Guards Division (British)

The Guards Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed in the Great War in France in 1915 from battalions of the Guards regiments from the Regular Army. The division served on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War. The division's insignia was the "All Seeing Eye".

There was also a Guards Division in the Second World War which was formed on 12 June 1945 from the Guards Armoured Division which had undergone reorganisation.

History

First World War

Formation

In July 1915, during the First World War (1914–1918), George V approved the formation of a Guards Division and in August 1915 the division was formed at Lumbres, near Saint-Omer, St Omer, France.

The 4th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), 4th (Guards) Brigade was transferred complete from the 2nd Infantry Division (United Kingdom), 2nd Division and redesignated as the 1st Guards Brigade (United Kingdom), 1st Guards Brigade; the 2nd Guards Brigade (United Kingdom), 2nd Guards Brigade was formed with two battalions from England and two more transferred from 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), 1st (Guards) Brigade, History of the British 1st Division during the World Wars, 1st Division; and the 3rd Guards Brigade (United Kingdom), 3rd Guards Brigade likewise with two more battalions from England and two transferred from 20th Brigade (United Kingdom), 20th Brigade, of the 7th Infantry Division (United Kingdom), 7th Division. Soon after formation, each brigade formed a machine gun (M.G.) Company (military unit), company of 16 machine guns, and between March and May 1916 each brigade was also provided with a Trench mortar, Trench Mortar (T.M.) Battery of eight Stokes mortar, 3" Stokes Mortars.

The division was provided with three artillery brigadesLXXIV, LXXV and LXXVI Brigades, Royal Field Artillery, RFA each of four Artillery battery, batteries of four 18 pounder gunsfrom the 16th (Irish) Division and a howitzer brigadeLXI (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA of four batteries of four 4.5" howitzersfrom the 11th (Northern) Division which remained in England when the division was posted to Gallipoli Campaign, Gallipoli. 16th (Irish) Division also provided the Divisional Ammunition Column, two field companies of Royal Engineers and the signal company (Royal Engineer Signals Service). The third field company joined from 7th Division. The Pioneer (military), pioneers were the 4th Battalion, Coldstream Guards which joined from England on 18 August.

War service

In 1915, the Guards Division took part in the Battle of Loos (26 September8 October) and Hohenzollern Redoubt (1819 October).

In 1916, it fought in the later stages of the Battle of the Somme, in particular the Battle of Flers–Courcelette (1516 and 2022 September), the Battle of Morval (2528 September), and the Capture of Lesboeufs (25 September).

In 1917, it saw action in the Battle of Passchendaele (or the Third Battle of Ypres) including the Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 August2 July), the Battle of Poelcappelle (9 October), and the First Battle of Passchendaele (12 October). It then took part in the Battle of Cambrai (1917), Battle of Cambrai (24 November3 December).

In February 1918, British divisions on the Western Front were reduced from a 12-battalion to a 9-battalion basis (brigades from four to three battalions). As a result, the 4th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), 4th Guards Brigade was formed on 8 February 1918 by taking a battalion from each of the brigades:
* 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards from 1st Guards Brigade
* 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards from the 2nd Guards Brigade and
* 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards from the 3rd Guards Brigade.
The 4th Guards Brigade was transferred to the 31st Division (United Kingdom), 31st Division at noon on the same day. On 25 February, the Pioneer (military), pioneer battalion4th Battalion, Coldstream Guards was reorganized from a four-company to a three-company basis.

1918 saw the return of the war of movement. It had to withstand the German Army (German Empire), German Army's German spring offensive, Spring Offensive in the
Operation Michael, First Battles of the Somme (125 March) then switched over to counter-attack in the Second Battle of the Somme (1918), Second Battles of the Somme (2123 August), the Battle of Arras (1918), Second Battle of Arras (26 August3 September), the Battles of the Hindenburg Line (12 September12 October), and in the Final Advance in Picardy including the battles of the Battle of the Selle, Selle and of the Battle of the Sambre (1918), Sambre. Its final action was the Capture of Maubeuge on 9 November. It ended the war with VI Corps (United Kingdom), VI Corps in the Third Army (United Kingdom), British Third Army.

Post-war

At the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the division was in and around Maubeuge, and on 17 November it regained 4th Guards Brigade which was broken up and the battalions returned to their original brigades. The next day it began the march on Germany and crossed the frontier on 11 December. By 19 December it had reached the Cologne area. Units started returning to England on 20 February 1919 and the last had completed the move by 29 April.

Second World War

The Guards Division was reformed during the Second World War on 12 June 1945 by the reorganization and redesignation of the Guards Armoured Division. The division retained all of its original units, but with some changes:
* 5th Guards Armoured Brigade (three armoured battalions and one motorized infantry battalion) was converted to infantry as 5th Guards Armoured Brigade, 5th Guards Brigade
* 32nd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), 32nd Guards Infantry Brigade remained unchanged except that 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards (originally the reconnaissance unit of the Guards Armoured Division) was converted to infantry and joined the brigade
* Household Cavalry Composite Regiment, 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment was transferred from XXX Corps (United Kingdom), XXX Corps on 12 June 1945 as the new reconnaissance unit
* 6th Guards Tank Brigade (United Kingdom), 6th Guards Tank Brigade (three tank battalions) was converted to infantry as 6th Guards Tank Brigade (United Kingdom), 6th Guards Brigade and joined the division on 19 June
* 3rd Middlesex Artillery, 92nd (5th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery joined the division on 12 June from 5th Infantry Division (United Kingdom), 5th Infantry Division as the third field artillery regiment to match three infantry brigades
Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Allan Adair, Sir Allan Adair remained in command of the reorganized division. In January 1947, the division was disbanded.

Orders of battle

1945

Order of battle when reformed from the Guards Armoured Division, June 1945

5th Guards Brigade
* 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards
* 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
* 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards
* 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards
Royal Artillery
* 55th (Wessex) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
* 3rd Middlesex Artillery, 92nd (5th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
* 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
* 75th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
* 94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
Royal Engineers
* 14th Field Company
* 615th Field Company
* 148th Field Park Company
* 11th Bridging Troop
Signals
* Guard Division Signals, Royal Corps of Signals, RCS
Reconnaissance
* 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment
Infantry
* 1st Independent MG Company

6th Guards Brigade
* 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards
* 4th Battalion, Coldstream Guards
* 3rd Battalion, Scots Guards

32nd Guards Infantry Brigade
* 5th Battalion, Coldstream Guards
* 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards
* 3rd Battalion, Irish Guards
* 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards

Notable members

Second lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant John Kipling, Jack Kipling, son of the famous author Rudyard Kipling, served with the Guards Division in France as a platoon commander in the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards. He was aged just 18, his birthday being only a month before, and was killed in the 1915 Battle of Loos, yet exactly how he died still remains a mystery even nearly 100 years later.

Commanders

The division had the following General officer commanding, General Officers Commanding (GOCs):

See also

* List of British divisions in World War I
* List of British divisions in World War II
* Guards Division for the administrative formation

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Guards Division
Guards Division (United Kingdom),
Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War I
Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1915
Military units and formations disestablished in 1919
Military units and formations established in 1945
Military units and formations disestablished in 1946
1915 establishments in the United Kingdom