The Infantry of the British Army comprises 49

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 ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

s, from 19

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

s. Of these, 33 battalions are part of the

Regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

and the remaining 16 a part of the Army Reserve. The British Army's Infantry takes on a variety of roles, including armoured,

mechanised Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows: In some fields, mechanization includes the ...

air assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind ...

and

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...

Recruitment and training

Recruitment

Traditionally, regiments that form the combat arms of the British Army (cavalry and infantry) recruit from specific areas of the country. Infantry regiments had been assigned specific areas from which they would recruit from by the mid eighteenth century. These were formalised under the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...

that began in the 1860s. Under this scheme, single battalion infantry regiments were amalgamated into two battalion regiments, then assigned to a depot and associated recruiting area (which would usually correspond to all or part of a county). The recruiting area (usually) would then become part of the regiment's title. It was this that gave rise to the concept of the "county regiment", with the local infantry regiment becoming part of the fabric of its local area. Over time, regiments have been amalgamated further, which has led to recruiting areas of individual regiments increasing in size. Often, these amalgamations have been between regiments whose recruiting areas border each other. However, there have been occasions where regiments of a similar type, but from widely different areas, have been amalgamated. Two modern examples have been the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (amalgamated from the county regiments of Northumberland, Warwickshire,

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

and Lancashire, all of which were regiments of

fusiliers Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French word ''fusil'' – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in cont ...

) and The Light Infantry (amalgamated from the county regiments of Cornwall, Somerset, Shropshire, South Yorkshire and Durham, all of which were regiments of

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often foug ...

). Since September 2007, when the most recent reforms were completed, the infantry has consisted of 18 separate regiments. The five regiments of foot guards recruit from their respective

home nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

(with the exception of the Coldstream Guards, which recruits from the counties through which the regiment marched between Coldstream and London). Scotland, Ireland and Wales each have a single regiment of

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Mon ...

from which they recruit (though the battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland recruit from the areas they recruited from when they were separate regiments), while England has seven line infantry and rifles regiments. The Parachute Regiment recruits nationally, while the Royal Gurkha Rifles recruits most of its serving personnel from

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, and the Royal Gibraltar Regiment recruits from the UK and

Commonwealth nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, infantry recruits were required to be at least tall. They initially enlisted for seven years with the colours and a further five years with the reserve. They trained at their own regimental depot.

Training

Unlike the other trades in the army, which have separate units for basic training and specialised training, new recruits into the infantry undergo a single course at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick. This course, called the "Combat Infantryman's Course" (CIC), lasts 26 weeks as standard and teaches recruits both the basics of soldiering (Phase 1 training) and the specifics of soldiering in the infantry (Phase 2 training). On completion of the CIC, the newly qualified infantry soldier will then be posted to his battalion. For some infantry units, the CIC is longer, due to specific additional requirements for individual regiments: *The Foot Guards CIC has an additional two-week enhanced drill course. *The Parachute Regiment CIC has an additional two-week Pre-Parachute Selection (PPS) course. *The Brigade of Gurkhas CIC combines the Common Military Syllabus with the CIC, together with courses on British culture and the

English Language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

. The Gurkha CIC lasts 37 weeks. Officers receive their initial training at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

, infantry officers then undertake the Platoon Commander's Battle Course, which is run at the Infantry Battle School at Brecon in Wales. It is here that leadership and tactics are taught to new platoon commanders. New NCOs and Warrant Officers are also sent on courses at Brecon when they come up for promotion. This encompasses Phase 3 training. Phase 3 training is also undertaken at the Support Weapons School at Warminster, where new officers, NCOs and soldiers are trained in the use of support weapons (mortars, anti-tank weapons) and in communications. Reservist Infantrymen undertake preliminary training at Regional Training Centres prior to attending a two-week CIC (Reserve) at Catterick.

Headquarters Infantry

Headquarters Infantry, which is located at

Waterloo Lines Waterloo Lines is a British Army barracks on Imber Road in Warminster, Wiltshire, England. It is currently home to a number of Army specialist training schools and a sizeable portion of the Headquarters Field Army (not to be confused with Army ...

on Imber Road in

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church o ...

, is responsible for recruiting, manning and training policy of the Infantry. Headquarters Infantry was established in 1991 as a result of the Options for Change reform.

Divisions of infantry

The majority of the infantry in the British Army is divided for administrative purposes into four divisions. These are not the same as the ready and regenerative divisions (see below), but are based on either the geographical recruiting areas of the regiments, or the type of regiments: *The

Guards Division The Guards Division is an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Guards reserve battalion. The Guards Division is responsible for providing two b ...

has the five regiments of Foot Guards. *The

Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division The Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division is a British Army Infantry command, training and administrative formation for Scottish, Welsh and Irish line infantry regiments. History In 2016, following the further planned reorganization of the Army t ...

has the infantry regiments from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. *The

King's Division The King's Division was a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for infantry regiments in the North of England. History The King's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Lancastrian Brigade, Yorkshi ...

has the regiments from the north of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. *The Queen's Division has the regiments from the east of England and the remaining regiment of

Fusilier Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French word ''fusil'' – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in con ...

s. A further division, the

Light Division The Light Division was a light infantry division of the British Army. Its origins lay in "Light Companies" formed during the late 18th century, to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect a main force with skirmishing tactics. Thes ...

, grouped together

The Light Infantry The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. The regiment was one of four 'large' regiments formed after the 1966 Defence White Paper through the amalgamation of units of the Light Infantry Brig ...

and

The Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). History The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalg ...

until they were amalgamated to form

The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerl ...

in 2007, while the

Prince of Wales' Division The Prince of Wales's Division was a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all land force units in the West of England and Wales. It merged with the Scottish Division, to form the Scottish, Welsh and Irish D ...

merged with the

Scottish Division The Scottish Division was a British Army Infantry command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all Scottish line infantry units. It merged with the Prince of Wales' Division, to form the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division in ...

in 2017 to become The Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division. Under the planned

Future Soldier Future Soldier was a multi-nation military project by the United States and its allies launched in the late 1990s. Set-up Superiority to enemy ground forces will be achieved by equipping the average ground-based combat soldier with an integ ...

reforms, the existing divisions of infantry will be reorganised into new formations, intended to bring all existing regiments within the divisional structure: *Guards and Parachute Division *Union Division *Queen's Division *Light Division

Regular army

There are further infantry units in the army that are not grouped in the various divisions: * The Parachute Regiment (PARA) *

The Royal Gurkha Rifles The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the Unite ...

(RGR) *

(RIFLES) * The Ranger Regiment (RANGERS)

Army Reserve

* 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion

The Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (formerly five) and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an indiv ...

* 51st Highland, 7th Battalion

*3rd Battalion,

The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the ...

*4th Battalion,

*1st Battalion,

London Guards The London Guards is an administrative formation within the British Army comprising the Army Reserve companies of the British Army's Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Irish Guards. On formation these companies drew their personnel from the Lond ...

*4th Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) *5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers *3rd Battalion,

The Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

*4th Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th & 33rd/76th Foot) *4th Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters & Foresters, and Staffords) *3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh *2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th & Ulster Defence Regiment) *4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment *6th Battalion,

*7th Battalion,

*8th Battalion,

Types of infantry

Operations

Within the British Army, there are six main types of infantry: *Armoured Infantry - armoured infantry are equipped with the

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

Infantry Fighting Vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed F ...

, a tracked vehicle that can deploy over all terrain. *Mechanised Infantry - mechanised infantry (or "protected mobility infantry) are equipped with wheeled armoured vehicles for transporting troops. This is divided into "heavy protected mobility infantry" (with large vehicles such as

Mastiff A mastiff is a large and powerful type of dog. Mastiffs are among the largest dogs, and typically have a short coat, a long low-set tail and large feet; the skull is large and bulky, the muzzle broad and short ( brachycephalic) and the ears dr ...

), and "light protected mobility infantry" (with smaller vehicles such as

Foxhound A foxhound is a Dog type, type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their bark, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usuall ...

). *Light Infantry - light infantry are not equipped with armoured vehicles; such units may specialise in jungle and/or arctic warfare *Air Assault Infantry - air assault infantry are trained to be deployed using

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

s, parachute or aircraft. *Specialised Infantry - infantry configured to undertake training, mentoring and assistance to indigenous forces in partner nations. *Public duties - infantry on public duties are essentially light infantry units undertaking primarily ceremonial tasks.

Traditions

The infantry is traditionally divided into three types: * Foot Guards - foot guards are those infantry regiments that were formed specifically to provide close guard to the monarch. Soldiers in the guards were usually the best trained and equipped members of the infantry. However, they would fight in the same way as ordinary regiments. *

Line Infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Mon ...

- line infantry refers to those regiments that historically fought in linear formations, unlike light troops, who fought in loose order. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw expansion of the roles of the infantry. To this end, the

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

stationed on each flank of an infantry battalion were specialist units, with a company of

trained as skirmishers to operate independently on the battlefield, and a company of

grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

, who were usually the biggest and strongest men in the battalion, operating as the lead assault troops. In later years, the British Army raised full line infantry regiments classed as light infantry, who operated with muskets alongside specialised regiments armed with rifles. * Rifles - in the late eighteenth century, the development of the

Baker rifle The Baker rifle (officially known as the Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle) was a flintlock rifle used by the rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue, British-made rifle accepted by the British ...

led to the commissioning by the British Army of regiments specially trained to use the new weapon. These regiments would operate as skirmishers and

sharpshooters A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

on the edges of the field of battle. These regiments wore green rather than red tunics to enable them to blend in more with the environment, thus giving them the nickname "green jackets". The tactical distinctions between infantry regiments disappeared in the late nineteenth century, but remain in tradition. In the order of precedence, the five regiments of foot guards are ranked above the ten regiments of traditional line infantry, who are ranked above the two remaining regiments of rifles.

Divisions and brigades

Under the

reforms announced in 2021, the British Army will have a total of 31 regular infantry battalions, 16 reserve infantry battalions and nine independent companies performing a variety of tasks. Under the Future Soldier plan, postings are:

1st (United Kingdom) Division The 1st (United Kingdom) Division, formerly known as the 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division and the 1st Division, is a division of the British Army. Divisional history (1809–1959) The 1st Division was formed following the disbandment o ...

1st (UK) Division is planned as the UK's primary land element for operations outside the European theatre, as well as operations supporting NATO's flanks. It consists of four infantry centered brigades - one is intended as a high-readiness mobile formation, one as a light infantry formation to provide surge capacity, one as a training and mentoring formation for the UK's allies, and one as a parent formation for Army Reserve battalions. * 4th Light Brigade Combat Team **1st Battalion,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

(Light Infantry) **1st Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

(Light Infantry) ** The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion,

(Light Infantry) **1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (Light Infantry) **1st Battalion,

(Light Infantry) **2nd Battalion,

(Light Infantry) *

7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team The 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team is a formation in the British Army with a direct lineage to 7th Armoured Brigade and a history that stretches back to the Napoleonic Wars. It saw active service in the Crimean War, the Second Boer War ...

**1st Battalion,

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the E ...

(Light Mechanised Infantry) ** The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (Light Mechanised Infantry) **2nd Battalion,

(Light Mechanised Infantry) **1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (Light Mechanised Infantry) **1st Battalion, The Rifles (Light Mechanised Infantry) *

11th Security Force Assistance Brigade The 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade is a brigade of the British Army which is intended to train and assist foreign forces. In 2021, under the Future Army changes, the brigade was redesignated, formerly being the 11th Infantry Brigade & HQ ...

**1st Battalion,

Irish Guards ("Who Shall Separate s") , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Saffron (pipes), identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition F ...

(Specialised Infantry) ** The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (Specialised Infantry) **1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment (Specialised Infantry) **3rd Battalion, The Rifles (Specialised Infantry) **4th Battalion,

(Army Reserve) * 19th Brigade ** 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (Army Reserve) ** 51st Highland, 7th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (Army Reserve) **4th Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (Army Reserve) **3rd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment (Army Reserve) **4th Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (Army Reserve) **2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) (Army Reserve) **6th Battalion, The Rifles (Army Reserve) **8th Battalion, The Rifles (Army Reserve)

3rd (United Kingdom) Division The 3rd (United Kingdom) Division is a regular army division of the British Army. It was created in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War, and was known as th ...

3rd (UK) Division is planned as the UK's main reaction force, intended to act as a lead formation alongside NATO, and primarily consists of a pair of armoured brigades containing the army's mechanised infantry units. * 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team **1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters & Foresters, and Staffords) (Mechanised Infantry) **1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (Mechanised Infantry) **4th Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters & Foresters, and Staffords) (Army Reserve) **3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh (Army Reserve) * 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team **1st Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Mechanised Infantry) **1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Mechanised Infantry) **5th Battalion, The Rifles (Mechanised Infantry) **3rd Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) (Army Reserve) **5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Army Reserve) **7th Battalion, The Rifles (Army Reserve)

6th (United Kingdom) Division

6th (UK) Division is the formation encompassing specialist elements of the

Field Army A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, Air army, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, ...

, including signals and

ISTAR ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing ...

units, as well as the Army Special Operations Brigade, which contains those infantry units dedicated to military training and operational support for the UK's partner nations. *

Army Special Operations Brigade The Army Special Operations Brigade (Army Spec Ops Bde) (previously called the Specialised Infantry Group) is a formation of the British Army, initially created as a result of the Army 2020 Refine reorganisation, intended to train foreign force ...

**1st Battalion, The Rangers (Special Operations Infantry) **2nd Battalion, The Rangers (Special Operations Infantry) **3rd Battalion, The Rangers (Special Operations Infantry) **4th Battalion, The Rangers (Special Operations Infantry) **Coriano Company, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (Special Operations Infantry) **Falklands Company, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (Special Operations Infantry)

Field Army and Home Command

Infantry units are attached to a number of other formations that are independent of the British Army's three existing divisions. One, 16 Air Assault Brigade. forms part of the overall "Reaction Force", and is a lead element of the UK's rapid reaction strategy. The other major independent element of the Reaction Force is

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen from ...

; although this does have British Army units attached in combat support roles, the infantry units are from the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

, which is part of the

Naval Service Naval Service may refer to either: * His Majesty's Naval Service, Britain's Royal Navy plus additional services * Naval Service (Ireland), a branch of the Irish Defence Forces * United States Department of the Navy, United States military department ...

. London District is responsible for the dedicated public duties units for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. Three company sized units are used at the British Army's training establishments. A number of the United Kingdom's

Overseas Territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

maintain their own infantry units, which undertake a number of different roles in addition to internal security. * 16th Air Assault Brigade Combat Team ** 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Parachute Infantry) ** 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Parachute Infantry) **1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) (Air Assault Infantry) **2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (Air Assault Infantry) ** 4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Army Reserve) * UK Special Forces ** 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces Light Infantry) * London District **1st Battalion,

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

(Public Duties) **Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards (Public Duties) **No. 7 Company, Coldstream Guards (Public Duties) **F Company, Scots Guards (Public Duties) **No. 9 Company, Irish Guards (Public Duties) **No. 12 Company, Irish Guards (Public Duties) **1st Battalion,

(Army Reserve) *

51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland is an Adaptable Force Brigade of the British Army. It is the regional administrative formation responsible for all the units of the Army Reserve based in Scotland and an Adaptable Force Brigade und ...

** Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (Public Duties) * Land Warfare Centre **2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (Light Infantry) ** Gurkha Company (Tavoleto), The Royal Gurkha Rifles (Light Infantry) *Royal Military Academy Sandhurst ** Gurkha Company (Sittang), The Royal Gurkha Rifles (Light Infantry) *School of Infantry ** Gurkha Wing (Mandalay), The Royal Gurkha Rifles (Light Infantry) *

British Forces Cyprus British Forces Cyprus (BFC) is the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus and at a number of related 'retained sites' in the Republic of Cyprus. The United ...

**Light Mechanised Infantry / Light Infantry battalion **Light Mechanised Infantry / Light Infantry battalion * British Forces Brunei **Light Infantry battalion (Gurkha) *

British Forces Gibraltar British Forces Gibraltar is the British Armed Forces stationed in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Gibraltar is used primarily as a training area, thanks to its good climate and rocky terrain, and as a stopover for aircraft and ships ...

** The Royal Gibraltar Regiment (Light Infantry) * British Forces South Atlantic Islands **Roulement infantry company (Light Infantry) ** The Falkland Islands Defence Force (Territorial Infantry) *Other Overseas Territories **

The Royal Bermuda Regiment The Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR), formerly the Bermuda Regiment, is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is a single territorial infantry battalion that was formed on the amalgamation in 1965 of two originally ...

(Territorial Infantry) ** The Cayman Islands Regiment (Territorial Infantry) ** The Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment (Territorial Infantry) ** The Royal Montserrat Defence Force (Territorial Infantry)

Notes

History

Brigade system, large regiments, disbandings and amalgamations

Following the end of the

, reductions in the size of the infantry led to the amalgamation of the existing

regimental depot The regimental depot of a regiment is its home base for recruiting and training. It is also where soldiers and officers awaiting discharge or postings are based and where injured soldiers return to full fitness after discharge from hospital bef ...

s, together with their operational battalions, into geographically based infantry depots, each designated by a letter of the alphabet from A to O (not including I). In 1948, upon the further reduction of line infantry and rifle regiments to a single battalion, the 14 infantry depots were renamed as geographical brigades (with the exception of Depot J, which was the brigade for those regiments designated as "light infantry", and Depot O, which was for the two regiments of rifles ). These brigades assumed the administrative functions from the individual regimental depots, essentially forming what amounted to a multi-battalion regiment. This was taken a stage further following the

1957 Defence White Paper The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected w ...

, when each brigade adopted a single cap badge that would be worn by all of the regiments under its administration. This led to discussions within the government regarding the flexibility of the infantry under the then present regimental system, as well as the difficulty of potentially making reductions to the size of the army owing to the emotive nature of the amalgamation of regiments into single battalions. This led to the concept of the "

large regiment A large regiment is a multi-battalion infantry formation of the British Army. First formed in the 1960s, large regiments are the result of the amalgamation of a number of existing single-battalion regiments, and perpetuate the traditions of each of ...

", which would use the existing brigades as the basis of new, multi-battalion infantry regiments, amalgamating the existing single-battalion regiments en masse, with each of them becoming a battalion of the new formation. This process had to a certain degree begun in the

East Anglian East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in wh ...

and

Green Jackets Brigade The Green Jackets Brigade (known as O Group until 1948) was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1946 to 1968, that administered the English rifle regiments. History After the Second World War the British Army had fourteen infantry ...

s, which had redesignated the regiments they were responsible for from their old names to numbered designations. These two became the first large regiments as the Royal Anglian Regiment and

Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). History The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalgama ...

in 1964 and 1966 respectively. Four further large regiments (The

Queen's Regiment The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the ar ...

, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers,

Royal Irish Rangers The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th) was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army with a relatively short existence, formed in 1968 and later merged with the Ulster Defence Regiment in 1992 to form the Royal Iris ...

and

Light Infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often foug ...

) were formed between 1966 and 1968, before the process was halted - the brigade system was abolished, with instead all of the remaining infantry regiments grouped into six administrative divisions. The amalgamations into large regiments coincided with a planned reduction in the size of the infantry - the intention was that the junior battalion of each large regiment or brigade (prior to the implementation of the divisional structure) would be removed, whether by amalgamation or disbanding. This saw plans for the creation of four new single battalion infantry regiments: *

Royal Regiment of Wales The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was formed in 1969 by the amalgamation of the South Wales Borderers and the Welch Regiment. The 1st Battalion, ...

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. I ...

and

Welch Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

* Queen's Lancashire Regiment -

Lancashire Regiment The Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army that had a very short existence. History The regiment was formed, as a consequence of defence cuts instigated by the 1957 Defence White Paper, b ...

and Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) * Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) - Worcestershire Regiment and

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

*Royal Regiment of Gloucestershire and Hampshire -

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

and

Royal Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

At the same time, three more single battalion regiments elected to disband rather than amalgamate: * The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) *

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment ...

* Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) Three of the regimental amalgamations, two of the regimental disbandments, plus another three of the planned disbandings of large regiment battalions, took place between 1968 and 1970. However, the 1970 General Election saw a change of administration, with the new

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

electing to review the plans. The outcome of this saw the planned amalgamation of the Gloucestershire Regiment and Royal Hampshire Regiment rescinded, together with plans to disband another four infantry battalions completely. Instead, six battalions were reduced in size to a single company: *2nd Battalion,

(2nd Battalion Company) *1st Battalion, Royal Hampshire Regiment (Minden Company) *1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Balaclava Company) *4th Battalion, Queen's Regiment (Albuhera Company) *4th Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment (Tiger Company) *3rd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets (R Company) The battalions of the Scots Guards, Royal Hampshire Regiment, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and Royal Green Jackets were subsequently reconstituted.

Delivering Security in a Changing World (2003)

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government ...

asked for major cuts in the strength of the infantry in 2003, with at least ten battalions to be disbanded. This proved so unacceptable that, in November 2003, there was consideration to instead reducing each battalion to two rifle companies (with the third to come from the TA). By March 2004, ECAB had shown that the maximum number of battalions it was possible to cut was four. This was finally officially announced as part of the army re-organisation. The

arms plot Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

system would be abolished; instead, individual battalions would be given fixed roles. To ensure that officers and men could continue to gain the variety of skills that the arms plot provided, the restructuring would also see a series of amalgamations of the remaining single battalion infantry regiments into large regiments. In addition, the regular army will lose four battalions. The roles are divided up as follows: *Armoured Infantry - 8 battalions (including Land Warfare Training Battalion) *Mechanised Infantry - 3 battalions *Light Role Infantry (including public duties and Gurkhas) - 20 battalions *Air Assault Infantry - 4 battalions *Commando Infantry - 1 battalion *Territorial Army Infantry - 14 battalions The reorganisation was a hybrid of the systems used to organise the regular infantry in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. Australia's regular infantry encompasses eight battalions in a single large regiment, the Royal Australian Regiment - this system is the one undertaken by the

and the

. Canada's regular infantry has three regiments, each of three battalions, which is how the

and the

will be restructured (albeit with one regiment of three battalions and one of two battalions each). In addition to the army's infantry battalions, there are three further battalion-sized commando infantry units, which are part of the

, as well as eight field squadrons (each larger than an infantry company) of the

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such ta ...

, who have responsibility for the ground defence of air assets and are under the control of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. The majority of infantry battalions are attached to one of the deployable brigades. However, there are a number of formations that exist to administer those infantry battalions that are not assigned to deployable brigades, but are instead available for independent deployment on roulement tours.

Guards Division

Each battalion in the five single battalion regiments of the Guards Division has a fixed role: *Armoured Infantry ( 1 SG) - 1 *Light Role/Public Duties ( 1 GREN GDS, 1 COLDM GDS, 1 IG, 1 WG) - 4 Two battalions will be assigned as general light role battalions, with the other two assigned to public duties. These battalions will periodically rotate roles and postings.

Scottish Division

The six battalions of the Scottish Division have amalgamated into a single five battalion regiment to be called the

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (formerly five) and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an indiv ...

. *Armoured Infantry ( 4 SCOTS) - 1 *Light Role ( 1 SCOTS, 2 SCOTS, 3 SCOTS) - 3 *Air Assault/Light Role ( 5 SCOTS) - 1

King's Division

The six battalions of the King's Division have amalgamated into two regiments; *

Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border) The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, Lancashire, Preston, it recruits throughout the North Wes ...

- this is a two battalion regiment formed from the amalgamation of the

King's Own Royal Border Regiment The King's Own Royal Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1959 until 2006, and was part of the King's Division. It was formed at Barnard Castle on 1 October 1959 through the amalgamation of the King's Ow ...

King's Regiment The King's Regiment, officially abbreviated as KINGS, was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed on 1 September 1958 by the amalgamation of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) which had been raised in 1685 ...

and Queen's Lancashire Regiment. **Mechanised Infantry (1 LANCS) - 1 **Light Role (2 LANCS) - 1 *

Yorkshire Regiment The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence ...

- this is a three battalion regiment formed from the amalgamation of the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was created in 1958 by the amalgamation of the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) and the E ...

and

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

. **Armoured Infantry ( 3 YORKS) - 1 **Light Role ( 1 YORKS, 2 YORKS)- 2

Prince of Wales's Division

The original seven battalions of the Prince of Wales's Division have been reduced to five with the transfer of the

Devonshire and Dorset Regiment The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment (11th, 39th and 54th), usually just known as the Devon and Dorsets, was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1958 by the amalgamation of two county regiments, the Devonshire Regiment and the Dorset ...

and the

Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment was a short-lived infantry regiment of the British Army. History The regiment was formed in 1994 by the amalgamation of the Gloucestershire Regiment and the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Re ...

to the Light Division. The five remaining battalions will amalgamate into two regiments; *

Royal Welsh The Royal Welsh (R WELSH) ( cy, Y Cymry Brenhinol) is an armoured infantry regiment of the British Army. It was established in 2006 from the Royal Welch Fusiliers (23rd Foot) and the Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot). History The ...

- this is a two battalion regiment formed from the amalgamation of the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designate ...

and the

. **Armoured Infantry ( 2 R WELSH) - 1 **Light Role ( 1 R WELSH) - 1 *

Mercian Regiment The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, which is recruited from five of the counties that formed the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Known as 'The Heart of England's Infa ...

- this is a three battalion regiment formed from the amalgamation of the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment,

Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) (abbreviated as ''WFR'') was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The regiment served as the county regiment for Derbyshire, Nottingha ...

and

Staffordshire Regiment The Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales') (or simply "Staffords" for short) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The regiment was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of the South Staffordshire Re ...

. **Armoured Infantry ( 3 MERCIAN) - 1 **Light Role ( 1 MERCIAN, 2 MERCIAN) - 2

Queen's Division

The three existing large regiments of the Queen's Division remain unaffected by the restructuring. *

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Q ...

**Armoured Infantry (1 PWRR) - 1 **Light Role (2 PWRR) - 1 * Royal Regiment of Fusiliers **Armoured Infantry (1 RRF) - 1 **Light Role (2 RRF) - 1 *

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating ...

**Mechanised Infantry (1 R ANGLIAN) - 1 **Light Role (2 R ANGLIAN) - 1 * Royal Gibraltar Regiment **Light Role (1 RG) - 1

Light Division

The four current battalions of the Light Division in two regiments were augmented by two battalions from the Prince of Wales's Division in 2005. These two were amalgamated into a single battalion and then amalgamated with

and the

to form a new five battalion regiment, called

. On its formation, the Light Division was abolished. *Armoured Infantry (5 RIFLES) - 1 *Light Role (2 RIFLES, 3 RIFLES) - 2 *Mechanised Infantry (4 RIFLES) - 1 *Commando (1 RIFLES) - 1

Other infantry regiments

* The single regular battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment is unamalgamated to "retain an infantry footprint in Northern Ireland". **Air Assault/Light Role (1 R IRISH) - 1 * The

Royal Gurkha Rifles The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the Uni ...

is unaffected by the restructuring. However, the UK based battalion has been integrated more fully with the rest of the infantry and trained in the air assault role. **Air Assault/Light Role (2 RGR) - 1 **Light Role (1 RGR) - 1 * One battalion of the Parachute Regiment is the core of the "special forces support battalion", no longer part of the Infantry order of battle. The other three operate in the Airborne role. **Airborne/Light Role (2 PARA, 3 PARA) - 2

Territorial Army

With the exception of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, every line infantry regiment has at least one TA battalion (the Royal Regiment of Scotland and The Rifles have two). The Guards Division has The London Regiment as an affiliated TA battalion.

Strategic Defence and Security Review (2010)/Army 2020

Following the 2010 General Election, the new government instituted a new defence review. The ultimate conclusion of this process was to reduce the size 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 Gurkha ...

from approximately 102,000 to approximately 82,000 by 2020. The detail of the process was subsequently announced as ''

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

'' in July 2012. As part of this, the infantry was reduced in size from 36 regular battalions to 31. Of the five to be withdrawn, two were armoured infantry units, two general light infantry and one a specialist air assault infantry battalion. The withdrawal of two armoured infantry battalions is to bring this into line with the planned future operational structure, intended to see three "armoured infantry brigades", each with a pair of infantry battalions, forming the core of the Army's "reaction forces". These two battalions, along with the two light infantry battalions, will be disbanded and their personnel distributed among the remaining battalions of each regiment. The air assault battalion will be reduced to company strength, with the intention that it is assigned as a permanent

public duties Public duties are performed by military personnel, and usually have a ceremonial or historic significance rather than an overtly operational role. Armenia Since September 2018, the Honour Guard Battalion of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia has ...

unit in Scotland. The affected regiments were: *

**The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland - Reduced to an incremental company and assigned to

in Scotland. * Royal Regiment of Fusiliers **2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers - Disbanded and personnel redistributed to 1st Battalion. * Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) **2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (Green Howards) - Disbanded and personnel redistributed to 1st and 3rd Battalions. 3 YORKS will eventually be renamed as 1 YORKS. 1 YORKS will eventually be renumbered as 2 YORKS. *

**3rd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) - Disbanded and personnel redistributed to 1st and 2nd Battalions. *

**2nd Battalion, The Royal Welsh (Royal Regiment of Wales) - Disbanded and personnel redistributed to 1st Battalion. In addition, the Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) was transferred to the administration of the

Army 2020 Refine

Under a further review called

Army 2020 Refine Army 2020 Refine was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. Army 2020 Refine The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announced that the structure of the Reacti ...

, the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards and the 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland will be equipped with Mechanised Infantry Vehicles and form the core of the first Strike Brigade under the Reaction Force. Five infantry battalions will undertake the new specialist infantry role; these units will provide an increased contribution to countering terrorism and building stability overseas, and will number around 300 personnel. Four of these battalions, 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland; 2nd Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment; 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment; and 4th Battalion, The Rifles, will be existing battalions, while the fifth will be formed as a new battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles

Guards Division

*Heavy Protected Mobility Infantry (1 SG) - 1 *Light Role Infantry (1 COLDM GDS, 1 IG) - 2 *Light Role/Public Duties (1 GREN GDS, 1 WG) - 2 *Public Duties (2 GREN GDS, 2 COLDM GDS, 2 SG) *Army Reserve (LONDONS) - 1 All five battalions will periodically rotate roles

Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division

*Armoured Infantry (1 R WELSH) - 1 *Heavy Protected Mobility Infantry (4 SCOTS) - 1 *Light Protected Mobility Infantry (3 SCOTS, 1 R IRISH) - 2 *Light Role Infantry (2 SCOTS) - 1 *Specialised Training Infantry (1 SCOTS) - 1 *Public Duties - (5 SCOTS) *Army Reserve - (6 SCOTS, 7 SCOTS, 3 R WELSH, 2 R IRISH) - 4

King's Division

*Armoured Infantry (1 YORKS, 1 MERCIAN) - 2 *Light Protected Mobility Infantry (2 YORKS) - 1 *Light Role Infantry (1 LANCS, 2 MERCIAN) - 2 *Specialised Training Infantry (2 LANCS) - 1 *Army Reserve (4 LANCS, 4 YORKS, 4 MERCIAN) - 3

Queen's Division

*Armoured Infantry (1 PWRR, 1 RRF) - 2 *Light Protected Mobility Infantry (2 R ANGLIAN) - 1 *Light Role Infantry (1 R ANGLIAN) - 1 *Light Role Infantry (Home Defence) (1 RG) - 1 *Specialised Training Infantry (2 PWRR) - 1 *Army Reserve (3 PWRR, 4 PWRR, 5 RRF, 3 R ANGLIAN) - 4

The Rifles

*Armoured Infantry (5 RIFLES) - 1 *Light Protected Mobility Infantry (3 RIFLES) - 1 *Light Role Infantry (1 RIFLES, 2 RIFLES) - 2 *Specialised Training Infantry (4 RIFLES) - 1 *Army Reserve (6 RIFLES, 7 RIFLES, 8 RIFLES) - 3

Other infantry regiments

*Light Role Infantry (1 RGR, 2 RGR) - 2 *Parachute Infantry (2 PARA, 3 PARA) - 2 *Specialised Training Infantry (3 RGR) - 1 *Army Reserve (4 PARA) - 1 : These are the battalions represented by the four incremental companies

Other regiments

Disbanded regiments

Over time, a handful of infantry regiments have disappeared from the roll through disbandment rather than amalgamation. In the 20th Century, eight regiments disappeared like this: *In 1920, the Guards Machine Gun Regiment, a specialist infantry regiment originally formed in 1917, and given the status of a foot guards regiment (ranked as the sixth regiment of foot guards), was disbanded. *In 1922, following cuts to the size of the armed forces after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

, the five infantry regiments solely from the south of

were disbanded: ** The Royal Irish Regiment **

The Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Foot (which ...

** The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) **

The Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Beng ...

** The Royal Dublin Fusiliers *In 1968, after a re-organisation of the army, two regiments opted to be placed in suspended animation rather than amalgamate, and were eventually disbanded in 1987: ** The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) **

The York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

Honourable Artillery Company

The Honourable Artillery Company included infantry battalions from its formation up to 1973 when its infantry wing was amalgamated with its artillery batteries in a new role.

Regiments that never were

Since the Cardwell reforms began, infantry regiments in the British Army have amalgamated on many occasions. However, there have been occasions where amalgamations have been announced, but have then been abandoned: *The Royal Regiment of Gloucestershire and Hampshire - planned as the amalgamation of the

and the

. This was announced in July 1968 to be implemented in September 1970, but was cancelled in the autumn of that year. The two regiments were subsequently amalgamated with others to form the

and the

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Qu ...

* The Royal Scots Borderers - planned as the amalgamation of the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...

and the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...

as part of

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...

. This was cancelled on 3 February 1993. The name was resurrected with the formation of the

, when the two regiments amalgamated as a single battalion. *The Cheshire and Staffordshire Regiment - planned as the amalgamation of the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment and the

as part of Options for Change. This was cancelled on 3 February 1993. The two regiments were subsequently amalgamated as part of the

. *The Executive Committee of the Army Board proposed under

Delivering Security in a Changing World The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled ''Delivering Security in a Changing World'', set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to t ...

that there would be a series of two battalion regiments formed. These may have included: **A two battalion Lowland regiment formed from the Royal Scots and the King's Own Scottish Borderers. **A two battalion Highland regiment formed from the Royal Highland Fusiliers, Black Watch, Highlanders, and Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. **A two battalion

Wessex regiment The Wessex Regiment was a Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1967 to 1995. Initially consisting of a singular battalion, the regiment was later expanded to also have a second. Formation The regiment was fo ...

formed from the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. *Sikh Regiment - in 2007,

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

leaders in the United Kingdom informed the Army that they would be able to find enough volunteers to form an initial infantry battalion of 700 from within their community. However, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

, having requested advice from the Commission for Racial Equality, decided to reject the proposal on the grounds that it would be "divisive and amounted to segregation". In 2015, the idea was revisited, with the Army evaluating the idea. However, the then Defence Secretary stating he was 'wary of separating military units according to religion'. The idea was again dropped in 2016. The

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

had made a similar suggestion in 2001.

Fictional regiments

* The Royal Wessex Rangers * The King's Own Fusiliers * The Northdale Rifles In recent years, there have been many depictions of the British Army of various periods in fiction. Two notable ones depicting the modern British Army have been '' Spearhead'' from the period of the late 1970s, and '' Soldier Soldier'' from the early to mid-1990s. Both are seen as reasonably accurate depictions of life in the army at those times, and both are centred on a fictional infantry regiment. The more recent depiction of the British Army came in the film '' The Mark of Cain'', which featured an infantry regiment deployed to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, and the difficulties it faced. * The Loamshire Regiment The Loamshire Regiment is used by the British Army as the

placeholder name Placeholder names are words that can refer to things or people whose names do not exist, are temporarily forgotten, are not relevant to the salient point at hand, are to avoid stigmatization, are unknowable/unpredictable in the context in wh ...

in the provision of examples for its procedures, for example in the method of addressing letters to members of the forces produced by the British Forces Post Office.

Order of precedence

Footnotes

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20040913102237/http://www.army.mod.uk/infantry/organisation/organisation.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Infantry Of The British Army Infantry units and formations of the British Army British administrative corps Organisations based in Wiltshire