124-557: The Light Infantry Volunteers was a short lived Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army , that existed from 1967 to 1972, composed of companies from the Light Infantry regiments. In 1972, it was re-designated as 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry , serving as such until amalgamation in 1999. Upon the creation of the TAVR , and the reduction of territorial units, the regiment
248-758: A British officer who was commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps . Birdwood was officially confirmed as commander of the AIF on 14 September 1916, while also commanding I Anzac Corps on the Western Front. Birdwood was later given command of the Australian Corps on formation in November 1917. Lieutenant General John Monash , an Australian officer, took over command of the corps in May 1918. Despite being promoted to command
372-554: A few signals units in a category called TAVR III, designed for home defence, but, months later in January 1968, these were all earmarked to be disbanded, with 90 becoming eight-man "cadres". In November that year, the call-out arrangements for TAVR II units were brought in line with TAVR I. In 1971, the new government decided to expand the TAVR which led to the formation of twenty infantry battalions based on some of these cadres. In 1979, again,
496-424: A fifth rifle company (E Company (Durham)) was raised at Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland , from a cadre of 6th/8th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry. In 1975, however, this was transferred to 7th Battalion, Light Infantry, as D Company; and a new E Company was formed at Wellington and Whitchurch , from C Company, Light Infantry and Mercian Volunteers . 1972, saw the regiment cease to exist, and be re-designated as
620-748: A limited extent by law should they be compulsorily mobilised. There is, however, no legal protection against discrimination in employment for membership of the Army Reserve in the normal course of events (i.e. when not mobilised). Before the creation of the Territorial force, there were three "auxiliary forces"—the Militia, the Yeomanry, and the Volunteers. All militiamen over 19 could join the Militia Reserve, accepting
744-471: A major role in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations, bottoming at an estimated 14,000. From 2011 that trend was reversed and a new target of 30,000 trained manpower set with resourcing for training, equipment and the emphasis restored to roles for formed units and sub-units. During periods of total war , the Army Reserve is incorporated by the royal prerogative into Regular Service under one code of Military Law for
868-524: A mixture of formed units and individuals. In Tony Blair's Strategic Defence Review of 1998, the TA's size was reduced to 41,200. In 2003, 9,500 reservists were mobilised to take part in Operation TELIC , the invasion of Iraq . Reservists were deployed in a mixture of formed bodies and as individuals. For example, a formed sub-unit from 131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers opened up a beach landing point on
992-532: A new government planned further expansion. In the Reserve Forces Act of 1982, the Territorial Army title was restored, and, in the following years, its size was again increased, together with new equipment and extra training, the target being 86,000 by 1990. Some brigades were re-formed which consisted mostly of TA units, including two out of three brigades for a new reserve division for the British Army of
1116-623: A number of service companies were raised from volunteer units, employed as integral companies of their sister regular battalions, and were well regarded in the field. The decision was taken in late December to form a new force, the Imperial Yeomanry, to consist of mounted infantry. Whilst the Yeomanry provided many of the officers and NCOs, only a small number of the junior ranks came from existing Yeomanry regiments, with some more from Volunteer corps. The units performed well, but recruiting proceeded in fits and starts—recruitment stopped in May, and
1240-539: A parachute brigade were to remain allocated for NATO and the defence of Western Europe; the other eight divisions were placed on a lower establishment for home defence only. The territorial units of the Royal Armoured Corps were also reduced in number to nine armoured regiments and eleven reconnaissance regiments. This was effected by the amalgamation of pairs of regiments, and the conversion of four RAC units to an infantry role. The new parachute brigade group become
1364-633: A result, some TA divisions had made little progress by the time the Second World War began; others, who had started from a stronger position, were able to complete this work within a matter of weeks. The TA's war deployment plan envisioned the divisions being deployed, as equipment became available, in waves to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) that had already been dispatched to Europe. The TA would join regular army divisions when they had completed their training. In 1938, it
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#17330861880401488-616: A sizable force of regular troops was based in the United Kingdom for service as an expeditionary force, over and above the troops already stationed overseas. However, once the decision was taken to send a corps-size field force to fight in the South African War, the system began to show a strain. By the end of January 1900, seven regular divisions, roughly half of their manpower from the Regular and Militia Reserves, had been dispatched leaving
1612-633: Is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Territorial Force from 1908 to 1921, the Territorial Army (TA) from 1921 to 1967, the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) from 1967 to 1979, and again the Territorial Army (TA) from 1979 to 2014. The Army Reserve was created as
1736-556: The 44th Independent Parachute Brigade Group . British forces contracted dramatically as the end of conscription in 1960 came in sight as announced in the 1957 Defence White Paper . On 20 July 1960, a reorganisation of the TA was announced in the House of Commons. The territorials were to be reduced from 266 fighting units to 195. There was to be a reduction of 46 regiments of the Royal Artillery, 18 battalions of infantry, 12 regiments of
1860-737: The 4th and 5th left Egypt later in June 1916. The 3rd Division was the last to arrive, having been formed in Australia in March 1916, and moving to England for training in July 1916, before being sent to France in December 1916. When originally formed in 1914 the AIF was commanded by Major General William Throsby Bridges , who also commanded the 1st Division. After Bridges' death at Gallipoli in May 1915, command transferred by default to Lieutenant General William Birdwood ,
1984-459: The 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry with the same structure it held previously. In 1981, A and D Companies were swapped with D Company, 6th Battalion and the C Company, 7th Battalion respectively. And in 1987, upon the raising of the 8th Battalion, A and B Companies both transferred to the new battalion as B Company and A Company respectively; however they were replaced not long after- A Company, being newly raised at Shrewsbury; and B Company, from
2108-583: The Battle of La Bassée in October 1914. In March 1915, the 7th (Meerut) Division was chosen to lead the assault in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle . The Expeditionary Force was hampered by a lack of familiarity with new equipment, only being issued Lee–Enfield rifles on their arrival in France and they had almost no artillery, relying on support from their neighbouring corps when in the front line. They were not accustomed to
2232-783: The Battle of the Sambre by the First, Third and Fourth Armies and to the capture of Mons, 11 November 1918, by the First Army. The British Empire responded to the British call for troops for the Western Front and major formations of the British Indian Army , Canadian Army , Australian Army , New Zealand Army and the South African Army all served in France. The BEF also integrated most of
2356-687: The Fifth Army , Birdwood retained command of the AIF. Following a British Government call for Portuguese troops, on 7 August 1916 the Parliament of Portugal agreed the participation of the Portuguese Army on the Western Front. In addition to a heavy artillery corps of 1,000 men under the command of the French Army , most of the Portuguese forces to be sent to the Western Front were to be incorporated in
2480-817: The Portuguese Army troops who fought on the Western Front. In September 1914, the BEF was reinforced by the Indian Expeditionary Force A which eventually formed two corps each of two divisions, the Indian Cavalry Corps and the Indian Infantry Corps . Upon arrival in Marseilles on 30 September 1914, only six weeks after the declaration of war, they were moved to the Ypres Salient and took part in
2604-657: The Special Air Service , in North Africa, which fathered several other special forces units, including the Special Boat Service . After VJ Day in August 1945, the Territorial Army was reduced and re-structured. In 1947, the TA was restructured and expanded through the reactivation of some of the 1st Line divisions that were initially disbanded after the war, keeping its former role of supplying complete divisions to
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#17330861880402728-540: The Tennis Court in some of the hardest fighting of the battle. Later the commander of the 14th Army, of which they were part, Field Marshal Slim , himself a pre-First World War Territorial became Chief of the Imperial General Staff and a strong promoter of the TA, coining the expression still in use today that Territorials are 'twice a citizen'. One pre-war Guards reservist, (then) Major David Stirling set up
2852-637: The United States Army and with better morale than the French Army . The cost of victory, however, was high. The official "final and corrected" casualty figures for the British Army, including the Territorial Force , were issued on 10 March 1921. The losses for the period between 4 August 1914, and 30 September 1919, included 573,507 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes" and 254,176 missing (minus 154,308 released prisoners), for
2976-604: The Victory Medal . The 1914 Star was issued to officers and men of British forces who served in France or Belgium between 5 August and midnight 22/23 November 1914. The former date is the day after Britain's declaration of war against the Central Powers, and the closing date marks the end of the First Battle of Ypres. The 1914–1915 Star was issued to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of
3100-540: The 18th century were cavalry-based units, which were often used to suppress riots (see the Peterloo Massacre ). Several units that are now part of the Army Reserve bear the title "militia". In 1899, with the outbreak of the South African War , the British Army was committed to its first large-scale overseas deployment since the 1850s. The Cardwell Reforms of 1868–1872 had reformed the system of enlistment for
3224-602: The 1991 Gulf War 205 Scottish General Hospital was mobilised as a unit based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and a number of TA staff officers and others volunteered and served during the conflict, either in supporting roles in Germany or within 1 (UK) Armoured Division in the Middle East. In December 1991, as part of the reductions in Options for Change, it was announced that the TA's establishment
3348-630: The 1st Siege Artillery Brigade was formed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Walter Adams Coxen , the Australian Army's Director of Artillery, for service on the Western Front. About half the men in the unit were permanent gunners of the Garrison Artillery. The brigade departed Melbourne for England on 17 July 1915 and landed in France on 27 February 1916. Its 54th Siege Battery was equipped with 8 inch howitzers and its 55th Siege Battery with 9.2 inch howitzers . Five infantry divisions of
3472-517: The 46th being one of the digging" divisions with few anti-tank guns and artillery pieces. A London TA battalion, the Queen Victoria's Rifles deployed at Calais and fought off German reconnaissance forces before the arrival of the two regular sister battalions with whom they held the town for two crucial days shielding the Dunkirk evacuation. Further south, The 51st fought in a rearguard action with
3596-644: The 623,907 total casualties, 146,431 were either killed or missing. In 1917 the BEF's attacks moved along the front, they operated in the Pas-de-Calais during the Battle of Arras . They then concentrated in Belgium for the Battle of Messines and the Battle of Passchendale , and ended the year back in the Pas-de-Calais for the Battle of Cambrai . In the spring of 1918 the BEF came under attack both in Flanders and on
3720-520: The AIF saw action on the Western Front in France and Belgium, leaving Egypt in March 1916. Initially they were organised into I Anzac Corps and II Anzac Corps alongside the New Zealand Division , however, on 1 November 1917 the Australian divisions were re-grouped together to form the Australian Corps . The 2nd Division was the first to arrive in France, followed by the 1st Division , while
3844-586: The Al Faw Peninsula and then two further crossing points on sequential watercourses for tanks in the attack on Basra. The Royal Yeomanry mobilised Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) and two sub-units to deliver the UK's Chemical, Radiological, Biological, and Nuclear counter-measures for Operation TELIC. At the peak in 2004, reservists made up 20% of Britain's strength in Iraq. British Expeditionary Force (First World War) The British Expeditionary Force ( BEF )
Light Infantry Volunteers - Misplaced Pages Continue
3968-531: The Army Council, under Kitchener's direction, agreed that TF units volunteering en bloc for overseas service should be sent to France, while Kitchener set in hand the machinery for the recruiting of an entirely separate 'New Army' of what came to be known as Kitchener units, in parallel with the expansion of the Territorial Force. These New Army units were given priority for equipment, recruits and training over
4092-654: The Army Reserve increasingly providing routine support for the Regular Army overseas including the delivery of composite units to release regular units from standing liabilities; including Bosnia, Kosovo, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands. Some 2,800 TA personnel volunteered for and deployed on Operation Resolute from 1995 to 1998, the UK's contribution to the NATO mission to enforce peace in the Former Yugoslavia . These were
4216-546: The BEF carried a .303 Lee–Enfield rifle fitted with an easily loaded ten-round magazine and issued with a seventeen-inch (430 mm) bayonet . These rifles enabled a high rate of fire with good accuracy, such that pre-war British soldiers were trained to hit a target fifteen times a minute at a range of 300 yards. The devastating efficiency and accuracy of the BEF infantry led the Germans to incorrectly believe that there were approximately 28 machine guns in each battalion. When
4340-418: The BEF landed in France each infantry battalion and cavalry regiment was equipped with two Vickers or Maxim machine guns . Part of the reason for only allocating two guns per unit was the cost of manufacture and the need of a ten-week intensive training course for a Vickers gunner. During the course of 1916, the quicker to manufacture and more versatile Lewis guns began to be issued on the intended scale of
4464-568: The BEF retreated unmolested by the Germans for a further five days, eventually retreating a full 400 km in thirteen days. The Allied retreat finally ended at the River Marne , where Entente forces prepared to make a stand to defend Paris. This led to the First Battle of the Marne , which was fought from 5 to 10 September 1914. This battle would prove to be a major turning point of the war: it denied
4588-409: The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler in September and brokered the Munich Agreement . The agreement averted a war and allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland. Although Chamberlain had intended the agreement to lead to a further peaceful resolution of issues, relations between both countries soon deteriorated. On 15 March 1939, Germany breached
4712-441: The British Empire's war effort on the Western front in 1918 and some of its allies. Over the course of the war 5,399,563 men served with the BEF, the peak strength being 2,046,901 men. The First Army was formed on 26 December 1914. Its first commander was Douglas Haig promoted from command of the I Corps. When Haig took over command of the BEF in 1915, the new commander was General Henry Horne . First Army remained in France until
4836-483: The British. In 1916 the BEF had moved into the Picardy region of France. The Battle of the Somme dominated British military activity for the year. Allied forces attempted to break through the German lines along a 25 miles (40 km) front north and south of the River Somme in northern France. On the first day on the Somme the BEF suffered 57,000 casualties. After the war a final tally counted 419,654 British and 204,253 French killed, wounded, or taken prisoner; of
4960-420: The CEP – Corpo Expedicionário Português ( Portuguese Expeditionary Corps ) under British command. The CEP was organised as an army corps of two divisions and corps troops, totalling 55,000 men, under the command of General Tamagnini de Abreu . The first CEP troops arrived in France on 2 February 1917. The first troops reached the front on 4 April. On 4 June, the 1st Infantry Brigade of the 1st Division repelled
5084-403: The Frontiers . The massed rifle fire of the professional British soldiers inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans who attacked en masse over terrain devoid of cover. The British held up the German advance until the evening when they began retiring to a second defensive line in the retreat from Mons during which they were engaged in the Battle of Le Cateau . Following the battle at Le Cateau,
Light Infantry Volunteers - Misplaced Pages Continue
5208-409: The German advance. The force was commanded by Field Marshal Sir John French until December 1915, when he was replaced by General Sir Douglas Haig . The BEF's Chief of Staff on mobilisation was General Archibald Murray . He was replaced in January 1915 by General William Robertson . Lieutenant-General Launcelot Kiggell then served as Chief of Staff from December 1915 to January 1917 when he
5332-407: The German right flank. By the end of First Battle of Ypres both sides started to dig in and trench warfare replaced the manoeuvre warfare that had featured during the Race to the Sea . The continuous trench lines of the Western Front now stretched 400 miles (640 km) from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier. The British Army held a small portion of this 400 mile front: from just north of
5456-421: The Germans an early victory. From 13 September the First Battle of the Aisne took place, with both sides starting to dig trenches. Then for a three-week period following the development of trench warfare each side gave up frontal assaults and began trying to encircle each other's flank. This period became known as the Race to the Sea : the Germans aimed to turn the Allied left flank, and the Allies sought to turn
5580-425: The Germans, a captured intelligence report named them "...An exceptionally good assault division ...". The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was originally supposed to supply 20,000 men organised into one infantry division and one light horse brigade plus supporting units. By the end of the war, the AIF on the Western Front comprised five infantry divisions. The first Australian troops arrived in France in June 1915,
5704-410: The New Army was still forming and training. Many of the Territorial units suffered immediate heavy casualties and on the night of 20 April 1915 Second Lieutenant Geoffrey Woolley of the Queen Victoria Rifles, secured the first of the 71 Victoria Crosses won by Territorials in the First World War. General Sir John French , General Officer Commanding the BEF, later wrote 'Without the assistance which
5828-425: The Regular Army so that recruits now served for six years with the colours and then a further six years liable for reserve service, with the Regular Reserve. The administrative structure of the Army had been further reinforced by the creation of regimental districts, where regular infantry regiments were paired together to share a depot and linked to the local militia and volunteer units. The reforms had ensured that
5952-399: The Regular Army, with many of their best and most experienced men already deployed with regular units as members of the Militia Reserve. The dominions and colonies provided 57 contingents, overwhelmingly of volunteer forces as none had a substantial full-time force; those from Canada alone numbered some 7,400 Altogether, Britain and her empire deployed some half a million soldiers. After
6076-401: The Regular Army. Under multiple political pressures, Haldane altered the public purpose of the Territorial Force in his Territorial and Reserve Forces Act to home defence, at the last moment but did not alter the planned structure. During the First World War, by the end of April 1915, six full Territorial divisions had been deployed into the fight. Between the wars the Territorial Army (as it
6200-410: The Reserve Corps, it was expanded and renamed the Reserve Army and became the Fifth Army in October 1916. Fifth Army suffered heavy losses during the German spring offensive in March 1918 . It was reformed again in May 1918 under the command of General William Birdwood . The British Army first engaged the German Army in the Battle of Mons on 23 August 1914, which was part of the greater Battle of
6324-566: The Rhine (BAOR). In addition, a new organisation was established, the Home Service Force, with a separate target of 4,500, composed of older ex-regulars and territorials to guard key points. As the Cold War intensified, the scale and pace of exercises involving the TA in its war roles increased. Two large-scale exercises were mounted testing the Army's ability to reinforce BAOR, Crusader in 1980 and Lionheart in 1984. The latter involved 131,000 British service personnel, including 35,000 Territorials, together with US, Dutch and German personnel. This
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#17330861880406448-476: The Royal Artillery were disbanded, with nine others passing into "suspended animation" as new English Electric Thunderbird Surface to Air Missile units replaced them. On 20 December 1955, the Secretary of State for War informed the House of Commons that the armoured divisions and the 'mixed' division were to be converted to infantry, and the 16th Airborne Division reduced to a parachute brigade group. Only two divisions (43rd and 53rd), two armoured brigades, and
6572-526: The Royal Engineers and two regiments of the Royal Corps of Signals. The reductions were carried out in 1961, mainly by amalgamating units. Thus, on 1 May 1961, the TA divisional headquarters were merged with regular army districts, which were matched with Civil Defence Regions to aid mobilisation for war. The Army Reserve Act of April 1962 made provision for a new TA Emergency Reserve (TAER), within existing TA units, who could be called out without Royal Proclamation as individuals to reinforce regular units around
6696-420: The Somme during the German Spring Offensive . The Second Battle of the Somme represented the BEF response to the German attack. This in turn began the Hundred Days Offensive , which led to the eventual defeat of the German Army on the western front, after the First and Third armies broke through the Hindenburg Line at the Battle of the Canal du Nord . This led to the final battle of the war in November 1918,
6820-417: The South African War, the Conservative government embarked on a series of reorganisations which had a negative impact on all the auxiliary forces. The Militia was heavily understrength and disorganised, whilst the number of recruits for the Volunteers was falling off and it was becoming apparent that many Volunteer Corps were headed towards financial collapse unless some action was taken. The Territorial Force
6944-419: The TA units which formed a majority of those which took part in the Narvik operation were untrained and had been subject to such turbulence, through expansion and reorganisation that many lacked cohesion. The failures of command, coordination and execution in that campaign led to a debate on its conduct with a no-confidence vote in the government. Partially as a result of lessons from Narvik, the Territorial Army
7068-478: The TA was to be 440,000: the field force of the Territorial Army was to rise from 130,000 to 340,000, organized in 26 divisions, while an additional 100,000 all ranks would form the anti-aircraft section. The forming Second Line formations were given liberty to be numbered and named as they saw fit, with some using related names and numbers from the First World War e.g. 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division formed in 1939. The immediate response to this announcement
7192-423: The Territorial Army but there were grave shortages of instructors and equipment. It was envisioned that the duplicating process and recruiting the required numbers of men would take no more than six months. In practice, existing TA units found themselves stripped of regular training staffs and often many of their own officers and NCOs to form and train the new units, long before their own units were fully trained. As
7316-433: The Territorial Force in 1908 by the Secretary of State for War , Richard Haldane , when the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 combined the previously civilian-administered Volunteer Force , with the mounted Yeomanry (at the same time the Militia was renamed the Special Reserve ). Haldane planned a volunteer "Territorial Force", to provide a second line for the six divisions of the Expeditionary Force which he
7440-446: The Territorials afforded between October 1914 and June 1915, it would have been impossible to hold the line in France and Belgium. Other Territorial formations were dispatched to Egypt and British India and other imperial garrisons, such as Gibraltar , thereby releasing regular units for service in France and enabling the formation of an additional five regular army divisions by early 1915. Territorial divisions went on to fight in all
7564-454: The Territorials for the bulk of the war. Kitchener justified this, during the first few months of the war, on the grounds that the Territorial Force should focus mostly on home defence. In the first few days after the call for overseas service on 9 August, the result in many TF units was hesitant, with some units only recording around 50% volunteering, partly because men with families were reluctant to leave well-paid jobs especially while there
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#17330861880407688-446: The War between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915 (other than those who had already qualified for the 1914 Star). The British War Medal was issued to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who had rendered service between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. Officers and men of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Dominion and Colonial naval forces (including reserves) were required to have completed 28 days mobilised service —
7812-414: The War from the Battle of Amiens in August 1918. The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) under the command of General Alexander Godley was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight for Britain during the First World War. Upon the outbreak of war, New Zealand immediately offered to provide two brigades — one of infantry and one of mounted troops — a total of 8,500 men. The NZEF
7936-461: The War. The badge, sometimes known as the Discharge Badge, Wound Badge or Services Rendered Badge, was first issued in September 1916, along with an official certificate of entitlement. The British Army during the Great War was the largest military force that Britain had ever put into the field up to that point. On the Western Front , the British Expeditionary Force ended the war as a strong fighting force, more experienced and slightly bigger than
8060-491: The army as a whole. An innovation in 1922 was the creation of two Air Defence Brigades to provide anti-aircraft defence for London. It appears that these two brigades relatively quickly became 26th and 27th Air Defence Brigades . During the 1930s, tensions increased between Germany and the United Kingdom and its allies . In late 1937 and throughout 1938, German demands for the annexation of Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia led to an international crisis . To avoid war,
8184-432: The basis of III Corps and the cavalry had grown to form the Cavalry Corps of three divisions. By December 1914, the BEF had expanded to such an extent that the First Army and the Second Army were formed. By the end of 1914, after the battles of Mons , Le Cateau , the Aisne and Ypres , the old regular British Army had suffered massive casualties and lost most of its fighting strength but had managed to help stop
8308-400: The command of Fifth Army . Newfoundland in 1914 was not yet part of Canada. The tiny Dominion with a population of only 240,000 raised a force that eventually reached a strength of three battalions to serve in the war. The Newfoundland Regiment deployed to France in March 1916, as part of the 29th Division , after already having served in the Gallipoli Campaign . The Newfoundland Regiment
8432-409: The command of General William Birdwood . After the end of the Gallipoli campaign, the NZEF formed its own infantry division; the New Zealand Division which served on the Western Front from April 1916. It took part in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette , the Battle of Morval , the Battle of Le Transloy , and the celebrated Battle of Le Quesnoy . The New Zealanders were considered exceptional troops by
8556-456: The command of General Sir John French to repel any German attack in the West. The BEF was arranged into I Corps , under the command of General Sir Douglas Haig , and II Corps , under the command of General Sir James Grierson , which embarked for France on 15 August 1914. The Expeditionary Force was given the prefix "British" on the arrival of Expeditionary Force A from the Indian Army. In October 1914, 7th Division arrived in France, forming
8680-478: The continental weather and were poorly equipped to resist the cold, leading to low morale which was further compounded by the reserve system, whereby reinforcements were drafted in from any regiment and had no affiliation to their new units. Officer casualties were even more of a handicap, as replacements were unfamiliar with the Indian Army and could not speak the language. The infantry divisions were finally withdrawn to Egypt in October 1915, when they were replaced by
8804-444: The country virtually empty of regular troops. This was the end of the planned mobilisation; no thought had been given pre-war to mobilising the Militia, Yeomanry or Volunteers as formed units for foreign service. On 16 December, the first request was sent from South Africa for auxiliary troops, and a commitment was made to send a "considerable force of militia and picked yeomanry and volunteers". The first Volunteer unit to be sent out
8928-513: The creation of Kitchener's Army. All TA recruits were required to take the general service obligation: if the British Government decided, territorial soldiers could be deployed overseas for combat that avoided the complications of the TF, whose members were not required to leave Britain unless they volunteered for overseas service. The composition of the divisions was altered, with a reduction in
9052-579: The duration of hostilities or until de-activation is decided upon. After the Second World War , for example, the Territorial Army, as it was known then, was not demobilised until 1947. Army Reservists normally have a full-time civilian job or career, which in some cases provides skills and expertise that are directly transferable to a specialist military role, such as NHS employees serving in Reservist Army Medical Services units. All Army Reserve personnel have their civilian jobs protected to
9176-545: The end of the First Battle of Ypres on 22 November 1914. By the end of 1914—after the battles of Mons , Le Cateau , the Aisne and Ypres —the existent BEF had been almost exhausted, although it helped stop the German advance. An alternative endpoint of the BEF was 26 December 1914, when it was divided into the First and Second Armies (a Third , Fourth and Fifth being created later in
9300-613: The end of the war had suffered 15,000 casualties, with 5,000 killed. The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Its major combat formation was the Canadian Corps , which eventually commanded four Canadian infantry divisions. The Canadian Corps' first commander was General Edwin Alderson , who was succeeded by General Julian Byng in 1916, who
9424-532: The end of the war. The Second Army was formed at the same time as the First Army on 26 December 1914. The first commander was Smith–Dorrien promoted from command of the II Corps. In May 1915, Smith–Dorrien was sacked and replaced by General Herbert Plumer . Second Army served in France notably in the Ypres Salient , and later served in Italy between November 1917 and March 1918, then returned to France. The Third Army
9548-579: The fight. The (Regular) Expeditionary Force of six divisions had been rapidly sent to the Continent, where, facing overwhelming odds, they secured the left flank of the French Army. Of the 90,000 members of the original BEF deployed in August, four-fifths were dead or wounded by Christmas. So the arrival of the Territorials, first as reinforcements and then in whole divisions came at a critical juncture, while
9672-570: The first major attack made by the German Army against the lines defended by the CEP troops. On 5 November 1917 the CEP assumed the responsibility for an autonomous sector in the front, under the direct command of First Army . Most of the CEP was destroyed in the Battle of the Lys on 9 April 1918, losing more than 7,000 men. From July 1918, the remaining men of the CEP participated in the final allied offensives under
9796-612: The infantry reduced from 86 to 13 battalions and the yeomanry (armoured units) from 20 to one. Units in the new TAVR were divided into various categories: In addition were various miscellaneous units, such as OTCs and bands e.g. Northumbria Band of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. In the face of a considerable Parliamentary battle, and a public outcry led by the County Associations , the government agreed to retain an additional 28,000 men in 87 'lightly armed' infantry units and
9920-592: The largely French forces along the Somme. At the same time, a small TA unit, the Kent Fortress Royal Engineers , carried out the first major commando-style operations of the war the XD Operations, destroying 2 million tons of crude and refined oil, along the coastline of France and the low countries. Meanwhile, units with little training and cohesion were also sent abroad, despite their lack of preparation;
10044-672: The liability to serve overseas with the Regular Army in case of war if called on to do so. The second element of the auxiliary forces was the Yeomanry , 38 regiments of volunteer cavalry which had historically been used as a form of internal security police. The third arm was the Volunteers , There were 213 rifle corps and 66 corps of artillery, though the latter were mostly coastal artillery or static "position batteries" and they did not constitute an organised field force. There were some engineer and medical units, but no service corps. The Yeomen of
10168-488: The major battles of the war in France and Belgium and several campaigns further afield including Gallipoli . (See main article Territorial Force ). From 1916, as the war progressed, and casualties mounted, the distinctive character of territorial units was diluted by the inclusion of conscript and New Army drafts. Following the Armistice all units of the Territorial Force were gradually disbanded. The Territorial Force (TF)
10292-449: The majority deploying to Aden, where one of their officers, Lieutenant Mike Smith, won an MC. This was followed by a large reduction and complete reorganisation, announced in the 1966 Defence White Paper and implemented from 1 April 1967, when the title Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) was adopted. This abolished the former divisional structure of the TA. The size of the TAVR was to be reduced from 107,000 to under 50,000, with
10416-496: The medal was automatically awarded in the event of death on active service before the completion of this period. The Victory Medal was issued to all those who received the 1914 Star or the 1914–1915 Star, and to those who were awarded the British War Medal. It was never awarded singly. Women qualified for this and the earlier two medals, for service in nursing homes and other auxiliary forces. The Territorial Force War Medal
10540-454: The new British divisions of Kitchener's Army . The South African Overseas Expeditionary Force consisted of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade of four infantry battalions supported by five Heavy Artillery batteries, a Field Ambulance, a Royal Engineers Signal Company and a General Hospital under the command of Brigadier General Henry Lukin . The brigade arrived in France in April 1916, and
10664-401: The number of infantry battalions required. There was also a reduced need for cavalry, and of the 55 yeomanry regiments, only the 14 most senior retained their horses. The remaining yeomanry was converted to artillery or armored car units or disbanded. The amalgamation of 40 pairs of infantry battalions was announced in October 1921. As part of the post-war " Geddes Axe " financial cuts, the TA
10788-505: The pre-war Belgium border to the River Somme in France, varying in length from 20 miles (32 km) in 1914, to over 120 miles (190 km) in 1918, in the area commonly known as Flanders . From the end of 1914, and in 1915, BEF attacks centred around the Ypres Salient . Then in September 1915, six divisions took part in the Battle of Loos – notable for the first use of poison gas by
10912-613: The re designation of E Company. After all these changed, and a title change to 5th (Shropshire and Herefordshire) Battalion, The Light Infantry , in 1988, the battalion now possessed the following structure: In line with the reduction of the armed forces after the end of the Cold War , the battalion was reduced to a three rifle company establishment, with A and D Companies being disbanded, with A Company being replaced by B Company , 4th (V) Battalion, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment , retaining its regimental identity. The Battalion
11036-482: The regular Army until 1967. For the first time, TA units were formed in Northern Ireland . The maneuver divisions established or re-established in 1947 were: 52nd (Lowland) Division was re-established as a tenth, 'mixed' division in March 1950. The territorials also provided much of the anti-aircraft cover for the United Kingdom until 1956. In that year, Anti-Aircraft Command and 15 anti-aircraft regiments of
11160-835: The regular army dubbed themselves " The Old Contemptibles ". No evidence of any such order being issued by the Kaiser has ever been found. Under the terms of the Entente Cordiale the United Kingdom had a diplomatic "understanding" with France to counter military aggression from the German Empire in the European continent. Detailed plans had been made for the British Army in the event of war breaking out between those two countries to dispatch an Expeditionary Force to France which consisted of six infantry divisions and five cavalry brigades under
11284-466: The reorganisation, becoming Territorial battalions of Regular Army infantry regiments. Only one infantry unit, the London Regiment , has maintained a separate identity. The TF was formed on 1 April 1908 and contained fourteen infantry divisions , and fourteen mounted yeomanry brigades . It had an overall strength of approximately 269,000. Haldane designed it to provide a much larger second line for
11408-501: The six divisions of the Expeditionary Force which he was establishing as the centerpiece of the Regular Army. Under multiple political pressures, Haldane altered the public purpose of the Territorial Force in his Territorial and Reserve Forces Act to home defence, at the last moment. Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. The next day, General - later Field Marshal - Haig , who had been central to Haldane's reforms and
11532-576: The sixteen per battalion, one for each platoon . At the same time, the Vickers guns and their trained operators were redeployed to specialist companies of the Machine Gun Corps ; one company was attached to each infantry brigade . As well as individual gallantry awards, all members of the BEF qualified for up to three campaign medals. The 1914 Star , the 1914–15 Star , the British War Medal and
11656-666: The terms of the agreement by invading and occupying the remnants of the Czech state . On 29 March, Secretary of State for War Leslie Hore-Belisha announced plans to increase the TA from 130,000 to 340,000 men and double the number of TA divisions. The plan was for existing TA units to recruit over their establishments (aided by an increase in pay for Territorials, the removal of restrictions on promotion which had hindered recruiting, construction of better-quality barracks and an increase in supper rations) and then form second-line divisions from cadres that could be increased. The total strength of
11780-487: The thirteen British divisions deployed, although three, 12th, 23rd, and 46th, were deployed, minus much of their equipment, as so-called 'digging divisions' to be used for infrastructure work. In practice, all of the divisions were heavily engaged in the fighting. The 42nd, 44th, and 48th took part in the stand on the River Escaut, The 50th, 42nd, and 46th were chosen for the final stand at the perimeter of Dunkirk, despite
11904-415: The war). "British Expeditionary Force" remained the official name of the British armies in France and Flanders throughout the First World War. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany , who was famously dismissive of the BEF, allegedly issued an order on 19 August 1914 to "exterminate ... the treacherous English and walk over General French's contemptible little army". Hence, in later years, the survivors of
12028-495: The world, for up to six months in every twelve. With opposition from employers and individuals to such a large peacetime liability, the target of 15,000 volunteers proved over-ambitious and the force peaked at 4,262 in October 1963, then dropping to around 2,400 by 1968. Nevertheless, the first batch of these so-called 'Ever Readies' was sent to Libya in 1963, followed by 200 to the Far East later that year. In 1965, 175 were called out,
12152-599: Was a 1,300 man composite battalion group, composed of infantry recruited from across London units and a field battery from the Honourable Artillery Company, the City Imperial Volunteers, which was raised in early January 1900; it was sent into combat after six weeks of training in South Africa, where Lord Roberts described it as "quite excellent", and was returned home in October. At the same time,
12276-708: Was a unit of the British Army during the First World War , formed from volunteers from British colonies in the West Indies . Until 1914, British infantry officers still carried swords and the cavalry retained the cavalry sword throughout the war. The other officers' weapon was the revolver, the three most common being the Webley MK V or VI , the Colt New Service and the Smith & Wesson hand ejector . All other ranks in
12400-426: Was a vast surge in recruiting with 88,000 men enlisted by the end of April. The London Rifle Brigade raised a second battalion in 24 hours. On 26 April, limited conscription was introduced. This resulted in 34,500 twenty-year-old militiamen being conscripted into the regular army, initially to be trained for six months before deployment to the forming second-line units. In parallel, recruits continued to surge into
12524-555: Was also expanded, raising second and third line battalions and forming eight new divisions, which supplemented its peacetime strength of 14 divisions. The Third Army was formed in July 1915 and with the influx of troops from Kitchener's volunteers and further reorganisation, the Fourth Army and the Reserve Army , became the Fifth Army in 1916. The BEF grew from six divisions of British regular army and reserves in 1914, to encompass
12648-473: Was amalgamated with 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers ; and 3rd Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment , in 1999, to form the West Midlands Regiment . A Company became B Company of the new regiment, HQ and C Company amalgamated to form E Company, and B Company disbanded. Army Reserve (United Kingdom) The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army . It
12772-478: Was assigned to the 9th (Scottish) Division and took part in the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, and on 14 July the Battle of Delville Wood . Of the 3,153 men in the brigade only 750 were left when the brigade was relieved on 20 July. Later in 1917, the brigade took part in the Battle of Arras and in the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). The brigade was destroyed in the 1918 German spring offensive and by
12896-562: Was closely tied to the AIF for much of the war. When the Gallipoli campaign began, the New Zealand contingent was insufficient to complete a division on their own so was combined with the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade to form the New Zealand and Australian Division . This division, along with the Australian 1st Division , formed the famous Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) under
13020-508: Was created by the Secretary of State for War , Richard Burdon Haldane , following the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 which combined and re-organised the old Volunteer Force with the Yeomanry . As part of the same process, the remaining units of militia were converted to the Special Reserve . Most Volunteer infantry units had unique identities, but lost these in
13144-543: Was envisaged that this would take at least eight months from mobilisation. In fact, with mobilisation in September 1939, the first three TA divisions arrived to take their places in the front line by February 1940: the 48th (South Midland) Division , 50th (Northumbrian) Division and 51st (Highland) Division . In April, they were joined by five more, 12th (Eastern) Division , 23rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division , 42nd (East Lancashire) Division , 44th (Home Counties) Division and 46th (North Midland) Division , making eight of
13268-401: Was establishing as the centerpiece of the Regular Army. The Territorial Force was to be composed of fourteen divisions of infantry and fourteen brigades of cavalry, together with all the supporting arms and services needed for overseas war, including artillery, engineers commissariat and medical support. The new Special Reserve was to take over the depots of the militia, as an expanded reserve for
13392-616: Was formed in July 1915, the first commander being General Edmund Allenby promoted after commanding the Cavalry Corps and the V Corps . He was replaced after the battle of Arras in May 1917, by General Julian Byng . The Fourth Army was formed in February 1916, under the command of General Henry Rawlinson . Confusingly, when the Second Army was sent to Italy late in 1917, the Fourth Army
13516-485: Was formed through the amalgamation of the Light Infantry Brigade Territorial battalions, namely: 4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry ; Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (TA) ; 4th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry ; 1st Battalion, Herefordshire Light Infantry ; and 6th/8th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry . Upon formation, the regiment's structure was as follows: In 1969,
13640-409: Was further reduced in size in 1922: artillery batteries lost two of their six guns, the established size of infantry battalions was cut and ancillary medical, veterinary, signals and Royal Army Service Corps units were either reduced in size or abolished. The bounty was also reduced to £3 for trained men and £2.10s 0d for recruits, which resulted in finding £1,175,000 of the total savings required from
13764-590: Was in turn succeeded in 1917, by the Canadian General Arthur Currie until the end of the war. They distinguished themselves in battle from the Second Battle of Ypres , through the Somme and particularly in the Battle of Arras at Vimy Ridge in April 1917. Since they were mostly untouched by the German offensive in the spring of 1918, the Canadians were ordered to help spearhead the last campaigns of
13888-465: Was now called) was re-established to be the sole means of expansion in future wars, but it was smaller than before and poorly resourced. Yet eight TA divisions were deployed before the fall of France. After the Second World War, the TA was reconstituted with ten divisions, but then successively cut until rebuilding began in 1970, with numbers peaking at nearly 73,000. It was then run down again despite
14012-475: Was officially reconstituted in 1921 by the Territorial Army and Militia Act 1921 and renamed in October as the Territorial Army (TA). The First-Line divisions (that were created in 1907 or 1908) were reconstituted in that year. The TA's intended role was to be the sole method of expanding the size of the British Armed Forces , when compared to the varied methods used during the First World War including
14136-431: Was only awarded soldiers in the Territorial Force . To qualify, the recipient had to have been a member of the Territorial Force on or prior to 30 September 1914, and to have served in an operational theatre outside of the United Kingdom between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. The Silver War Badge was issued in the United Kingdom to service personnel who had been honourably discharged due to wounds or sickness during
14260-443: Was only resumed in early 1901—and so an adequate supply of manpower was not always available. Sixty militia battalions, around 46,000 men, also volunteered and were eventually sent to South Africa. They were employed mainly on lines of communication, and regarded as second-line troops of low quality; this was unsurprising, as they were strongly deficient in officers, heavily composed of men of 18 and 19, who were regarded as too young by
14384-567: Was ordered to form 10 elite Independent Companies, forerunners of the Commandos . under the command of (then) Lt Colonel Colin Gubbins . As the war developed Territorial units fought in every major theatre. The first reinforcing unit into Kohima , where the Japanese suffered their first major defeat in mainland Asia, was a TA unit, 4th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment who went on to hold
14508-603: Was practically wiped out on the first day of the Battle of the Somme , suffering over 90% casualties. After receiving reinforcements, the Newfoundland Regiment continued to serve on the Western Front until the war's end. In honour of the regiment's service the privilege of adding the prefix Royal to the regiment's name was granted in December 1917, and the regiment was known as the Royal Newfoundland Regiment from that point on. The British West Indies Regiment
14632-571: Was renumbered the Second Army whilst Rawlinson commanded the Ypres Salient. After Plumer's return from Italy Rawlinson spent a period as British Permanent Military Representative at the Supreme War Council at Versailles , but at the start of April he took over the remnants of Gough's Fifth Army after its recent defeat. It was renamed the Fourth Army. The Reserve Army was formed in May 1916, under command of General Hubert Gough . Beginning as
14756-462: Was succeeded by Lieutenant-General Herbert Lawrence . The first two Corps were commanded by Haig (I Corps) and Horace Smith-Dorrien (II Corps). As the Regular Army's strength declined, the numbers were made up, first by the Territorial Force, then by volunteers from Field Marshal Kitchener's New Army . By the end of August 1914, he had raised six new divisions and by March 1915, the number of divisions had increased to 29. The Territorial Force
14880-401: Was talk of a German invasion of the homeland, but the pace rapidly accelerated and, within a fortnight, 70 infantry battalions and many other units had collectively volunteered for France. initially TF units were either fed into regular brigades or used for secondary tasks, such as guarding lines of communication but, by the end of April 1915, six full Territorial divisions had been deployed into
15004-534: Was the largest British troop movement exercise by sea and air since 1945, involving 290 flights and 150 ferry sailings. Most UK-based units reached their wartime stations within 48 hours. In 1985, Exercise Brave Defender tested Britain's home defences, with 65,000 regulars and territorials involved. At the end of the Cold War, the TA had a strength of 72,823, including 3,297 in the Home Service Force (HSF). in
15128-485: Was the six divisions the British Army sent to the Western Front during the First World War . Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the 1906–1912 Haldane Reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The term British Expeditionary Force is often used to refer only to the forces present in France prior to
15252-555: Was then commanding First Corps, recorded in his diary that Field Marshal Kitchener did 'not appreciate the progress made by the Territorial Force towards efficiency', The subsequent day, the 6th, Kitchener took up his post as Secretary of State for War announcing that morning 'He could take no account of anything but regular soldiers'. He went on to denounce the Territorial Force as 'a few hundred thousand young men, officered by middle-aged professional men who were allowed to put on uniform and play at soldiers.' Nevertheless, by 9 August,
15376-716: Was to be reduced to 63,000, while the HSF element was to be disbanded. In July 1994, this was further reduced to 59,000. The Reserve Forces Act of May 1996 was a landmark reform, making it much easier to call out any element of the Reserves at the behest of the Secretary of State for a range of purposes including 'protection of life or property' well short of the criteria for Queen's Order (e.g. 'great emergency', 'imminent national danger'). It also provides protection in employment law for members' civilian jobs should they be mobilised. This has led to
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