Raiding Support Regiment
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Raiding Support Regiment (RSR) was a British Army
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 ...
that was created in mid 1943 to support raiding forces that were operating during 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 ...
in
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
,
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, and various islands in the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
. The unit was placed under the command of Lt. Col. Sir Thomas Devitt Bt., who was formerly of the Seaforth Highlanders. Devitt by the latter part of 1943 commanded five batteries: *Machine-gun battery A containing 12 Vickers (British) machine guns, and a captured Spandau (German) machine-gun *Mortar battery B containing heavy mortars *Light anti-aircraft battery C containing 18 Browning anti-aircraft guns, and 50 heavy machine guns *Anti-tank battery D containing 4 Italian 47 / 32mm anti-tank guns *Mountain battery E containing 4 U.S. M8 75mm Pack Howitzers The RSR began functioning as an independent unit in the war after Allied Forces landed in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Regimental headquarters were set up at Bari in Southern Italy, with one squadron headquartered on the Island of Vis, off the Coast of Yugoslavia, that was placed under the control of Yugoslav Partisan forces. The RSR saw action in the
Dalmatian Islands There are more than 1200 islands in the Adriatic Sea, 69 of which are inhabited. A recent study by the Institute of Oceanography in Split (2000) shows that there are 1246 islands: 79 large islands, 525 islets, and 642 ridges and rocks. The Italia ...
, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Albania, with some units fighting alongside guerilla forces in Greece, Yugoslavia and Albania. The RSR disbanded in early 1945 when the war in Europe was coming to a close.


References

Regiments of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 {{UK-mil-stub