The
5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to:
Infantry divisions
* 5th Division (Australia)
*5th Division (People's Republic of China)
* 5th Division (Colombia)
*Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War)
* 5th Light Cavalry Division (France)
*5th Mo ...
was an
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and was first formed in 1809 and disbanded for the final time in 2012. The division was commanded by a
general officer commanding (GOC). In this role, the GOC received orders from a level above him in the
chain of command
A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part.
Milit ...
, and then used the forces within the division to undertake the mission assigned. In addition to directing the tactical battle in which the division was involved, the GOC oversaw a
staff and the administrative, logistical, medical, training, and discipline of the division.
Prior to 1809, the British Army did not use divisional formations. As the British military grew in size during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, the need arose for such an implementation in order to better organise forces for administrative, logistical, and tactical reasons. The 5th Division was formed in 1810 by
Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley, and served in the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
(part of the Napoleonic Wars).
General officer commanding
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:5 Infantry Division
British Army personnel by war
British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
British Army personnel of the Peninsular War
British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
British Army personnel of World War I
British Army personnel of World War II
British Army general officer commanding lists