| 2nd Division | |
|---|---|
Insignia of the 2nd Division |
|
| Active | 1809 - Present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army (Regular and Territorial) |
| Type | Infantry/Combined arms |
| Role | Training and Administration Military Aid to the Civil Community Military Aid to the Civil Power |
| Size | One Garrison Four Brigades |
| Part of | Land Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Craigiehall, near Edinburgh |
| Engagements | Peninsula War Crimean War First World War Second World War |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Major General David A H Shaw |
| British Army Infantry Divisions (1914–present) | |
|---|---|
| Previous | Next |
| 1st Infantry Division | 3rd Infantry Division |
The 2nd Division is a regular division of the British army, with a long history. It dates its existence as a permanently embodied formation from 1809, when it was established by Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley (later to become the Duke of Wellington), as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War. (Prior to this, it was common for formations with the same number to be temporarily established for a single campaign and disbanded immediately afterwards; divisions remained a permanent part of the British Army's structure only after the Napoleonic Wars).
The division has long been associated with the north of England. The divisional insignia, the Crossed Keys of Saint Peter, were originally part of the coat of arms of the Diocese of York, and were adopted before or during the First World War.
Contents |
The first commander of the 2nd Division was Major General Rowland Hill. Under his command, the division took part in the Second Battle of Porto and the battles of Talavera and Bussaco.
In 1811, Major General the Hon. William Stewart became commander of the division. Stewart was apparently a magnificent Lieutenant Colonel, but a disastrous General. The division suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Albuera. For the rest of 1812, the division was part of a detachment (essentially a corps) under Rowland Hill which covered the southern flank of Wellington's main army. It thus acquired the nickname of the "Observing Division", but was also known as the "Surprisers", after taking the French by surprise in engagements at Arroyo Molinos and Almaraz.[1]
In 1813 and 1814, the division remained part of Hill's detachment. It contained three British brigades and one Portuguese brigade. It took part in the Battle of Vitoria on the right flank of Wellington's army. It subsequently was briefly driven from a position at the Battle of Maya after Stewart retired the division prematurely to camp, but fought in the later engagements of the Battle of the Pyrenees and the battles in southern France.
(Battle of Albuera, 16 May 1811)
Commanding General: Major General William Stewart
(from January 1813)
The division fought at the Battle of Waterloo, part of Wellington's II Corps commanded again by Rowland Hill. It consisted at Waterloo of a brigade of British light infantry and riflemen, a brigade of the King's German Legion and a brigade of Hanoverian Landwehr. The division began the day in reserve behind Wellington's right flank, but took part in the defeat of Napoleon's attacks later in the day.
Commander: Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton
3rd British Brigade Major-General Frederick Adam
1st King's German Legion Brigade Lieutenant-Colonel George Charles Du Plat
3rd Hanoverian Brigade Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Halkett
Artillery Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Gold
The division formed part of the British army under Lord Raglan which landed in the Crimea and attempted to capture the port of Sebastopol. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Sir George de Lacy Evans, and fought at the battles of the Alma and Inkerman, where it suffered heavy casualties.
Commanding General: Lieutenant General Sir George de Lacy Evans
In 1882, the division formed part of the Expeditionary Force under Lieutenant General Sir Garnet Wolseley which was sent to Egypt after a rebellion (the Urabi Revolt) threatened British control of the Suez Canal. During the subsequent 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, the division was commanded by Major General Edward Bruce Hamley. One of its brigades was used as a garrison of Alexandria, and did not take part in the main actions of the war, but the other brigade and the divisional headquarters took part in the decisive Battle of Tel-el-Kebir.
Commander: Lieutenant General Sir Edward Hamley
3rd (Highland) Infantry Brigade (Major General Sir Edward Alison)
4th Infantry Brigade (Major General Sir Evelyn Wood VC)
Divisional Troops
The division was part of an Army Corps under General Sir Redvers Buller which was sent to South Africa when the Boer War broke out in 1899. The division's commander was Lieutenant General Sir Francis Clery. The division, or parts of it, suffered defeats at the Battle of Colenso and the Battle of Spion Kop[3] before gaining victory at the Battle of the Tugela Heights during the Relief of Ladysmith. It subsequently took part in operations which drove the Boers from Natal and the eastern Transvaal.
The division was subsequently stationed on Salisbury Plain, and designated to be part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) which would be despatched in the case of general European war. When war did break out, the BEF was sent to support the French and Belgian armies. The division's commander at this point was Major General Charles Monro. The division took part in the long retreat from Mons, and suffered heavy casualties in the First Battle of Ypres.
The division served on the Western Front for the duration of the war. Although most of the division's regulars became casualties or were transferred to other formations, the division never lost its standing and reputation as a Regular formation. It fought in all the major battles on the Western Front.
After the war the division was part of the occupation force stationed at Cologne.
4th (Guards) Brigade :
The brigade left the division on 20 August 1915 to join the Guards Division and was renamed the 1st Guards Brigade.
The following battalions were part of the brigade during 1915.
The following battalions were part of the brigade during 1915.
The 17th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers joined the brigade from the 5th Brigade in February 1918.
19th Brigade (19 August 1915 to 25 November 1915) :
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
The brigade joined the division from the 33rd Division in November 1915. The following battalions left the brigade shortly afterwards:
Following its return from Germany, the division continued to be a regular army formation stationed in Britain. In 1939, it once again became part of a British Expeditionary Force sent to fight alongside French armies. Its commander was Major General Henry Loyd. In 1940, the British Expeditionary Force, including the 2nd Division, was driven from France in the Dunkirk evacuation, with few casualties but losing almost all its equipment.
The 2nd Division was re-equipped in Britain. In December 1941, Japan entered the war. After British and Commonwealth forces in the Far East suffered disastrous defeats in early 1942, the division was sent to India, which was threatened by Japanese advances and internal disorder. For some time, the division was involved in internal security operations and training for amphibious operations.
In 1944, the Japanese launched an invasion of India. The 2nd Division was sent to recapture the vital position at Kohima. After driving the Japanese back at the Battle of Kohima, the division relieved a besieged Indian corps at Imphal. The epitaph carved on the memorial of the 2nd Division in the large cemetery for the Allied war dead at Kohima reads,
| “ | When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today |
” |
This has become world-famous as the Kohima Epitaph. The verse is attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds and is thought to have been inspired by the epitaph written by Simonides to honour the Greek who fell at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.
The division continued to serve as part of British Fourteenth Army during its offensive into Burma. It was withdrawn to India at the end of March 1945, as it could not be maintained nor kept up to strength. It was rebuilt in India and was intended for further amphibious operations, but the war ended before it saw further action.
In September 1945 the divisional headquarters was in Malaya under Headquarters XXXIV Corps, with the three brigades en route to Japan, in Malaya, and in Burma earmarked for Malaya.
(On Deployment to India, April 1942)
The division was amalgamated with the 36th Division and reformed at St. David's Barracks in Hilden in Germany in February 1947.[4] It also amalgamated with the disbanding 6th Armoured Division in 1958 and moved to Tunis Barracks at Lübbecke in September 1959.[4]
Until the late 1970s, it consisted of the 4th Armoured Brigade and 12th Mechanised Brigade, but from 1976 to 1983 it was reorganised as a small armoured division, incorporating two brigade-sized headquarters, Task Force Charlie (TFC) and Task Force Delta (TFD), which controlled five tank/mechanised infantry battle groups (one armoured and two infantry in TF Charlie, and one armoured and one infantry in TF Delta). The 2nd Armoured Division was the first British division in Germany to undergo this reorganisation, and the division's commander while this establishment was tested was Major General Frank Kitson.[5]
In a major reorganisation of British forces in 1982 and 1983, the division returned to the United Kingdom.[4] Its new headquarters was at Imphal Barracks in York,[4] and it consisted of three infantry brigades: the regular 24th Airmobile Brigade, and the 15th Brigade and 49th Brigade from the Territorial Army. Its role would have been to cross the Channel and protect I (BR) Corps rear area in the event of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe.
Following the end of the Cold War, the division disbanded in 1992, but the title was resurrected for the amalgamation of several military districts - North East District and part of Eastern District, when the formation reformed on 1 April 1995. The 1998 Strategic Defence Review led to a reorganisation of Land Command. The 2nd Division absorbed Scotland District and its headquarters moved to Craigiehall, near Edinburgh in April 2000.[6]
Following further reshuffing, 52nd Infantry Brigade was reformed as an operational, rather than regional, brigade consisting of several light infantry battalions, and left the formation to join 3 Division in 2007.
The Division reports to Army Headquarters at Andover. It is tasked with maintaining the infrastructure and resources and the command and control responsibilities, for the training and administration of all Regular Army and Territorial Army units in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England and as such the deputy commander is always a Territorial Army officer at the Rank Of Brigadier.
The division HQ controls Catterick Garrison and four Regional Brigades:
Recent Commanders have been:[7]
GOC 2nd Division
GOC 2nd Infantry Division
GOC 2nd Division
Deputy Commanders
A single UK Support Command, which is planned to replace three existing divisional headquarters, will be based in Aldershot. HQ 2nd division in Edinburgh, HQ 4th division in Aldershot and HQ 5th division in Shrewsbury will all be disbanded in 2012.[11] 2nd Division will disband on 1 April 2012.[12]
Despite the closure of HQ 2nd Division in Edinburgh the Army will retain a General Officer Commanding (GOC) Scotland, in addition to a small number of staff, in order to maintain the level of senior representation in Scotland required to oversee the rebasing changes. In the longer term HQ 1 (UK) Armoured Division, currently based in Germany, is expected to re-locate to Scotland by 2020 and will take over the GOC Scotland role.[12]
|
|||||||