Light Horse Regiment

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The Light Horse Regiment (formerly the Imperial Light Horse Regiment (ILH)) is an armoured regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard unit. It is part of the South African Army Armour Formation and is based in Sandton, Johannesburg.

1 History
2 Regimental Symbols
3 Alliances
4 Battle honours

[edit] History

[edit] Formation and Second Anglo-Boer War

The unit was raised in Johannesburg for service in the Second Anglo-Boer War as the Reformers Regiment on 21 September 1899 by Colonel Aubrey Woolls-Sampson, Major Walter Davies, Sir Percy Fitzpatrick and Captain Charles Mullins, although it was soon renamed the Imperial Light Horse Regiment. First muster of the Regiment took place in Pietermaritzburg.

The first commander of the Regiment (consisting of 444 officers and men, chosen from 5000 volunteers) was Colonel John James Scott-Chisholme, who led the unit to its first engagement - at Elandslaagte on 21 October 1899. During this battle two Victoria Crosses were awarded (to Captain Charles Herbert Mullins and Lieutenant Robert Johnston) and Colonel Scott-Chisholme was killed.

The Regiment subsequently saw service at the Siege of Ladysmith (where another Victoria Cross was awarded - to Trooper Herman Albrecht), Colenso, Spioenkop and the Relief of Ladysmith. The ILH was then specially selected to join the Mafeking Relief Column.

In late 1900 a second battalion - the 2nd Imperial Light Horse (2 ILH) - was formed, under Major Duncan McKenzie. Both Regiments then went on to fight in the South African Republic and the Orange Free State Republic until the end of the war. A fourth Victoria Cross was awarded - to Surgeon Captain Thomas Joseph Crean - due to his actions at Tyger Kloof near Bethlehem in 1901.

[edit] Inter-War

In December 1902 the Regiment was reorganised at Johannesburg as two Wings in the volunteer Transvaal Army, but in 1904 the left Wing was separated and redesignated the Western Rifles.

A Squadron from the ILH served with the Transvaal Mounted Rifles in 1906 during the Zulu Rebellion in Natal and Zululand. The next action the Regiment took part in was the First Rand Revolt in 1913 when it, together with other military units, was mobilised to assist the South African Police during a general strike.

On 1 July 1913 the Regiment was redesignated as the 5th Mounted Rifles (Imperial Light Horse) and transferred to the Active Citizen Force of the Union Defence Force.

[edit] World War I

The Regiment took part in the South-West Africa Campaign as part of South Africa's contribution to World War I, where the battle honour Gibeon was won by the 2nd ILH. After the end of the war, the Regiment was placed on reserve until the Second Rand Revolt of 1922, when it was again mobilised to assist the South African Police and fought in the Battle of Ellis Park.

[edit] World War II

At the outbreak of World War II the 1st ILH was brought up to strength and the 2nd ILH reformed. Although both units were infantry battalions, 2 ILH was soon transferred to the South African Tank Corps in order to form the 13th Armoured Car Company, which in turn was amalgamated with Royal Natal Carbineers in order to create the 6th Armoured Car Regiment. This unit later amalgamated with the 4th Armoured Car Regiment to form the 4th/6th Armoured Car Regiment.

The 1st ILH sailed from Durban to Egypt on 10 April 1941, as advance guard of the South African 2nd Infantry Division. Less than a year later the Regiment, as part of the 3rd Brigade of the South African 1st Infantry Division, played a crucial part in stopping Rommel's Afrika Korps during the First Battle of El Alamein. The unit subsequently took part in other fighting in North Afica, including the Second Battle of El Alamein.

The Regiment was subsequently shipped to South Africa where it was reorganized - 1 and 2 ILH Regiments were amalgamated with the Kimberley Regiment to form the Imperial Light Horse/Kimberley Regiment (ILH/Kim). This combined Regiment sailed for Egypt again in September 1943 to join the South African 6th Armoured Division in the role of a motorised battalion.

In April 1944 the Division sailed for Italy, where the ILH/Kim was attached to 12 South African Brigade, which was operating on a front in the mountains above Monte Cassino. After a series of battles north of Rome the Regiment entered Florence on 4 August 1944.

The South African 6th Armoured Division was then placed under the command of the United States 5th Army and was given the task of attacking the Gothic Line, which culminated in the capture if Monte Bagno in September 1944. During the heavy fighting almost a quarter of the Regiment was killed or wounded. After taking part in other actions, including breaking through the German defences at Bologna, the Regiment fought its last serious engagement at Finale south of Venice.

[edit] Post-War

The Regiment was reformed as an armoured regiment in South Africa's reserve forces and equipped with Sherman tanks in 1949.

In October 1959 the then Minister of Defence, Frans Erasmus, proposed a defence reorganisation plan, which included the disbandment of the Regiment. However, a cabinet reshuffle took place soon afterwards and the new Minister of Defence, Jim Fouché rescinded the decision in January 1960. During the same year the Union of South Africa became the Republic of South Africa and left the Commonwealth and thus the decision was taken to change the name of the unit to the Light Horse Regiment.

The Regiment went on to serve the South African Defence Force as an armoured car Regiment. In 1975, when the unit's strength reached about 2000, a decision was taken to split the Regiment into 1 Light Horse Regiment and 2 Light Horse Regiment. These two Regiments formed part of 72 Motorised Infantry Brigade and 81 Armoured Brigade respectively.

Both Regiments took part in the South African Border War in Northern South-West Africa and Angola and were also deployed in South Africa's townships in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

After the first fully-democratic South African elections in 1994, the then newly formed South African National Defence Force embarked on a rationalisation campaign, as a result of which 1 LHR and 2 LHR were reformed into a single Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment - The Light Horse - in March 1997.

[edit] Regimental Symbols

Regimental motto: Imperium et libertas (Empire and Freedom).
The Regiment received the King's Colour from Princess Christian on in 1904 and again from King George VI (the Regiment's Colonel-in-Chief at the time) in 1947. Regimental Colours were also presented to the unit in 1947, and then again in 1969 by the P.W. Botha. The National Colour was presented to 1 LHR and 2 LHR in 1993.
During the Regiment's sixtieth anniversary celebrations in 1959, the Freedom of the Cities of Johannesburg, Mafeking and Ladysmith were awarded to it.