A troop is a military sub-subunit , originally a small formation of cavalry , subordinate to a squadron . In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon . Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery where a troop is a subunit comparable to an infantry company or artillery battery . Historically the remainder of the Royal Horse Artillery used the term troop in the same manner but they eventually aligned with the rest of the Royal Regiment of Artillery in referring to troops as subordinate to artillery batteries.
41-529: The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army . It was formed by the amalgamation of the 10th Royal Hussars and the 11th Hussars in 1969 and it amalgamated with the 14th/20th King's Hussars to form the King's Royal Hussars in 1992. The regiment was formed at Perham Down by the amalgamation of the 10th Royal Hussars and the 11th Hussars on 25 October 1969. It
82-533: A "troop" due to its presence in a cavalry squadron; this is typically the case for the dismounted reconnaissance troop (DRT) of a RSTA squadron , in which an infantry company-sized element is part of a cavalry-branched squadron. In the United States, state police forces are often regionally divided into troops. This usage came from these organizations modelling themselves on the US Army, and especially
123-541: A captain—most troop or platoon-sized elements are commanded by a lieutenant. In most cases, units which refer to platoon sized elements as troops refer to company-sized elements as squadrons and battalion-sized elements as regiments (regiments in the RAA use the term ' battery ' for company-sized elements). Privates in the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and SASR hold the rank "trooper", however this
164-837: A horsed cavalry role to a motorised one, re-equipping with armoured cars previously used by the Royal Tank Corps. Other regiments followed suit; in April 1939, the Royal Armoured Corps was formed to encompass the eighteen mechanised cavalry regiments of the line alongside the eight battalions of the Royal Tank Regiment , but did not include the Household Cavalry. The remaining two regular cavalry regiments were based in Palestine, and following
205-556: A mounted ceremonial regiment. There are also four yeomanry regiments of the Army Reserve , of these, three serve as light cavalry and one as an armoured regiment . Each yeomanry light cavalry unit has been paired with a regular unit of the same role, the armoured yeomanry unit is paired with the two regular armoured units (and a further armoured unit which is not cavalry). All except the Household Cavalry are part of
246-623: A number more would convert to the armoured role during the Second World War . However, in the reorganisation of the reserve forces in the late 1930s, many Yeomanry regiments were reorganised as artillery units , and transferred into the Royal Artillery . The Royal Armoured Corps itself formed a number of armoured regiments, converted from territorial infantry battalions, and the Reconnaissance Corps (taken into
287-656: A result, the Imperial Yeomanry was created in January 1900 as a volunteer cavalry corps. Some 34,000 men were sent to South Africa on one-year enlistments through 1900 and 1901, the majority coming initially from existing regiments of yeomanry. Many companies were raised and sponsored by yeomanry regiments—for example, the Leicestershire Yeomanry sponsored the 7th (Leicestershire) and the 65th (Leicestershire) Companies—and these regiments later took
328-658: Is not the case for any other corps or units, which use the term troops . In the British Army the definition of a troop varies by corps . Other Army corps do not use the term. In the Royal Marines , a troop is the equivalent to an Army platoon; a carryover from the organisation of the British Commandos in World War II. In the Canadian Army , a troop is the equivalent of a platoon within
369-408: Is often used to refer to the other members of one's company or cause, but because of its military connotations, it conveys a particularly altruistic type of dedicated worker. Traditionally, troops refers to the soldiers in a military. A cavalry soldier of private rank is called a " trooper " in many Commonwealth armies (abbreviated "Tpr", not to be confused with "trouper"). A related sense of
410-553: The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards they formed the Household Cavalry. The same year, the remaining four Horse regiments were retitled as the 4th through 7th Dragoon Guards. Some thirty-four regiments of fencible cavalry — regiments raised for home service only—were raised in 1794 and 1795, in response to an invasion scare; all had disbanded by the end of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1802. At
451-721: The Special Reserve , rather than the Territorials, and were no longer considered Yeomanry. The last major use of conventional cavalry by the Army was in the First World War . However, the anticipated war of manoeuvre on the Western Front never took place, and the cavalry forces were never employed in their intended role; instead, many saw intermittent service as dismounted infantry. This was especially true of
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#1732797428898492-435: The heavy cavalry (Dragoon and Dragoon Guard regiments). Henceforth, all newly raised regiments of cavalry would be denoted Light Dragoons. By 1783, the 7th to 14th Dragoons had become the 7th to 14th Light Dragoons, changing from heavy to light roles. The various troops of Horse Guards and Horse Grenadier Guards were regimented in 1788, forming the 1st Regiment of Life Guards and 2nd Regiment of Life Guards ; together with
533-655: The British Army's Royal Armoured Corps . The British Army , in the modern sense of the standing army under the Crown, was formed following the Restoration of King Charles II in 1661. At this point, the small standing forces included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Troops of Horse Guards and the Royal Regiment of Horse ; some of these had been raised in exile and some as part of the New Model Army . The horsemen of
574-512: The Royal Armoured Corps in 1944) several mechanised reconnaissance units, all of which were classed with the cavalry. Other war-formed units included twelve Territorial Army battalions of the Royal Tank Regiment , converted from infantry in 1938 and 1939, and six new line cavalry regiments, the 22nd through 27th. These were arbitrarily termed as hussars, lancers or dragoons, but with no meaning; none would survive past 1948. After
615-723: The Territorial Army, all in the light reconnaissance role, with five regiments of the Royal Artillery , eight of the Royal Engineers and eleven of the Royal Signals titled as "Yeomanry" and retaining lineages from a yeomanry regiment. The 31 British cavalry regiments created by the Childers Reforms in 1881 were amalgamated into eight regiments by 2015. The table below gives an overview of this process. There are currently 9 regiments of cavalry in
656-551: The War, this is not entirely accurate. All of the yeomanry units raised second- and third-line regiments from new recruits, and on the outbreak of war some seventeen Cavalry Reserve Regiments were formed. Few of these units saw active service, instead serving to train and equip men for the front-line regiments, or as reserve units for home defence. The Tank Corps —the forerunner of the Royal Tank Regiment—was formed in 1917, but
697-499: The armoured, artillery, engineer, and signals branches. Two to four troops comprise the main elements of a squadron. In the United States Army , in the cavalry branch, a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry company, commanded by a captain and consisting of three or four platoons, and are called a troop within a regiment. Companies were renamed troops in 1883. In some instances, an infantry company may be titled as
738-471: The battle honours of their sponsored companies when they returned from overseas service. All Imperial Yeomanry battalions were equipped as mounted infantry , using infantry organisation and terminology (note "battalion" and "company", rather than "regiment" and "squadron"); this proved highly useful in South Africa, where fast-moving infantry was invaluable for a fluid war spread over enormous areas. As
779-488: The establishment by another five line regiments, along with amalgamating the regiments of the Household Cavalry . The Yeomanry had been reduced even further in the post-war years; most regiments were amalgamated in the 1950s and then reduced to cadres in the late 1960s, with a sizable fraction being converted to infantry, artillery, or support roles. By the end of the Cold War, there were five regiments of "pure" Yeomanry in
820-507: The first contingent of volunteers returned, and the lessons of the war were absorbed by the Army, it was decided to convert the Yeomanry into mounted infantry along the same lines. The new Yeomanry regiments, appropriately retitled as "Imperial Yeomanry", comprised four companies of mounted infantry with carbines, and a machine-gun section; by 1903, an additional nineteen regiments of Imperial Yeomanry had been raised, with several perpetuating
861-767: The first unit to be equipped with the Challenger 1 main battle tank in 1983. It deployed a unit to Northern Ireland for guarding duties at the Maze Prison in 1986. It transferred to 1st Infantry Brigade based at Bhurtpore Barracks in Tidworth Camp in November 1988 and then moved back to West Germany to join 4th Armoured Brigade with its base at Swinton Barracks in Münster in December 1990. The regiment
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#1732797428898902-758: The forces of the Honourable East India Company . The outbreak of the South African War in 1899 caused some sharp setbacks for the British forces, leading to a high demand for additional troops to be despatched, especially light cavalry. However, it was not possible to embody the Yeomanry for overseas service; they were raised to be only liable for service in the British Isles, to resist invasion or for internal security. As
943-495: The heavy cavalry, with nine regiments of hussars and five of lancers in the light cavalry. By this point, the distinction between heavy and light cavalry regiments had effectively vanished, as both fought in the same manner and were equipped in the same way—with the exception of the lancers, who retained their lances . In 1862 the army received a further four regiments of cavalry, the European light cavalry regiments formerly part of
984-507: The lineages of volunteer units in South Africa or of previously disbanded Yeomanry regiments. In 1908, the reserve forces underwent significant reforms; the Yeomanry and the infantry Volunteers were consolidated into the Territorial Force . The Yeomanry dropped its designation of "Imperial Yeomanry", and most regiments converted back from the mounted infantry role to become lancers, hussars or dragoons. Four regiments were assigned to
1025-462: The names of their colonels; in 1751, in an attempt to reduce confusion, regiments were assigned numbers in order of their seniority. The cavalry regiments of the line were numbered in three separate sequences; 1st through 4th Horse, then 1st through 3rd Dragoon Guards, then 1st through 14th Dragoons. "Dragoon Guards" was a new title, and did not denote a Guards' role; it was adopted by the three senior horse regiments in 1746, when George II reduced them to
1066-432: The nineteenth century, seeing occasional service quelling riots and helping to maintain public order. By the turn of the century, in 1801, the Household Cavalry establishment consisted of three regiments of guards, while the line cavalry had some twenty-seven regiments of dragoons and dragoon guards. The heavy cavalry consisted of twelve regiments, the 1st to 7th Dragoon Guards and the 1st to 6th Dragoons—the missing regiment
1107-645: The outbreak of war retained their horses until 1940 (the Royal Dragoons ) and 1941 (the Royal Scots Greys ). Following mechanisation, the few remaining distinctions of unit type became meaningless; cavalry regiments moved between the heavy and light armoured roles regardless of their names. Seven regiments of the Yeomanry, previously affiliated with the Royal Tank Regiment, were taken into the Royal Armoured Corps on its formation, and
1148-474: The period were equipped as cuirassiers , with armour on the head and the body; the regulations of Charles II, in 1663, provided for them to be armed with "a sword and a case of pistols ... each Trooper of our Guards to have a carbine besides". By the start of the eighteenth century, the cavalry establishment had been divided into household and line units. The household establishment consisted of four troops of Horse Guards and two of Horse Grenadier Guards, while
1189-546: The regular Army, and a further 4 Yeomanry regiments in the Army Reserve . In British terminology, a cavalry or armoured "regiment" is a battalion -sized unit. Armoured regiments are equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks (being replaced by Challenger 3 ): Regular: Reserve: Armoured cavalry regiments are equipped with Warrior armoured fighting vehicles (being replaced by Ajax); they have no paired reserve units: Light cavalry regiments are equipped with Jackal vehicles: Regular: Reserve: Troop Troops
1230-434: The regular establishment was composed of nine regiments of Horse and eight of Dragoons. The "horse" regiments would in theory fight mounted as cavalry, while dragoons were originally mounted infantry - they would fight dismounted, but were provided with horses for swift movement. By the middle of the century, the term had come simply to mean light cavalry . Regiments were, at this time, known by semi-permanent nicknames or by
1271-433: The same time, a large number of troops of volunteer cavalry were raised on a county level, consisting of local gentry and yeoman farmers; from the latter they took the description yeomanry . These troops formed into yeomanry regiments, organised broadly by county, around 1800; their history thereafter is complex, with many disbanding, reforming, and changing title intermittently. However, most remained in existence throughout
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1312-469: The status of dragoons in order to save money. The first "light horse" regiment was raised in 1745, for service in the Second Jacobite rising , and proved so successful that light troops were added to most cavalry regiments in 1755. In 1759, five complete regiments (the 15th to 19th) of Light Dragoons were formed, and the distinction was made between the light cavalry (Light Dragoon regiments) and
1353-640: The term, troops refers to members of the military collectively, as in "the troops"; see Troop (disambiguation) . Today, a troop is defined differently in different armed forces. In the Australian Army a troop is the equivalent of a platoon sized element in units of certain corps, those being: The SASR is the only unit in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps to use the term troop to refer to its platoon-size elements. SASR troops are also unusual as they are commanded by
1394-440: The traditions and honours of both "parents" to be perpetuated. Before the Second World War , cavalry recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 2 inches tall, but could not exceed 5 feet 9 inches. They initially enlisted for six years with the colours and a further six years with the reserve. In October 1928, a new era began as the 11th Hussars became the first regular cavalry regiment to "mechanise", to change from
1435-410: The war, the regular cavalry was quickly reduced to its pre-war establishment, and reduced further by the 1957 Defence White Paper ; as a result of this, seven regular cavalry regiments were lost through amalgamation, leaving two household, sixteen line regiments. The subsequent round of cuts, in 1969–71, saw a further three line regiments disappear, and the 1990 Options for Change defence review reduced
1476-516: The yeomanry regiments; indeed, the 74th (Yeomanry) Division was composed entirely of yeomanry regiments serving as infantry, and in 1918 many regiments began to be formally converted to infantry units. However, mounted cavalry did play a major role in the Sinai and Palestine theatre , most notably at the Battle of Beersheba . While it generally appears that no new regiments of cavalry were raised during
1517-635: Was amalgamated with the 14th/20th King's Hussars to form the King's Royal Hussars on 4 December 1992. Colonels of the Regiment were: The regiment's alliances included: Cavalry regiments of the British Army There are 13 cavalry Regiments of the British Army each with its own unique cap badge, regimental traditions, and history. Of the currently nine regular cavalry regiments, two serve as armoured regiments , three as armoured cavalry regiments, three as light cavalry , and one as
1558-999: Was initially based at Bhurtpore Barracks in Tidworth Camp as part of 5th Infantry Brigade and deployed several units to Cyprus and several units to Northern Ireland over the next two years. It transferred to 6th Armoured Brigade and moved to Athlone Barracks in Sennelager in July 1973 from where it continued to deploy units to Northern Ireland. In April 1979 most of the regiment moved to Cambrai Barracks at Catterick Garrison while one squadron deployed to Smuts Barracks in Berlin as Berlin Armoured Squadron. The regiment joined 7th Armoured Brigade and moved to Lumsden Barracks at Bad Fallingbostel in March 1981 and became
1599-439: Was not considered as "cavalry" until the 1940s. Following the War, and the subsequent reduction in the strength of the Army, it was apparent that future warfare would involve much less of a role for cavalry. As such, the regular force was reduced from 31 regiments of cavalry to 22. Unlike previous reductions, however, this was carried out by the amalgamation of regiments rather than the disbanding of junior regiments; this allowed
1640-431: Was the 17th Light Dragoons . In 1806, the 10th Light Dragoons became the 10th Hussars , taking a title made popular by Continental cavalry; the 5th, 15th and 18th followed in 1807. In 1816 three more regiments changed their title to "Lancers", and in 1818 two more dragoon regiments became light dragoons. By 1861, the last light dragoons retitled as hussars, leaving three regiments of dragoons and seven of dragoon guards in
1681-486: Was the 5th Dragoons , disbanded for mutiny in 1799 without renumbering younger regiments—while the light cavalry consisted of the 7th through 29th Light Dragoons and two regiments of German cavalry on the British establishment. Many of the light cavalry regiments were disbanded after the Napoleonic Wars ; at their peak in 1794, there had been some 33 regiments of light dragoons, but by 1822 the most junior regiment