Guards Division (United Kingdom)
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Guards Division | |
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Active | World War I August 1915 -29 April 1919 World War II June 1945 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Engagements | Battle of Loos Battle of the Somme (1916) Battle of Morval Battle of Cambrai (1917) Third Battle of Ypres |
The British Guards Division was formed in France in 1915 of battalions from the elite 'Guards' regiments of the Regular Army. It served on the Western Front for the duration of World War I. The division's insignia was the 'All Seeing Eye'.
There was also a Guards Division in World War II which was formed on 12 June 1945 from the Guards Armoured Division which had undergone a reorganisation.
Contents |
[edit] Unit History
[edit] Formation
The division comprised the following infantry brigades:
- 2nd Battalion, the Grenadier Guards
- 2nd Battalion, the Coldstream Guards
- 3rd Battalion, the Coldstream Guards
- 1st Battalion, the Irish Guards
- 2nd Guards Brigade
- 3rd Battalion, the Grenadier Guards
- 1st Battalion, the Coldstream Guards
- 1st Battalion, the Scots Guards
- 2nd Battalion, the Irish Guards
- 3rd Guards Brigade
- 1st Battalion, the Grenadier Guards
- 4th Battalion, the Grenadier Guards
- 2nd Battalion, the Scots Guards
- 1st Battalion, the Welsh Guards
Each brigade had an attached machine gun company; these were eventually regimented into the 4th Battalion, Machine Gun Guards.