British 2nd Division (World War I)
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| 2nd Division | |
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| Active | formed in 1809 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Regular Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
The British 2nd Division was originally formed in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsula War. During the First World War it was a permanently established Regular Army division that was amongst the first to be sent to France at the outbreak of the war. It served on the Western Front for the duration of the war. After the war the division was part of the occupation force stationed at Cologne.
The division's insignia is a pair of crossed keys.
Contents |
[edit] Unit history
[edit] Formation
- 4th (Guards) Brigade
- 2nd Battalion, the Grenadier Guards
- 2nd Battalion, the Coldstream Guards
- 3rd Battalion, the Coldstream Guards
- 1st Battalion, the Irish Guards
- 1/1st Battalion, The Hertfordshire Regiment (to 6th Bde. August 1915)
The brigade left the division on August 20, 1915 to join the Guards Division and was renamed the 1st Guards Brigade.
- 2nd Battalion, the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
- 2nd Battalion, the Highland Light Infantry
- 17th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers (from 99th Bde. December 1915, to 6th Bde. in February 1918)
- 24th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers (from 99th Bde. December 1915)
The following battalions were part of the brigade during 1915.
- 1/7th Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment) (September 1915 to November 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (January 1915 to July 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment (August 1914 to December 1915)
- 1/9th Battalion (Glasgow Highlanders), the Highland Light Infantry (November 1914 to January 1916)
- 1st Battalion, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (July 1915 to December 1915)
- 1st Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment)
- 2nd Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment
- 13th (Service) Battalion (West Ham), The Essex Regiment
- 1st Battalion, the King's Royal Rifle Corps (to 99th Bde. December 1915)
The following battalions were part of the brigade during 1915.
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Berkshire Regiment (August 1914 to December 1915)
- 1/5th Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment) (February 1915 to December 1915)
- 1/7th Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment) (March 1915 to September 1915)
- 1/1st Battalion, The Hertfordshire Regiment (August 1915 to June 1916)
The 17th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers joined the brigade from the 5th Brigade in February 1918.
- 19th Brigade (August 19, 1915 to November 25, 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers
- 1st Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 1/5th Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 1st Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
The brigade joined the division in August 1915 from the 27th Division and left in November for the 33rd Division, where it swapped with the 99th Brigade.
- 99th Brigade
- 22nd (Service) Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers
- 23rd (Service) Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Berkshire Regiment (from 6th Bde. December 1915)
- 1st Battalion, the King's Royal Rifle Corps (from 6th Bde. December 1915)
The brigade joined the division from the 33rd Division in November 1915. The following battalions left the brigade shortly afterwards:
- 17th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers (to 5th Bde. December 1915)
- 24th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers (to 5th Bde. December 1915)
- 1/5th Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment) (from 6th Bde. December 1915)
