4th Armored Division (United Kingdom)

4th (United Kingdom) Division
Lineup	June 18, 1809
Country	United Kingdom
Armed forces	British Army
Branch of service	Armored force
Type	division
Subordinate troops	11th Armored Brigade 20th Brigade Division 33rd Armored Brigade
Location	Aldershot
commander
Major General	Lamont Kirkland

4th Armored Division shoulder emblem

Headquarters of the 4th Armored Division (UK) from 1995 to 2011

Structure of the 4th Division (UK)

Chieftain tank of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

Challenger 2 tanks of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards on a Canadian training ground

Challenger 2 tanks of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards on a British training ground

Tanks of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in Basra

Soldiers of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards on patrol in Afghanistan

Exercise of the Queen's Royal Hussars

Queen's Royal Hussars patrol in Afghanistan

The 4th Armored Division ( German  4th Panzer Division ) was an infantry and later armored division of the British Army , which looks back on a long association history. The 4th Division (UK) took part in the Napoleonic Wars , the Crimean War , and the First and Second World Wars . It was dissolved after the World War, but reactivated in 1950 for the Cold War . The headquarters of the division was in Aldershot . On January 1, 2012 , the division was dissolved again.

history

The 4th Division was created in 1809 at the behest of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington . It had its first use in the Napoleonic Wars on the Iberian Peninsula in the battles of Talavera, Salamanca, Badajoz and others. In 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo she formed General Wellington's right flank, but did not take an active part in the fighting. The division later captured the city of Cambrai . Their second major operation took place in the Crimean War .

First World War

During the First World War, the 4th Division was one of the first in the British Expeditionary Corps to be shipped to France. On the Western Front she took part in almost all major battles. These primarily included the Battle of the Marne (1914) , the First Battle of Flanders (1914), Battle of the Somme (1916) and the Battle of Passchendaele / Third Battle of Flanders (1917).

Structure of the 4th Division in the First World War

• 10th Brigade
  • 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment
  • 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders
  • 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers
  • 2nd Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers
  • 10th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps
  • 10th Trench Mortar Battery
  • 1 / 7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
  • 1 / 9th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
  • Household Battalion
  • 3 / 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
  • 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)

• 11th Brigade
  • 1st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry
  • 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment
  • 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
  • 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade
  • 1 / 5th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade)
  • 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
  • 11th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps
  • 11th Trench Mortar Battery

• 12th Brigade
  • 1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
  • 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
  • 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
  • 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment
  • 1 / 2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment
  • 1 / 5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment
  • 12th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps
  • 12th Trench Mortar Battery
  • 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
  • 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment

• artillery
  • XIV Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
  • XXIX Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
  • XXXII Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
  • XXXVII (Howitzers) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
  • CXXVII (Howitzers) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
  • 31st Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery

• Pioneers
  • 7th Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 9th Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 1st West Lancashire Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 1st Renfrew Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 1st Durham Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 21st (Service) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (from 21 June 1916)

Second World War

During the Second World War, the division was used in France , Belgium and North Africa . Later in Italy , in the Battle of Monte Cassino , and Greece .

Structure of the 4th Division in World War II

• 10th Infantry Brigade
  • 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
  • 2nd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
  • 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
  • 10th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
  • 1 / 6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment

• 11th Infantry Brigade
  • 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
  • 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment
  • 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
  • 11th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
  • 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment

• 12th Infantry Brigade
  • 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
  • 1st Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment
  • 1st Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)
  • 12th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
  • 6th Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)
  • 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment

• 21st Army Tank Brigade
  • 12th Royal Tank Regiment
  • 48th Royal Tank Regiment
  • 145th Regiment Royal Armored Corps

• 28th Infantry Brigade
  • 2nd Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool)
  • 2nd Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry
  • 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
  • 2 / 4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment

• Division troops
  • 5th Dragoon Guards (Reconnaissance Battalion)
  • 4th Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps
  • 2nd Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
  • 17th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • 22nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • 30th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • 77th (Highland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • 14th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • 91st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • 7th Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 9th Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 59th Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 225th Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 18th Field Park Company, Royal Engineers
  • 3rd Bridging Platoon, Royal Engineers
  • 4th Divisional Signals Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals

British armed forces in Germany

Rhine Army

The division was reformed on April 1, 1956 by the 11th Armored Division, and in May 1958, the 20th Armored Brigade Group of the disbanded 6th Armored Division took on. During this time, the (Canadian) 4th Infantry Brigade and the 4th Guards Brigade were subordinate to her.

During the 1970s, the 4th Armored Division (4th Panzer Division) consisted of the two core elements of the 11th and 20th Armored Brigade. It served in the operational area of ​​the I. BR Corps as part of NORTHAG and had had its headquarters in the Hammersmith Barracks of Herford in North Rhine-Westphalia since 1978 . In the event of a defense, the 4th Armored Division deployed in the North German Plain would have formed the two task forces GOLF and HOTEL. The 4th Armored Division had the task of a tank division deployed close to the front until July 1, 1993 . On the major NATO maneuver Lionheart 84 , which took place in the Hanover - Göttingen area in the autumn of 1984 , the 4th Armored Division played a central role in the battle group of the BLUE troops. While the 3rd and 4th Armored Divisions were assigned their position rooms directly at the VRV, the 2nd Armored Division was kept ready as an operational reserve in the rear area of ​​responsibility of the I. BR Corps.

Organization of the 4th Armored Division in the Cold War

• 11th Armored Brigade (Task Force GOLF in Minden )
  • 107th Regiment Royal Armored Corps (formerly 5th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster))
  • 110th Regiment Royal Armored Corps (formerly 5th Battalion, Border Regiment)
  • 111th Regiment Royal Armored Corps (formerly 5th Battalion, Manchester Regiment)
  • 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry

• 20th Brigade
  • The Royal Dragoon Guards (reconnaissance)
  • The Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish) (Panzerbataillon)
  • 1st Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) (Mech Infantry Battalion)
  • 5th Battalion, The Rifles (Mech Infantry Battalion)
  • The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland

• 33rd Armored Brigade (Task Force ECHO in Paderborn )
  • Life Guards
  • 1st Battalion Queen's Own Highlanders
  • 3rd Battalion The Light Infantry
  • The Blues and Royals (RHD / G) 1 QLR 1 RS (1986)

In 1995, the 4th Division (UK) became a regenerative division, commanding the three regional brigades 2nd (South East) Brigade, 43rd (Wessex) Brigade and 145th (South) Brigade. For organizational reasons, the British Gurkhas Nepal and the British Garrison in Brunei were also subordinate to her.

Commanders

• 1902–1906 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Knox
• 1906–1907 Major-General William Franklyn
• 1907–1911 Major-General Herbert Belfield
• 1911–1914 Major-General Thomas Snow
• Sept. 1914 - Oct. 1914 Major-General Sir Henry Rawlinson
• 1914–1915 Major-General Henry FM Wilson
• 1915–1917 Major-General William Lambton
• 1917–1918 Major-General Torquhil Matheson
• Sept. 1918 - Oct. 1918 Major-General Louis Lipsett
• 1918–1919 Major-General Cuthbert Lucas
• 1919–1923 Major-General Sir Cameron Shute
• 1923–1926 Major-General Sir Reginald Stephens
• 1926–1927 Major-General Sir Percy Radcliffe
• 1927–1931 Major-General Archibald Cameron
• 1931–1933 Major-General Charles Bonham-Carter
• 1933–1935 Major-General Sir John Brind
• Jun. 1935 - Nov. 1935 Major-General James Dick-Cunyngham
• 1935–1937 Major-General Clive Liddell
• 1938–1940 Major-General Dudley Johnson
• Jun. 1940 - Oct. 1940 Major-General Ralph Eastwood
• 1940–1942 Major-General John Swayne
• 1942–1943 Major-General John Hawkesworth
• 1943–1944 Major-General Hayman Hayman-Joyce
• 1944–1945 Major-General Alfred Dudley Ward
• 1945–1946 Major-General Colin Callander
• 1946–1947 Major-General Ernest Down

Commanders after the reorganization in 1950:

• 1956–1957 Major-General Reginald Hewetson
• 1957-1959 Major-General Gerald Hopkinson
• 1959–1961 Major-General Desmond Gordon
• 1961–1963 Major-General Jean Allard
• 1963–1965 Major-General Basil Eugster
• 1965–1967 Major-General Michael Forrester
• 1967–1969 Major-General Vernon Erskine-Crum
• 1969–1971 Major-General David Fraser
• 1971–1973 Major-General Anthony Farrar-Hockley
• 1973–1975 Major-General Michael Gow
• 1975–1977 Major-General Nigel Bagnall

4th Armored Division commanders:

• 1977–1979 Major-General Richard Vickers
• 1979–1981 Major-General John Akehurst
• 1981–1983 Major-General Jeremy Reilly
• 1983–1985 Major-General John Waters
• 1985–1987 Major-General Michael Hobbs
• 1987–1989 Major-General William Rous
• 1989–1991 Major-General Jeremy Mackenzie
• 1991–1993 Major-General Anthony Denison-Smith

4th Division Commanders:

• 1996–1998 Major General Nigel Richards
• 1998–2001 Major General Timothy Sulivan
• 2001-2002 Major General John Holmes
• 2002–2003 Major General Andrew Ritchie
• 2003-2004 Major General David Judd
• 2004-2006 Major General Seumas Kerr
• 2006-2008 Major General Peter Everson
• 2008–2011 Major General Lamont Kirkland

Web links

• Association history of the 4th Armored Division (en.)
• BAOR locations (en.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Steven Zaloga, Simon McCouai: Tank War: Central Front NATO vs. Warsaw Pact (=  Elite series . Band 26 ). Osprey Publishing, London 1989, ISBN 0-85045-904-4 , pp. 23 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
2. ^ Lionheart 1984
3. ↑ Ex Lionheart - When NATO Knew How to Throw a Party on www.thinkdefence.co.uk, March 25, 2016 (en.)
4. ↑ Heiner Möllers and Rudolf J. Schlaffer: Sonderfall Bundeswehr ?: Armed Forces in National Perspectives and in International Comparison (Security Policy and Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany, Volume 12). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. 2014. p. 86ff. ISBN 978-3-11-034812-5 .