1.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
2.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
3.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
4.
British Raj
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The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, or direct rule in India, the resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name. It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign states, the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan and this area is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar desert. In addition, at times, it included Aden, Lower Burma, Upper Burma, British Somaliland. Burma was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948, among other countries in the region, Ceylon was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was part of Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861, however. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, India during the British Raj was made up of two types of territory, British India and the Native States. In general, the term British India had been used to also to the regions under the rule of the British East India Company in India from 1600 to 1858. The term has also used to refer to the British in India. The terms Indian Empire and Empire of India were not used in legislation, the monarch was known as Empress or Emperor of India and the term was often used in Queen Victorias Queens Speeches and Prorogation Speeches. The passports issued by the British Indian government had the words Indian Empire on the cover, in addition, an order of knighthood, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, was set up in 1878. At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, during the partition of Bengal the new provinces of Assam and East Bengal were created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east became, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, there were 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947. The princely states did not form a part of British India, the larger ones had treaties with Britain that specified which rights the princes had, in the smaller ones the princes had few rights. Within the princely states external affairs, defence and most communications were under British control, the British also exercised a general influence over the states internal politics, in part through the granting or withholding of recognition of individual rulers. Although there were nearly 600 princely states, the majority were very small
5.
Western Front (World War II)
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The Western Front of the European theatre of World War II encompassed Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. World War II military engagements in Southern Europe and elsewhere are generally considered under separate headings, the Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale combat operations. The second phase consisted of ground combat, which began in June 1944 with the Allied landings in Normandy. The Phoney War was a phase of World War II marked by a few military operations in Continental Europe in the months following the German invasion of Poland. Although the great powers of Europe had declared war on one another, neither side had yet committed to launching a significant attack and this was also the period in which The United Kingdom and France did not supply significant aid to Poland, despite their pledged alliance. While most of the German Army was fighting against Poland, a much smaller German force manned the Siegfried Line, there were only some local, minor skirmishes. The British Royal Air Force dropped propaganda leaflets on Germany and the first Canadian troops stepped ashore in Britain, while Western Europe was in a strange calm for seven months. In their hurry to re-arm, Britain and France had both begun to buy large numbers of weapons manufacturers in the United States at the outbreak of hostilities. The non-belligerent United States, contributed to the Western Allies by discounted sales of military equipment, German efforts to interdict the Allies trans-Atlantic trade at sea ignited the Battle of the Atlantic. However, when the Allies made a counter-landing in Norway following the German invasion, the Kriegsmarine, nonetheless, suffered very heavy losses during the two-months of fighting required to seize all of mainland Norway. In May 1940, the Germans launched the Battle of France, the Western Allies soon collapsed under the onslaught of the so-called blitzkrieg strategy. The majority of the British and elements of the French forces escaped at Dunkirk, with the fighting ended, the Germans began to consider ways of resolving the question of how to deal with Britain. If the British refused to agree to a treaty, one option was to invade. However, Nazi Germanys Kriegsmarine, had suffered losses in Norway. With the Luftwaffe unable to defeat the RAF in the Battle of Britain and these were built in anticipation of an Allied invasion of France. Because of the massive logistical obstacles a cross-channel invasion would face, on 19 August 1942, the Allies began the Dieppe Raid, an attack on Dieppe, France. Most of the troops were Canadian, with some British contingents, the raid was a disaster, almost two-thirds of the attacking force became casualties. However, much was learned as a result of the operation – these lessons would be put to use in the subsequent invasion
6.
Devonshire Regiment
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In June,1667, Henry Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, was granted a commission to raise a regiment of foot, The Marquess of Worcesters Regiment of Foot. The regiment remained in existence for only a few months and was disbanded in the same year and it was re-raised in January 1673 and again disbanded in 1674. The regiment was not required to fight at the time of its formation since the Duke of Monmouth was drawn away from Bristol. Its first action came in Ireland at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, after the war, it garrisoned the island of Minorca. The regiment served under the name of its various Colonels until it was numbered as the 11th Regiment of Foot when the system of regimental designation was adopted in 1751. It was given the county title of 11th Regiment of Foot in 1782. The 11th Regiment spent the years of the French Revolutionary Wars serving as detachments in the Mediterranean with the Royal Navy. It also took part in a raid on the port of Ostend in 1798. It was deployed to the West Indies in 1801 where it captured Saint Barthélemy, a 2nd Battalion was formed in 1809 and took part in the disastrous Walcheren Campaign. The 1st battalion returned to Europe in July 1809 to fight in the Peninsular War and it took part in the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810 and then fell back to the Lines of Torres Vedras. It took part in the Siege of Badajoz in April 1811, in the 19th century, the regiment spent most of the 19th Century on garrison duty throughout the Empire. Under the reforms the regiment became the Devonshire Regiment on 1 July 1881, at the same time it merged with the militia and rifle volunteer units of the county of Devon. It took part in the Tirah Campaign in 1897 and the Second Boer War in 1899, the 2nd Battalion fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the Anglo-Ashanti wars and the Second Boer War. The 8th Battalion, part of 29th Brigade reserve, was committed within 3 hours of the beginning of the attack, the 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment was a Regular Army unit, joined the 8th Brigade, 3rd Division and then transferred to the 14th Brigade, 5th Division. The 1st Battalion was serving in British India when the Second World War broke out, the brigade was part of the British 36th Infantry Division. In July 1943 the battalion, together with the 231st Brigade, fought in the Allied invasion of Sicily, and, briefly, in the Allied invasion of Italy in September. On D-Day, June 6,1944, it was intended that the battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Cosmo Nevill, should land at Le Hamel, on Gold Beach, of the four company commanders, two were wounded and one was killed. The battalion continued to fight throughout the Battle of Normandy
7.
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
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The Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd Regiment of Foot, the DCLI also incorporated the militia and rifle volunteers of Cornwall. In 1959 the regiment merged with the Somerset Light Infantry to form the Somerset, the regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd Regiment of Foot and the 46th Regiment of Foot. The DCLI also incorporated the militia and rifle volunteers of Cornwall, under the Childers system, one regular battalion of each regiment was to be at a home station, while the other was abroad. Every few years, there was to be an exchange of battalions, the 2nd Battalion arrived in South Africa in the following month, where it took part in minor actions on the western border of the Cape Colony. In February 1900 it became part of the 19th Brigade and it saw action against the Boers at Paardeberg, and in March 1900 entered Bloemfontein. It continued to part in a series of skirmishes until the end of the war. The 1st Battalion took no part on the war, moving from India to Ceylon in December 1900 where its soldiers guarded South African prisoners of war. However, in the Second Boer War, both volunteer battalions contributed Active Service Companies that reinforced the regular battalions, and were awarded the battle honour South Africa 1900–1901, in 1908 reserve forces were reorganised by the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. The militia was renamed the Special Reserve, with the duty of providing trained recruits in time of war, the volunteer battalions became part of the new Territorial Force, which was organised into 14 infantry divisions which were called upon to serve abroad. On 1 April 1908 the three battalions were accordingly redesignated as the 3rd, 4th and 5th Battalions, DCLI. The war saw an expansion of the regiment. This was done in two ways, by the formation of units to the existing territorial battalions, and by the raising of wartime new army or service battalions. The following battalions of the DCLI saw active service in the conflict, however, only the 1st, 2nd and 5th served overseas. The battalion was part of the 214th Infantry Brigade attached to the 43rd Infantry Division, the regiment reverted to two battalions following the war. Between 1946 and 1954, the 1st Battalion served in Palestine, Cyprus, Somaliland, England, the 2nd Battalion, between 1946 and 1948, served in Greece. In 1948, it was reduced to a skeleton representative cadre, before being amalgamated into the 1st Battalion in 1950, in 1954, the 1st Battalion was posted to Jamaica, the last battalion to be posted to the West Indies for a full, three-year term. A Company detached on transit, posted to Prospect Camp, in the Atlantic archipelago of Bermuda, a Company was the last regular unit posted on garrison to Bermuda, with its departure constituting the withdrawal of the garrison from the one-time Fortress Bermuda
8.
43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
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The 43rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. It was originally raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force, as the Wessex Division, in 1915 it became the 43rd Division. It was reformed as the 43rd Infantry Division in 1920 as part of the Territorial Army, a 2nd Line duplicate, the 45th Division, was raised on the doubling of the Territorials for both World War I and World War II. The division was disbanded and again reformed in the Territorial Army after the war, on 1 May 1961 the division was merged with a district to become 43rd Division/District. The division was created in 1908, originally as the Wessex Division, the Divisional and Brigade HQs, both artillery and infantry, did not embark for India. The Division sailed on 9 October 1914 and arrived in India in November, however, it supplied battalions and drafts of replacements for the divisions fighting in the Middle East. In May 1915 it became the 43rd Division and the brigades were redesignated the 128th Brigade, 129th Brigade, the division then spent many years in the United Kingdom on home defence, anticipating the potentiality of a German invasion of the British Isles. Throughout most of 1942 the division was part of XII Corps, serving alongside the 46th Infantry Division, XII Corps was, at the time, commanded by Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery. In August 1942, the 128th Infantry Brigade was transferred to the 46th Infantry Division, the 34th Tank Brigade arrived in September 1942 as part of an experiment with Mixed Divisions. The 214th Brigade would remain with the 43rd Division for the rest of the war, on 2 March 1942, the division also gained a new and controversial GOC in the form of Major-General Gwilym Ivor Thomas. He would command the 43rd Division until September 1945, in July, it launched an attack, Operation Jupiter, against the German 9th SS Panzer Division on Hill 112, though it was beaten back after both sides had suffered horrendous casualties. The 43rd Division performed well in Normandy, and was considered by many senior British officers to be one of the best divisions of the British Army during the Second World War. For the rest of the war Bernard Montgomery, commanding all British and Canadian troops in the campaign, preferred to use such as 43rd. With formations that had spent years in the United Kingdom training such as the 43rd, 11th Armoured, the 43rd Division was the first British formation to cross the Seine river, with an assault crossing at the French town of Vernon opposed by the 49th German Infantry Division. This crossing enabled the armour of XXX Corps, under Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks, still with XXX Corps, the 43rd Division later played a major role in Operation Market Garden as the support to the Guards Armoured Division. After Market Garden the division garrisoned The Island and later participated in Operation Clipper alongside the U. S. 84th Infantry Division, the 43rd later played a large part in Operation Veritable attached to First Canadian Army, again as part of XXX Corps. They then crossed the River Rhine as the Allies invaded Germany itself, by the end of the war in Europe, the 43rd Division had reached the Cuxhaven peninsula of northern Germany. From June 1944 to May 1945 the 43rd Division, or the Yellow Devils or British SS Division as known by the Germans, had suffered well over 12,500 casualties, the division was reactivated after the Second World War again as part of the Territorial Army
9.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
10.
British Indian Army
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The Indian Army was the principal army of India before independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of both British India and the Princely states, which could also have their own armies. The Indian Army was an important part of the British Empires forces, the term Indian Army appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the Presidency armies of the Presidencies of British India, particularly after the Indian Rebellion. The first army officially called the Indian Army was raised by the government of India in 1895, however, in 1903 the Indian Army absorbed these three armies. The Indian Army should not be confused with the Army of India which was the Indian Army itself plus the British Army in India, before 1858, the precursor units of the Indian Army were units controlled by the Company and were paid for by their profits. These operated alongside units of the British Army, funded by the British government in London. Many of these took part in the Indian Mutiny, with the aim of reinstating the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II at Delhi. The meaning of the term Indian Army has changed over time, The officer commanding the Army of India was the Commander-in-Chief, the title was used before the creation of a unified British Indian Army, the first holder was Major General Stringer Lawrence in 1748. By the early 1900s the Commander-in-Chief and his staff were based at GHQ India, Indian Army postings were less prestigious than British Army positions, but the pay was significantly greater so that officers could live on their salaries instead of having to have a private income. Accordingly, vacancies in the Indian Army were much sought after and generally reserved for the higher placed officer-cadets graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. British officers in the Indian Army were expected to learn to speak the Indian languages of their men, prominent British Indian Army officers included Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, Claude Auchinleck and William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim. Commissioned officers, British and Indian, held identical ranks to commissioned officers of the British Army, Kings Commissioned Indian Officers, created from the 1920s, held equal powers to British officers. Viceroys Commissioned Officers were Indians holding officer ranks and they were treated in almost all respects as commissioned officers, but had authority over Indian troops only, and were subordinate to all British Kings Commissioned Officers and KCIOs. They included Subedar Major or Risaldar-Major, equivalents to a British Major, Subedar or Risaldar equivalents to Captain, recruitment was entirely voluntary, about 1.75 million men served in the First World War, many on the Western Front and 2.5 million in the Second. Soldier ranks included Sepoys or Sowars, equivalent to a British private, British Army ranks such as gunner and sapper were used by other corps. In the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny. The three Presidency armies remained separate forces, each with its own Commander-in-Chief, overall operational control was exercised by the Commander-in-Chief of the Bengal Army, who was formally the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies. From 1861, most of the manpower was pooled in the three Presidential Staff Corps
11.
Royal Hampshire Regiment
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The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th Regiment of Foot and the 67th Regiment of Foot. The regiment existed continuously for 111 years and served in the Second Boer War, World War I, in 1946, due to distinguished service in World War II, the regiment was retitled as the Royal Hampshire Regiment. At the turn of the 20th century, there were two battalions of the regiment. The 2nd Battalion was deployed to South Africa and took part in an action at Karee Siding on 29 March 1900, a third militia battalion was formed from the former Hampshire Militia, with headquarters in Winchester. The battalion was embodied in January 1900 for service in South Africa, a Volunteer battalion was also formed to serve in South Africa. Men from this battalion were involved in the worst train accident during the war, near Barberton, on 30 March 1902, following the accident, the battalion returned to the United Kingdom, arriving at Southampton in May 1902. During the First World War, the regiment expanded to 34 battalions, by the end of the First World War, the Hampshire Regiment had lost 7,580 officers and men killed in action. The 1st Battalion was a Regular Army unit stationed in Colchester on the outbreak of war in August 1914, the battalion was assigned to the 11th Brigade, 4th Division. With the division, the joined the British Expeditionary Force and was sent overseas to France in August 1914. The 1st Battalion saw its first combat against the German Army at Le Cateau, in 1914, on Christmas Day, men of the 1st Battalion participated in the legendary Christmas Truce of 1914 where British and German soldiers fraternised in No mans land. In 1915, the took part in the Second Battle of Ypres. In 1916 it fought at Albert and Le Transloy, which was part of the larger Somme offensive, the 2nd Battalion was also a Regular Army battalion that was serving in India at the outbreak of war and arrived in England on 22 December 1914. In early 1915, the became part of the 88th Brigade. The 2nd Battalion took part in the Battle of Gallipoli when engaged in the fatal Landing at Cape Helles in April 1915, in 1916, the 2nd Battalion was evacuated to Alexandria due to a mixture of heavy casualties from combat, disease and the terrible weather conditions. In March 1916, the battalion was sent to France and would serve on the Western Front for the rest of the war, participating in the battle of Albert and Le Transloy rides, alongside the 1st Battalion. The 1/5th Battalion landed at Karachi in India in November 1914, the 1/6th Battalion landed at Karachi in India in November 1914, it remained in India for the rest of the war. The 1/7th Battalion landed at Karachi in India in November 1914, the 1/9th Battalion sailed for India in February 1916 and then to Vladivostok in October 1918. The 2/4th Battalion sailed for India in December 1914 as part of 2/1st Hampshire Brigade in the 2nd Wessex Division and then sailed for Egypt in April 1917 and to France in May 1918
12.
Dorset Regiment
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The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as The Dorsets. In 1958, after service in the Second Boer War along with World War I and World War II, the Dorset Regiment was amalgamated with the Devonshire Regiment to form the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment. In 2007, it was amalgamated with the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, The Light Infantry, the Dorsetshire Regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 39th Regiment of Foot and the 54th Regiment of Foot. During the First World War, nine battalions were formed. The 1st Battalion and 6th battalion served on the Western Front throughout most of the war, additional battalions were formed as part of the Territorial Force to meet the demand for troops on the Western Front. The 1st Battalion was in Belfast when war broke out, it landed at Le Havre in August 1914 forming part of the 15th Brigade in the 5th Division. It transferred to 95th Brigade in the 32nd Division in December 1915 and to the 14th Brigade in the same Division in January 1916. The 2nd Battalion was in Poona, India, when war broke out and was shipped, as part of the 16th Indian Brigade, to Mesopotamia, where it was trapped in the Siege of Kut and captured by the Turks. This battalion was formally titled the Composite English Battalion, but was commonly known as The Norsets, it was broken up in July 1916. The battalion then served in Egypt as part of 9th Indian Brigade in the 3rd Indian Division, the 1/4th Battalion of the Territorial Force served in India and Mesopotamia and 2/4th Battalion in India and Egypt. The 5th Battalion took part in the Gallipoli Campaign, and having been evacuated from there in December 1915, the 6th Battalion was shipped to Boulogne in France in July 1915 as part of 50th Brigade in the 17th Division and saw action on the Western Front. The 3/4th Reserve Battalion was moved to Ebrington Barracks in Derry in April 1918, sporadic violence in the city continued until another large engagement in June, when the Dorsets and the UVF attacked the Bogside area of the city. A large IRA counter-offensive from the west ended the disturbances, which had seen 40 people killed since April, some RIC officers threatened to resign over the Dorsets fraternisation and co-operation with the UVF. The riots that they quashed were inspired by 10,000 guerrillas, the Officers and Men from the Dorset Regiment who lost their lives while taking part in the suppression of the revolt are commemorated in a brass tablet at the St. In the Second World War, the regiment expanded to eight battalions, the battalion had troops 327 killed and 1,029 wounded. In 1944, it took part in the Battle of Kohima during the Burma Campaign of 1944–1945, the 4th and 5th Battalions were both part of 130th Infantry Brigade in the 43rd Infantry Division, participating in the Normandy Campaign, Operation Market Garden and the Rhine Crossing. The 30th Battalion, previously the 6th Battalion, was with the 43rd Infantry Brigade in North Africa, the 7th Battalion, which was raised in 1940, was later converted to the 110th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
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