The 4th Infantry Division was a regular British Army division with a long history having been present at the Peninsular War the Crimean War, the First World War, and during the Second World War. It was disbanded on 1 January 2012.
Napoleonic Wars[]
The 4th Division was originally formed in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsula War. It fought in the Battle of Talavera and the Battle of Salamanca, Battle of Badajoz and the Battle of Roncesvalles, Battle of Vitoria, Battle of the Pyrenees, Battle of Orthez, Battle of Toulouse.
Peninsula War formation[]
(from January 1812)
Major General Sir Charles Colville (to April 1812) Major General Lowry Cole (from June 1812)
- 1st Brigade: Major General Kemmis
- 3/27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot
- 1/40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot
- 1/48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot (from October 1812)
- 2nd Provisional Battalion (2nd & 1/53rd Regiments of Foot) (from December 1812)
- 1 Coy., 5/60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot
- 2nd Brigade: Major General Sir Edward Pakenham
- 1/7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers)
- 2/7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers) (November 1810 to May 1811)
- 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot (from November 1812)
- 1/23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fusiliers)
- 1/48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot (to October 1812)
- 1/82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) (October to November 1812)
- 1 Coy., Brunswick-Oels Jaegers
- 3rd Brigade: Major General Skerrett (October to December 1812)
- 3/1st Foot Guards
- 2/47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot
- 2/87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot
- 2 Cos., 2/95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles)
- Portuguese Brigade: Major General Collins
- 1/11th Line Infantry of the Portuguese Army
- 2/11th Line Infantry of the Portuguese Army
- 1/23rd Line Infantry of the Portuguese Army
- 2/23rd Line Infantry of the Portuguese Army
- 7th Caçadores of the Portuguese Army
Waterloo[]
At the Battle of Waterloo it was tasked with holding Wellington's right flank and, with the exception of its 4th brigade, took no active part in the fighting, but did capture the town of Cambrai afterwards.
The commanding General at this time was Charles Colville. In his novel Les Misérables Victor Hugo credits Colville with asking for the surrender of the Imperial Guard at Waterloo and receiving General Cambronne's reply of "Merd".[1]
Formation at Waterloo[]
- Commanding General Major-General Sir Charles Colville
- 4th Brigade – Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Henry Mitchell
- 6th Brigade – Major-General George Johnstone
- 6th Hanoverian Brigade – Major-General Sir James Lyon
- Field Battalion Calenberg
- Field Battalion Lauenburg
- Landwehr Battalion Bentheim
- Landwehr Battalion Hoya
- Landwehr Battalion Nienburg
Crimean War[]
The Division was also called for service during the Crimean War fought between the allied forces of the United Kingdom, French Empire and the Ottoman Empire on one side and Russia on the other. It saw action in the Battle of Alma the Battle of Inkerman and the Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 (famous for the Charge of the Light Brigade and the Thin Red Line).
Formation During The Crimean War[]
Commanding General: Major General Sir George Cathcart
- 7th Brigade: Brigadier General Torrens
- 8th Brigade
- one field battery royal Artillery
First World War[]
As a permanently established Regular Army division it was amongst the first to be sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force at the outbreak of the First World War. It served on the Western Front for the duration of the war and was present during all the major offensives including the Battle of the Marne, Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Passchendaele.
First World War formation[]
- 10th Brigade
- 1st Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Fusiliers (until August 1917)
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers (until November 1916)
- 1/7th Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (from January 1915 until March 1916)
- The Household Battalion (from November 1916 until February 1918)
- 3/10th Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment (from August 1917 until February 1918)
- 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (from 12th Bde. February 1918)
- 1st Battalion, the Somerset Light Infantry
- 1st Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment
- 1st Battalion, the Rifle Brigade
- 1/5th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (until May 1915)
- 1st Battalion, The East Lancashire Regiment (until February 1918)
- 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (from 12 Bde. July 1915 until May 1916)
Map of the Western Front, 1915–16.
- 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
- 2nd Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers
- 2nd Battalion, The Essex Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (from January 1916 to 10th Bde. February 1918)
- 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (from March 1915, to 11th Bde. July 1915)
- 1/5th Battalion, The South Lancashire Regiment (from February 1915 until January 1916)
- 1/2nd Battalion, The Monmouthshire Regiment (until January 1916)
From early November 1915 until February 1916 the 12th Brigade was swapped with the 107th Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division.
Second World War[]
The Division served during the Second World War and was sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), together with the 3rd Infantry Division forming the British II Corps. After the 1940 Battle of France and the evacuation at Dunkirk, it spent the next two years in the United Kingdom on Invasion duties and training for its next deployment which would be as part of the British First Army and Operation Torch, the landings on the North West African coast.
During the Tunisia Campaign it was involved in Operation Vulcan the final ground attack against Axis forces in North Africa.
After the Axis defeat in Africa it was next involved in the Italian Campaign, and fought at the Battle of Monte Cassino.
In November 1944 it was dispatched to Greece to provide assistance during the Greek Civil War.
Second World War formation[]
- 10th Infantry Brigade
- 2nd Battalion, the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment (until May 1940)
- 1/6th Battalion, the East Surrey Regiment
- 11th Infantry Brigade (until June 1942)
- 2nd Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers
- 1st Battalion, the East Surrey Regiment
- 1st Battalion, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
- 5th Battalion, the Northamptonshire Regiment (from January 1940)
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers
- 1st Battalion, the South Lancashire Regiment (until June 1940)
- 1st Battalion, the Black Watch (until March 1940)
- 6th Battalion, the Black Watch (from March 1940)
- 1st Battalion, the Royal West Kent Regiment (from September 1940)
- 21st Tank Brigade (June 1942 – December 1943)
- 48th Royal Tank Regiment
- 12th Royal Tank Regiment
- 145th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps
- 28th Infantry Brigade (from December 1943)
- 2nd Battalion, the Somerset Light Infantry
- 2nd Battalion, the King's Regiment (Liverpool)
- 1st Battalion, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
- 2/4th Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment
Support Units[]
- 2nd Bn. The Northumberland Fusiliers (Machine-Gun Battalion)
- 4th Reconnaissance Regt. Royal Armoured Corps
Post Second World War[]
It was reformed from 11th Armoured Division on 1 April 1956, and took on 20th Armoured Brigade Group from the disbanding 6th Armoured Division in May 1958. At the time the Division also incorporated the (Canadian) 4th Infantry Brigade and the 4th Guards Brigade. It was redesignated 4th Armoured Division on 1 January 1978, parenting Task Force Golf and Task Force Hotel, and served as part of I (BR) Corps in Germany. Following the 1981–1983 Army reorganisation, I (BR) Corps consisted of 1st and 4th Armoured Divisions, which would have manned the front line against the anticipated attack by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army. It ceased this role on 1 July 1993.
Formation 1981–1993[]
- 11th Armoured Brigade
- 20th Armoured Brigade
- 33rd Armoured Brigade
Formation 1995–2011[]
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Structure 4th Division
The Division was reformed again in 1995 as a regenerative division – a military district in all but name – that served as the parent formation for units in Southern England.[2] The Division's last insignia was a tiger. It was commanded from HQ at Steeles Road, Aldershot and reported to Army Headquarters at Andover.[3] The Division was responsible for the administration of Aldershot Garrison and three Regional Brigades:
- 2nd (South-East) Infantry Brigade
- 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Brigade
- Royal Wessex Yeomanry
- Rifle Volunteers
- Bristol University Officer Training Corps
- Exeter University Officer Training Corps
- 145th (Home Counties) Infantry Brigade
- 7th Battalion, The Rifles
- Oxford University Officer Training Corps
- Southampton University Officer Training Corps
- Recruit Training Center
- Aldershot Garrison
- Headquarters 4th Division
- Headquarters 101st Logistic Brigade
- 145th Home Counties Brigade
- 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers
- Coldstream Guards
- 9 (Parachute) Squadron, Royal Engineers
- 27th Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
- 10th (Transport) Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
- 4th (General Support) Medical Regiment, Royal Army Medical Corps
- 22nd Field Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps
- 101st Military Working Dog Unit
- 4th Regiment, Royal Military Police
- Royal Logistic Corps Training Center
- Headquarters PAT Group and Army School of Physical Training
- Ministry of Defense Hospital Unit
- Defense Dental Agency
For administrative purposes, the following formations were also under the administrative control of 4th Division:
The new HQ Support Command in Aldershot began operation in January 2012 when HQ 4th Division in Aldershot disbanded.[4] HQ 2nd division in Edinburgh and HQ 5th division in Shrewsbury were both disbanded in April 2012.[5]
Recent Commanders[]
Recent Commanders have been:[6]
GOC 4th Division
- 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
- Sep 1914-Oct 1914 Major-General Sir Henry Rawlinson
- 1914-1915 Major-General Henry Wilson
- 1915-1917 Major-General William Lambton
- 1917-1918 Major-General Torquhil Matheson
- Sep 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
- Note: The Division was disbanded after the War and reformed in 1956
- 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
GOC 4th Armoured Division
- 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
GOC 4th Division
- 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[7][8]
See also[]
- List of British divisions in World War I
- British Divisions in World War II
- British Army Order of Battle - September 1939
References[]
- ↑ Chapter XIV. The Last Square "les miserables". http://www.online-literature.com/victor_hugo/les_miserables/84/ Chapter XIV. The Last Square.
- ↑ "TA Command Structure 1967 - 2000". http://www.win.tue.nl/~drenth/BritArmy/Lineage/TACOMMANDSTRUCT67/index.html. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ↑ "New Army's HQ Land Forces base is opened in Andover". BBC News. 9 September 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-11240456. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ↑ First tranche of Army unit moves confirmed Defence News, 10 November 2011
- ↑ House of Commons Library: Standard Note: SN06038
- ↑ Army Commands
- ↑ Service appointments:Army, The Times, 6 August 2008. Retrieved on 17 November 2008
- ↑ "No. 58885". 18 November 2008. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/58885/page/
External links[]
- The British Army in the Great War: The 4th Division
- 4 Infantry Division (1944–45)
- British Unit Histories
The original article can be found at 4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom) and the edit history here.