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Guards Division (United Kingdom)

Field	Value
unit_name	Guards Division
image	Formation sign of the Guards Infantry Division in the First World War.svg
image_size	150px
caption	Divisional insignia.
dates	August 1915 – 29 April 1919
12 June 1945 – January 1947
country	United Kingdom
branch
type	Infantry
role	Heavy infantry
size	Division
patron	King George V
battles
notable_commanders	Earl of Cavan

12 June 1945 – January 1947

First World War
- Western Front
  - Battle of Loos
  - Battle of the Somme
  - Battle of Cambrai
  - First Battle of the Somme
  - Second Battle of the Somme
  - Second Battle of Arras
  - Hindenburg Line
  - Third Battle of Picardy 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

The massed pipes and drums of the Guards Division seen during an inspection of the division by Prince Arthur, the duke of Connaught, at Lumbres, near Wizernesat, 1 November 1916.

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 St Omer, France.

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

The division was provided with three artillery brigadesLXXIV, LXXV and LXXVI Brigades, RFA each of four 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. 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 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 (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 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 at noon on the same day. On 25 February, the 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's Spring Offensive in the First Battles of the Somme (125 March) then switched over to counter-attack in the Second Battles of the Somme (2123 August), the 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 Selle and of the Sambre. Its final action was the Capture of Maubeuge on 9 November. It ended the war with VI Corps in the 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 Brigade
32nd Guards Infantry Brigade remained unchanged except that 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards (originally the reconnaissance unit of the Guards Armoured Division and joined the brigade
2nd Household Cavalry Regiment was transferred from XXX Corps on 12 June 1945 as the new reconnaissance unit
6th Guards Tank Brigade (three tank battalions) was converted to infantry as 6th Guards Brigade and joined the division on 19 June
92nd (5th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery joined the division on 12 June from 5th Infantry Division as the third field artillery regiment to match three infantry brigades Major-General Sir Allan Adair remained in command of the reorganized division.

Orders of battle

Orders of Battle – August 1915, November 1918, June 1945

1st Guards Brigade
2nd Guards Brigade
3rd Guards Brigade

1st Guards Brigade
2nd Guards Brigade
3rd Guards Brigade

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
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, 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

2nd Lieutenant 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 Officers Commanding (GOCs):

From	Name	Notes
15 August 1915	Brigadier-General F. J. Heyworth	temporary
18 August 1915	Major-General Earl of Cavan
3 January 1916	Major-General G. P. T. Feilding
11 September 1918	Major-General T. G. Matheson	disestablished 1919
12 September 1942	Major-General A. H. S. Adair	on re-establishment**
December 1945	Major-General J. C. O. Marriott

Notes

References

Bibliography

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References

{{harvnb. Becke. 1935
{{harvnb. Becke. 1935
"The Royal Artillery". [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)]].
Baker, Chris. "What was an artillery brigade?". The Long, Long Trail.
{{harvnb. Becke. 1938
{{harvnb. Becke. 1938
{{harvnb. Becke. 1938
{{harvnb. Becke. 1935
{{harvnb. Becke. 1945
{{harvnb. Becke. 1935
{{harvnb. Becke. 1935
{{harvnb. BEF GHQ. 1918
{{harvnb. Joslen. 1990
{{harvnb. Joslen. 1990
{{harvnb. Joslen. 1990
{{harvnb. Joslen. 1990
Bellis. 1994
{{harvnb. Joslen. 1990
{{harvnb. Bellis. 1994
{{harvnb. Joslen. 1990
{{harvnb. Joslen. 1990
{{harvnb. Joslen. 1990
{{harvnb. Bellis. 1995
(10 January 1947). "Guards Division Disbanded".
{{harvnb. Becke. 1935
{{harvnb. BEF GHQ. 1918
{{harvnb. Becke. 1935
Mackie, Colin. (9 January 2015). "Army Commands 1900-2011". www.gulabin.com.
{{harvnb. Becke. 1935

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