1st Cavalry Division | |
---|---|
Active | August 1914 – March 1919 31 October 1940 – 1 August 1941 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Allegiance | British Crown |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Cavalry |
Size | Division
|
Part of | Cavalry Corps (First World War) |
Engagements | First World War
Second World War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby |
The 1st Cavalry Division was a regular Division of the British Army during the First World War where it fought on the Western Front. During the Second World War it was a first line formation, formed from Yeomanry Regiments. It fought in the Middle East before being converted to the 10th Armoured Division.
During the Peninsular War, Wellington organized his cavalry into The Cavalry Division from June 1809 under Major-General Sir William Payne. [2] This performed a purely administrative, rather than tactical, role; [3] the normal tactical headquarters were provided by brigades commanding two, later usually three, regiments. [4] On 3 June 1810, Payne returned home and his second-in-command, Major-General Stapleton Cotton, took command. [5] Cotton was to remain in command thereafter [6] and effectively acted as Wellington's chief of cavalry. [4]
On 19 June 1811, the cavalry was reorganized as two divisions and The Cavalry Division was redesignated as 1st Cavalry Division with the formation of the 2nd Cavalry Division. [7] The divisions were once again amalgamated as The Cavalry Division on 21 April 1813 with Cotton (Lieutenant-General from 1 January 1812) still in command. [8]
The Cavalry Division was re-raised for service during the Second Boer War.
The 1st Cavalry Division was one of the first Divisions to move to France in 1914, they would remain on the Western Front throughout the war. It participated in most of the major actions where cavalry were used as a mounted mobile force, they would also be used as dismounted troops and effectively serve as infantry. [9] On 11 November 1918, orders were received that the Division would lead the advance of Second Army into Germany, by 6 December, having passed through Namur, the Division secured the Rhine bridgehead at Cologne. [9]
9th Cavalry Brigade was formed in France on 14 April 1915 with the 15th Hussars and the 19th Hussars. [10] These regular cavalry regiments had been serving on the Western Front since August 1914 as divisional cavalry squadrons assigned to infantry divisions. [11] The brigade remained with 1st Cavalry Division for the rest of the war. [10]
Unit | From | To |
---|---|---|
15th (The King's) Hussars | 14 April 1915 | |
19th (Queen Alexandra's Own Royal) Hussars | 14 April 1915 | |
1/1st Bedfordshire Yeomanry | 12 June 1915 | 10 March 1918 |
April 1918 [lower-alpha 2] | ||
8th (The King's Royal Irish) Hussars | 10 March 1918 [lower-alpha 3] | |
1/1st Warwickshire Battery, RHA (TF) | 14 April 1915 | 21 November 1916 [lower-alpha 4] |
Y Battery, RHA | 1 December 1916 [lower-alpha 4] | |
9th Signal Troop, Royal Engineers | 14 April 1915 | |
9th Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, MGC | 28 February 1916 [lower-alpha 5] |
On 31 October 1939, during the Second World War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reformed. It was assigned to Northern Command, and took command of two pre-war First Line Territorial Army cavalry brigades (the 5th and 6th) and the newly formed 4th Cavalry Brigade. [14] It was the only cavalry division in the British Army during the war.
It departed the United Kingdom in January 1940, transited across France, and arrived in Palestine on 31 January 1940. It served as a garrison force under British Forces, Palestine and Trans-Jordan. [14]
In May 1941, the Divisional Headquarters and elements of the division (notably the 4th Cavalry Brigade), together with a battalion of infantry from the Essex Regiment (the 1st Battalion), a mechanised regiment from the Arab Legion and supporting artillery was reorganised as Habforce for operations in Iraq including the relief of the base at RAF Habbaniya and the occupation of Baghdad. Following this, in July 1941, Habforce was placed under the command of Australian I Corps and was involved in operations against the Vichy French in Syria, advancing from eastern Iraq near the Trans-Jordan border to capture Palmyra and secure the Haditha - Tripoli oil pipeline. [15]
On 1 August 1941, the 1st Cavalry Division was converted into the 10th Armoured Division. [14] [lower-alpha 6] 10th Armoured Division later fought at the Battles of Alam Halfa and El Alamein. The 10th Armoured Division was disbanded in Egypt on 15 June 1944. [18]
Unit | From | To |
---|---|---|
Household Cavalry Composite Regiment | 13 November 1939 | 12 January 1941 |
1st Household Cavalry Regiment [lower-alpha 7] | 13 January 1941 | 31 July 1941 |
North Somerset Yeomanry | 15 November 1939 | 21 March 1941 [lower-alpha 8] |
Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry | 3 December 1939 | 2 October 1940 [lower-alpha 9] |
8 January 1941 | 31 July 1941 | |
Warwickshire Yeomanry | 22 March 1941 [lower-alpha 10] | 31 July 1941 |
Unit | From | To |
---|---|---|
Yorkshire Hussars | 3 September 1939 | 22 March 1941 [lower-alpha 11] |
Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry | 3 September 1939 | 2 February 1941 [lower-alpha 12] |
Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons | 3 September 1939 | 18 March 1942 |
North Somerset Yeomanry | 20 March 1941 [lower-alpha 8] | 20 March 1942 |
Cheshire Yeomanry | 21 March 1941 [lower-alpha 13] | 7 June 1941 |
15 July 1941 | 21 March 1942 | |
Staffordshire Yeomanry | 30 April 1941 | 4 June 1941 [lower-alpha 14] |
Unit | From | To |
---|---|---|
Warwickshire Yeomanry | 3 September 1939 | 21 March 1941 [lower-alpha 10] |
Staffordshire Yeomanry | 3 September 1939 | 28 April 1941 [lower-alpha 14] |
5 June 1941 | 31 July 1941 | |
Cheshire Yeomanry | 3 September 1939 | 20 March 1941 [lower-alpha 13] |
Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry | 3 October 1940 [lower-alpha 9] | 7 January 1941 |
Royal Scots Greys | 1 March 1941 [lower-alpha 15] | 31 July 1941 |
Yorkshire Hussars | 23 March 1941 [lower-alpha 11] | 31 July 1941 |
The division also commanded the following support units: [14]
The 1st Cavalry Division had the following commanders during the First World War: [22]
From | Rank | Name |
---|---|---|
Mobilization | Major-General | E.H.H. Allenby |
12 October 1914 | Major-General | H. de B. de Lisle |
27 May 1916 | Major-General | Hon. C.E. Bingham |
24 October 1915 | Major-General | R.L. Mullens |
The 1st Cavalry Division had the following commanders during the Second World War: [14]
From | Rank | Name |
---|---|---|
31 October 1939 | Major-General | J.G.W. Clark |
27 June 1940 | Brigadier | J.J. Kingstone (acting) |
1 July 1940 | Major-General | J.G.W. Clark |
26 February 1941 | Brigadier | J.J. Kingstone (acting) |
8 May 1941 | Major-General | J.G.W. Clark |
The Essex Yeomanry was a Reserve unit of the British Army that originated in 1797 as local Yeomanry Cavalry Troops in Essex. Reformed after the experience gained in the Second Boer War, it saw active service as cavalry in World War I and as artillery in World War II. Its lineage is maintained by 36 Signal Squadron, part of 71 (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals.
The 10th Armoured Division was an armoured formation of division-size of the British Army, raised during the Second World War and was active from 1941–1944 and after the war from 1956–1957. It was formed from the 1st Cavalry Division, a 1st Line Yeomanry unit of the Territorial Army (TA) which had previously been serving in Palestine. The division was converted from cavalry to armour and redesignated from 1 August 1941.
The Warwickshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as cavalry and machine gunners in the First World War and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the Second World War, before being amalgamated into the Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry in 1956. The lineage is maintained by B Squadron, part of The Royal Yeomanry.
The Northumberland Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, transferred to the Royal Artillery for the duration of the Second World War. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial Army was greatly reduced. The regiment's name lives on in the title of the command and support squadron of the Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY), a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment based in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The 4th Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Army. It served in the Napoleonic Wars, in the First World War on the Western Front where it was initially assigned to The Cavalry Division before spending most of the war with the 2nd Cavalry Division, and with the 1st Cavalry Division during the Second World War.
The 5th Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Army. It served in the Napoleonic Wars, in the First World War on the Western Front where it was initially independent before being assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division, and with the 1st Cavalry Division during the Second World War.
The 6th Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Army. It served in the Napoleonic Wars, in the First World War on the Western Front where it was assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Division, and with the 1st Cavalry Division during the Second World War.
The Lancashire Hussars was a British Army unit originally formed in 1798. It saw action in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1969, the regiment reduced to a cadre and the Yeomanry lineage discontinued.
The South Nottinghamshire Hussars is a unit of the British Army formed as volunteer cavalry in 1794. Converted to artillery in 1922, it presently forms part of 103 Regiment, Royal Artillery.
The 2nd Cavalry Division was a division of the regular British Army that saw service in the Peninsular War and in World War I, when it also known as Gough's Command, after its commanding general. It was part of the British Expeditionary Force that served in France in from 1914 to 1918. It was involved in most of the major actions where cavalry were used as a mounted mobile force, and also many where the troops were dismounted and effectively served as infantry.
The 3rd Cavalry Division was a division of the British Army in the First World War. It was formed at Ludgershall, Wiltshire England in September 1914 under the command of Major-General the Hon. Julian Byng. The division moved to Belgium in the first week of October 1914, landing at Ostend, although its third Brigade was only formed there once. During the war the division took part in most of the major actions where cavalry were used as a mounted mobile force, and also many where the troops were dismounted and effectively served as infantry.
The Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army with its origins in 1798. The regiment provided troops for the Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War and served on the Western Front in the First World War, latterly as infantry. The regiment converted to artillery in 1920 and served as such in the early years of the Second World War, before becoming part of the Chindits in Burma. Postwar it served as a gunner regiment until 1971 when the title disappeared.
The 9th Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Army in World War I. It was formed in France in 1915 and served on the Western Front as part of the 1st Cavalry Division until the end of the war.
The 8th Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Army in World War I. It was formed in Belgium in 1914 and served on the Western Front as part of the 3rd Cavalry Division. It left the 3rd Cavalry Division on 14 March 1918.
The First World War British Cavalry Corps was formed 9 October 1914.
2nd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery was a regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery that served in the Second World War. It saw action in France, Greece, North Africa and Italy. It was redesignated as 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery in 1958.
G Parachute Battery Royal Horse Artillery is a close support battery of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, part of the Royal Horse Artillery of the British Army, currently based in Merville Barracks in Colchester.
I Parachute Battery Royal Horse Artillery is the Headquarters battery of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, part of the Royal Horse Artillery of the British Army, currently based in Albemarle Barracks in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
H Battery Royal Horse Artillery is a battery of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, part of the Royal Horse Artillery of the British Army. As of 2015, it is based at Albemarle Barracks, Northumberland, England and is equipped with GMLRS.