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185-537: The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) , by the amalgamation of the 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot and the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot . In 1921, it

370-415: A breakdown in cohesion was assured, especially in uneven or wooded terrain. As a result, the line was mostly used as a firing formation, with troops moving in column formations and then deploying to the line at their destination. Usually, columns would be adopted for movement and melee attacks. Line infantry was trained in the manual of arms evolutions, the main objectives of which were fast deployment of

555-562: A brigade of the West Riding Division , for example, was deployed to watch the east coast while the rest of the division guarded railways and munitions factories inland, and the brigades of the East Anglian Division were widely scattered about East Anglia . On 13 August 1914, Kitchener signalled a willingness to deploy overseas those territorial units in which 80 per cent of the men (reduced to 60 per cent at

740-465: A challenge. The war also exposed the difficulty in relying on auxiliary forces which were not liable for service overseas as a source of reinforcements for the regular army in times of crisis. In 1903, the Director of General Mobilisation and Military Intelligence reported an excess of home defence forces which could not be relied upon to expand the army in foreign campaigns. The utility of such forces

925-518: A company of voltigeurs , who were expected to act as skirmishers as well being able to deploy into line. In the Russian Empire, light infantry was forming at a very fast pace; by the end of the 18th century, regiments of light infantry totaled 40,000 soldiers ( Jaeger ). The armament of light infantry was very different from the armament of linear infantry. They were armed with high-quality muskets, as well as pistols (for close combat). After

1110-677: A decision which disappointed the territorials. The need to replace heavy losses suffered by the BEF before the New Army was ready forced Kitchener to deploy territorial units overseas, compromising the force's ability to defend the homeland. To replace foreign-service units, the Territorial Force was doubled in size by creating a second line which mirrored the organisation of the original, first-line units. Second-line units assumed responsibility for home defence and provided replacement drafts to

1295-886: A degree of efficiency and attached to regular brigades. There was little logic in the choice of units deployed. Some that had been positively assessed remained at home while less well prepared units were deployed, often without enough equipment and only after being hastily brought up to strength. The first territorial unit to arrive was the 1/14th Battalion ( London Scottish ), London Regiment , in September 1914. By December, twenty-two infantry battalions, seven yeomanry regiments, and one medical and three engineer units had been sent. Territorial battalions were initially allocated to line-of-communication duties for up to three weeks before being assigned to regular army brigades. From February 1915, with 48 infantry battalions in-country, they were sent directly to their host divisions. On arrival at

1480-454: A fine. Recruits were required to attend a minimum of 40 drill periods in their first year and 20 per year thereafter. All members were required to attend between eight and fifteen days of annual camp. The force was liable to serve anywhere in the UK. Members were not required to serve overseas but could volunteer to do so. Haldane, who still regarded the force's primary function to be the expansion of

1665-652: A less formal system of self-discipline than the rigid, hierarchical discipline of the regular army, feeding a professional prejudice against the amateur auxiliary. The regular army had no more faith in the territorials' abilities than it had in those of the force's predecessors. Territorial standards of training and musketry were suspect, and the reputation of the territorial artillery was so poor that there were calls for it to be disbanded. Regular officers, fearing for their career prospects, often resisted postings as territorial adjutants . The Army Council predicted that, even after six months of intensive training on mobilisation,

1850-489: A line, rapid shooting, and manoeuvre. Line infantry quickly became the most common type of infantry in European countries. Musketeers and grenadiers , formerly elite troops , gradually became part of the line infantry, switching to linear tactics. Over time the use of line infantry tactics spread outside of Europe, often as a result of European imperialism. In European colonies and settlements with small populations from

2035-405: A local territorial identity in their efforts to recruit new members, and used imagery of local scenes under attack to encourage enlistment. In general, the force attracted recruits from the working class, though they were mainly artisans rather than the unskilled labourers who filled the ranks of the regular army. In some units, middle and working classes served together. Units which recruited from

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2220-550: A month before it arrived in France, largely by the attachment of a brigade from the 55th (West Lancashire) Division . It was the first experience in assault for the two battalions that spearheaded the division's attack. They succeeded in reaching the German second line of defences, but when the regular forces on their right did not the territorials were forced to retire with heavy losses. A professionally planned and executed assault by

2405-704: A move to the Far East to join the 1st and 2nd battalions but the Japanese surrendered before the battalion arrived. The 7th (Stoke Newington) Battalion was raised in 1939 as a 2nd Line duplicate of the 5th (Hackney) Battalion and joined its parent battalion in the 161st Infantry Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Division. The battalion spent most of its existence moving around the United Kingdom, mainly in East Anglia , on guard duties and training and preparing for

2590-448: A naval defence against invasion as complacent and a strong home army as essential. A bill sponsored by the NSL in 1909 proposed using the Territorial Force as the framework for a conscripted home army. When that failed, the league became increasingly antagonistic towards the auxiliary. The force was denigrated for its excessive youth, inefficiency and consistently low numbers, and ridiculed in

2775-434: A peak of 268,000 men in 1909 when invasion scares prompted a surge in recruitment, but by 1913 numbers had declined to less than 246,000, and the officer corps was nearly 20 per cent under-subscribed. In 1910, a third of the force had not completed the minimum level of musketry training. Only 155,000 territorials completed the full 15-day annual camp in 1912, and around 6,000 did not attend at all. In 1909, some 37 per cent of

2960-500: A pied (light infantry), one of Grenadiers and one of Carabiniers . Similar differentiations were made in the majority of European armies of the period, although English-speaking authors sometimes use the designation "line infantry" when referring to the ordinary infantry of some other countries where the exact term was not in use. The term was also used by US units during the Second World War, as shown by this quote from

3145-507: A possible German invasion of England . The battalion never served overseas and was disbanded in September 1942. The 8th ( Home Defence ) Battalion was formed in November 1939 from No. 84 Group, National Defence Companies . The battalion was created specifically for home defence purposes and consisted mainly of men mainly in a lower medical category and younger soldiers unable to be conscripted and eventually it grew to 2,000 strong. In 1940

3330-617: A proposed new drill hall because the War Office took so long to approve plans, and Essex had to wait five years before it received approval for the construction of new rifle ranges . Good facilities were regarded by the associations as important for efficiency, unit esprit de corps and recruitment, and the authorities' parsimony and apparent obstruction were seen as undermining these. The force failed to retain large numbers of men after their initial enlistment expired, and it consistently fell short of its established strength. It reached

3515-730: A rank lower than their regular counterparts. Although the Territorial Force provided many officers for the regular army, very few were appointed to higher commands, despite pre-war promises by Haldane that they would be. In 1918, government efforts to defend the military record on senior territorial promotions failed to acknowledge that most were temporary and in home units. Ian Macpherson , Under-Secretary of State for War, conceded that just ten territorial officers commanded brigades and only three had been promoted to highest grade of General Staff Officer. The territorials received scant recognition for their early enthusiasm. The Army Council refused to grant any special decorations for those who had accepted

3700-402: A recognisable entity distinct from the regular and New Army forces. It suffered some 84,000 casualties during the offensive, and the indiscriminate replacement of these with recruits who had been conscripted into the army rather than volunteering specifically for the Territorial Force marked the beginning of the end for the territorial identity. Fourteen second-line divisions were formed during

3885-544: A reinforcement for the Expeditionary Force. Because the military authorities regarded the Territorial Force as weak and saw no value in an auxiliary that was not liable for foreign service, they prioritised expenditure on the regular army, leaving the force armed with obsolete weapons. On the outbreak of the First World War , Lord Kitchener by-passed the Territorial Force and, with the approval of

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4070-572: A report of the 782nd Tank Battalion in late April 1945: On the 22nd of April, the Battalion moved from Oberkotzau, Germany to Wunsiedel , Germany. Here the attachment of the line companies to the Regimental Combat Teams of the 97th Division was completed. We separated, not coming together again until the war was over. Company "A" joined the 303rd at Rehau, Germany: Company "B" joined the 386th at Arzburg, Germany: and Company "C"

4255-410: A sense of family or club. A similar sentiment was exploited in raising the New Army pals battalions , but in the Territorial Force this was reinforced by a pedigree that New Army units did not possess; most territorial units could trace a lineage back to the early or mid 19th century through units of yeomanry or volunteers which had for generations been a part of local communities and social life. In

4440-435: A small part of the infantry branch of most armies, because of their vulnerability to hostile cavalry. Pikemen formed the majority of infantrymen and were known as heavy infantry. A significant part of infantry consisted of old-style musketeers, who did not use the linear tactics, instead skirmishing in open formation. However, by the middle of the 17th century, musketeers deployed in line formation already provided about half of

4625-463: A unified auxiliary, commanded by the War Office and administered by local county territorial associations . The Territorial Force was designed to reinforce the regular army in expeditionary operations abroad, but because of political opposition it was assigned to home defence. Members were liable for service anywhere in the UK and could not be compelled to serve overseas. In the first two months of

4810-486: A way of instilling discipline and unit cohesion . Members of the US Army utilize the term "line company" (informally) in light infantry battalions to differentiate those companies (generally A–D) that perform the traditional infantry role from the support companies (generally F and HHC) charged with supporting the "line companies". The Marine Corps does the same for all its infantry units. In this vein, officers assigned to

4995-470: A yeomanry mounted division, deployed without its horses as infantry, had reinforced British Empire forces engaged in the Gallipoli Campaign . Their landings were chaotic; the 125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade , for example, landed nearly a week before the other two brigades of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. The infantry were rushed into battle without any opportunity to acclimatise, and

5180-659: Is known, was over the 3rd Battalion was disembodied and all the service battalions were disbanded as well as the Territorial Force which was reformed in 1920 as the Territorial Army . Miles Dempsey served with the regiment after being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1915, where he was awarded the Military Cross for bravery. He would serve with distinction in the Second World War in France , North Africa , Sicily , Italy and North-Western Europe and became

5365-644: The 25th Brigade and was attached to the 8th Division . They came to the Western Front in late 1914 and served there for the rest of the war. The Territorial Force saw a considerable expansion and raised the 1/4th, 2/4th and 3/4th battalions. The 1/4th Battalion was part of the South Midland Brigade of the South Midland Division. In 1915 it was designated the 145th Brigade , 48th (South Midland) Division . They served on

5550-607: The 47th (1/2nd London) Division was one of the few successes in the Battle of Loos on 25 September, but the 46th (North Midland) Division suffered 3,643 casualties in a failed assault against the Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13 October. To Lieutenant-General Sir Douglas Haig , commander of the First Army , the 46th Division's failure demonstrated that "some territorial units still need training and discipline". By

5735-586: The 48th (South Midland) and the 49th (West Riding), were among the initial 25 divisions of the Fourth Army , which bore the brunt of the fighting during the four and a half months of the Somme offensive. The 49th Division was committed piecemeal on the first day to the fighting around the Schwaben Redoubt , and two battalions of the 48th Division were attached to the 4th Division and participated in

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5920-606: The 58th (2/1st London) and 62nd (2nd West Riding) Divisions were well regarded by the war's end. The 51st (Highland) Division, whose men labelled themselves as "duds" after a slow start, and the two London first-line divisions were among the best in the BEF by 1918. A reputation for dependability resulted in the 48th (South Midland) Division being transferred to Italy to relieve the regular 7th Infantry Division in March 1918. Several territorial divisions overcame poor initial impressions to become effective, dependable formations by

6105-604: The 78th Brigade and moved to Salonika to fight the Bulgarian Army on the Macedonian front in the battles of Horseshoe Hill and Doiran in 1917 and ended the war in Macedonia. The 8th Battalion transferred in 1916 to the 1st Brigade , 1st Division , a Regular Army formation, where they fought in many of the terrible slaughterhouse battles of the war such as the Battle of Aubers Ridge Loos and Passchendaele ,

6290-497: The American Civil War . The Austro-Prussian War in 1866 showed that breech-loading rifles , which gave the individual shooter a greatly increased rate of fire as well as the capability to reload from a prone position, were greatly superior to muzzle loaded rifles. In the 1860s, most German states and Russia converted their line infantry and riflemen into 'united' infantry, which used rifles and skirmish tactics. After

6475-478: The Battle of Doiran in Salonika , played a key role in the capture of Jerusalem on 9 December. The yeomanry provided 18 dismounted regiments which fought as infantry and, in 1917, were formed into the 74th (Yeomanry) Division . This division was transferred to France in 1918 along with the 52nd (Lowland) Division. Five brigades of yeomanry fought in the mounted role, and in 1917 three of them were formed into

6660-637: The Battle of Loos , 2nd Lieutenant Alexander Buller Turner of the 3rd Battalion, attached to the 1st, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross . In 1916 Lance corporal James Welch , also of the 1st Battalion, was awarded the Victoria Cross as well. The 2nd Battalion was also a Regular Army unit and was serving in India on the outbreak of war and was recalled to Britain, where, with other Regular units also stationed abroad, it helped form

6845-575: The British Expeditionary Force (BEF). As the territorials completed their training and the threat of invasion receded, complete divisions were deployed to combat theatres. The first to depart was the 46th (North Midland) Division , which arrived on the Western Front in March 1915. By July, all 14 first-line divisions had been deployed overseas. The Northumberland Brigade of the Northumbrian Division became

7030-557: The First World War , territorials volunteered for foreign service in significant numbers, allowing territorial units to be deployed abroad. They saw their first action on the Western Front during the initial German offensive of 1914 , and the force filled the gap between the near destruction of the regular army that year and the arrival of the New Army in 1915. Territorial units were deployed to Gallipoli in 1915 and, following

7215-594: The Fourteenth Army under the command of Lieutenant General William "Bill" Slim . The battalion fought in the Arakan Campaign in late 1942 until June 1943 and later were destined to play a crucial role in the Battle of Kohima the following year, with B Company leading the battalion in relieving the 4th Royal West Kents during the siege. The often savage fighting in Kohima, nicknamed Stalingrad of

7400-655: The Franco-Prussian War , both the German Empire and the French Third Republic did the same. However, Great Britain retained the name "line infantry", although it used rifled muskets from 1853 and breech loading rifles from 1867, and switched from closed lines to extended order during the Boer wars . The growing accuracy, range, and rate of fire of rifles, together with the invention of

7585-474: The Freedom of several locations throughout its history; these include: Line infantry Line infantry mainly used three formations in its battles: the line, the square, and the column. With the universal adoption of small arms (firearms that could be carried by hand, as opposed to cannon) in infantry units from the mid-17th century, the battlefield was dominated by linear tactics , according to which

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7770-741: The Gloucestershire Regiment to create the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment . Like its predecessor regiment, however, this was on 1 February 2007 merged with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment , the Royal Green Jackets and The Light Infantry to form a new large regiment , The Rifles . The Berkshire Regiment was formed as part of the reforms carried out by Edward Cardwell and Hugh Childers , Secretaries of State for War in

7955-630: The Maxim machine gun in 1883, meant that close order line infantry would suffer heavy losses before being able to close with the enemy, while the defensive advantages given to line infantry against cavalry became irrelevant with the effective removal of offensive cavalry from the battlefield in the face of the improved weaponry. With the turn of the 20th century, this slowly led to infantry increasingly adopting skirmish style light infantry tactics in battle, while retaining line infantry drill for training. Although linear battle tactics had become obsolete by

8140-661: The Northumbrian Division took up positions in the east coast defences, and the following day elements of the Welsh Division were gathered in the area of Pembroke Dock . Some formations assembled close to their bases before moving on to their war stations; the Highland Division , for example, gathered at various locations north of Edinburgh before proceeding to Bedford , north of London. Defence duties resulted in some divisions being dispersed;

8325-603: The Sinai and Palestine Campaign . The EEF comprised forces from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and India, and the British contribution was predominantly territorial. Most of the infantry was provided by the four territorial divisions that had fought at Gallipoli. When the 42nd Division was transferred to France in March 1917, it was replaced in July by the second-line 60th (2/2nd London) Division . The latter, having already fought during

8510-600: The Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve ; the regiment now had one Reserve and one Territorial battalion. The regiment, in common with the rest of the British Army, saw a huge expansion during the First World War and many service battalions, for war service only, were created from volunteers for Kitchener's New Armies . Most battalions would see active service in the trenches of

8695-566: The Volunteer Force and the yeomanry . Battalions of the militia and Volunteer Force had been linked with regular army regiments since 1872, and the militia was often used as a source of recruitment into the regular army. The terms of service for all three auxiliaries made service overseas voluntary. The Second Boer War exposed weaknesses in the ability of the regular army to counter guerrilla warfare which required additional manpower to overcome. The only reinforcements available were

8880-620: The Western Front in Belgium and France. The 1st Battalion was a Regular Army unit and was serving with the 6th Brigade , part of the 2nd Division and served with the British Expeditionary Force when it was sent to Belgium in 1914. They fought in the Battle of Mons , the Marne and the First Battle of Ypres , where the old regular British army was virtually wiped out and could have been said to have found its grave there. In 1915 during

9065-588: The Yeomanry Mounted Division . The yeomanry mounted some of the last cavalry charges ever made by British forces; the Charge at Huj on 8 November 1917 by the 1/1st Warwickshire Yeomanry and 1/1st Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars , followed five days later with a charge by the 1/1st Royal Bucks Hussars in the Battle of Mughar Ridge . By the end of a campaign in which the EEF had advanced across

9250-532: The landings at Anzio , where the battalion endured some of the bitterest fighting of the war so far. Fighting at Anzio was similar to the trench warfare of the Great War . However, due to the severe shortage of manpower in the British Army at the time, and the battalion being the most junior in 56th Division, the battalion was broken up in March 1944 and the men were used as replacements for other infantry units of 56th Division. The 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion

9435-408: The matchlock muskets of some line infantry were equipped with bayonets . Bayonets were attached to the muzzles and were used when line troops entered melee combat. They also helped to defend against cavalry. At the end of the 17th century, a solution was sought to a flaw within the design of matchlock muskets. Since the matchlock musket used a slow burning piece of twine known as a slow match ,

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9620-583: The 1/4th Battalion. The 3/4th remained in Britain for the war supplying drafts and replacements to the other Territorial Force battalions. The regiment also raised many service battalions during the war, specifically for war service only. The 5th (Service) Battalion was part of the First New Army, part of Kitchener's Army , and joined the 35th Brigade attached to the 12th (Eastern) Division . They saw their first action in 1915 at Loos . Then, in 1916,

9805-560: The 1st Battalion, also served in the Burma Campaign under the command of Fourteenth Army. A memorial plaque stands at the entrance to a pagoda near the top of Mandalay Hill . It was erected in honour of the men of the 2nd Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment who fought and died there and reads; Erected to commemorate the fierce fighting in the clearance and final capture of Mandalay Hill by the 2nd Bn. The Royal Berkshire Regiment, March 10th to 12th 1945. The battalion continued to fight

9990-465: The 37th Training Reserve Battalion and supplied the service battalions overseas with replacements. The 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th battalions were all formed in 1916, serving in France and were transferred to the Labour Corps and remained there for the rest of the war. Throughout the war, the regiment lost 6,688 men killed and many thousands more wounded. After the Great War , as it was and still

10175-551: The 387th at Waldsassen, Germany. The British Army retains the traditional distinction between "Guards", "Line Infantry" and "the Rifles" on ceremonial occasions for historical reasons. It is linked to the order of precedence within the British Army and regimental pride, so for example Colonel Patrick Crowley states in the "introduction" in A Brief History of The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (2015): The examples of valour, adherence to duty, and fortitude, continue to inspire

10360-506: The 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. Second-line units immediately assumed that the third line would take over their home-based duties, in the belief that second-line divisions would be deployed overseas. Many second-line battalions refused to take recruits who had not accepted the Imperial Service Obligation, a practice that was not officially sanctioned until March 1915 when the option to enlist only for home service

10545-604: The 53rd (Welsh) Division and the 60th (2/2nd London) Division in Palestine were transferred to France and replaced with Indian battalions in 1916. The 75th Division was formed in Egypt in March 1917 with territorial units transferred from India, though it too was subsequently 'indianised'. Several territorial battalions from the 42nd (East Lancashire), 46th (North Midland) and 59th (2nd North Midland) Divisions were reduced to training cadres, demobilised or disbanded shortly before

10730-406: The 54th (East Anglian) Division did not receive any formal instruction about the nature of the campaign for the first four weeks of its participation in it. Some battalions of the 53rd (Welsh) Division were second-line units and had still been supplying replacement drafts to first-line units, and the division was given only two weeks notice that it was to go to Gallipoli. The 42nd Division impressed

10915-439: The 6th (Service) Battalion was disbanded in France due to a manpower shortage where all infantry brigades were reduced from four to three infantry battalions to make up for the shortage and the men of the disbanded 6th were sent to the 1st, 2nd and 5th battalions. The 7th and 8th (Service) battalions were both formed in September 1914 as part of Kitchener's Third New Army and both joined the 26th Division . The 7th Battalion joined

11100-558: The American Civil War, both Union and Confederate armies had only a few line regiments equipped with the old-style smooth-bore muskets. However, France, due to Napoleon III, who admired Napoleon I, had 300 line battalions (comprising an overwhelming majority) even in 1870. Although the French line infantry received Chassepot rifles in 1866, it was still being trained in the use of close formations (line, column and square), which

11285-622: The Army. The 50th (Holding) Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment was another war-formed unit of the regiment raised in May 1940 in Reading, Berkshire. The 50th (Holding) Battalion's job was to 'hold' men who were homeless, medically unfit or those awaiting orders, on courses or returning from abroad. In late 1940 it was renumbered the 10th Battalion and, in early 1941, joined the 168th (London) Infantry Brigade , 56th (London) Infantry Division . In late 1942

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11470-549: The Austrian army abandoned their pikes. In 1703, the French army did the same, in 1704 the British and 1708 the Dutch. In 1699–1721, Peter I converted almost all Russian foot-regiments to line infantry. The abandonment of the pike, together with the faster firing rate made possible by the introduction of the new flintlock musket and paper cartridge , resulted in the replacement of the deeper formations of troops more suitable for

11655-602: The Burma Campaign, seeing action in the Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay until being withdrawn to India in April 1945. As in the First World War, the 2nd Battalion was stationed in India at the outbreak of war and remained there for the duration. From the outbreak of war until August 1940, the battalion served with the 6th Indian Infantry Brigade . In January 1943 the battalion was assigned to 98th Indian Infantry Brigade , part of 19th Indian Infantry Division and, like

11840-531: The Commander of the British Second Army from D-Day onwards. In 1921 the titles switched to become the Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) . The Second World War also saw an expansion for the regiment but not quite to the extent of the Great War. However, casualties were still heavy and the Royal Berkshire Regiment lost 1067 men killed including 974 other ranks and 93 officers killed in action with many hundreds more wounded. The 1st Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Miles Dempsey ,

12025-439: The East , turned the tide of the campaign in Burma . Entering the Battle around 20 April 1944, the 1st Royal Berkshires continued to fight the Japanese for a further three weeks in horrendous conditions, and suffered just over 50% casualties. From 15 April 1944 to 24 June 1944 the battalion had 52 killed, 290 wounded and 15 missing (357 casualties overall) from an initial fighting strength of 691. The battalion continued to fight in

12210-457: The Expeditionary Force, hoped that up to a quarter of all territorials would volunteer on mobilisation . The Imperial Service Obligation was introduced in 1910 to allow territorials to volunteer in advance. It was illegal to amalgamate or disband territorial units or transfer members between them. The reforms were not received well by the auxiliaries. The exclusion of the militia rendered Haldane's target of just over 314,000 officers and men for

12395-604: The German Jäger ), armed with rifled carbines and trained in aimed shooting and use of defilades . In Britain, much of the light infantry was armed with smooth-bore muskets, only a few regiments used rifled muskets. In France, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , the division into the Guard, line infantry and light infantry formally continued to exist, line and "light" regiments had identical weaponry (smooth-bore fusils) and tactics. (Napoleon preferred smooth-bore weaponry for their faster reload speeds.) However, each battalion in both line and "light" regiments included

12580-730: The Imperial Service Obligation before the war. The Territorial War Medal , awarded to those who had volunteered for service overseas in the first months of the war, was denied to volunteers who had been held back even though they rendered invaluable service training the rest of the army. Those who served in India received no campaign medal. The three territorial divisions sent to India in 1914 felt penalised by their early readiness. The men were placed on lower, peacetime rates of pay; gunners had to purchase equipment that should have been issued; officers attending courses were not fully reimbursed for their hotel expenses; and non-commissioned officers promoted after arrival had to protest before they received

12765-501: The Japanese until the war against Japan ended on Victory over Japan Day . The 4th Battalion was a 1st Line Territorial Army unit serving in 145th Infantry Brigade , 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division . It was sent overseas to France in early January 1940 with the rest of 48th Division and, in February, it was exchanged for the 2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment to the 8th Infantry Brigade , part of 3rd Infantry Division under Major-General Bernard Montgomery before, with

12950-432: The London County Territorial Association, wrote in the National Review that the country would have to choose between an under-strength voluntary auxiliary and compulsory service. In his opinion, the Territorial Force was the last chance for the volunteer tradition, and its failure would pave the way for conscription. Advocacy for compulsory service was led by the National Service League (NSL), which regarded reliance on

13135-491: The London Regiment. Battlefield amalgamations were a military necessity which threatened the legal protections on territorial unit integrity. Although the territorials were proving their worth in defensive operations, the commanders of the regular formations to which they were attached still did not trust their abilities. The regulars regarded the primary function of the territorials to be the release of regular battalions for offensive operations. The territorials were employed in

13320-473: The Military Service Acts of 1916. These permitted the amalgamation and disbandment of units and the transfer of territorials between them, introduced conscription, and required territorials either to accept the Imperial Service Obligation or leave the force and become liable for conscription. The last recruits to voluntarily enlist in a specific unit of the Territorial Force before the choice

13505-557: The Russian light infantry were equipped with the M1854 rifle, the remainder retaining smoothbore percussion muskets. In the second half of the 19th century, the development of mass production and new technologies, such as the Minié ball , allowed European armies to gradually equip all their infantrymen with rifled weapons, and the percentage of line infantry equipped with muskets fell. In

13690-541: The Second World War, all hostilities-only battalions were disbanded, and the 4th and 6th battalions were amalgamated. In 1959 the regiment was amalgamated with The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) into The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire) . The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum is based in Salisbury . The colonels of the regiment were as follows: The regiment's selected battle honours were as follows: The regiment has received

13875-804: The Sinai, through Palestine, and into Syria, territorial casualties numbered over 32,000 – 3,000 more than those suffered by British regular, Australian, New Zealand and Indian forces combined. The much maligned 46th (North Midland) Division redeemed itself in 1918 in a hazardous attack during the Battle of St Quentin Canal . The operation was successfully spearheaded by the 137th (Staffordshire) Brigade , which included two battalions that were almost disbanded because of their alleged poor performance at Gommecourt two years earlier. The seven untested second-line divisions saw their first actions in 1917. They generally suffered, undeservedly, from poor reputations, although

14060-535: The Sixth Coalition , the training of regular French line infantry recruits was limited due to the relentless attack of the Coalition Forces. A recruit was trained by firing only two cartridges and four blanks. There was also light training of forming several formations. However, training large quantities of elite line infantry was generally a complicated process. In the middle of the 16th century,

14245-466: The Territorial Force unattainable. The new terms of service imposed an increased commitment on members compared to that demanded by the previous auxiliary institutions. By 1 June 1908, the force had attracted less than 145,000 recruits. Despite considerable efforts to promote the new organisation to the former auxiliary institutions, less than 40 per cent of all existing auxiliaries transferred into it. The county territorial associations emphasised pride in

14430-404: The Territorial Force. After three attempts to persuade them, Haldane abolished the militia and created the Special Reserve . Crucially, Haldane's efforts were based on the premise that home defence rested with the navy and that the imperative for army reform was to provide an expeditionary capability. His reorganisation of the regular army created a six-division Expeditionary Force, and his plan

14615-416: The War Office promise that the second line would no longer be trawled for replacements to be sent to the first line. By this time, second-line battalion establishments had been reduced to 400 men, less than half the number normally serving in an infantry battalion at full strength. It took on average 27 months to prepare a second-line formation for active service, compared to eight months for the first line, and

14800-511: The War Office which, when finally forthcoming, often rejected the associations' plans outright or refused to allocate the full financing requested. In 1909, the Gloucestershire association complained that "most of our association are businessmen and are unable to understand why it takes ten weeks and upwards to reply" after waiting for a response to its proposed purchase of a site for a field ambulance unit. Somerset lost three sites for

14985-400: The Western Front until 1917 when they were transferred to Italy . The 2/4th Battalion was formed at Reading, Berkshire, as a duplicate of the 1/4th Battalion and served in the 184th Brigade , part of the 61st (2nd South Midland) Division and, like the majority of the British Army, served on the Western Front during the war. The 3/4th Battalion was raised in 1915 as a 3rd-Line duplicate of

15170-452: The Western Front, individual battalions were attached to regular army formations and sent into action, and the territorials were credited with playing a key role in stopping the German offensive. The first complete territorial division to be deployed to a combat zone arrived in France in March 1915. Territorial divisions began participating in offensive operations on the Western Front from June 1915 and at Gallipoli later that year. Because of

15355-561: The amalgamation of 44 territorial battalions and the disbandment of a further 21. In July, the 50th (Northumbrian) Division was left with a single territorial battalion when it was reorganised following heavy losses during the Spring Offensive. Its other territorial battalions, having fought in most battles since the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, were reduced to a cadre or disbanded. All but one battalion in each brigade of

15540-594: The arrival of HMS Ferret . The 1st Battalion was posted at Gibraltar from February 1900 to November 1902, when they joined the 2nd battalion in Egypt. The 2nd Battalion was posted to South Africa in February 1898 and stayed there throughout the Second Boer War (1899–1902), leaving for Egypt in November 1902. In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming

15725-460: The associations assisted in recruiting the New Army alongside their own work raising and equipping territorial units. The Cambridgeshire , Denbighshire and East Riding associations, for example, together raised 11 New Army units in December 1914. The associations performed remarkably well in equipping their units, despite the fact that the War Office prioritised New Army units and, in the case of

15910-554: The auxiliaries – nearly 46,000 militiamen served in South Africa and another 74,000 were enlisted into the regular army; some 20,000 men of the Volunteer Force volunteered for active service in South Africa; and the yeomanry provided the nucleus of the separate Imperial Yeomanry for which over 34,000 volunteered. The war placed a significant strain on the regular forces. Against a background of invasion scares in

16095-502: The auxiliary forces and transform the yeomanry from cavalry to mounted infantry . Brodrick's efforts were met with opposition from auxiliary interests in the government, and the yeomanry in particular proved resistant to change. A royal commission on auxiliary forces concluded in 1904 that the volunteer organisations were not fit to defend the country unaided and that the only effective solution would be to introduce conscription . This option, regarded as political suicide by all parties,

16280-409: The battalion fought at the Battle of Albert and Pozières in 1917. In 1918 the 5th Battalion was transferred to the 36th Brigade , still with 12th Division. The 6th (Service) Battalion was formed as part of Kitchener's Second New Army and joined the 53rd Brigade , 18th (Eastern) Division and fought at the 1916 Albert battle, Delville Wood and the Battle of Thiepval Ridge . Then, in early 1918,

16465-551: The beginning of the war, had been its unique possession". For the 1/6th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment , losses during the Battle of the Somme had damaged its "territorial influence". Criticisms of the drafting system were voiced in the House of Commons , and territorial representatives expressed concern that the force's unique character was being lost. Military authorities stated their desire to replenish units with replacements from

16650-478: The best shooting soldiers fight in loose ranks and cover their battalions from the enemy skirmishers. The total number of light infantry reached 40% of the entire field infantry. The sharp increase in the number of light infantry greatly influenced their quality of training and equipment. The Russian infantry of 1854 comprised 108 regiments, of which 42 were line infantry. The remainder were specialized or elite units such as Guards, Grenadiers and Jägers. Only part of

16835-550: The commands of the officers. This disrupted the system, while the gunsmoke prevented accurate shooting. Such a shootout in clouds of smoke could occur for an extended period of time and the result was unpredictable. In addition, at the time of the “hot” shootout, the soldiers were so engaged and focused on shooting that they were not watching out for an attack of cavalry from the flank. For these reasons, experienced officers tried to avoid such uncertain exchanges and restrained their soldiers from premature firing in order to get as close to

17020-492: The construction and maintenance of trenches, and generally performed only supporting actions in the attacks at Neuve Chapelle and Aubers Ridge in early 1915. An exception was the 1/13th Battalion ( Kensington ), London Regiment. During the Battle of Aubers Ridge, the Kensingtons became the first territorial battalion to be deployed in the first wave of a major assault, and was the only battalion to achieve its objective on

17205-427: The county territorial associations and the War Office was often acrimonious. The associations frequently complained about excessive bureaucracy and inadequate finance. The military authorities begrudged the money that could have been spent on the regular army being wasted on what they perceived as an inefficient, amateur auxiliary. Efforts to provide adequate facilities, for example, were undermined by slow responses from

17390-411: The county territorial associations was significantly reduced in the face of opposition to civilian encroachment in military affairs. Instead, the associations were chaired by Lord Lieutenants and run by traditional county military elites. Militia representatives refused to accept Haldane's plans to allocate a proportion of the militia as a reserve for the regular army and incorporate the remainder into

17575-413: The county territorial associations would be unable to cope with the task of recruiting and training large numbers. He also believed that because so few territorials had thus far volunteered for foreign service, the Territorial Force was better suited for home defence than as a means of expanding the army overseas. At the end of July, territorial Special Service Sections began patrolling the east coast. On

17760-441: The courage of the territorials, he criticised the performance of the 53rd and 54th Divisions. His comments failed to recognise the difficulties the two divisions had faced with the loss of many of their trained men transferred to other units before their arrival at Gallipoli. Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Da Costa, GSO1 of the 54th Division, refuted accusations by Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stopford , commander of IX Corps , that

17945-531: The current officers and soldiers of the modern Regiment, who are proud to belong to the most senior English Regiment of the Line. The Canadian Army also retained these traditional distinctions, and its infantry regiments were organized, titled, and uniformed in full dress as foot guards , fusiliers , light infantry, line infantry, rifles, and kilted infantry regiments. The infantry of most 21st-century armies are still trained in formation manoeuvre and drill , as

18130-483: The day before the declaration of war, the 1st London Brigade was dispersed by platoons to protect the rail network between London and Southampton. The remainder of the Territorial Force was mobilised on the evening of 4 August 1914, and war stations were quickly occupied by those units with bases located nearby. By 6 August, for example, units of the Wessex Division were concentrated at Plymouth while those of

18315-602: The day. But the Territorial Force had filled the gaps created in the regular army by the German offensive of 1914, and French wrote that it would have been impossible to halt the German advance without it. The 51st (Highland) Division participated in an attack on 15 June 1915 in the Second Action of Givenchy, part of the Second Battle of Artois . The division had lost several of its original battalions to piecemeal deployment and had been brought up to strength only

18500-590: The defensive battles of the initial German offensive during the Race to the Sea . Among the first to see action was the London Scottish, which suffered 640 casualties on 31 October 1914 during the Battle of Messines . It was in action again during the First Battle of Ypres in November, and was praised as a "glorious lead and example" to the rest of the Territorial Force by Field Marshal Sir John French , commander of

18685-473: The desperate fighting, earning further praise from French for their tenacity and determination. Several other territorial battalions attached to regular army formations fought with distinction in the defence of Ypres, at the cost of heavy casualties. The three battalions of the Monmouthshire Regiment were temporarily amalgamated into a single composite battalion, as were three battalions of

18870-555: The division lacked attacking spirit and was badly led. Da Costa claimed that its poor performance was entirely due to the way it had been "chucked ashore" and thrown into a poorly-coordinated and ill-defined attack. Following a successful British defence of the Suez Canal , the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was formed in March 1916 and went over to the offensive against German and Ottoman forces in

19055-740: The division was sent to the Middle East . The 168th Brigade was detached to fight with the 50th Division which was understrength after heavy fighting and casualties at Gazala in North Africa . The 168th Brigade took part in Operation Husky , the invasion of Sicily, and then fought in the Italian Campaign back with the 56th Division. The division came under the command of the US Fifth Army under Mark W. Clark for

19240-579: The end of May. Battalion strengths fluctuated throughout training as men were drafted to first-line units. The division was still only at two-thirds strength when it attacked at the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916 alongside the Australian 5th Division . The heavy casualties suffered by the Australians were blamed on the failure of the territorials' assaulting battalions to take a key position. By August 1915, four territorial infantry divisions and

19425-586: The end of the month) had accepted the Imperial Service Obligation. Despite the low uptake before the war, 72 per cent of the rank and file volunteered for foreign service by the end of September. The first full territorial divisions to be deployed overseas were used to free up imperial garrisons. The East Lancashire Division was sent to Egypt in September, and three territorial divisions had been deployed to India by January 1915. Territorial battalions released regular troops stationed at Aden, Cyprus , Gibraltar and Malta . Five regular army divisions were created from

19610-539: The end of the war. The 61st (2nd South Midland) Division, for example, blamed for the failure at Fromelles, was commended by Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough , commander of the Fifth Army , as the best performing of his 11 front-line divisions in the initial onslaught of the German spring offensive in March 1918. As the war progressed, Britain began to struggle with manpower shortages, prompting changes which affected

19795-477: The enemy’s line as possible so that they could deliver several devastating volleys at a short distance. In some cases, it was possible to defeat the enemy with just one volley at close range. The line was considered the fundamental battle formation as it allowed for the largest deployment of firepower. Against surrounding enemy cavalry, line infantry could swiftly adopt square formations to provide protection. Such squares were hollow (consisting of four lines), unlike

19980-535: The epitome of trench slaughter. They ended the war in Le Cateau, France. During the Battle of Loos, the 8th Battalion attacked Hulluch village and a platoon managed to fight its way into the village, capturing two German field guns and a number of machine guns. 2nd Lieutenant Lawrence was awarded the Military Cross for his exploits. The 9th (Reserve) Battalion was originally a service battalion of Kitchener's Fourth New Army formed in 1914 until 1915 when it became

20165-447: The failure of that campaign, provided the bulk of the British contribution to allied forces in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign . By the war's end, the Territorial Force had fielded twenty-three infantry divisions and two mounted divisions on foreign soil. It was demobilised after the war and reconstituted in 1921 as the Territorial Army . The force experienced problems throughout its existence. On establishment, fewer than 40 per cent of

20350-400: The first day's fighting. The 48th Division itself went into action on 16 July, and by the end of September the remaining four territorial divisions – the 47th (1/2nd London), 50th (Northumbrian), 51st (Highland) and 55th (West Lancashire) – had relieved battle-weary units and gone into action. Although the 46th Division's poor performance at Gommecourt cemented a perception that it

20535-451: The first half of the war, territorial casualties were generally replaced with drafts from a battalion's own reserve. Although there were some cases of replacements being sourced from different regions or non-territorial units, in mid-1916 the ranks of the territorial units were still largely populated by men who had volunteered specifically for service as a territorial in their local regiment. The legal protections for this were stripped away by

20720-551: The first line. The second line competed with the New Army for limited resources and was poorly equipped and armed. The provision of replacements to the first line compromised the second line's home defence capabilities until a third line was raised to take over responsibility for territorial recruitment and training. The second line's duties were further complicated by the expectation, later confirmed, that it too would be deployed overseas. Territorial units were initially deployed overseas to free up regular units from non-combat duties. On

20905-415: The first territorial formation larger than a battalion to fight under its own command when it participated in an abortive counter-attack on 26 April 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres . It suffered 1,954 casualties and earned a personal congratulation from French. The division had deployed only three days earlier; the rest of its units were attached piecemeal to other formations and immediately thrown into

21090-510: The first- and second-line units, but when unable to do so, replacements were sent from the Training Reserve. The system was organised by region, so even if a battalion did not receive replacements from its own regiment they were generally sourced from an appropriate locality, but it did not guarantee unit integrity. After the heavy losses sustained during the Somme offensive, dilution of the territorial identity accelerated because of

21275-452: The foot troops in most Western European armies. Maurice of Nassau was noted as the first large scale user of linear tactic in Europe, introducing the 'counter-march' to enable his formations of musketeers to maintain a continuous fire. After the invention of the bayonet, musketeers could finally defend themselves from the enemy's horsemen, and the percentage of pikemen fell gradually. In 1699,

21460-428: The force in preference to the new or regular armies. They had elected to join local regiments and been imbued with an esprit de corps during their training in those regiments' own second and later third lines. The strong sense of locality was reinforced by a shared civilian background – it was not uncommon for territorials to be employed in the same office, mill or factory – and many territorial memoirs betray

21645-412: The force throughout its existence. The Territorial Force was established on 1 April 1908 by the amalgamation of the Volunteer Force and the yeomanry. The Volunteer Force battalions became the infantry component of the Territorial Force and were more closely integrated into regular army regimental establishments they had previously been linked to; for example, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Volunteer Battalions of

21830-424: The force would not reach a standard at which two territorial divisions could be considered the equal of one regular division as planned. In 1908 and 1914, it was decided that two of the army's six expeditionary divisions should be retained in the UK for home defence, so ineffective was the Territorial Force perceived to be in the role to which it had been assigned. In 1910, Lord Esher , pro-conscription chairman of

22015-484: The formation of The Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Berkshire Regiment) , consisting of the following battalions: In 1885, following its service at the Battle of Tofrek , the regiment was granted "Royal" status, to become The Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) . The 1st Battalion formed part of the garrison of the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda from 1893 through 1895. On 19 March 1896

22200-464: The front, the territorials would spend several days in further training behind the lines before undergoing a period of trench acclimatisation. When the battalion was considered proficient, or when the pressure to relieve a regular unit became too severe, the territorials were allocated their own sector of the front. The time between arriving at brigade and taking over the trenches varied from between six days to one month. The territorials were thrown into

22385-534: The home country, line infantry forces were often raised from the local population, with the British East India Company 's sepoys perhaps being the most historically significant example. Line tactics required strict discipline and simple movements practiced to the point where they became second-nature. During training, the drill and corporal punishments were widely used. During 1814, in the War of

22570-399: The infantry was aligned into long thin lines, shoulder to shoulder, and fired volleys . A line consisted of two, three, or four ranks of soldiers. The soldiers were expected to fire volleys at the command of officers, but in practice this happened only in the first minutes of the battle. After one or two volleys, each soldier charged his musket and fired at his own discretion, without hearing

22755-399: The influx of replacements who had no territorial affiliation. Some units still maintained a regional identity; the 56th (1/1st London) Division, for example, retained its essentially London character despite the fact that the four battalions of its 168th Brigade received replacements from at least 26 different regiments during the battle. Others experienced substantial dilution by the end of

22940-490: The late nineteenth century. The first stage, under Cardwell in 1873, introduced a "localisation scheme". This saw the United Kingdom divided into "Brigade Districts" consisting of a county or counties. Each district was assigned two regular infantry battalions, one of which would be on foreign service while the other was on home service. The home-based battalion was to provide drafts to the battalion on foreign duty as required. County militia regiments were also to be linked with

23125-497: The melee-oriented pikemen with shallower lines that maximized the firepower of an infantry formation. Besides regular line infantry, there were elite troops (royal guards and other designated elite regiments) and the light infantry . Light infantry operated in extended order (also known as skirmish formation) as opposed to the close order (tight formations) used by line infantry. Since the late 18th century, light infantry in most European countries mostly consisted of riflemen (such as

23310-444: The men in the previous auxiliary institutions transferred into it, and it was consistently under strength until the outbreak of the First World War. It was not considered to be an effective military force by the regular army and was denigrated by the proponents of conscription. Lord Kitchener chose to concentrate the Territorial Force on home defence and raise the New Army to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France,

23495-403: The military authorities, raised instead the New Army of volunteers to expand the regular army. His decision was based not only on professional prejudice – he regarded the territorials as a joke, led by "middle-aged professional men who were allowed to put on uniform and play at soldiers"  – but also on an appreciation of the constraints imposed by the force's constitution. He feared that

23680-431: The military authorities. Territorial officers and specialists such as doctors, vets, drivers, cooks and dispatch riders received less pay than their counterparts in New Army and regular units. Officers were considered junior to their regular counterparts of the same rank, leading some to remove the 'T' insignia from their uniforms as a badge of inferiority, and commanders of second-line brigades and third-line battalions were

23865-446: The more affluent urban centres contained a significant proportion of well-educated white-collar workers . Territorial officers were predominantly middle class, meaning that in some units there was little to separate officers from other ranks in terms of social status. Territorial officers were regarded as social inferiors by the regular army's more privileged officer corps. The territorials' relatively narrow social spectrum resulted in

24050-467: The movement of units. In Russia, Great Britain, France, Prussia, and some other states, linear tactics and formation discipline were maintained into the late 19th century. With the invention of new weaponry, the concept of line infantry began to wane. The Minié ball , an improved rifle ammunition, allowed individual infantrymen to shoot more accurately and over greatly increased range. Men walking in formation line-abreast became easy targets, as evidenced in

24235-412: The new fusils retained the name "musket". Both muskets and fusils were smoothbore , which lessened their accuracy and range, but made for faster loading, lesser amount of bore fouling and more robust, less complicated firearms. The accuracy of smooth-bore muskets was in the range of 300–400 yd (270–370 m) against a line of infantry or cavalry. Against a single enemy, however, the effective range

24420-522: The offensive; the 149th (Northumberland) Brigade, for example, received large numbers of replacements from East Anglia, Northamptonshire , London and the Midlands . By March 1917, a significant proportion of the men in the second-line 61st (2nd South Midland) Division came from outside the South Midlands due to the replacement of losses suffered at the Battle of Fromelles. By the end of the year,

24605-538: The opening battles in France, Kitchener came under pressure to make up the losses. With the New Army not yet ready, he was forced to fall back on the territorials. Despite the preference of General Ian Hamilton , Commander-in-Chief of the Home Forces, for the Territorial Force to be deployed to the Western Front in complete brigades and divisions, it was deployed piecemeal. Because of the pressing need for troops, individual battalions were sent as soon as they reached

24790-543: The pay increase to which they were entitled. The divisions were still stationed there at the war's end, despite promises made by Kitchener that they would be redeployed to France within a year. Indications that they would be the first to be demobilised proved false when the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Afghan War forced the government to retain some territorial units in India until 1920. The poor treatment of

24975-407: The pikemen's and old-style musketeers' square. Troops in skirmish formation, though able to take cover and use initiative, were highly vulnerable to cavalry and could not hold ground against advancing infantry columns. Line infantry provided an "anchor" for skirmishers and cavalry to retreat behind if threatened. Movement in line formation was slow, and unless the battalion was superbly trained,

25160-579: The popular press as the "Territorial Farce". The NSL's president – the former Commander-in-Chief of the Forces , Lord Roberts  – enlisted the support of serving officers in a campaign against it, and in 1913 the Army Council declared its support for conscription. Even prominent members of the force itself favoured compulsory service, and by April 1913 ten county territorial associations had expressed support for it. The relationship between

25345-485: The press, George Wyndham , Under-Secretary of State for War , conceded in Parliament in February 1900 that instead of augmenting the regular army's defence of the British coast, the auxiliary forces were the main defence. The questionable performance of the volunteers, caused by poor standards of efficiency and training, led to doubts in both government and the regular army about the auxiliary's ability to meet such

25530-493: The rank and file were under 20 years old; in the opinion of the Inspector-General of the Home Forces , this proportion rendered the force too immature to be effective. In 1913, approximately 40,000 territorials were under 19 years old, the minimum age at which they could volunteer for service overseas. Barely seven per cent of the force had accepted the Imperial Service Obligation, seriously compromising its viability as

25715-663: The regiment, under Major Massard, was called in by the Penzance Borough Police and Cornwall County Constabulary to help quell disorder during the Newlyn riots . They arrived by train in Penzance at around 4pm and took temporary barracks in the town. Two hours later their assistance was requested by the Superintendent in charge and they assisted police in occupying the pier at Newlyn long enough to see in

25900-598: The regular army's Gloucestershire Regiment became the regiment's 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions (Territorial Force). The infantry was organised into 14 territorial divisions , each of three brigades . The yeomanry regiments became the mounted component of the Territorial Force, organised into 14 mounted brigades. Brigades and divisions were equipped with integral supporting arms along regular army lines, comprising territorial units of artillery (totalling 182 horse and field batteries), engineers and signals, along with supply, medical and veterinary services. Each territorial unit

26085-542: The regular battalions, with all sharing a single depot in the brigade district. It was announced that a depot was to be built at Reading, Berkshire , which would serve a district comprising the County of Berkshire . The two line battalions which were to be linked were the 49th and 66th Regiments of Foot, along with the Royal Berkshire Militia . On 1 July 1881, the reforms were completed under Childers, with

26270-544: The regular infantry". There were eight first-line territorial divisions on the Western Front at the start of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. Two of them, the 46th (North Midland) Division and the 56th (1/1st London) Division , went into action on the first day in a disastrous attack on the Gommecourt Salient , a diversionary operation conducted by the Third Army . Two more territorial divisions,

26455-470: The regulars with its spirit in the Third Battle of Krithia on 4 June. The 155th (South Scottish) Brigade of the 52nd (Lowland) Division assaulted with such determination in July that it overran its objective and came under fire from French allies. The 156th (Scottish Rifles) Brigade suffered over 50 per cent casualties in the Battle of Gully Ravine on 28 June, and a battalion of the 54th Division

26640-412: The reshuffle indicated that the Territorial Force had exceeded the expectations of the military authorities, and the territorials' time with the regulars generally resulted in a strong camaraderie and mutual respect between the two. French reported in February 1915 the praise of his commanders for their territorials, who were "fast approaching, if they had not already reached, the standards of efficiency of

26825-476: The rest of the BEF, being evacuated to Dunkirk. After Dunkirk the battalion was posted away and was not part of a field unit but trained intensively for future combat operations, gaining a high standard of fitness and morale. However, in December 1940 the battalion transferred to the 148th Independent Infantry Brigade and served with it in Northern Ireland , and remained with the brigade for the rest of

27010-421: The rest of the British land forces, bore little resemblance beyond a geographic origin to those that had sailed in 1914 and 1915. By 1918, there was little to differentiate between regular, territorial and New Army divisions. Failure to guarantee the integrity of its units was the most contentious of several grievances felt by the territorials against what they perceived as a hostile and patronising attitude from

27195-438: The rifle companies are referred to as "line officers" while billeted to positions such as Platoon Leaders and Commanding and Executive Officers. Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army , created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription . The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry into

27380-453: The same regiment or regimental district, but stressed that the Military Service Acts had removed any obligation to do so and that military expediency sometimes necessitated not doing so. As the availability of men of military age dwindled, it became increasingly difficult to source replacements from some sparsely populated regions. The largely rurally recruited 48th (South Midland) and 54th (East Anglian) Divisions became increasingly diluted as

27565-422: The same trend could be seen in the first-line 48th (South Midland) Division. The indiscriminate replacement of casualties prompted rueful comments about the damage being done to the nature of the Territorial Force. The historian C. R. M. F. Cruttwell , serving with the 1/4th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment , lamented that, by the end of 1916, the battalion had "lost its exclusive Berkshire character which, at

27750-580: The second half of the nineteenth century, regiments in several European armies retained the "line infantry" (or cavalry) title. This designation had come to mean an army's regular or numbered regiments, as opposed to specialist or elite formations. Accordingly, the distinction had become a traditional title or classification without significance regarding armament or tactics. For example, the Belgian Army order of battle in 1914 comprised 14 regiments of Infanterie de Ligne (line infantry), three of Chasseurs

27935-416: The second line often lacked sufficient weapons and ammunition. The desire among the second-line commanders to maintain a level of training and efficiency in readiness for their own deployment led to friction with their first-line counterparts, who accused the second line of holding back the best men and sending sub-standard replacements to the first line. When the regular army suffered high attrition during

28120-504: The second-line units the responsibility for providing replacement drafts to territorial combat units. Territorial battalions were numbered according to line so that, for example, the three lines of the 6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, became the 1/6th, 2/6th and 3/6th Battalions. In May 1915, territorial divisions were numbered in order of their deployment overseas; the East Lancashire Division, for example, became

28305-452: The summer of 1915, six complete territorial divisions had been deployed to France. Many of the 52 territorial units still attached to regular army formations were returned to their own parent commands. This allowed the professionals to remove from their formations an element made awkward by its specific terms of service. The regulars found the territorials to be slow to move and recuperate, and better in static defence than attack. Nevertheless,

28490-409: The territorials in India resulted in low support across south-west England and the home counties , the regions from which the three divisions were recruited, when the Territorial Force was reconstituted after the war. The county territorial associations experienced a steady erosion of responsibilities as the war progressed. Although disappointed by Kitchener's decision to bypass the Territorial Force,

28675-541: The territorials. The 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) and 65th (2nd Lowland) Divisions had already been disbanded in July 1916 and March 1917 respectively. The remaining four home-based divisions lost their territorial affiliation when they were reconstituted as part of the Training Reserve over the winter of 1917/1918. In early 1918, every brigade in the BEF was reduced from four to three battalions. The reductions targeted second-line and New Army units, and resulted in

28860-739: The troops released by the territorials' deployments. The extent to which territorials accepted the obligation varied considerably between battalions; some registered 90 per cent or more acceptance, others less than 50 per cent. The difficulties were not restricted to the rank and file, and many battalions sailed for foreign service with officers who had been newly promoted or recruited to replace those who had chosen to remain at home. The territorials faced difficulties as they trained up to operational standard. Some artillery units did not get an opportunity to practise with live ammunition until January 1915. Rifle practice suffered due to lack of rifles, practice ammunition and ranges on which to use them. Because there

29045-451: The twine sometimes would accidentally set fire to the gunpowder reservoir in the musket prematurely setting off the gunpowder, resulting in serious injury or death to the operator. For this reason and others, matchlock muskets began to be replaced by lighter and cheaper infantry fusils with flintlocks , weighing 5 kg (11 lb) with a caliber of 17.5 mm (0.69 in), first in France and then in other countries. In many countries,

29230-573: The unit was disbanded in July 1943, as with all such units of other regiments, due to the British government lowering the age of conscription to 18 earlier in the year, and the young soldiers were sent to the front-line battalions of the regiment. The 2nd Royal Berkshire Battalion were based in Burma and paraded at the Independence Day ceremony on the 3 January 1948, leaving that day. After

29415-422: The unsuccessful army reforms of Paul I, the number of light infantry in the Russian army was significantly reduced and made up only 8% of the entire field infantry. However, the Russian army soon returned to the trend of increasing the number of light infantry, begun in the 18th century. By 1811, 50 light infantry regiments were formed in the Russian army. In addition, each linear battalion was required to have 100 of

29600-402: The war progressed, while the more urbanised recruitment areas of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division allowed it to remain essentially a Lancashire formation throughout. By the war's end, very few battalions still retained more than a handful of men who had embarked with them at the start of the war. The territorial units that fought in 1917 and 1918, subject to the same system of replacements as

29785-411: The war's end, there was little to distinguish between regular, territorial and New Army formations. The British Army of the late 19th century was a small, professional organisation designed to garrison the empire and maintain order at home, with no capacity to provide an expeditionary force in a major war. It was augmented in its home duties by three part-time volunteer institutions, the militia ,

29970-416: The war's end. The apparent cull of territorial units added to the grievances harboured by the Territorial Force about its treatment by the military authorities. Many territorial battalions had strong individual identities based on the geography of their recruitment. The ranks had been filled by men who, at least until direct voluntary recruitment into the Territorial Force ceased in December 1915, had chosen

30155-471: The war, eight of which were deployed overseas. The first to fight in a major battle was the 61st (2nd South Midland) Division . Its constituent units were raised in September and October 1914, and their training was indicative of the difficulties faced by the second line in general. New recruits paraded without uniforms until October and lived at home until the division assembled in January 1915. The infantry

30340-711: The war. In mid-1942 the battalion moved to Wrotham in Kent and then became an officer cadet training unit for the rest of the war. The 5th (Hackney) Battalion had previously been 10th , London Regiment before being re-attached to the Rifle Brigade in 1916. It played an important part on Juno Beach during the Normandy Landings , before being disbanded in 1945, re-raised the following year as 648th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (Royal Berkshire) then disbanded finally in 1955. The 6th Battalion

30525-471: The way it was constituted and recruited, the Territorial Force possessed an identity that was distinct from the regular army and the New Army. This became increasingly diluted as heavy casualties were replaced with conscripted recruits following the introduction of compulsory service in early 1916. The Territorial Force was further eroded as a separate institution when county territorial associations were relieved of most of their administrative responsibilities. By

30710-484: The younger soldiers of the battalion were split and formed a new 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion and in 1941 the 8th Battalion was re-designated as the 30th Battalion. The 9th Battalion, nicknamed The Farmer's Boys , was formed in June 1940 at Reading and joined the 213th Infantry Brigade (Home) and spent the war in the United Kingdom. The battalion was disbanded in December 1943 due to an increasing shortage of manpower in

30895-407: Was a failed unit and the 49th Division's standing was little better, the territorials generally emerged from the Somme with enhanced reputations. This was echoed by Brigadier-General C. B. Prowse, a brigade commander in the 4th Division, who commented, "I did not before think much of the territorials, but by God they can fight." The Battle of the Somme marked the high point of the Territorial Force as

31080-480: Was abolished. The deployment of second-line units overseas was officially endorsed in mid 1915. Until the third line was ready, the conflicting demands to supply drafts, defend the homeland and prepare for deployment caused problems for the second line. In May 1915, Kitchener informed the War Cabinet that the second line was so denuded of trained men as to render it unreliable for home defence. Only in 1916 could

31265-623: Was assigned a specific role either in coastal defence, supplementing 81 territorial companies of the Royal Garrison Artillery manning fixed defences, or as part of the mobile Central Force . Training was managed by a permanent staff of regular army personnel attached to territorial units. Recruits to the Territorial Force had to be aged between 17 and 35. They enlisted for a four-year term which could be extended by an obligatory year in times of crisis. Members could terminate their enlistment on three months' notice and payment of

31450-470: Was brought further into question by British military planning; the Royal Navy formed the primary defence against invasion, and studies in 1903 and 1908 concluded that the threat of invasion was negligible, despite popular perceptions to the contrary. The first reform efforts were undertaken in 1901 by William St John Brodrick , Secretary of State for War . They were designed to improve the training of

31635-467: Was changed only after the dethronement of Napoleon III. This was common practice in all conventional Western armies until the late 19th century, as infantry tactics and military thinking had yet to catch up with technological developments. In the years after the Napoleonic Wars, line infantry continued to be deployed as the main battle force, while light infantry provided fire support and covered

31820-493: Was complicated for all by the need to reorganise the territorial battalions' outdated eight- company structure to the army's standard four-company battalion. On 15 August, county territorial associations began raising second-line units to replace those scheduled for foreign service. The ranks of the second line were filled by those territorials who could not or did not accept the Imperial Service Obligation. In November, associations started raising third-line units to take over from

32005-492: Was equipped with old Japanese Arisaka rifles, antique Maxim machine-guns and dummy Lewis guns constructed from wood. The divisional artillery, having initially drilled with cart-mounted logs, was equipped first with obsolete French 90 mm cannons , then with outdated 15-pounder guns and 5-inch howitzers handed down from the first line. The division was not issued with modern weapons until it began intensive training in March 1916, in preparation for its deployment to France at

32190-601: Was for the Territorial Force to reinforce it after six months of training following mobilisation. Representatives of the existing auxiliary forces and elements within the Liberal party opposed any foreign service obligation. To ensure their support, Haldane declared the Territorial Force's purpose to be home defence when he introduced his reforms in Parliament, despite having stressed an overseas role eight days previously. The last-minute change caused significant difficulties for

32375-533: Was immediately rejected. Brodrick's successor, H. O. Arnold-Forster , also failed to overcome opposition to his reform efforts. In December 1905, a Liberal government took office, bringing in Richard Haldane as the Secretary of State for War. His vision was for a nation that could be mobilised for war without resorting to conscription – a "real national army, formed by the people". His solution

32560-700: Was insufficient transport, a motley collection of carts, private vehicles and lorries were pressed into service. The animals used to pull the non-motorised transport or mount the yeomanry ranged in pedigree from half-blind pit ponies to show horses. The Territorial Force competed with the New Army for recruits, and the War Office prioritised the latter for training and equipment. Many of the regular army staff posted to territorial units were recalled to their parent regiments, and those professionals that still remained were transferred to territorial reserve units in January 1915. Training proved difficult for formations that were widely dispersed as part of their defence duties, and

32745-468: Was no more than 50–100 yd (46–91 m). It should be borne in mind that ordinary linear infantrymen were poorly trained in aimed shooting, due to the expense of gunpowder and lead (modern reenactors achieve much better results by firing smooth-bore muskets). Line infantrymen were trained in rapid reloading. The recruit was expected to load 3 rounds a minute, while an experienced soldier could load 4–6 rounds per minute. In battle conditions, this number

32930-584: Was raised in 1939 as a 2nd Line duplicate of the 4th Battalion, and served in the 184th Infantry Brigade , 61st Infantry Division . The battalion remained with the 61st Division throughout the war. By the time of Victory in Europe Day the battalion was based in Sussex and were re-training several hundred men of the Royal Artillery into infantrymen. Soon afterwards, the battalion were preparing for

33115-405: Was raised in 1940 from the younger personnel of the 8th (Home Service) Battalion and mainly consisted of soldiers around the age of 18-19 who had volunteered for the British Army. The battalion spent most of its time guarding areas of the United Kingdom against German invasion and grew to a size of well over 1,000 officers and men, with the hope that they would be able to see action overseas. However,

33300-485: Was reduced and after the first few minutes of combat, no more than 2 rounds per minute could be expected even from well trained troops. The bulk of the line infantry had no protective equipment, as armor that could provide protection from musket fire were considered too expensive and heavy. Only the former elite troops could keep by tradition some elements of protection, for example, the copper mitre caps of grenadiers. Initially, soldiers equipped with firearms formed only

33485-421: Was removed, and who had trained in that unit's third line alongside neighbours and colleagues, had been drafted to their front-line units by May 1916. In September 1916, the regiment-based system for training New Army units was centralised into the Training Reserve. Separately, the 194 territorial third-line units were amalgamated into 87 Reserve Battalions. They retained responsibility for supplying replacements to

33670-711: Was renamed the Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) . The regiment saw active service in the Second Boer War , World War I and World War II . On 9 June 1959, the Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was amalgamated with the Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) to form the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire) which was again amalgamated, on 27 July 1994, with

33855-583: Was slaughtered when it advanced too far during an attack on 12 August. The same month, the yeomen of the 2nd Mounted Division suffered 30 per cent casualties during the Battle of Scimitar Hill , and had to be relieved by six dismounted yeomanry brigades which landed in October. The campaign ended in withdrawal in January 1916. Although Hamilton, appointed to command the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in March 1915, praised

34040-567: Was still assigned to the 6th Infantry Brigade in the 2nd Infantry Division , part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) that was sent to France in 1939 after war was declared. They took part in the Battle of France in 1940 and were evacuated during the Battle of Dunkirk . However, the 2nd Division, 1st Royal Berkshires included, was sent to India in 1942, after the Imperial Japanese Army conquered much of Burma in early 1942. The battalion and division became part of

34225-464: Was the Territorial Force, financed, trained and commanded centrally by the War Office and raised, supplied and administered by local county territorial associations . Haldane was able to overcome opposition and pass the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 which created the force, though not without compromise. His plan to give civic, business and trade union leaders a major role in running

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