battalions), 'fairly well organized for mobilization'.^[28][29] Under Lord Haldane's 1907 reforms, which laid down plans for the despatch 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.^[30]

Establishment May 1907[]

The order of battle was:^[31]
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[]

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.^[32] After the war the division was part of the occupation force stationed at Bonn.^[33]

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.^[33]

World War I order of battle[]

The division comprised the following infantry brigades:^[33]

1st Brigade

• 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards (left 25 August 1915)
• 1st Battalion, Scots Guards (left 25 August 1915)
• 1st Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)
• 2nd Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers (left 14 September 1914)
• 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (from 5 September 1914)
• 1/14th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Scottish) (from 7 November 1914, left February 1916)
• 10th (Service) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment (from 20 August 1915, disbanded 14 February 1918)
• 8th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) (from 20 August 1915, left 2 February 1918)
• 1st Trench Mortar Battery (formed 27 November 1915)
• 1st Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed 26 January 1916, moved to 1st Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 28 February 1918)
• 1st Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (from 7 February 1918)

Originally called the '1st (Guards) Brigade' because it contained the 1st battalions of the Coldstream Guards and the Scots Guards. When the Guards Division was created in August 1915 and these two battalions departed (both for 2nd Guards Brigade), the brigade was renamed as 1st Brigade.

2nd Brigade

• 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
• 1st Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (left 7 February 1918)
• 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps
• 1/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (from 21 February, left 20 August 1915)
• 1/9th Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) (from 13 March, left 12 November 1915)
• 1/5th Battalion, King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) (from 21 October 1915, left 7 January 1916)
• 2nd Trench Mortar Battery (formed 27 November 1915)
• 2nd Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed 26 January 1916, moved to 1st Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 28 February 1918)

3rd Brigade

• 1st Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (left 8 November 1914)
• 1st Battalion, South Wales Borderers
• 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, Welsh Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers (from 9 November 1914, left February 1918)
• 1/6th (Glamorgan) Battalion, Welsh Regiment (from 23 October 1915, became divisional pioneer battalion 15 May 1916)
• 1/4th (Denbighshire) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers (from 7 November 1914, left 1 September 1915)
• 1/9th Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) (from 12 November 1915, left 7 January 1916)
• 3rd Trench Mortar Battery (formed 27 November 1915)
• 3rd Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed 26 January 1916, moved to 1st Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 28 February 1918)

Second World War[]

Major-General Harold Alexander with George VI inspecting men of the 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment in France, 1939.

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,^[34] where it formed part of I Corps (Lieutenant General Sir John Dill) of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).^[34] 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.^[35]

North Africa[]

Men of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, 1st Division, working on their Bren gun carriers at Ston de Banchy, France, 2 May 1940. Some of the men are painting formation signs on the vehicles.

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.^[34] 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.^[36]

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 sector,^[37] became part of Lieutenant General Charles Allfrey's V Corps^[34] 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.^[38] 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.^[39]

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.^[40] 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.^[41]

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.^[42] 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.^[43] 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.^[43]

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".^[44]

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).^[45] 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).^[46]

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.^[47] 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.^[48] 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.^[49]

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.^[50]

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.^[51]

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.^[52]

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.^[53]

Men of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment march into Rome, 8 June 1944.

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.^[54] The division, commanded from July 1944 by Major General Charles Loewen, subsequently went on to fight on the Gothic Line until being withdrawn from Italy in January 1945.^[55]

Order of battle[]

See list of component units of British 1st Infantry Division.

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.^[56] 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.^[57]

Commanders[]

Commanders since 1902 have been:^[58]
GOC 1st Division

• 1902–1906 Lieutenant-General Arthur Paget^[59]
• 1906–1910 Lieutenant-General James Grierson
• 1910–1914 Lieutenant-General Samuel Lomax
• Nov 1914 – Dec 1914 Major-General David Henderson
• 1914–1915 Major-General Richard Haking
• 1915–1916 Major-General Arthur Holland
• 1916–1919 Major-General Peter Strickland
• 1919–1923 Major-General Guy Bainbridge
• 1923–1926 Major-General Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd
• 1926–1928 Major-General Cecil Romer
• 1928–1929 Major-General John Duncan
• 1929–1930 Major-General Felix Ready
• 1930–1934 Major-General Wentworth Harman
• 1934–1936 Major-General John Kennedy
• 1936–1938 Major-General Clement Armitage
• 1938–1940 Major-General Harold Alexander
• 1940–1941 Major-General Kenneth Anderson
• May–Nov 1941 Major-General Edwin Morris
• 1941–1943 Major-General Walter Clutterbuck
• 1943–1944 Major-General Ronald Penney
• 1944–1946 Major-General Charles Loewen
• 1946–1947 Major-General Richard Gale
• 1947–1950 Major-General Horatius Murray
• 1950–1952 Major-General Francis Matthews
• 1952–1955 Major-General Thomas Brodie
• 1955 Major-General Rodney Moore
• 1956–1959 Major-General Guy Gregson
• 1959–1960 Major-General Reginald Hobbs

See also[]

• List of component units of British 1st Infantry Division
• List of higher formations British 1st Infantry Division served under
• List of military divisions
• List of British divisions in World War I
• List of British divisions in World War II
• British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)

Footnotes[]

Sources[]

External links[]

• The British Army in the Great War: The 1st Division
• Maj J.F. Ellis, History of the Second World War: The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940
• The Royal Artillery 1939–1945
• British Military History: 1 Division (1930–38)
• British Military History: 1 Infantry Division (1939)
• British Military History: 1 Infantry Division (1940)
• British Military History: 1 Infantry Division (1943)
• British Military History: 1 Infantry Division (1943–45)