The 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed and disestablished numerous times between 1809 and 2012. It was raised by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley for service in the Peninsular War as the 2nd Division. It was disestablished in 1814, but re-formed the following year for service in the War of the Seventh Coalition. The formation fought at the Battle of Waterloo and played an important role in defeating the final French attack of the day. It then marched into France and became part of the Army of Occupation, and was the only British force allowed to march through Paris. In December 1818, the division was disbanded once again.
An illustration by J. Marshman depicting the division's 1st Battalion, 57th (the West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot during the Battle of Albuera
A portrait of Frederick Adam, commander of the division's light brigade during the Battle of Waterloo, by William Salter
A depiction of Private John McDermond saving his commanding officer, Colonel William O'Grady Haly, during the Battle of Inkerman by Louis William Desanges. This action resulted in McDermond's being awarded the Victoria Cross.
Sidney Paget's Saving the guns at Colenso depicts a key event of the battle that resulted in several Victoria Crosses being awarded.
British Army of the Rhine
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British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) is the name given to two British Army formations of the same name. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, the first after the First World War and the other, active after the Second World War and during the Cold War, eventually becoming part of NATO's contribution to allied forces there. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine.
Formal group photograph of British and French officers and commissioners outside the house of the Commander-in-Chief Allied Armies of Occupation, Marienberg
18th Hussars in Cologne, 6 December 1918.
Field Marshal Lord Plumer, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief the British Army of the Rhine, taking the salute from the 29th Division entering Cologne by the Hohenzollern Bridge
Two tanks passing through Cologne for inspection by the VI Corps Commander, General Aylmer Haldane, June 1919