On the outbreak of war in 1899 an Army Corps of three divisions was sent to South Africa from the UK; the troops already there constituted the 4th Division. The rapid deterioration of the situation led the War Office to announce on 11 November 1899 that a 5th Division was to be formed and sent out. This consisted of the 10th and 11th (Lancashire) Brigades and concentrated at Estcourt on 8 January 1900.[4][5][6] Under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Warren, 5th Division joined up with the Natal Field Force shortly after the Battle of Colenso and was a part of the relieving army of the besieged Ladysmith.[7]
Men of the 12th (Service) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment ("Bristol's Own") moving up in support in open order near Ginchy, France, 25 September 1916.
The 5th Division was a permanently established Regular Army division that was amongst the first to be sent to France as part of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at the outbreak of the First World War. It served on the Western Front for most of the war except for a brief period on the Italian Front[16] from 27 November 1917 to 1 April 1918.[17] The 5th Division, as a Regular Army formation (one of the Old Contemptibles) fought in many of the major battles of the Western Front from the Battle of Mons in 1914, the later stages of the Somme offensive, including the first battle using tanks, up to the Battle of the Selle in 1918.[16]
Order of battle
The order of battle was as follows:[16] 13th Brigade The 13th Brigade was temporarily under the command of 28th Division between 23 February and 7 April 1915, when it was replaced by 84th Brigade from that Division.
14th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed December 1915, moved to 5th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 26 April 1918)
14th Trench Mortar Battery (formed April 1916)
15th Brigade The 15th Brigade was temporarily under the command of 28th Division between 3 March and 7 April 1915, when it was replaced by 83rd Brigade from that division.
The 5th Division was unusual among other British divisions in that no battle patches were worn on their tunics or helmets, aside from those briefly worn by New Army battalions bringing them from their former division.[19]
Interwar period
During the interwar period, the division spent time based in Egypt and then in Palestine. The latter occurred during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.[20]
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, in September 1939, the 5th Infantry Division was a Regular Army formation, commanded by Major-GeneralHarold Franklyn, who had been in command since 1938. The division was based at Catterick under Northern Command. Both of its infantry brigades (the 13th and 15th) went to France to join the rest of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in early October 1939 as independent infantry brigades, but the divisional Headquarters crossed to France on 19 December 1939, coming under the command of Lieutenant-GeneralAlan Brooke's II Corps from 23 December. By the new year of 1940 the division was reformed with three infantry brigades–the 13th, 15th and 17th, all commanded by men who would achieve high rank in the next few years.[21][22]
Globe Trotting
A 25-pounder of 361 Battery, 91st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, at Oppy near Vimy, France, 7 January 1940.
Throughout the early months of 1940 the division saw some changing of units, as the Territorial Army (TA) divisions began to arrive in France from the United Kingdom. This was part of official BEF policy, based on experience from the Great War, and was intended to strengthen the inexperienced TA formations with experienced Regulars, although at the same time diluting the strength of the Regular divisions with inexperienced TA units. Despite this, the division still maintained its integrity as a Regular formation. The next few months were spent in training, although this was hampered by severe shortages of modern equipment. Due to the lack of immediate action many soldiers believed the war would amount to very little. Despite this, morale in the division was high. This period of inactivity was known as the "Phoney War".[22]
In mid-April the 15th Brigade was sent to Norway and fought, very briefly, in the unsuccessful Norwegian campaign, evacuating from there and arriving in the United Kingdom in early May, although it did not rejoin the 5th Division until 3 July 1940. In early May the 25th Infantry Brigade came temporarily under command of the division in France.[22][23] The German Army launched its attack in the West on 10 May 1940 and the 5th Division saw action in the battles of Belgium and France in May–June 1940 including the Battle of Arras, supported by the 1st Army Tank Brigade, on 21 May 1940 and at the Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal from 26 to 28 May 1940, and then was withdrawn to Dunkirk, along with the rest of the BEF, where they were evacuated to England, with most of the division arriving on 1 June.[22] Lieutenant-General Brooke, commanding II Corps, wrote in his diary that there "is no doubt that the 5th Div in its fight on the Ypres-Comines canal saved the II Corps and the BEF".[24]
The division, having sustained very heavy losses, remained in the United Kingdom for the next 21 months, with most of 1940 being spent in Scotland under Scottish Command, reforming in numbers and being brought up to strength with large numbers of conscripts, alongside training in anti-invasion duties and preparing for Operation Sea Lion, the German invasion of the United Kingdom which never arrived. In late March 1941 the division, now under the command of Major-General Horatio Berney-Ficklin, who had taken over in July 1940 (and previously commanded the 15th Brigade), was sent to Northern Ireland, coming under command of Lieutenant-General James Marshall-Cornwall's III Corps, under overall control of British Troops Northern Ireland, and, as in Scotland, continued training to repel a German invasion there (see Operation Green).[21][25]
The division left Northern Ireland on 16 March 1942 and served and travelled in so many regions of the world that they were known as the Globe Trotters, and became the most travelled division of the British Army during the Second World War. In April 1942 the 13th and 17th Infantry Brigades and a portion of the divisional troops were detached to 'Force 121' for Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Vichy French held Madagascar. The division was not complete again until August 1942. It was sent from the United Kingdom to India for three months and then to Middle East Command, where it trained in mountain warfare.[21][22]
Universal carriers of the 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment pass through Pedara, Sicily, 9 August 1943.
The 5th Division saw action during the invasion of Sicily where, towards the end of the campaign, in early August, the divisional commander, Major-General Berney-Ficklin, who had commanded the division since July 1940, was replaced by Major-General Gerard Bucknall.[21] The division was pulled out of the line and absorbed replacements, and invaded the Italian mainland in Operation Baytown on 3 September (four years since Britain's entry into the war), still as part of XIII Corps of the Eighth Army, but now serving alongside the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, and advanced up the spine of Italy. Later in the year, the division fought in the Moro River Campaign, although sustaining relatively light casualties in comparison to the other Allied formations involved.[22]
Men of the 2nd Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) climbing a track in mountainous terrain, Italy, 21 November 1943.
Progress for the Allied Armies in Italy (AAI), commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander, towards the end of 1943 had slowed down considerably, due mainly to a combination of worsening weather, stiffening German resistance and the Winter Line (also known as the Gustav Line, a series of formidable defences the Germans had created). The Eighth Army, operating on the Adriatic coast, had already pierced the Gustav Line at its eastern end. However, the appalling weather conditions forbade further progress and so operations there were closed down. As a result, the relatively intact 5th Division was available elsewhere. Therefore, in early January 1944 the division was transferred from the Eighth Army, now under Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese, to the western side of Italy to join Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery's British X Corps. X Corps, stationed along the Garigliano river, was part of Lieutenant GeneralMark W. Clark's U.S. Fifth Army. The division, now commanded by Major-General Philip Gregson-Ellis and with the veteran 201st Guards Brigade now under command, crossed the Garigliano river as part of the First Battle of Monte Cassino where it gained considerable territory.[26][27]
Infantrymen of the 1st Battalion, Green Howards trudge down a snow-covered hillside, Italy, on New Year's Day, 1 January 1944.
In March 1944 the division, after holding its positions that it gained during the battle, was transferred again, this time to the Anziobridgehead (or, more appropriately, beachhead) where they came under command of Major GeneralLucian Truscott's U.S. VI Corps and relieved the battered 56th Division, which was returning to the Middle East. Although by this time the major battles for the Anzio beachhead were over, the division was involved in minor skirmishing and operating in conditions more reminiscent of the trench warfare of the First World War. In May the division participated in Operation Diadem and the breakout from Anzio, which led to the capture of the Italian capital of Rome in early June. During the fighting, SergeantMaurice Rogers of the 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the first and only to be awarded to the 5th Division during the Second World War. Soon afterwards the division, having sustained just under 3,000 casualties since its arrival at Anzio three months before, was then withdrawn to Palestine, arriving there in mid-July. The division then came under command of Persia and Transjordan Command.[21][22]
Infantrymen of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers advance in single file during operations to outflank German resistance in Uelzen, Germany, 16 April 1945.
The division remained in Germany, undertaking occupation duties, into the immediate post-war period. Major-General John Churcher was the final commander, taking command in July 1947 and the division was disbanded two months later in September.[43][44][lower-alpha 1] In April 1958, as part of a restructure undertaken by the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), the 7th Armoured Division was converted into and became the newly revived 5th Division and was headquartered at Verden an der Aller, Germany. This incarnation of the division lasted until 30 June 1960. The following day, 1 July, it was redesignated as the 1st Division and took on that formation's lineage and insignia.[22][43][45]
On 1 April 1968, the Army Strategic Command was formed in the UK, with a goal of supporting NATO forces from as far north as Norway to as far south as Turkey; to provide internal security operations world-wide; and to undertake limited operations alongside allied forces. In conjunction with this command being formed, the 5th Division was resurrected at Wrexham. During this period, it consisted of the 2nd, the 8th, and the 39th Infantry Brigades. However, with the onset of Operation Banner, the deployment of British troops to Northern Ireland during The Troubles, the division was disbanded on 26 February 1971 as it was no longer needed.[43][46][47]
Final decades
Copthorne Barracks, where the division was headquartered on reformation.
During the mid-1990s, the British Army restructured and disbanded various regional districts, which were replaced by several regionally based divisions. This included the reformed 5th Division, alongside the 2nd and the 4th Divisions. These formations were all dubbed "regenerative" divisions, and held administrative and training responsibilities for all non-deployed forces located within their geographical boundaries. For the 5th Division, this included Wales, the West Midlands, and North West England. In the event of a major international crisis, the formation would be used as the core to form a combat-ready division around. On reformation (April 1995), the division was headquartered in Shrewsbury and comprised the 42nd Brigade (headquartered in Preston, Lancashire), the 143rd Brigade (Shrewsbury), and the 160th Infantry Brigades (Brecon). At the time, it was around 4,600 strong and also contained 97 artillery pieces, one multiple launch rocket system, two helicopters, and 123 tracked vehicles.[43][49][50]
By the mid-2000s, the division's boundaries had changed. The 2nd Division was assigned northern England and the 42nd Brigade. In turn, the 5th Division's area of responsibility was expanded so that it stretched from Wales, across the Midlands, and included the East of England. It also took command of the 49th (East) Brigade.[54][55][lower-alpha 2] The opening decade of the millennium saw the outbreak of the War on terror, which resulted in British deployments to Afghanistan (Operation Herrick) and Iraq (Operation Telic and the division prepared troops for deployments to these conflicts. It also sent troops to the Falkland Islands.[55]
The Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2010 identified that the army had had become optimised for operations in Afghanistan, but in order to meet potential future threats would need to be reorgnised to become more flexible. This restructure was called Army 2020 and resulted in the decision to disband the three regional regenerative divisions, to be replaced by Support Command, with the aim of making the home-based forces better able to support any deployed troops. The 5th Division was disbanded alongside the 2nd during April 2012, with the 4th Division preceding them in January.[57]
↑ The Imperial War Museum stated that the division was disbanded in 1946.[22]
↑ Charles Heyman, a defence analyst, provides a different geographical area for the division during this period: Wales, the East Midlands, and South West England.[56]
↑ Williamson, Howard J.; Bate, Chris (2020). The award of the Military Medal for the campaign in Italy 1917-1918. privately published by Anne Williamson. ISBN978-1-8739960-5-8. The book includes: – A detailed overview of the Italian Campaign and its battles. – Notes on the [five] Divisions engaged in Italy.
I Corps was an army corps in existence as an active formation in the British Army for most of the 80 years from its creation in the First World War until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived precursor during the Waterloo Campaign. It served as the operational component of the British Army of the Rhine during the Cold War, and was tasked with defending West Germany.
The 42nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF), originally as the East Lancashire Division, and was redesignated as the 42nd Division on 25 May 1915. It was the first TF division to be sent overseas during the First World War. The division fought at Gallipoli, in the Sinai desert and on the Western Front in France and Belgium. Disbanded after the war, it was reformed in the Territorial Army (TA), in the Second World War it served as the 42nd Infantry Division with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and fought in Belgium and France before being evacuated at Dunkirk. The division was later reformed in the United Kingdom and, in November 1941, was converted into the 42nd Armoured Division, which was disbanded in October 1943 without serving overseas. A 2nd Line duplicate formation, the 66th Infantry Division, was created when the Territorials were doubled in both world wars.
The 49th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the division fought in the Norwegian Campaign and in North-western Europe. After the Second World War, it was disbanded in 1946, then reformed in 1947. It remained with Northern Command until finally disbanded in 1967.
The 4th Infantry Division was a regular infantry division of the British Army with a very long history, seeing active service in the Peninsular War and Waterloo Campaign, the Crimean and Boer Wars and both World Wars. It was disbanded after the Second World War and reformed in the 1950s as an armoured formation before being disbanded and reformed again and finally disbanded on 1 January 2012.
The 8th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was active in both the First and Second World Wars. The division was first formed in October 1914 during the First World War, initially consisting mainly of soldiers of the Regular Army and served on the Western Front throughout the war, sustaining many casualties, before disbandment in 1919. The division was reactivated in Palestine, under the command of Major-General Bernard Montgomery, in the late 1930s in the years running up to the Second World War before being disbanded in late February 1940. It was briefly reformed in Syria in an administrative role during 1942-3.
The 1st Canadian Division is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short notice, and is staffed and equipped to meet Canada’s military objectives to counter any potential threat.
The II Corps was an army corps of the British Army formed in both the First World War and the Second World War. There had also been a short-lived II Corps during the Waterloo Campaign.
III Corps was an army corps of the British Army formed in both the First World War and the Second World War.
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 280 years of existence. In 1968 the regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Fusilier Brigade – the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and the Royal Fusiliers – to form the current Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
The 16th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service during the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars.
The 15th Infantry Brigade, later 15 Brigade, was an infantry brigade of the British Army. It was part of the regular 5th Infantry Division during the First World War and Second World War, and was subsequently part of the 2nd Infantry Division in the north of the United Kingdom, with specific responsibility for the areas of North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber.
The 13th Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service during both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 5th Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade of the British Army that was in existence since before the First World War, except for a short break in the late 1970s. It was an Airborne Brigade from the early 1980s until amalgamating with 24th Airmobile Brigade, in 1999, to form 16 Air Assault Brigade.
The 29th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade unit of the British Army. It was originally raised in 1914 and saw service during the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War.
The 6th Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade of the British Army that was in existence during the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War and later formed part of British Army of the Rhine.
The 157th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army. The brigade fought in both the First and the Second World Wars, assigned to 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division.
The 197th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army that saw distinguished active service in both the First and Second world wars.
References
Becke, Major A.F. (1935). History of the Great War Based on Official Documents. Order of Battle of Divisions: Part 1 - The Regular British Divisions. London: HMSO.
Heyman, Charles (1997). The British Army Pocket Guide 1997/1998. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN978-0-85052-539-7.
Heyman, Charles (2007). The British Army: A Pocket Guide 2008–2009. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN978-1-78340-811-5.
Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN978-1-84342-474-1.
Kneen, J. M.; Sutton, D. J. (1996). Craftsmen of the Army: The Story of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 1969–1992. Vol.II. London: Leo Cooper. ISBN978-0-850-52549-6.
Lord, Cliff; Watson, Graham (2003). The Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents. West Midlands: Helion. ISBN978-1-874622-07-9.
Norman E.H. Litchfield, The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges), Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, ISBN0-9508205-2-0.
Tanner, James (2014). The British Army since 2000. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN978-1-78200-593-3.
Aris, George; Durtnell, C. S. (1959). The Fifth British Division 1939 to 1945. London: Fifth Division Benevolent Fund. OCLC5061728.
Gleichen, Edward (2007) [1917]. Infantry Brigade: 1914 – The Diary of a Commander of the 15th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division, British Army, during the Retreat from Mons. Driffield, Yorkshire: Leoanur. ISBN978-1-84677-364-8.
Hussey, Arthur Herbert (1919). Narrative of the 5th Divisional Artillery. Woolwick: Royal Artillery Institution. OCLC12016278.
Hussey, Arthur Herbert; Inman, D. S. (1921). The Fifth Division in the Great War. London: Nisbet & Co. OCLC6162945.
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