Convento dell'Incontro is a Franciscan monastery that sits on the highest hill top south west of Florence in Bagno a Ripoli. It was the site of the Battle of Incontro on 8 August 1944 when the 2nd Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry plus attachments took the position against fierce opposition from a German Panzergrenadier Regiment.
The bell tower described in the battle is now demolished. See also Northern Irish Horse articles (they provided support in their Churchill tanks).
The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry were awarded a Battle Honour, probably the only occasion this has been awarded to a single battalion. It was also describe as "a textbook example of a battalion attack". Ref: Obituary of commanding officer.
After the battle the Germans retreated north of the River Arno.
The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast marching rifle or light infantry regiments, hence the title "Light". It fought on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War.
The division was disbanded by March 1919, and was not reformed in the Second World War.
The Devon and Cornwall County Division was a County Division of the British Army created during the Second World War. It was formed on 28 February 1941, from recently recruited soldiers, in response to the renewed threat of a German invasion. The 10,000-strong division was a static formation, lacking transport, intended to defend possible landing sites along the southern Cornish and Devon coastlines from invading German troops. The creation of the division also helped to free up the more experienced troops, who were then held back from the coastline to be able to launch a counterattack against any potential German landings.
The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry (SCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in October 1959 by the merger of the Somerset Light Infantry and the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, and was itself merged with three other regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade in 1968 to form The Light Infantry.
The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry which was again amalgamated, in 1968, with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry to form The Light Infantry. In 2007, however, The Light Infantry was amalgamated further with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets to form The Rifles.
Doornkop is a ridge and locality on the western outskirts of Soweto in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. The area is currently being subsumed by the westward expansion of Soweto and the eastward growth of Krugersdorp's Kagiso township. Suburbs include Tshepisong, Leratong Village, Bambayi and Thulani. Doornkop is also known as Thulani, Snakepark and Silvertown.
The 32nd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 46th Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1881.
The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions. Each Regular battalion of The Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light Division. Since formation, the regiment has been involved in combat operations in the later stages of the Iraq War and in the War in Afghanistan.
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of 33 Canadian Brigade Group, 4th Canadian Division and is headquartered in Cornwall, Ontario.
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own) is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve infantry regiment.
The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete formation. It was reformed in the TA in 1920, and then served in the campaign in North West Europe from June 1944 until May 1945, during the Second World War. The division suffered heavy casualties and gained an excellent reputation. After the Second World War, the division formed part of the postwar TA, and became the 43rd (Wessex) Division/District in 1961. It was finally disbanded in 1967.
The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry to form The Light Infantry, which in turn was merged with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets to become The Rifles in 2007.
The 61st Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army raised for active service in both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 232rd Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army during both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 130th Brigade, originally the Plymouth Brigade was an infantry formation of Britain's Volunteer Force, Territorial Force, and later Territorial Army (TA). In the First World War the brigade was in British India for most of the war and did not see service as a complete formation, but many of its battalions fought in the Middle East campaigns. The brigade did see action during the campaign in North West Europe of the Second World War, distinguishing itself at actions such as Operation Jupiter, the capture of Mont Pinçon, Operation Market Garden, at 'Dorset Wood' and at Hengelo. As 130 Brigade it continued in the postwar TA until 1961.
The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot.
The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959.
The 214th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army raised during the Second World War that saw active service on the North West Europe.
The 73rd Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army that served in both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 136th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army. It was formed in the First World War as a duplicate of the Devon and Cornwall Brigade and was originally formed as the 2nd/1st Devon and Cornwall Brigade in 1914–1915 before later being renamed as the 136th Brigade. It was sent overseas to India in December 1914 to relieve Regular Army units for service in France. The brigade remained there for the rest of the war, supplying drafts of replacements to the British units fighting in the Middle East and later complete battalions.
Brigadier-General Herbert Thomas Dobbin CBE DSO (1878-1946) was a British Infantry officer of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. He commanded a number of Battalions during the First World War and in 1918 was appointed GOC of the 75th Brigade. After the War he became Commandant of the Iraq Levies and Colonel Commandant of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.