1.
Royal Regiment of Scotland
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The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of four regular and two battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an individual regiment. However, each battalion maintains its former regimental Pipes & Drums to carry on the traditions of their antecedent regiments, along with the Rifles, it is currently the largest infantry regiment in the British Army. In addition, there are two Territorial bands, the Highland Band and the Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, the regiment also has its own Parachute Display Team, the Golden Lions and shinty team, the Scots Shinty Club. In 1948, every regiment of infantry was reduced to a single battalion. The creation of the Royal Regiment of Scotland encountered considerable opposition amongst former soldiers, conservatives, the new regiment is also primarily a kilted one and there are concerns that the much older Lowland units, which traditionally wore trews, will be effectively absorbed into a Highland tradition. Jackson delegated the decision on how the reduction of battalions would be achieved to the Council of Scottish Colonels, the status of the Black Watch was particularly controversial. When the confirmed plan to amalgamate the Regiments was announced, 1st Battalion The Black Watch was deployed away from Basra at Camp Dogwood in a dangerous region of Iraq. Hoon was accused by the SNP of stabbing the soldiers in the back and being motivated purely by political and administrative concerns, the regiment was initially formed of six regular and two Territorial battalions on 28 March 2006. All battalions in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, to preserve regional ties and former regimental identities, the order of battle is as follows, Regular battalions The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland - operates in a light infantry role under 38th Brigade. Personnel are based at Palace Barracks in Belfast, the battalion will move to Aldershot and convert to a Specialised Infantry battalion, to provide an increased contribution to countering terrorism and building stability overseas. The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland - operates in the protected mobility role under 51st Infantry Brigade. Personnel are based at Glencorse Barracks in Edinburgh, the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland - operates in the light protected mobility role under 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland. Personnel are based at Fort George, the Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland - operates in the heavy protected mobility role under 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade. 51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland - operates in an infantry role under 51st Infantry Brigade. The regiments Colonel-in-Chief is HM The Queen, in August 2005, the new regimental cap badge was unveiled at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The new cap badge incorporates the Saltire of St Andrew and the Lion Rampant of the Royal Standard of Scotland, the cap badge is surmounted by a crown, in this case the Crown of Scotland. The new regiments various Dress Uniforms incorporate a number of golden threads from the antecedent regiments, in No.1 and No.2 pattern dress, all battalions wear Blackcock tail feathers attached to the Glengarry in a tradition taken from the Royal Scots and Kings Own Scottish Borderers
2.
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
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The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British Army, the regiment is currently based at Leuchars Station, as part of the Scottish 51st Infantry Brigade. It was formed on 2 July 1971 at Holyrood, Edinburgh, by the amalgamation of the 3rd Carabiniers and it saw active service during the Gulf War in 1991 deploying 57 Challenger tanks and in Bosnia as part of SFOR in 1996–97. In 1998, it became the first regiment in the British Army to operate the Challenger 2 main battle tank and it deployed to Kosovo, as part of KFOR, in 2000. The regiment deployed to Iraq for Operation Telic, the British element of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the bulk of the regiment deployed as part of the Scots Dragoon Guards Battle Group with a single squadron detached to the First Battalion The Black Watch Battle Group. All deployed elements of the regiment took part in the advance on Iraqs second largest city, the regiment deployed to Iraq in 2006, where it suffered two casualties Lieutenant Richard Palmer and Corporal Gordon Pritchard. The regiment also saw service in Iraq in 2008, more recently in 2008,2011 and 2013/14 the regiment deployed to Afghanistan. The pipes and drums have distinguished themselves, most recently winning the award for Album of the Year at the 2009 Classical Brits, in November 2013, the unit bade farewell to its Challenger 2 tanks and converted to a Light Cavalry unit, armed with Jackal vehicles. Under the Army 2020 plan, it was re-reroled as a cavalry unit. The regiment has converted to the role of cavalry as part of restructuring in the army under Army 2020. It is now equipped with Jackal armoured fighting vehicles, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is also affiliated to A & C Squadrons of the Queens Own Yeomanry regiment of the Territorial Army. The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have a museum situated at Edinburgh Castle. Opened in 2006, the exhibits include uniforms, medals, weapons, regalia, music, the regiments official abbreviation is SCOTS DG, the format of which follows the traditional Cavalry line. The cap badge features an eagle, which represents the French Imperial Eagle that was captured by Sergeant Charles Ewart, the Royal Scots Greys at Waterloo, from the French 45th Regiment of Foot. It is always worn with a backing in mourning for Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. The cap badge also has the crossed carbines of the 3rd Carabiniers at the rear of the eagle, the Plume of The Prince of Wales with its motto Ich Dien is worn by all members of the Regiment embroidered on the upper part of the left sleeve. The right to wear this badge was granted to the 3rd Dragoon Guards in 1765, subsequently became the cap badge and later, with the crossed carabines, the distinctive yellow zigzag cap band was inherited from the Royal Scots Greys, who had worn it since the mid-19th century. As a royal regiment, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is permitted to wear the Royal Stewart tartan, which was a privilege granted by HM King George VI, and is worn by the regiments pipers
3.
Kingdom of England
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In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
4.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Mechanized infantry
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Mechanized infantry is infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat. Mechanized infantry is distinguished from motorized infantry in that its vehicles provide a degree of protection from hostile fire, most APCs and IFVs are fully tracked or are all-wheel drive vehicles, for mobility across rough ground. Some nations distinguish between mechanized and armored infantry, designating troops carried by APCs as mechanized and those in IFVs as armored. The support weapons for mechanized infantry are also provided with motorized transport, compared with light truck-mobile infantry, mechanized infantry can maintain rapid tactical movement and, if mounted in IFVs, has more integral firepower. It requires more combat supplies and ordnance supplies, and a larger proportion of manpower is required to crew. For example, most APCs mount a section of seven or eight infantrymen but have a crew of two, most IFVs carry only six or seven infantry but require a crew of three. To be effective in the field, mechanized units also require many mechanics, with specialized maintenance and recovery vehicles, arguably, the first mechanized infantry were assault teams mounted on A7V tanks. The vehicles were extra-large to let them carry sizeable assault teams, all-machine gun armed A7V tanks carried two small flame throwers for their dismounts to use. A7V tank would often carry a second officer to lead the assault team, during the Battle of St. Quentin, A7Vs were accompanied by 20 stormtroopers from Rohr Assault Battalion, but it is unspecified if they were acting as dismounts or were accompanying the tanks on foot. During the battle, tank crews were reported to dismount and attack enemy positions with grenades, towards the end of World War I, all the armies involved were faced with the problem of maintaining the momentum of an attack. Tanks, artillery, or infiltration tactics could all be used to break through an enemy defense and it was widely acknowledged that cavalry was too vulnerable to be used on most European battlefields, but many armies continued to deploy them. Motorized infantry could maintain rapid movement, but their trucks required either a road network or firm open terrain. They were unable to traverse a battlefield obstructed by craters, barbed wire, tracked or all-wheel drive vehicles were to be the solution. Following the war, development of mechanized forces was largely theoretical for some time, although some proponents of mobile warfare, such as J. F. C. Fuller, advocated building tank fleets, other, such as Heinz Guderian in Germany, as the Germans rearmed in the 1930s, they equipped some infantry units in their new Panzer divisions with the half-track Sd. Kfz. 251, which could keep up with tanks on most terrain, the French Army also created Light Mechanized divisions in which some of the infantry units possessed small tracked carriers. Together with the motorization of the infantry and support units. The German doctrine was to use them to exploit breakthroughs in Blitzkrieg offensives, as World War II progressed, most major armies integrated tanks or assault guns with mechanized infantry, as well as other supporting arms, such as artillery and engineers, as combined arms units
8.
Public duties
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Public duties are performed by military personnel, and usually have a ceremonial or historic significance rather than an overtly operational role. There are two regiments in Denmark, who provide soldiers for public duties, the Royal Life Guard regiment, the Guard Hussar Regiment Mounted Squadron provide mounted escorts for the Royal family and foreign dignitaries, and carry ceremonial services for the Royal Danish Army. The Royal Life Guards provide a permanent guard at the Amalienborg Palace, Kastellet, Rosenborg Castle/garrison of the Royal Life Guards in Copenhagen, on occasions guard is kept at Fredensborg Palace, Marselisborg Palace, Gråsten Palace, Christiansborg Palace and other locations inside the Danish realm. The Wachregiment Berlin was founded in early 1921, in addition to genuine security duties, the unit was used for ceremonial public duties in the capital. The regiment was disbanded in June 1921 and shortly after was revived as Kommando der Wachtruppe, the Wachtruppe comprised seven companies, each drawn from one of the seven active army divisions. Each company served for three months before returning to its parent division, in this way, the Wachtruppe represented the whole Reichswehr. The Kommando was based at Moabit Barracks, and every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, in 1934, the unit was renamed Wachtruppe Berlin and in 1936, a headquarters and administration company were added. In June 1937, the unit was again renamed Wach Regiment Berlin, postings were now done by individuals, not entire companies, and each man served six-month tours of duty. The unit provided escorts and Guards of Honour for State Visits, Conferences, in 1939, the unit was reorganized as the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland. While equipped as a unit, the regiment also maintained a public duties detachment in the capital. The ceremonial guard was pressed into service during the July bomb plot in 1944, in 1957, the post-war Bundeswehr established the Wachbataillon, a tri-service unit, for ceremonial duties. Three infantry battalions of the British army are currently tasked with the provision of Public Duties, two of these are from the Foot Guards of the Household Division, and one is a line infantry battalion. Permanent Public Duties companies of the Foot Guards also supplement these men, from 1783 to 1973, the Guards provided a nightly detachment called the Bank Picquet for guard duty at the Bank of England. Public duties are carried out in Edinburgh, although not as frequently as in London. Prior to 2002, sentries were stationed at the entrance to Edinburgh Castle. Today, sentries are posted during the evenings between 6 pm and 9 am, and throughout the week that HM The Queen spends in Edinburgh at both the castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Sentries are also posted at the castle during the month of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo prior to each performance, unlike in London, there is no permanently based foot guards battalion stationed in Edinburgh, so public duties are performed by one of the resident line infantry/rifles battalions. However, as part of the Army 2020 plan, the Balaklava Company of the Royal Regiment of Scotland will be reduced to an incremental company to be based permanently in Scotland for public duties
9.
Battalion
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A battalion is a military unit. The use of the term varies by nationality and branch of service. Typically a battalion consists of 300 to 800 soldiers and is divided into a number of companies, a battalion is typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. In some countries the word battalion is associated with the infantry, the term was first used in Italian as battaglione no later than the 16th century. It derived from the Italian word for battle, battaglia, the first use of battalion in English was in the 1580s, and the first use to mean part of a regiment is from 1708. The battalion must, of course, have a source of re-supply to enable it to sustain operations for more than a few days, the battalion is usually part of a regiment, brigade, or group, depending on the organizational model used by that service. The bulk of a battalions companies are often homogeneous with respect to type, a battalion includes a headquarters company and some sort of combat service support, typically organized within a combat support company. The term battalion is used in the British Army Infantry and some including the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. It was formerly used in the Royal Engineers, and was used in the now defunct Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Other corps usually use the term regiment instead, an infantry battalion is numbered ordinarily within its regiment. It normally has a company, support company, and three rifle companies. Each company is commanded by a major, the officer commanding, the HQ company contains signals, quartermaster, catering, intelligence, administration, pay, training, operations and medical elements. The support company usually contains anti-tank, machine gun, mortar, pioneer, mechanised units usually have an attached light aid detachment of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers to perform field repairs on vehicles and equipment. A British battalion in theatre during World War II had around 845 men in it, and, as of 2012, with successive rounds of cutbacks after the war, many infantry regiments were reduced to a single battalion. A battalion group or battlegroup consists of a battalion or armoured regiment with sub-units detached from other military units acting under the command of the battalion commander. In the Canadian Forces, most battalions are reserve units of between 100–200 soldiers that include an operationally ready, field-deployable component of approximately a half-company apiece, the nine regular force infantry battalions each contain three or four rifle companies and one or two support companies. Canadian battalions are generally commanded by lieutenant-colonels, though smaller reserve battalions may be commanded by majors, with the Dutch artillery units, the equivalent of a battalion is called an afdeling. Combat companies consist of infantry, combat engineers, or tanks, in the latter case, the unit is called an eskadron, which translates roughly to squadron
10.
Company (military unit)
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A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to six platoons, although the number may vary by country, unit type. Usually several companies are grouped as a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is formed by several battalions. Occasionally, independent or separate companies are organized for special purposes and these companies are not organic to a battalion or regiment, but rather report directly to a higher level organization such as a Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters. The modern military company became popularized during the reorganization of the Swedish Army in 1631 under King Gustav II Adolph, for administrative purposes, the infantry was divided into companies consisting of 150 men, grouped into regiments of eight companies. Tactically, the companies were organized into battalions and grouped with cavalry troops. From ancient times, some armies have used a base administrative. Furthermore, recent studies have indicated that humans are best able to maintain stable relationships in a group numbering between 100-250 members, with 150 members being the common number. The advent of accurate, long-range rifle fire, repeating rifles and this, coupled with the advent of radio communication, permitted relatively small numbers of men to have much greater firepower and combat effectiveness than previously possible. Companies, however, continue to remain within the range of 100-250 members, perhaps validating the premise that men fight best in organizations of around 150 members. These companies were not organic to any intermediate headquarters, but rather reported directly to the division headquarters, rifle companies consist of three platoons and a company headquarters. Until after the Second World War, the Royal Engineers and Royal Signals had both squadrons and companies depending on whether the units were supporting mounted or foot formations. The British Army infantry normally identifies its rifle companies by letter within a battalion, usually with the addition of a headquarters company and a support/heavy weapons company. Some units name their companies after regimental battle honours, this is commonly the case for composite units, for example the London Regiment with its Somme, Messines and Cambrai companies. The foot guards regiments use traditional names for some of their companies, for example Queens Company, Left Flank, Royal Marines companies are designated by a letter that is unique across the corps, not just within their command. The Intelligence Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Military Police, the defunct Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Pioneer Corps and Royal Army Ordnance Corps had companies, the Royal Corps of Transport had squadrons. British companies are commanded by a major, the officer commanding. The Honourable Artillery Company is in fact a regiment, not a company, in terms of organisation, canadian Army organisation is modelled after the British
11.
Guards Division
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The Guards Division is an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Regiment. The Guards division was established by renaming the Brigade of Guards in 1968, the depot was established at Wellington Barracks in London. They represent the battalions at significant events, such as Trooping the Colour. As such, each company is an independent unit of their regiment, the colours and traditions of each battalion are kept and maintained by the incremental companies. The British Army, A Pocket Guide, 2012-2013, Brigade of Guards at regiments. org by T. F. Mills at the Wayback Machine
12.
Aldershot Garrison
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Aldershot Garrison, also known as Aldershot Military Town, is a major garrison in South East England, located between Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. Established in 1854, Aldershot has long seen as the home of the British Army. The garrison was established when the War Department bought an area of land near to the village of Aldershot. Over time, this grew into a military town and continues to be used by the Army to the present day. It is home to the headquarters of the Armys Support Command, the garrison plays host to around 70 military units and organisations. In 1972, the garrison was the site of one of the worst UK mainland IRA attacks of the time when a car bomb was detonated outside the mess of 16 Parachute Brigade. The Official IRA claimed responsibility, stating that the attack was in revenge for the shootings in Derry that came to be known as Bloody Sunday, at the time of the attack, Aldershot garrison was an entirely open garrison. Following the attack the Army took steps to secure the garrison by erecting security fences around most of the barracks and lines, the Garrison area covers approximately 500 acres. The total garrison population is about 10,500, adjacent to the military town is some 2,700 hectares of open military training area. Established in 1854, Aldershot has long seen as the home of the British Army. The garrison was established when the War Department bought an area of land near to the village of Aldershot. Over time, this grew into a military town and continues to be used by the Army to the present day. Before the establishment of the Camp at Aldershot, the British Army did not have any single permanent camp for training troops on a large scale. Historically, troops had stationed in long established garrisons, many of which could trace their histories back as mediaeval, or earlier. In 1852, following the death of The Iron Duke, a group of reformers, in 1853, a summer camp was established at Chobham Common and two divisional size military exercises were conducted. Following the success of these manoeuvres, it was decided that a permanent camp was needed where such exercises could be regularly conducted. Initially, Reigate was selected as a location that was strategically sound, despite its obvious advantages, Reigate was situated in prime agricultural land that would prove too expensive to purchase. Lord Hardinge suggested Aldershot Heath as the location for the new training area, as land was less expensive, in January 1854, the British Governments War Department purchased areas of heathland around the small village of Aldershot at £12 an acre
13.
Nemo me impune lacessit
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Nemo me impune lacessit was the Latin motto of the Royal Stuart dynasty of Scotland from at least the reign of James VI when it appeared on the reverse side of merk coins minted in 1578 and 1580. It is the motto of the Order of the Thistle. It means No one cuts me with impunity, and has been rendered in Scots as Wha daur meddle wi me. It is also translated into English as No one can harm me unpunished. The motto is also that of the Royal Company of Archers and has been displayed upon the second standard since 1713. Since 1707 it has appeared in the Scottish version of the arms of British Monarchs, the motto appears in conjunction with the collar of the Order of the Thistle, which is placed around the shield. The motto of the Order of the Thistle should not be confused with the motto of the Royal arms, Nemo me impune lacessit is displayed prominently above the Gatehouse entrance added to Edinburgh Castle in 1888. Armed forces units elsewhere have also adopted this historic motto, the Black Watch of Canada, a reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces, also bears this motto. The motto is also that of the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment, the Caledonian Railway used the motto as part of its crest, until grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish railway in 1923. The motto appears as an inscription on the Scottish Bawbee coin of King Charles II surrounding a crowned thistle. Examples exist for 1677,1678 and 1679, the coin is scarce but not considered rare. This coin is of copper, and was later revalued as a half penny, union College, University of Queensland, Australia, also adopted the motto. The motto also appears on the collar of Edinburgh Rugby official kit. In Belgium, the 1st Squadron of the Belgian Air Force bears the motto, the motto was also used by the Italian noble family Malacrida, of Como. The 1st Battalion, 24th Marines of the United States Marine Corps, the mottos first word, Nemo, was adopted as the namesake for Nemo Arms, a Montana firearms maker. It is also referenced in the Edgar Allan Poe story The Cask of Amontillado, the phrase also appears on mourning bands worn over the badges of law enforcement officers in the United States. Also in America, at the Ivy League school of Dartmouth College, Nemo me impune lacessit is the motto of the Colleges independent conservative newspaper and it has been suggested that the phrase was originally used by Julius Caesar as he was attacked by the Senate. In the motto No-one harasses me with impunity, me was therefore originally the thistle itself, but by extension now refers to the Scottish regiments which have adopted it
14.
The Garb of Old Gaul
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The Garb of Old Gaul is an 18th-century patriotic Scottish march and song about Highland soldiers during the Seven Years War. The music was written by General John Reid, who was an officer of the 42nd Regiment of Foot during the Seven Years War. The words have traditionally attributed to Sir Harry Erskine. Robert Burns described it as This excellent loyal Scottish song and states that it first appeared in print in Herds Collection of 1769, alternative titles include The Highland Character and The Highland or 42nd Regiments March. The tune was originally a quick march but was rearranged as a slow march. The lyrics of the song are about the martial prowess of Highland soldiers, the phrase Garb of Old Gaul refers to the traditional Highland dress, ancient Gaul being thought of at the time as the heartland of the Celtic peoples. The tune is used by a number of Scottish military units as their regimental march and these include, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Queens Royal Hussars Scots Guards Royal Scots Black Watch Ayrshire Yeomanry West Nova Scotia Regiment Royal Newfoundland Regiment
15.
Saint Andrew's Day
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Saint Andrews Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew. It is celebrated on 30 November, Saint Andrews Day is Scotlands official national day. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament designated Saint Andrews Day as a bank holiday. It is also a holiday in Romania. In Germany, the feast day is celebrated as Andreasnacht, in Austria with the custom of Andreasgebet, Saint Andrews Day marks the beginning of the traditional Advent devotion of the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena. The celebration of Saint Andrew as a festival is thought to originate from the reign of Malcolm III. It was thought that ritual slaughter of animals associated with Samhain was moved to this date, but it is only in more recent times that 30 November has been given national holiday status. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament passed the St. Andrews Day Bank Holiday Act 2007, if 30 November falls on a weekend, the next Monday is a bank holiday instead. Although it is a holiday, banks are not required to close. The University of St Andrews traditionally gives the day for all the students as a free holiday, Saint Andrews Day is an official flag day in Scotland. The Scottish Governments flag-flying regulations state that the Flag of Scotland shall fly on all its buildings with a flagpole, prior to 2002, the Scottish Government followed the UK Governments flag days and would only fly the Union Flag on Saint Andrews Day. The regulations were updated to state that the Union Flag would be removed and replaced by the Saltire on buildings with only one flagpole, however, the Union Flag is flown by the British Army at the Castle as it still is an official British Army flag flying station. In Scotland, and many countries with Scottish connections, Saint Andrews Day is marked with a celebration of Scottish culture with traditional Scottish food, music and dance. In Scotland the day is seen as the start of a season of Scottish winter festivals encompassing Saint Andrews Day, Hogmanay. There are week-long celebrations in the town of St Andrews and in some other Scottish cities, Saint Andrews Day is celebrated as the national day of Independence in Barbados. There are a few pre-Christian Romanian traditions connected to Saint Andrews Day, the Dacian New Year took place from 14 November until 7 December, this was considered the interval when time began its course. One of the elements came from the Roman and Thracian celebrations concerned wolves. During this night, wolves are allowed to eat all the animals they want and it is said that they can speak, too, but anyone that hears them will soon die
16.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
17.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
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Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, KG, GCMG, GCVO, ADC is a grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has held the title of Duke of Kent since the death of his father in 1942, the Duke of Kent carries out engagements on behalf of his first cousin, Elizabeth II. He is perhaps best known as president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, presenting the trophies to the Wimbledon champion and he also served as the United Kingdoms Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, retiring in 2001. He is also the president of The Scout Association, the Royal United Services Institute, and the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and since 1967 Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. The Duke of Kent is also patron of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, as of the birth of the Duke of Cambridges second child, the Queens fifth great-grandchild, on 2 May 2015, the Duke of Kent was 34th in line. As of the death of the 7th Earl of Harewood in 2011, he became the Queens oldest living paternal cousin, since his mother was a cousin of Prince Philip, he is also a second cousin to Prince Charles and his siblings. Prince Edward was born on 9 October 1935, at No.3 Belgrave Square, home Secretary Sir John Simon was present to verify the birth. Prince Edwards father was Prince George, Duke of Kent, the son of George V. His mother was Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and he was baptised in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace on 20 November 1935 by the Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang. Prince Edward began his schooling at Ludgrove, a school in Berkshire, before going on to Eton College. After school he entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where he won the Sir James Moncrieff Grierson prize for foreign languages, on 25 August 1942, Prince Edwards father, the Duke of Kent, was killed when his plane crashed in bad weather in Caithness. Prince Edward, who was almost 7, succeeded his father as Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews and he later took his seat in the House of Lords in 1959. As a member of the family, he began performing engagements at an early age. In 1953, he attended the coronation of his cousin, Elizabeth II, the Duke of Kent graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 29 July 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, the beginning of a military career that would last over 20 years. He was promoted to captain on 29 July 1961, the Duke of Kent saw service in Hong Kong from 1962–63 and later served on the staff in Eastern Command. He was promoted to Major on 31 December 1967, during the early 70s, the Duke also served in Northern Ireland with his Regiment. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on 30 June 1973, the Duke retired from the Army on 15 April 1976. He was subsequently promoted Major-General on 11 June 1983 and Field Marshal on 11 June 1993, the Duke of Kent married Katharine Worsley at York Minster on 8 June 1961
18.
Order of the Garter
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The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry and the third most prestigious honour in England and the United Kingdom. It is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George and it is awarded at the Sovereigns pleasure as a personal gift on recipients from the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. Membership of the Order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, the order also includes supernumerary knights and ladies. New appointments to the Order of the Garter are always announced on St Georges Day, the orders emblem is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense in gold lettering. Members of the wear it on ceremonial occasions. King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne, the list includes Sir Sanchet DAbrichecourt, who died on 20 October 1345. Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed, the Kings wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348. Also, its original statutes required that member of the Order already be a knight. The earliest written mention of the Order is found in Tirant lo Blanch and it was first published in 1490. This book devotes a chapter to the description of the origin of the Order of the Garter, at the time of its foundation, the Order consisted of King Edward III, together with 25 Founder Knights, listed in ascending order of stall number in St.1431. Various legends account for the origin of the Order, the most popular legend involves the Countess of Salisbury, whose garter is said to have slipped from her leg while she was dancing at a court ball at Calais. When the surrounding courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and returned it to her, exclaiming, Honi soit qui mal y pense, King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. This story is recounted in a letter to the Annual Register in 1774, The motto in fact refers to Edwards claim to the French throne, the use of the garter as an emblem may have derived from straps used to fasten armour. Medieval scholars have pointed to a connection between the Order of the Garter and the Middle English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in Gawain, a girdle, very similar in its erotic undertones to the garter, plays a prominent role. A rough version of the Orders motto also appears in the text and it translates from Old French as Accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart. While the author of that poem remains disputed, there seems to be a connection between two of the top candidates and the Order of the Garter. Scholar J. P. Oakden has suggested that it is related to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and, more importantly. Another competing theory is that the work was written for Enguerrand de Coucy, the Sire de Coucy was married to King Edward IIIs daughter, Isabella, and was given admittance to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day
19.
Royal Victorian Order
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The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, members of the monarchs family, the present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the Sovereign of the order, its motto is Victoria, and its official day is 20 June. The orders chapel is the Savoy Chapel in London, the organisation was founded a year preceding Victorias Diamond Jubilee, so as to give the Queen time to complete a list of first inductees. The orders official day was made 20 June of each year, in 1902, King Edward VII created the Royal Victorian Chain as a personal decoration for royal personages and a few eminent British subjects and it was the highest class of the Royal Victorian Order. It is today distinct from the order, though it is issued by the chancery of the Royal Victorian Order. The order was open to foreigners from its inception, the Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Queen Elizabeth II then appointed her daughter, Anne, Princess Royal, to the position in 2007. Foreigners may be admitted as members, there are no limits to the number of any grade. Retiring Deans of the Royal Peculiars of St, prior to 1984, the grades of Lieutenant and Member were classified as Members and Members, respectively, but both with the post-nominals MVO. On 31 December of that year, Queen Elizabeth II declared that those in the grade of Member would henceforth be Lieutenants with the post-nominals LVO. Upon admission into the Royal Victorian Order, members are given various insignia of the organisation, each grade being represented by different emblems and robes. For Knights and Dames Grand Cross, Commanders, and Lieutenants, the orders ribbon is blue with red-white-red stripe edging, the only difference being that for foreigners appointed into the society, their ribbon bearing an additional central white stripe. For Knights Grand Cross, the ribbon is 82.5 millimetres wide, for Dames Grand Cross 57.1 millimetres, for Knights and Dames Commander 44.4 millimetres, and for all other members 31.7 millimetres. Though after the death of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross their insignia may be retained by their family, the collar must be returned. Knights and Dames Grand Cross also wear a mantle of blue satin edged with red satin and lined with white satin. Since 1938, the chapel of the Royal Victorian Order has been the Queens Chapel of the Savoy, in central London, upon the occupants death, the plate is retained, leaving the stalls festooned with a record of the orders Knights and Dames Grand Cross since 1938. There is insufficient space in the chapel for the display of knights and dames banners, founded by Michael Jackson, the group has, since 2008, gathered biennially. The practice of notifying the Prime Minister of Canada of nominees ended in 1982, in Canada, the order has come to be colloquially dubbed as the Royal Visit Order, as the majority of appointments are made by the sovereign during her tours of the country. Persons have been removed from the order at the monarchs command, anthony Blunt, a former surveyor of the Queens Pictures, was in 1979 stripped of his knighthood, after it was revealed that he had been a spy
20.
Catterick Garrison
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Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and town three miles south of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. On 12 August 1914, the order was issued for the construction of the camp, the original intention for Catterick was to be a temporary camp to accommodate two complete divisions with around 40,000 men in 2,000 huts. The base was originally named Richmond Camp until being changed to Catterick Camp in 1915, construction was undertaken by John Laing & Son and by the mid-1930s most of the camps facilities were complete. During the Second World War the camp was again used to house prisoners of war. The town is divided between two civil parishes, the southern part of the town, south of a small stream known as Leadmill Gill, is in the civil parish of Scotton. The northern part forms the part of the civil parish of Hipswell. Each parish has its own parish council, the town is also within the Richmond parliamentary constituency, which has been represented since 2015 by Conservative Rishi Sunak. Catterick Garrison is located on the A6136 road, connecting Richmond with the A1 road at Catterick Village,4.7 miles to the east. Regular bus services to Richmond and Darlington are operated by Arriva North East, duchess of Kent Hospital is the local military hospital and medical centre that was opened on 6 October 1976. It was a replacement to the old hospital that was in existence before the Second World War, foxglove Covert, a local nature reserve was the first of its kind in North Yorkshire and the first to be located on Ministry of Defence land in the UK. It covers 100 acres of moorland edge, and was opened in 1992, in 2013 a £25 million development scheme for a new town centre was unveiled, to be built on a former sports ground, owned by the MoD. The plan includes space for retail outlets, a cinema, a 60-bedroom hotel and several dining establishments and bars, Primary education is provided by Carnagill Community Primary School, built in 1966, Wavell School and Le Cateau Community Primary School. There are other schools, not within the garrison area itself such as Colburn Community Primary School. Pupils then receive education at Risedale Sports and Community College. Alternatively, children may attend school at Richmond School and Sixth Form College. Darlington College also has a campus at Catterick Garrison, the three garrison churches are dedicated to St. Joan of Arc, St Aidan, and the Garrison Memorial Church of St Martin and St Oswald. Catterick Garrison Cemetery, located on the side of St Johns Churchyard in Hipswell, was opened by the War Office in 1930 to serve the camp. Among its graves are 42 Commonwealth service personnel of the Second World War and they include, Under Army 2020, the list will be modified and the units based at Catterick will be, 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East The Light Dragoons – Light Cavalry
21.
Foot Guards
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In some militaries, foot guards are senior infantry regiments. The Federation Guard is a tri-service Australian ceremonial unit that performs similar functions to the five British, the Foot Guards are the Regular Infantry regiments of the Household Division of the British Army. There have been six active regiments of guards and one reserve regiment. The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was a formation of the Household Brigade in existence from 1900 to 1901. There are various other distinguishing features of the uniforms of the regiments, such as the colour of the plume, which side it is worn on the bearskin, the collar badge and the shoulder badge. When all five regiments parade together, they are in the order of Grenadier Guards on the flank, then Scots Guards, Welsh Guards, Irish Guards. This is because although the Coldstream are ranked second in seniority and these companies perform ceremonial and security duties in London. The Foot Guards have a role as the garrison for the capital, for the military security of the Sovereign. Two battalions are appointed for public duties, with a third from an infantry regiment since 1996. These provide the Queens Guard, the Tower of London Guard, the Guards Battalions on Public Duties are located in barracks close to Buckingham Palace for them to be able to reach the Palace very quickly in an emergency. In central London, a battalion is based at Wellington Barracks, Westminster, however, as of 2010, the independent incremental companies of the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards have been moved from Chelsea Barracks to the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich. While F Company, Scots Guards, are now based at Wellington Barracks alongside the resident infantry battalion. The Guards Battalion stationed at Windsor generally provides the Windsor Castle Guard, the Windsor battalion is at Victoria Barracks, a quarter of a mile south of the Castle. The Guards Division received a new following the restructuring of the army in 2004. The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was in existence during the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1901, the Guards Machine Gun Regiment was raised for service during the First World War. Initially, each brigade of the Guards Division had a gun company attached. In 1917, these companies were regimented to form a battalion, further battalions were formed by conversion of the Household Cavalry regiments, and King George V ordered that the regiment be classified as the Sixth Regiment of Foot Guards, or Machine Gun Guards. However, it was disbanded in 1920 and they trained at the Guards Depot in Caterham, Surrey
22.
Regiment
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A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, in Medieval Europe, the term regiment denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord of the soldiers. By the 17th century, a regiment was usually about a thousand personnel. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, similarly-sized operational units. By the beginning of the 18th century, regiments in most European continental armies had evolved into permanent units with distinctive titles and uniforms, when at full strength, an infantry regiment normally comprised two field battalions of about 800 men each or 8–10 companies. In some armies, an independent regiment with fewer companies was labelled a demi-regiment, a cavalry regiment numbered 600 to 900 troopers, making up a single entity. With the widespread adoption of conscription in European armies during the nineteenth century, the regimental system underwent modification. Prior to World War I, a regiment in the French, German, Russian. As far as possible, the battalions would be garrisoned in the same military district, so that the regiment could be mobilized. A cavalry regiment by contrast made up an entity of up to 1,000 troopers. Usually, the regiment is responsible for recruiting and administering all of a military career. Depending upon the country, regiments can be either combat units or administrative units or both and this is often contrasted to the continental system adopted by many armies. Generally, divisions are garrisoned together and share the same installations, thus, in divisional administration, soldiers and officers are transferred in and out of divisions as required. Some regiments recruited from specific areas, and usually incorporated the place name into the regimental name. In other cases, regiments would recruit from an age group within a nation. In other cases, new regiments were raised for new functions within an army, e. g. the Fusiliers, the Parachute Regiment, a key aspect of the regimental system is that the regiment or battalion is the fundamental tactical building block. This flows historically from the period, when battalions were widely dispersed and virtually autonomous. For example, a regiment might include different types of battalions of different origins, within the regimental system, soldiers, and usually officers, are always posted to a tactical unit of their own regiment whenever posted to field duty
23.
Charles I of England
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Charles I was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles was the son of King James VI of Scotland, but after his father inherited the English throne in 1603, he moved to England. He became heir apparent to the English, Irish, and Scottish thrones on the death of his brother, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. Two years later, he married the Bourbon princess Henrietta Maria of France instead, after his succession, Charles quarrelled with the Parliament of England, which sought to curb his royal prerogative. Charles believed in the right of kings and thought he could govern according to his own conscience. Many of his subjects opposed his policies, in particular the levying of taxes without parliamentary consent and he supported high church ecclesiastics, such as Richard Montagu and William Laud, and failed to aid Protestant forces successfully during the Thirty Years War. From 1642, Charles fought the armies of the English and Scottish parliaments in the English Civil War, after his defeat in 1645, he surrendered to a Scottish force that eventually handed him over to the English Parliament. Charles refused to accept his captors demands for a constitutional monarchy, re-imprisoned on the Isle of Wight, Charles forged an alliance with Scotland, but by the end of 1648 Oliver Cromwells New Model Army had consolidated its control over England. Charles was tried, convicted, and executed for treason in January 1649. The monarchy was abolished and a called the Commonwealth of England was declared. The monarchy was restored to Charless son, Charles II, in 1660, the second son of King James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark, Charles was born in Dunfermline Palace, Fife, on 19 November 1600. James VI was the first cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth I of England, in mid-July 1604, Charles left Dunfermline for England where he was to spend most of the rest of his life. His speech development was slow, and he retained a stammer, or hesitant speech. In January 1605, Charles was created Duke of York, as is customary in the case of the English sovereigns second son, Thomas Murray, a Presbyterian Scot, was appointed as a tutor. Charles learnt the usual subjects of classics, languages, mathematics, in 1611, he was made a Knight of the Garter. Eventually, Charles apparently conquered his physical infirmity, which might have been caused by rickets and he became an adept horseman and marksman, and took up fencing. Even so, his public profile remained low in contrast to that of his stronger and taller elder brother, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. However, in early November 1612, Henry died at the age of 18 of what is suspected to have been typhoid, Charles, who turned 12 two weeks later, became heir apparent
24.
Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll
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Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, 8th Earl of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell, was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and peer. He was the de facto head of government of Scotland during most of the known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He was a figure in the Covenanter movement that fought for the Presbyterian religion. He is often remembered as the arch-enemy of the royalist general James Graham, Argyll was said to be of above average height, but slight in build. He had reddish hair, which darkened in later life - among the Highlanders he was often called red Argyll - and a pronounced squint. Contemporaries said he had a charming and persuasive manner, although early in life he developed a habit of abruptly leaving the room if a conversation took a turn he did not like. Clarendon said that his wit was pregnant, and his gay and pleasant. On the outbreak of the dispute between the king and Scotland in 1637, Lord Lornes support was eagerly sought by Charles I. He was made a councillor in 1628. In consequence, a commission was given to the Randal MacDonnell, Earl of Antrim to invade Argyll. Argyll continued to attend the meetings of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland after its dissolution by the Marquess of Hamilton, in 1639, he sent a statement to Laud, and subsequently to the king, defending the General Assemblys action. Argyll raised a body of troops and seized Hamiltons castle of Brodick in Arran and this was a fundamental change to the Scottish constitution, whereby the management of public affairs was entrusted to a representative body and withdrawn from the control of the crown. It was on occasion that the Bonnie Hoose o Airlie was burned. By this time, the personal dislike and difference in opinion between Montrose and Argyll led to an open breach, the former arranged that on the occasion of Charless approaching visit to Scotland, Argyll would be accused of high treason in the parliament. The plot, however, was disclosed, and Montrose, among others, was imprisoned, accordingly, when the king arrived, he found himself deprived of every remnant of influence and authority. It only remained for Charles to make a series of concessions, meanwhile, there was an unsuccessful attempt to kidnap Argyll, Hamilton, and Lanark, known as The Incident. Argyll was mainly instrumental in this crisis in keeping the party faithful to what was to him evidently the common cause. He forced Huntly to retreat in April, in July, he advanced to abet the Irish troops now landed in Argyll, which were fighting in conjunction with Montrose, who had put himself at the head of the Royalist forces in Scotland
25.
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
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The Wars of the Three Kingdoms, sometimes known as the British Civil Wars, formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland and Scotland between 1639 and 1651. The English Civil War proper has become the best-known of these conflicts and included the execution of the monarch, Charles I. The wars were the outcome of tensions over religious and civil issues, religious disputes centered on whether religion was to be dictated by the monarch or the choice of the individual, with many people feeling that they ought to have freedom of religion. The related civil questions were to what extent the kings rule was constrained by parliaments—in particular his right to raise taxes, furthermore, the wars also had an element of national conflict, as Ireland and Scotland rebelled against Englands primacy within the Three Kingdoms. Since 1541, monarchs of England had also styled their Irish territory as a Kingdom, Scotland, the third separate kingdom, was governed by the House of Stuart. With the English Reformation, King Henry VIII made himself head of the Protestant Church of England and outlawed Catholicism in England and Wales. However, Catholicism remained the religion of most people in Ireland and was for many a symbol of resistance to the Tudor conquest of Ireland in the 16th century. In the Kingdom of Scotland the Protestant Reformation was a movement led by John Knox. In 1584, he introduced bishops, but met opposition and had to concede that the General Assembly running the church should continue to do so. The personal union of the three kingdoms under one monarch came about when King James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth to the English throne in 1603 and he showed little interest in his other two kingdoms, Scotland and Ireland. James VI remained Protestant, taking care to maintain his hopes of succession to the English throne and he duly also became James I of England in 1603 and moved to London. In 1625, he was succeeded by his son Charles I who was less skillful or restrained and was crowned in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, opposition to his attempts to enforce Anglican practices reached a flashpoint when he introduced a Book of Common Prayer. Charles confrontation with the Scots came to a head in 1639, see also the English Civil War. Charles shared his fathers belief in the Divine Right of Kings, while the Church of England remained dominant, a powerful Puritan minority, represented by around one third of the members of Parliament, had much in common with the Presbyterian Scots. The English Parliament also had repeated disputes with the king over such subjects as taxation, military expenditure, while James I had held the same opinions as his son with regard to royal prerogatives, he had enough charisma to persuade the Parliament to accept his policies. Charles did not have this skill in human management and so, meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Ireland, tensions had also begun to mount. Charles Is Lord Deputy there, Thomas Wentworth, had antagonised the native Irish Catholics by repeated initiatives to confiscate their lands and he had also angered Roman Catholics by enforcing new taxes but denying them full rights as subjects. Modern historians have emphasised the lack of the inevitability of the wars, pointing out that all sides resorted to violence in a situation marked by mutual distrust
26.
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
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From 1644 to 1646, and again in 1650, he fought a civil war in Scotland on behalf of the King and is generally referred to in Scotland as simply the Great Montrose. His spectacular victories, which took his opponents by surprise, are remembered in history for their tactical brilliance. James Graham, chief of Clan Graham, was the youngest of six children, the exact date and place of his birth are unknown, but it was probably in mid-October. His maternal grandparents were William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, and Dorothea and her maternal grandparents were John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl and Lady Janet Campbell. Janet Campbell was a daughter of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll, Elizabeth was a daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox and Margaret Montgomerie. Margaret was a daughter of Alexander Montgomerie, 1st Lord Montgomerie, Graham studied at age twelve at the college of Glasgow under William Forrett who later tutored his sons. At Glasgow, he read Xenophon and Seneca, and Tasso in translation, in the words of biographer John Buchan, his favourite book was a splendid folio of the first edition of History of the World by Walter Raleigh. Graham became 5th Earl of Montrose by his fathers death in 1626 and he was then educated at Saint Salvators College at the University of St Andrews. At the age of seventeen, he married Magdalene Carnegie, who was the youngest of six daughters of David Carnegie and they were parents of four sons, among them James Graham, 2nd Marquess of Montrose. Montrose joined the party of resistance, and was for some one of its most energetic champions. He had nothing puritanical in his nature, but he shared in the ill-feeling aroused by the political authority King Charles had given to the bishops and he signed the National Covenant, and was sent to suppress the opposition which arose around Aberdeen and in the country of the Gordons. Three times Montrose entered Aberdeen, where he succeeded in his object, on the second occasion carrying off the head of the Gordons and he was a leader of the delegation who subsequently met at Muchalls Castle to parley regarding the 1638 confrontation with the Bishop of Aberdeen. With the Earl Marischal he led a force of 9000 men across the Causey Mounth through the Portlethen Moss to attack Royalists at the Bridge of Dee and these events played a part in Charles Is decision to grant major concessions to the Covenanters. In July 1639, after the signing of the Treaty of Berwick and his change of mind, eventually leading to his support for the King, arose from his wish to get rid of the bishops without making Presbyterians masters of the state. His was essentially a laymans view of the situation, Montrose, on the other hand, wished to bring the Kings authority to bear upon parliament to defeat Argyll, and offered the King the support of a great number of nobles. Rather than give way, Charles prepared in 1640 to invade Scotland, Montrose was of necessity driven to play something of a double game. In August 1640 he signed the Bond of Cumbernauld as a protest against the particular and direct practising of a few, in other words, against the ambition of Argyll. But he took his place amongst the defenders of his country, on 27 May 1641 he was summoned before the Committee of Estates and charged with intrigues against Argyll, and on 11 June he was imprisoned by them in Edinburgh Castle
27.
Iberian Peninsula
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The Iberian Peninsula /aɪˈbɪəriən pəˈnɪnsjᵿlə/, also known as Iberia /aɪˈbɪəriə/, is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory. With an area of approximately 582,000 km2, it is the second largest European peninsula, at that time, the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabos Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the land mass southwest of there. The ancient Greeks reached the Iberian Peninsula, of which they had heard from the Phoenicians, hecataeus of Miletus was the first known to use the term Iberia, which he wrote about circa 500 BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus says of the Phocaeans that it was they who made the Greeks acquainted with. According to Strabo, prior historians used Iberia to mean the country side of the Ἶβηρος as far north as the river Rhône in France. Polybius respects that limit, but identifies Iberia as the Mediterranean side as far south as Gibraltar, elsewhere he says that Saguntum is on the seaward foot of the range of hills connecting Iberia and Celtiberia. Strabo refers to the Carretanians as people of the Iberian stock living in the Pyrenees, according to Charles Ebel, the ancient sources in both Latin and Greek use Hispania and Hiberia as synonyms. The confusion of the words was because of an overlapping in political, the Latin word Hiberia, similar to the Greek Iberia, literally translates to land of the Hiberians. This word was derived from the river Ebro, which the Romans called Hiberus, hiber was thus used as a term for peoples living near the river Ebro. The first mention in Roman literature was by the annalist poet Ennius in 200 BC. Virgil refers to the Ipacatos Hiberos in his Georgics, the Roman geographers and other prose writers from the time of the late Roman Republic called the entire peninsula Hispania. As they became interested in the former Carthaginian territories, the Romans began to use the names Hispania Citerior. At the time Hispania was made up of three Roman provinces, Hispania Baetica, Hispania Tarraconensis, and Lusitania, Strabo says that the Romans use Hispania and Iberia synonymously, distinguishing between the near northern and the far southern provinces. Whatever language may generally have been spoken on the peninsula soon gave way to Latin, except for that of the Vascones, the Iberian Peninsula has always been associated with the Ebro, Ibēros in ancient Greek and Ibērus or Hibērus in Latin. The association was so known it was hardly necessary to state, for example. Pliny goes so far as to assert that the Greeks had called the whole of Spain Hiberia because of the Hiberus River, the river appears in the Ebro Treaty of 226 BC between Rome and Carthage, setting the limit of Carthaginian interest at the Ebro. The fullest description of the treaty, stated in Appian, uses Ibērus, with reference to this border, Polybius states that the native name is Ibēr, apparently the original word, stripped of its Greek or Latin -os or -us termination
28.
Peninsular War
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The Peninsular War was a military conflict between Napoleons empire and the allied powers of Spain, Britain and Portugal, for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war started when French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807, the Peninsular War overlaps with what the Spanish-speaking world calls the Guerra de la Independencia Española, which began with the Dos de Mayo Uprising on 2 May 1808 and ended on 17 April 1814. The French occupation destroyed the Spanish administration, which fragmented into quarrelling provincial juntas, the British Army, under the then Lt. Gen. Arthur Wellesley, guarded Portugal and campaigned against the French in Spain alongside the reformed Portuguese army. The demoralised Portuguese army was reorganised and refitted under the command of Gen, in the following year Wellington scored a decisive victory over King Josephs army at Vitoria. The years of fighting in Spain were a burden on Frances Grande Armée. The Spanish armies were beaten and driven to the peripheries. This drain on French resources led Napoleon, who had provoked a total war. War and revolution against Napoleons occupation led to the Spanish Constitution of 1812, the burden of war destroyed the social and economic fabric of Portugal and Spain, and ushered in an era of social turbulence, political instability and economic stagnation. Devastating civil wars between liberal and absolutist factions, led by officers trained in the Peninsular War, persisted in Iberia until 1850. The cumulative crises and disruptions of invasion, revolution and restoration led to the independence of most of Spains American colonies, the Treaties of Tilsit, negotiated during a meeting in July 1807 between Emperors Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon, concluded the War of the Fourth Coalition. With Prussia shattered, and Russia allied with France, Napoleon expressed irritation that Portugal was open to trade with the United Kingdom, furthermore, Prince John of Braganza, regent for his insane mother Queen Maria I, had declined to join the emperors Continental System against British trade. After a few days, a large force started concentrating at Bayonne, meanwhile the Portuguese governments resolve was stiffening, and shortly afterward Napoleon was once again told that Portugal would not go beyond its original agreements. After he received the Portuguese answer, he ordered Junots corps to cross the frontier into Spain, while all this was going on, the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau had been signed between France and Spain. The document was drawn up by Napoleons marshal of the palace Géraud Duroc and Eugenio Izquierdo, the treaty proposed to carve up Portugal into three entities. Porto and the part was to become the Kingdom of Northern Lusitania. The southern portion, as the Principality of the Algarves, would fall to Godoy, the rump of the country, centered on Lisbon, was to be administered by the French. According to the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Junots invasion force was to be supported by 25,500 men in three Spanish columns, Gen. Taranco and 6,500 troops were ordered to march from Vigo to seize Porto in the north. Capt. Gen. Solano would advance from Badajoz with 9,500 soldiers to capture Elvas, Gen. Caraffa and 9,500 men were instructed to assemble at Salamanca and Ciudad Rodrigo, and cooperate with Junots main force
29.
Douro
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The Douro is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto. The Latinized name Durius, likely came from the Celtic tribes that inhabited the area before Roman times, in modern Welsh, dŵr is water, as well as dour in modern Breton with cognate dobhar in Irish. In Roman times, the river was personified as a god, the Douro vinhateiro, an area of the Douro Valley in Portugal long devoted to vineyards, has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Traditionally, the wine was taken down river in boats called rabelos, to be stored in barrels in cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. In the 1950s and 1960s, dams were built along the river, now Port wine is transported in tanker trucks. In 1998, Portugal and Spain signed the Albufeira Convention, an agreement on the sharing of trans-boundary rivers to include the Douro, Tagus, the convention superseded an original agreement on the Douro, signed in 1927, that was expanded in 1964 and 1968 to include tributaries. It is the third-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula after the Tagus and its total length is 897 kilometres, of which only sections of the Portuguese extension below the fall line are navigable, by light rivercraft. In this region, there are few tributaries of the Douro, the most important are the Pisuerga, passing through Valladolid, and the Esla, which passes through Zamora. This region is generally semi-arid plains, with wheat and in places, especially near Aranda de Duero, with vineyards. Sheep rearing is still important. For 112 kilometres, the forms part of the national border line between Spain and Portugal, in a region of narrow canyons. It formed a barrier to invasions, creating a cultural/linguistic divide. In these isolated areas, in which the Aldeadávila Dam impounds the river, there are protected areas, the International Douro Natural Park and the Arribes del Duero Natural Park. The Douro fully enters Portuguese territory just after the confluence with the Águeda River, once the Douro enters Portugal, except for Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia at the river mouth, the only population centres of any note are Foz do Tua, Pinhão and Peso da Régua. Tributaries here are small, merging into the Douro along the canyons, the most important are Côa, Tua, Sabor, Corgo, Tavora, Paiva, Tâmega, none of these small, fast-flowing rivers is navigable. The most populous cities along the Douro River are Valladolid and Zamora in Spain, the latter two are located at the mouth of the Douro at the Atlantic Ocean. In Portugal, the Douro flows through the districts of Bragança, Guarda, Viseu, Vila Real, Aveiro, Porto is the main hub city in northern Portugal. Its historic centre has designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its significant architecture
30.
Amarante, Portugal
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Amarante is a town and a municipality in Porto District, in northern Portugal. Amarante is situated in the lands of the Minho region. The population in 2011 was 56,264, in an area of 301.33 km², the city itself had a population of 11,261 in 2001. The Tâmega River runs through the town and is crossed by an arched bridge. It is reputed to have helped local forces fend off a French attack in the early 19th century, nowadays the older centre of town is dominated by a multitude of cafés and restaurants dotted along the steep banks of the southern side of the Tâmega River. Amarante is also associated with the tale of Saint Gonzalo/Gonçalo de Amarante, the area around Amarante was settled as early as the Stone Age by the prehistoric tribes who inhabited the Serra da Aboboreira. However, its importance increased only after the arrival of Saint Gonçalo de Amarante, the construction of the stone bridge across the Tâmega river is credited to him. After his death, Amarante became the destination of pilgrimages and grew substantially, in the 16th century, King John III of Portugal had the church of St. Mary turned into a large Dominican monastery near the bridge of St. Gonçalo. The bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1763 and was rebuilt, during the Napoleonic invasion of Portugal, the bridge of Amarante was the seat of an episode of Portuguese resistance against the French troops led by general Henri François Delaborde. The city was set to fire by the French, and was later rebuilt, the architecture of the Amarante region is mainly in the Romanesque style, with a number of Romanesque monuments throughout the region. They were built in deserted areas or on crossroads on the outskirts of inhabited areas, serving as meeting places, accommodation, Amarante became part of the Sousa Valley Romanesque Route project on the 12 March 2010. On the southern side of the river, can be found the Jazente church, the Lufrei church, Amarante lies around half a kilometre from the A4 Motorway. There is also a bus station, served principally by Rodonorte, between 1909 and 2009 Amarante was served by a narrow gauge railway line, which connected with the main Douro Valley railway line at Livraçao. Amarante station and the entire Tâmega line closed in 2009, the Tâmega Line Ecotrack is 9.3 km long and 3.5 m wide, running very close to the Támega River. The Amarante Golf Course, designed by Portuguese architect Jorge Santana da Silva and it is an 18-hole, par 68 course with a total length of 5.030 metres. It is located in the Fregim parish, around 6 km from the town of Amarante, Saint Gonçalo de Amarante is reported to have been responsible for the building of the principal bridge in Amarante. A large church, the Igreja de Sâo Gonçalo, lies to the north of this bridge, the poet Teixeira de Pascoaes was born in Amarante on November 8,1877. He was a representative of the Portuguese Renaissance movement, famous for both his poetry and prose and his name is also connected with ”Saudosismo”, a movement that promulgated “saudade” as a national spiritual value that could have transformative power
31.
Porto
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Porto is the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon and one of the major urban areas of the Iberian Peninsula. The urban area of Porto, which extends beyond the limits of the city, has a population of 2.1 million in an area of 389 km2. It is recognized as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group. Located along the Douro river estuary in Northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, the western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Its settlement dates back centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its combined Celtic-Latin name, Portus Cale, has referred to as the origin of the name Portugal, based on transliteration. In Portuguese, the name of the city is spelled with a definite article, consequently, its English name evolved from a misinterpretation of the oral pronunciation and referred to as Oporto in modern literature and by many speakers. In 2014 and 2017, Porto was elected The Best European Destination by the Best European Destinations Agency, the history of Porto dates back to around 300 BC with Proto-Celtic and Celtic people being the first known inhabitants. Ruins of that period have been discovered in several areas, during the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula the city developed as an important commercial port, primarily in the trade between Olissipona and Bracara Augusta. Porto fell under the control of the Moors during the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711. In 868, Vímara Peres, a warlord from Gallaecia, and this included the area from the Minho to the Douro River, the settlement of Portus Cale and the area that is known as Vila Nova de Gaia. Portus Cale, later referred to as Portucale, was the origin for the name of Portugal. In 868, Count Vímara Peres established the County of Portugal, or, in 1387, Porto was the site of the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, this symbolized a long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England. The Portuguese-English alliance, is the worlds oldest recorded military alliance, in the 14th and the 15th centuries, Portos shipyards contributed to the development of Portuguese shipbuilding. It was also from the port of Porto that, in 1415, Prince Henry the Navigator embarked on the conquest of the Moorish port of Ceuta, wine, produced in the Douro valley, was already in the 13th century transported to Porto in barcos rabelos. In 1703, the Methuen Treaty established the relations between Portugal and England. In 1717, a first English trading post was established in Porto, the production of port wine then gradually passed into the hands of a few English firms. To counter this English dominance, Prime Minister Marquis of Pombal established a Portuguese firm receiving the monopoly of the wines from the Douro valley
32.
Battle of Talavera
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The Battle of Talavera was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some 120 kilometres southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera an Anglo-Spanish army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish army under General Cuesta in operations against French-occupied Madrid, the French army withdrew at night after several of its attacks had been repulsed. After Marshal Soults French army had retreated from Portugal, General Wellesleys 20,000 British troops advanced into Spain to join 33,000 Spanish troops under General Cuesta and they marched up the Tagus valley to Talavera, some 120 kilometres southwest of Madrid. There they encountered 46,000 French under Marshal Claude Victor and Major-General Horace Sebastiani, with the French king of Spain, the French crossed the Alberche in the middle of the afternoon on 27 July. A couple of later, the French attacked the right of the Spaniards. A strategic hill was taken and lost, until, finally, a French cannonade lasted until noon when a negotiated armistice of two hours began. That afternoon, an exchange of cannon fire started ahead of various infantry and cavalry skirmishes. Early in the evening, a major engagement resulted in the French being held off, a cannon duel continued until dark. At daylight, the British and Spanish discovered that the bulk of the French force had retired, leaving their wounded, Wellesley was ennobled as Viscount Wellington of Talavera and of Wellington for the action. On 27 July, Wellesley sent out the 3rd Division and some cavalry under the command of Anson to cover Cuestas retreat into the Talavera position. But when Ansons cavalry mistakenly pulled back, the French rushed in to surprise and inflict over 400 casualties on Rufane Donkins brigade and that night Victor sent Ruffins division to seize the hill known as Cerro de Medellín in a coup de main. Two of Ruffins three regiments went astray in the dark, but the 9th Light Infantry routed Sigismund Lowes KGL brigade, alertly, Hill sent Richard Stewarts brigade on a counter-attack which drove the French away. The British suffered some 800 casualties on the 27th, during the evening of 27th, French Dragoon squadrons were riding close to the Spanish position firing their carbines at Spanish skirmishers. Suddenly, without orders, Cuestas entire Spanish line fired a volley at the French Dragoons. The French were outside the range of the Spanish muskets, four Spanish battalions threw down their weapons and fled in panic. Wellesley wrote, Nearly 2,000 ran off on the evening of the 27th, plundered the baggage of the British army which had been sent to the rear. While a majority of the troops were brought back, many hundreds continued to flee. Wellesleys British army consisted of four divisions, three cavalry brigades and 30 cannon, totaling 20,641 troops
33.
Walcheren Campaign
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Around 40,000 soldiers,15,000 horses together with field artillery and two siege trains crossed the North Sea and landed at Walcheren on 30 July. This was the largest British expedition of that year, larger than the serving in the Peninsular War in Portugal. The Walcheren Campaign involved little fighting, but heavy losses from the popularly dubbed Walcheren Fever. Although more than 4,000 British troops died during the expedition, only 106 died in combat, in July 1809, the British decided to seal the mouth of the Scheldt to prevent the port of Antwerp being used as a base against them. The primary aim of the campaign was to destroy the French fleet thought to be in Flushing whilst providing a diversion for the hard-pressed Austrians, however, the Battle of Wagram had already occurred before the start of the campaign and the Austrians had effectively already lost the war. John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham commanded the army, whilst Sir Richard Strachan commanded the navy, as a first move, the British seized the swampy island of Walcheren at the mouth of river Scheldt, as well as South Beveland island, both in the present-day Netherlands. The British troops soon began to suffer from malaria, within a month of seizing the island, the medical provisions for the expedition proved inadequate despite reports that an occupying French force had lost 80% of its numbers a few years earlier, also due to disease. Once it had decided to garrison Walcheren Island in September 1809. The French forces were commanded by Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, who had just been stripped of his command after disobeying orders at Wagram, dismissed from Napoleons Grande Armée, Bernadotte returned to Paris and was sent to defend the Netherlands by the council of ministers. With the main objective for the British out of reach, the expedition was called off in early September, around 12,000 troops stayed on Walcheren, but by October only 5,500 remained fit for duty. In all, the British government spent almost £8 million on the campaign, along with the 4,000 men that had died during the campaign, almost 12,000 were still ill by February 1810 and many others remained permanently weakened. Those sent to the Peninsular War to join Wellingtons army caused a permanent doubling of the sick lists there, a number of smaller vessels including customs-house and excise cutters were also involved, as was a packet ship. The City of London, Loyal Greenwich, and Royal Harbour River Fencibles also contributed men to the expedition, the 1st battalion of the Irish Legion was stationed in Flushing during the assault and received its baptism of fire there. It fought a rear guard action for days but the battalion was almost completely captured. The Legions brass band followed by the Irish battalion led the surrendered French garrison out of the town, however, a small party of Irishmen escaped and went into hiding with the battalions cherished imperial eagle, and after a few days they crossed the Scheldt River and escaped. Commandant Lawless was presented to Napoleon and he together with Captain OReilly received the Légion dhonneur in gratitude, the British Expeditionary Force to Walcheren,1809
34.
Low Countries
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Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to one union of port. The Low Countries were the scene of the northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe, all of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, secondary languages included French, Romance-speaking Belgium, the Romance Flanders, and Namur. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions les pays de par deça and Pays dEmbas, which evolved to Pays-Bas or Low Countries, today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term Benelux, which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the country the Netherlands has the same meaning. The same name of countries can be found in other European languages, for example German Niederlande, French, les Pays-Bas, and so on. In the Dutch language itself no plural is used for the name of the modern country, so Nederland is used for the modern nation and de Nederlanden for the 16th century domains of Charles V. In Dutch, and to an extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands. For example, a Derby der Lage Landen, is an event between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the Southern, Spanish or later Austrian Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the low countries, the region politically had its origins in Carolingian empire, more precisely, most of it was within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. After the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia, the Low Countries were brought under the rule of various lordships until they came to be in the hands of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Hence, a part of the low countries came to be referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands also called the Seventeen Provinces up to 1581. Even after the secession of the autonomous Dutch Republic in the north. The Low Countries were part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Inferior and they were inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. In the 4th and 5th century, Frankish tribes had entered this Roman region and they came to be ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, under which dynasty the southern part was re-Christianised
35.
Battle of Salamanca
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A Spanish division was also present but took no part in the battle. These attacks resulted in a rout of the French left wing, both Marmont and his deputy commander, General Bonet, received shrapnel wounds in the first few minutes of firing. Confusion amongst the French command may have been decisive in creating an opportunity, General Bertrand Clausel, third in seniority, assumed command and ordered a counterattack by the French reserve toward the depleted Allied centre. The move proved successful but with Wellington having sent his reinforcements to the centre. Allied losses numbered 3,129 British and 2,038 Portuguese dead or wounded, the Spanish troops took no part in the battle as they were positioned to block French escape routes and as such suffered just six casualties. The French suffered about 13,000 dead, wounded and captured, as a consequence of Wellingtons victory, his army was able to advance to and liberate Madrid for two months, before retreating to Portugal. The French were forced to abandon Andalusia permanently while the loss of Madrid irreparably damaged King Josephs pro-French government, following Marmont’s retreat to Salamanca Wellington took position behind the Agueda and Coa rivers. In May, acting on Wellington’s orders General Hill took a force of 7,000 men to destroy the bridge at Almaraz, on 13 June Wellington crossed the Agueda and advanced eastward to Salamanca, a town that was a major supply depot for the French army. The French had converted three convents into powerful forts to defend the town and the bridge across the river Tormes. On 19 June the first battery opened fire but it was not until 27 June that, for several weeks Wellington found his movements north of Salamanca blocked by Marmonts army, which was constantly swelled by reinforcements. With the armies often marching close together, separated by the river, moving east, the French crossed to the south bank of the Tormes across another bridge at Huerta and by marching south then west hoped to turn the flank of Wellingtons army. The Duke immediately ordered the part of his army to attack the overextended French left wing. Marshal Marmonts 50, 000-man Army of Portugal contained eight infantry, pierre François Joseph Boyer led 1,500 dragoons and Jean-Baptiste Theodore Curto commanded 1,900 light cavalry. Louis Tirlet directed 3,300 artillerymen and there were also 1,300 engineers, military police, Wellingtons 48, 500-man army included eight infantry divisions, formed mainly by British and Portuguese units, and two independent brigades, five cavalry brigades and 54 cannons. The infantry divisions were Henry Frederick Campbells 1st, Edward Pakenhams 3rd, Lowry Coles 4th, James Leiths 5th, Henry Clintons 6th, John Hopes 7th, carlos de España commanded a 3, 400-man Spanish division, while Denis Pack and Thomas Bradford led the independent Portuguese brigades. Stapleton Cotton supervised the cavalry brigades, hoylet Framingham commanded eight British and one Portuguese six-gun artillery batteries. Marmonts army moved south early on 22 July, its leading elements reaching an area southeast of Salamanca, to the west, the Marshal could see Wellingtons 7th Division deployed on a ridge. Spotting a dust cloud in the distance, Marmont assumed that most of the British army was in retreat and he planned to move his French army south, then west to turn the British right flank
36.
Battle of the Nive
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The Battles of the Nive were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellingtons Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soults French army in a series of battles near the city of Bayonne, unusually, for most of the battle, Wellington remained with the Reserve delegating command to his senior Lieutenant-Generals Rowland Hill and John Hope. Wellingtons army had pushed the French army out of Spain, over the Pyrenees. After his defeat at Nivelle, Marshal Soult fell back to a line south of the town of Bayonne along the Adour. The rivers and the Bay of Biscay near Bayonne form a rough Greek letter Pi, the left vertical leg is the coast, the right vertical leg is the Nive and the crossbar is the Adour. Bayonne is located where the Nive joins the Adour, initially, Wellingtons army was confined to the area between the Bay of Biscay and the Nive. To gain room to manoeuvre, the British general had to establish his army on the east bank of the Nive, Wellingtons dilemma was that by separating two wings of his army, he would leave himself open to defeat in detail. Soult, a wily strategist, understood this and tried to take advantage of the situation, by moving the French army through the fortified city of Bayonne, Soult could easily switch his army from one bank of the Nive to the other. Despite poor weather, Hill led five Anglo-Portuguese divisions across to the east bank of the Nive near Ustaritz on 9 December, meanwhile, the remainder of the British force under Hope launched diversionary attacks towards Bayonne on the west bank of the Nive. Wellingtons Reserve included the 4th and 7th Divisions, about 630 casualties were suffered in these operations. The right flank of Hopes line was held by one brigade of the 7th Division at the bridge of Urdains, Charles Altens Light Division defended the centre near Bassussary. The left, under John Wilson, was held by Bradford, the ravine-filled terrain forced the French into these three corridors of attack. The 5th Division lay three miles to the rear while the 1st Division and Lord Aylmers independent British brigade were ten miles away, though Wellington ordered the line to be fortified, Hope failed to do this. The four divisions leading the attack were fresh while the troops were tired from skirmishing with Hills troops. The Light Divisions outpost line alertly detected the attack, though 50 men were cut off. The French advance soon came upon the ridge of Arcangues, topped by a chateau, Aylmers brigade arrived about 2 pm. The picket line on Hopes left flank was quickly gobbled up by Reilles attack and 200 men captured, for the most part, the Portuguese held sturdily, but one unit was broken by French cavalry. Fighting their way back to Barroilhet, the Portuguese held onto the village, the 5th Division arrived, but, due to a staff blunder, was low on ammunition
37.
Battle of Waterloo
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The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday,18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Upon Napoleons return to power in March 1815, many states that had opposed him formed the Seventh Coalition, Wellington and Blüchers armies were cantoned close to the north-eastern border of France. Napoleon chose to attack them in the hope of destroying them before they could join in an invasion of France with other members of the coalition. Despite holding his ground at Quatre Bras, the defeat of the Prussians forced Wellington to withdraw to Waterloo, Napoleon sent a third of his forces to pursue the Prussians, who had withdrawn parallel to Wellington. This resulted in the separate and simultaneous Battle of Wavre with the Prussian rear-guard, upon learning that the Prussian army was able to support him, Wellington decided to offer battle on the Mont-Saint-Jean escarpment, across the Brussels road. Here he withstood repeated attacks by the French throughout the afternoon, in the evening Napoleon committed his last reserves to a desperate final attack, which was narrowly beaten back. With the Prussians breaking through on the French right flank, Wellingtons Anglo-allied army counter-attacked in the centre, Waterloo was the decisive engagement of the Waterloo Campaign and Napoleons last. According to Wellington, the battle was the thing you ever saw in your life. Napoleon abdicated four days later, and on 7 July coalition forces entered Paris, the defeat at Waterloo ended Napoleons rule as Emperor of the French, and marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile. This ended the First French Empire, and set a chronological milestone between serial European wars and decades of relative peace, the battlefield is located in the municipalities of Braine-lAlleud and Lasne, about 15 kilometres south of Brussels, and about 2 kilometres from the town of Waterloo. The site of the battlefield today is dominated by a large monument, as this mound was constructed from earth taken from the battlefield itself, the contemporary topography of the battlefield near the mound has not been preserved. On 13 March 1815, six days before Napoleon reached Paris, four days later, the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, and Prussia mobilised armies to defeat Napoleon. Crucially, this would have bought him time to recruit and train more men before turning his armies against the Austrians and Russians, an additional consideration for Napoleon was that a French victory might cause French speaking sympathisers in Belgium to launch a friendly revolution. Wellingtons initial dispositions were intended to counter the threat of Napoleon enveloping the Coalition armies by moving through Mons to the south-west of Brussels and this would have pushed Wellington closer to Blücher, but may have cut Wellingtons communications with his base at Ostend. In order to delay Wellingtons deployment, Napoleon spread false intelligence which suggested that Wellingtons supply chain from the ports would be cut. By June, Napoleon had raised a total strength of about 300,000 men. The force at his disposal at Waterloo was less than one third that size, Napoleon divided his army into a left wing commanded by Marshal Ney, a right wing commanded by Marshal Grouchy and a reserve under his command. Crossing the frontier near Charleroi before dawn on 15 June, the French rapidly overran Coalition outposts and he hoped this would prevent them from combining, and he would be able to destroy first the Prussians army, then Wellingtons
38.
Hougoumont
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Château dHougoumont is a large farmhouse situated at the bottom of an escarpment near the Nivelles road in Braine-lAlleud, near Waterloo, Belgium. The escarpment is where British and other allied forces faced Napoleons Army at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, Hougoumont, which had become dilapidated, was fully restored in time for the 200th anniversary of the battle and opened to the public on 18 June 2015. The name is from Germanic Hauha-berg, the whole of Brabant was once Dutch speaking. Hauha- means high, and berg means mountain, the name of the farm was later pronounced Honberg, Honsberg, and even Gomberg. The Belgian francophones kept hauha, changed it into hougou and translated berg into mont, note that this mont is a low hill. According to Sir Walter Scott who visited the battlefield in January 1816, in 1474 the Order of Saint John bought 30 acres of forest, Le Goumont, and another 30 acres of adjacent heathland for 100 golden crowns. The deed of sale did not mention any building on the grounds, a building had apparently been erected on the land as it was sold in 1536 to Pierre du Fief, attorney-general to the Council of Brabant, who subsequently enlarged the property considerably. In 1562 the estate became the property of Pierre Quarré and stayed in the Quarré family until 1637 when it was bought by Arnold Schuyl and it was around this time that the present building was erected. After 1671 the domain became the property of Jan Arrazola de Oñate, chamberlain of Archdukes Albert and it remained in the hands of these Lords of Gomont and Tiberchamps until 1791 when Jan-André Arrazola de Oñate died childless at the age of 73. His wife remarried with Phillipe Gouret de Louville, a major in the service of Austria, Ridder de Louville did not live in the chateau in 1815 but left the management to Antoine Dumonceau who laid out a splendid French formal garden. After the battle, the then 86 years old Ridder de Louville did not have the funds for much-needed repairs, through successive marriages and inheritances within the de Robiano family the estate eventually became the property of the dOultremont family in 1917. In 2003 it was sold by Count Guibert dOultremont to the Belgian Region of Wallonia through a cooperative society. In June 1815 the chateau became an epicenter of fighting in the Battle of Waterloo as it was one of the first places where British and other allied forces faced Napoleons Army. Napoleon planned to draw Wellingtons reserve to Wellingtons right flank in defence of Hougoumont and then attack through the left of the British. The two light companies of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, First Guards were initially positioned in the orchard, Lieutenant-Colonel James Macdonnell, Coldstream Guards, had overall command of Hougoumont. Wellington recorded in his despatches at about ten oclock commenced an attack upon our post at Hougoumont. Other sources state that this attack was at about 11,30, the historian Andrew Roberts notes that It is a curious fact about the battle of Waterloo that no one is absolutely certain when it actually began. The initial attack by Maréchal de Camp Bauduins 1st Brigade of the 6th Division emptied the wood and park, the British guns were distracted into an artillery duel with French guns and this allowed a second attack by Maréchal de Camp Baron Soyes 2nd Brigade of the 6th Division
39.
1st Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
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The 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade is an infantry brigade of the British Army with a long history including service during both World War I and World War II. It is based at Tidworth Camp, previously it has been designated 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Mechanised Brigade, and under Army 2020 will take up the 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade title. Initially designated as the 1st Brigade, the brigade was part of 1st Division during the First World War and it was with the 1st Division on the Western Front throughout the war. On 11 April 1942 the brigade was redesignated and reorganised as 1st Independent Brigade Group, with its own support units, in late 1942 it took part in the North African Campaign in Operation Torch, the Allied landings in French North Africa, arriving in Algiers in November 1942. The brigade then fought on the Gothic Line and in the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy. B, beckwith-Smith Lieutenant Colonel L. Bootle-Wilbraham Brigadier F. A. V. Copland-Griffiths Brigadier S. A. Foster Brigadier P. G. S, heber-Percy Brigadier J. C. Haydon Brigadier C. A. M. D. Two years later as the British mandate over Palestine ended the brigade, after the end of the Cold War it was reassigned as part of the new 3rd Division and subsequently became a Mechanised Brigade. In 1996 it was deployed to the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, with Multi-National Division, in 2000 it deployed to Sierra Leone, more recently it deployed to Iraq on Operation Telic. The brigade was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick XVIII It then deployed again in 2014, under Army 2020, it was renamed as 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade and remained at Tidworth Camp, forming part of the Reaction Force. F. Orders of Battle, Second World War, 1939–1945, 1st Mechanised Brigade on British Army official website Battle and Unit History Site 1 Infantry Brigade
Kingdom of England
Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800)
United Kingdom
British Army
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Australia – 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
Royal Navy – HMS Duncan
