Guard Division (United Kingdom)

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National emblem of the division

The Guard Division (Guards Division) was a major unit of the British Army . It was set up on the Western Front during World War I in 1915 and was involved in all major battles of the British Expeditionary Force . After the Second World War , a new Guards Division was activated in June 1945, which was formed as a successor to the Guards Armored Division , but which itself only existed for a short time.

First World War

Lineup

In July 1915, King George V approved the formation of his own guard division, which took place near St. Omer in August 1915 . The 1st and 4th Guards Brigade, which had been on the Western Front since the beginning of the war, were also used for this purpose. As the 1st Guard Brigade, the 2nd Division was taken over by the previous 4th Guard Brigade. The 2nd Guard Brigade was formed from two new battalions from England and two more from the previous 1st Guard Brigade of the 1st Division. The 3rd Guard Brigade also consisted of two newly formed battalions from England and two, which were taken over by the 20th Brigade of the 7th Division.

Division Commander Rudolph Lambart, Earl of Cavan, 1915

In August 1915, the newly formed Guards Division under Lord Cavan was organized as follows:

1st Guards Brigade ( Brigadier General GPT Feilding)

2nd Guards Brigade (Brigadier General John Ponsonby )

  • 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
  • 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards
  • 1st Battalion, Guardsman
  • 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards

3rd Guards Brigade (Brigadier General Frederik J. Heyworth)

  • 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards
  • 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards
  • 2nd Battalion, Guardsman
  • 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards

1915

From September 1915, the division took part in the battle of Loos during the Artois offensive in the section of the 1st Army . After the introduction of the second attack series as part of the XI. Corps (General Haking ) carried out attacks against the "Hohenzollern Redoute" (October 18-19).

1916

Deployment of the guards on September 15, 1916

At the beginning of January 1916 Lord Cavan was given command of the newly established XIV. Corps , and General Geoffrey Feilding then took over the leadership of the guards. After the Battle of the Somme had lasted for two months, the Guards Division was called in for the intended breakthrough in September 1916. It was in particular at the Battle of Flers- Courcelette (15/16 and from 20 to 22 September), where new tanks were used for the first time, and at the Battle of Morval (25 to 28 September), where the division captured Lesboeufs on September 25, played a decisive role.

1917

Location near Poelcapelle on October 9, 1917

From July 1917 the division was used in the Third Battle of Flanders in the 5th Army in the following organization:

1st Guards Brigade (Brigadier General Jeffreys)

  • 2nd Coldstream Guards ( Lt.col. Crawfurd)
  • 2nd Grenadier Guards (Lt.col. Pollock)
  • 3rd Coldstream Guards (Lt.col. Follett)
  • 1st Irish Guards (Lt.col. Champion de Crespigny)

2nd Guards Brigade (Brigadier General J. Ponsonby)

  • 1st Welsh Guards (Lt.col. Gordon)
  • 1st Grenadier Guards (Lt.col. Maitland)
  • 2nd Irish Guards (Lt.col. Greer)
  • 1st Scots Guards (Lt.col. Ross)

3rd Guards Brigade (Brigadier General Lord Henry Seymour)

  • 2nd Scots Guards (Lt.col. Orr-Ewing)
  • 4th Grenadier Guards (Lt.col. Gort)
  • 1st Coldstream Guards (Lt.col. Brand)
  • 3rd Grenadier Guards (Lt.col. Thorne)

As part of the XIV. Corps (Lord Cavan) the division was led to the attack against the heights of Pilckem (July 31 - August 2), in the later phase it was at Langemark-Poelkapelle (October 9) and in the First Battle of Passchendaele (October 12). This was followed by participation in the Battle of Cambrai between November 24th and December 3rd .

1918

On February 8, 1918, the division was reorganized: the previous 12 battalions of the division were reduced to 9, the brigade now had only three battalions instead of four. As a result, an additional brigade was formed on February 8:

4th Guards Brigade

  • 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards (from 1st Guard Brigade)
  • 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards (from the 2nd Guard Brigade)
  • 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards (3rd Guard Brigade)

At the beginning of the spring offensive (March 21, 1918), the division was deployed as a reserve on the northern section of the 3rd Army and from March 24, led counter-attacks in the Bapaume area to stop the German advance. By the end of March, the division had suffered losses of 59 officers and 1,080 men.

In the course of the Hundred Days Offensive, the Guard Division carried out strong counterattacks from the area east of Albert in the direction of the Somme (August 21-23), and then fought in the Second Battle of Arras (August 26th - September 3, 1918) and participated after the battle of Havrincourt (September 12) at the breakthrough on the Hindenburg line . During the pursuit battles in Picardy , the Guard Division under the new commander Major General Torquil G. Matheson was still involved in the battles on the Selle and the Sambre . On November 9, 1918, the Division, which operated on the southern bank of the Sambre succeeded, nor the occupation of Maubeuge , most recently she was the VI. Corps (Lieutenant General Aylmer Haldane ) in the section of the 3rd Army.

After the armistice , the 4th Guards Brigade was disbanded on November 17th, the battalions returned to their original brigades. The border with Germany was crossed on December 11th and the Rhine near Cologne was reached on December 19th . Between February and April 1919 all units returned to England, on April 29th the Guard Division was disbanded.

guide

  • Brigadier General Frederick James Heyworth (August 15-18, 1915)
  • Major-General Rudolph Lambart, Earl of Cavan (August 18, 1915 - January 3, 1916)
  • Major-General Geoffrey Percy Thynne Feilding (January 3, 1916 - September 11, 1918)
  • Major-General Torquhil George Matheson (September 11, 1918 - April 29, 1919)

Follow-up formations

In the course of the Second World War, a Guard Panzer Division under Major-General Allan HS Adair was set up on September 12, 1942 . After this was dissolved after the end of the war, a new guards division was formed as a crew in Germany between June 12, 1945 and December 1946 to continue the tradition, the units were renamed:

literature

  • Cuthbert Headlam: History of The Guards Division in The Great War 1915–1918 , Volume I: 1915–29th November 1917 by John Murray, London 1924
  • Cuthbert Headlam: History of The Guards Division in The Great War 1915–1918 , Volume II: 30th November 1917–1918, by John Murray, London 1924

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