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82-722: The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army . It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars , from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Border Regiment to form the King's Own Royal Border Regiment . Previous names include the 2nd Tangier Regiment , Her Royal Highness

164-534: A 2nd Line duplicate of 1/5th Battalion; it was attached to the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division February 1915, then to 170th (2/1st North Lancashire) Brigade of 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division ; it landed in France February 1917. The 3/4th Battalion was formed June 1915 as a reserve battalion; it amalgamated with 2/4th Battalion in January 1916. The 3/5th Battalion

246-518: 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

328-686: A depot at Bowerham Barracks in Lancaster from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment. Under the reforms the regiment became the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) on 1 July 1881. After the Childers reforms took effect, the regiment contained the following battalions: The 2nd Battalion embarked for South Africa in December 1899, to serve in

410-500: 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

492-572: 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"

574-740: 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 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

656-435: 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

738-486: 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

820-574: Is part of the Lancaster City Museum in Lancaster, Lancashire . The museum, which opened in 1929, exhibits regimental uniforms, medals, regalia, silver, paintings, medals, weapons and other memorabilia reflecting the regiment's history. The colonels-in-chief were as follows: The colonels of the regiment were as follows: Regimental titles in italics indicate they were disbanded or renumbered before 1881. Line infantry Line infantry mainly used three formations in its battles:

902-636: Is thought to have gone on a grand tour of Europe between 1732 and 1739, on which he acquired the only surviving score of the Il Gran Mogul concerto by Vivaldi – he played the flute himself. He was commissioned into the army in 1739 and fought at the Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746 as Captain of the Grenadiers in Barrell's Regiment . He is reported to have received the leading Highlander on

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984-563: The 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division ; it was temporarily attached to 154th (3rd Highland) Brigade in 51st (Highland) Division and landed in France in May 1915; it returned to 164 Brigade in January 1916. The 1/5th Battalion was mobilised in the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division; it landed in France in February 1915 and

1066-428: The 233rd Infantry Brigade . In November 1943, the battalion was moved to Palestine and then Italy with the 25th Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the 10th Indian Infantry Division. In Italy, on 30 January 1944, the 8th Battalion was disbanded and its personnel merged with the few surviving remnants of the 1st Battalion, King's Own, which had been virtually lost during the fighting at Leros . The 9th Battalion served in

1148-529: The 47th (Reserve) Infantry Division in the United Kingdom until December 1941. The battalion was transferred to the Royal Artillery and was converted into the 90th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, serving with the 45th Division from February 1942 until November 1943 when it was disbanded. The 50th (Holding) Battalion was formed in the United Kingdom on 28 May 1940. On 9 October 1940, it

1230-461: The 83rd Brigade in the 28th Division . It took heavy casualties at the Battle of Frezenberg in May 1915 before moving to Egypt in October 1915 and then to Salonika . The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion remained in the United Kingdom throughout the war and supplied drafts of trained infantrymen as replacements to the regular battalions that were serving overseas. The 1/4th Battalion was mobilised in

1312-497: 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

1394-605: The Battle of France in May 1940 and was evacuated at Dunkirk . In 1942, it was sent to join 70th Infantry Division in India, where it was converted into a Light Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Tank Regiment in 1943. In this guise, it served in the Burma Campaign, mainly with 5th Indian Infantry Division . It reconverted to the anti-tank role in late 1944 and in June 1945 it returned to India as a Royal Artillery training unit. In June 1939,

1476-533: The Battle of New Orleans in January 1815, as well as the capture of Fort Bowyer in February 1815. It briefly returned to England in May 1815, before embarking for Flanders a few weeks later to fight at the Battle of Waterloo in June. Detachments of the regiment were used as guards upon convict ships travelling to Australia, with the detachments arriving from 1832. Detachments were stationed in Sydney, Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Swan River. The regiment

1558-768: The First World War . The 1st Battalion landed at Boulogne in August 1914 as part of the 12th Brigade in the 4th Division of the British Expeditionary Force . It was nearly destroyed as a fighting unit at the Battle of Le Cateau on 26 August 1914, when it suffered some 400 casualties in a single two minute burst of machine gun fire. It served on the Western Front for the rest of the war. The 2nd Battalion returned from India in December 1914 and landed at Le Havre in January 1915 as part of

1640-655: 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

1722-717: The Italian Campaign with 25th Indian Brigade for the rest of the war. The 2nd Battalion formed part of the British garrison of Jerusalem when war broke out. It joined 14th Infantry Brigade in Palestine in March 1940 and moved with it to Egypt in July. The battalion served with 16th Infantry Brigade of 6th Infantry Division (later redesignated 70th Infantry Division ) in the defence of Tobruk and later formed part of

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1804-630: 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

1886-701: The Monmouth Rebellion , it fought at Sedgemoor in July 1685; at the November 1688 Glorious Revolution , Trelawny and half the regiment deserted to William III . He was briefly replaced by the loyalist Charles Orby, then reinstated when James went into exile. From 1690 to 1691, it served in the Williamite War in Ireland , including the Battle of the Boyne and sieges of Cork and Limerick . When

1968-746: The Second Boer War , and saw action at the Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900. The 3rd and 4th Militia battalions were embodied and embarked for South Africa in February and January 1900 respectively. In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve ; the regiment now had one Reserve and two Territorial battalions. The regiment raised 14 Territorial and New Army battalions during

2050-818: The Siege of San Sebastián in September 1813. It then pursued the French Army into France and saw action at the Battle of the Nivelle in November 1813 and at the Battle of the Nive in December 1813. It embarked for North America in June 1814 for service in the War of 1812 and saw action at the Battle of Bladensburg in August 1814, the Burning of Washington later in August 1814 the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814, and

2132-647: The Tangier Garrison , it was known as the 2nd Tangier Regiment ; Plymouth died shortly after arriving in Tangier and Edward Sackville assumed command, with Trelawney formally appointed as colonel in 1682. Tangier was abandoned in 1684 and on returning to England, the regiment was given the title Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York and Albany's Regiment of Foot ; after James II became monarch in 1685, this changed to The Queen's Regiment of Foot. During

2214-568: The War of the Spanish Succession began in 1702, it was reformed as a regiment of marines and fought at the Battle of Vigo Bay in October 1702 and the capture of Gibraltar in August 1704. In 1711, it was redesignated line infantry and took part in the Quebec Expedition . In what remains one of the worst naval disasters in British history, the fleet ran aground in thick fog and over 890 men lost, including 200 members of

2296-408: 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 ,

2378-437: The 1940 campaign in both France and Belgium . After being evacuated at Dunkirk , the 6th Battalion later served in a succession of Home Forces formations: 218th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) , 48th Division , 54th Division , 76th Division . The battalion never again served overseas and was disbanded in July 1944. The 7th Battalion served with the 71st Independent Infantry Brigade before being sent to form part of

2460-612: 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

2542-524: The 56th Anti-Tank Regiment spun off a duplicate unit, the 66th Anti-Tank Regiment , which served in Home Forces throughout the war, mainly with the 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division . In September 1941, the 56th and 66th Anti-Tank Regiments each provided a battery to help form a new regiment for overseas service, 83rd Anti-Tank Regiment . This regiment served in Iraq, Palestine and Egypt. Before

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2624-472: The 5th Battalion, King's Own, a 1st Line Territorial Army battalion. The new 107th Regiment went on to serve in the North-west Europe from 1944-1945. After the war, all the units created during the war were disbanded; also, following Indian independence , there was no longer a need to maintain such a large overseas garrison and thus the 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1948. The regiment received

2706-566: The Aegean Islands in October 1943. Here, the bulk of the battalion was captured by the Germans on 16 November, after the Battle of Leros , with only 57 officers and men managing to escape the island. The 1st Battalion was reformed in 25th Indian Infantry Brigade, on 30 January 1944, by amalgamating with the 8th Battalion, King's Own. The reformed battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Neville Anderson , later served in

2788-558: 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

2870-549: 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

2952-588: The December 1778 naval battle of St. Lucia , part of the Anglo-French War . The regiment was sent to Nova Scotia in May 1787 and took part in the capture of Saint Pierre and Miquelon in May 1793. After returning to England, it embarked for the Netherlands in September 1799 and fought at the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799 during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland . The regiment

3034-564: The Duchess of York and Albany's Regiment of Foot , The Queen's Regiment of Foot , and The King's Own Regiment . Authorisation to recruit the regiment was given on 13 July 1680 to the Earl of Plymouth , an illegitimate son of Charles II ; its nominal strength was 1,000 men, half recruited in London by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Trelawny and half from the West Country. Raised for service in

3116-779: 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

3198-593: The Gibraltar garrison, with the 2nd Gibraltar Brigade , in June 1942. In March 1943, the battalion was sent to India where it joined 150th Indian Training Brigade but it did not see action against the Japanese . The battalion was disbanded after the war in 1947. The 8th Battalion joined the Malta garrison in August 1941 and served through the Siege . It was assigned to the 232nd Infantry Brigade and briefly joined

3280-557: 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

3362-535: 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,

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3444-474: The United Kingdom and supplied drafts to the Service battalions overseas; it converted into 43rd Training Reserve Battalion in September 1916. The 11th (Service) Battalion was formed in August 1915 as a Bantam battalion; it was attached to 120th Brigade in 40th Division ; it landed in France in June 1916 and was disbanded in February 1918. The 12th (Reserve) Battalion was formed in January 1916; it remained in

3526-597: The United Kingdom and supplied drafts to the Service battalions overseas; it converted into 76th Training Reserve Battalion in September 1916. In 1921, the regiment was re-designated the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) . The following battalions served during the Second World War : The 1st Battalion, King's Own was stationed in Malta on the outbreak of war, moving to Karachi in British India at

3608-485: The battalion was assigned to 14th Airlanding Brigade in 44th Indian Airborne Division . The 4th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment was transferred to the Royal Artillery and converted to artillery in November 1938, forming the 56th (King's Own) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery . On the outbreak of war, the 56th Anti-Tank Regiment mobilised in the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division , with which it served in

3690-420: The battle both survive and are now part of the collection of the National Museum of Scotland . The Regiment introduced the Loyal and Friendly Society of Orange and Blew to commemorate the victories at the Battle of Culloden and Boyne in 1732 and a full list of members wearing the society medal has been compiled. Following the army reforms of 1751, the regiment was retitled 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot . At

3772-421: The battles of France and Belgium in 1940. When the division was converted to armour, becoming the 42nd Armoured Division , in October 1941, 5th Battalion was transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps and became the 107th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps . The regiment continued to wear the King's Own cap badge on the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps , as did all infantry units converted in this way. However,

3854-478: 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

3936-400: 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 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

4018-480: 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

4100-473: The end of 1939. It later served with the 17th Indian Infantry Brigade . It subsequently served in Iraq and Syria with 25th Indian Infantry Brigade , with which it served until October 1943, of 10th Indian Infantry Division . In August 1942, the battalion embarked from Egypt for Cyprus , but the transport was torpedoed and the troops had to return and re-embark later. In May 1943, the battalion returned to Syria, and then it joined 234th Infantry Brigade in

4182-399: 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,

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4264-425: The freedom of Lancaster in 1953, before being amalgamated with the Border Regiment into the King's Own Royal Border Regiment on 31 October 1959. In 1953 and 1954, the 1st Battalion of the regiment was stationed in South Korea following the Korean War . The regiment's battle honours were as follows: The following members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross : The King's Own Royal Regiment Museum

4346-446: The garrison of Ceylon . In September 1943, the battalion was stationed with 70th Division at Bangalore in India when it was selected for attachment to the second Long Range Penetration or Chindits brigade ( 111th Indian Infantry Brigade ) for the Burma Campaign . It formed 41 and 46 Columns in the Second Chindit Campaign , crossing into Burma in March 1944 and being flown out to India in July 1944. From November 1944 to February 1945,

4428-406: 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

4510-458: 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 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

4592-486: The main objectives of which were fast deployment of 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

4674-497: 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

4756-467: 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

4838-412: 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

4920-417: The next three years, it took part in numerous actions, including Lexington and Concord , Bunker Hill , Long Island and the Battle of White Marsh in December 1777. The first British soldiers to die in the American Revolution were arguably three members of the light company of the 4th Foot, who died at Concord Bridge in 1775. In early 1778, it returned to Saint Lucia where it was part of the garrison during

5002-427: The regiment was disbanded in December 1943 and a few of its officers and men were sent to 151st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps , which had been converted from the 10th Battalion, King's Own. The 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Battalions were all formed in 1940 as pioneer battalions and raised specifically for hostilities-only. All four units served with the British Expeditionary Force as GHQ (General Headquarters) troops during

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5084-423: The regiment. With the accession of George I in 1714, it was retitled The Kings Own and spent the next 30 years in Scotland and England. Sent to Flanders in 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession , it garrisoned Ghent and when the 1745 Jacobite Rising broke out in August, it was transferred to Scotland and fought at the Battle of Falkirk Muir in January 1746. At the Battle of Culloden in April, it

5166-400: The rifle companies are referred to as "line officers" while billeted to positions such as Platoon Leaders and Commanding and Executive Officers. Lord Robert Kerr Lord Robert Kerr (died 16 April 1746) was a Scottish nobleman of the Clan Kerr and the second son of William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian . His family's surname at the time he lived was often also spelt as 'Ker'. He

5248-520: 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

5330-400: The start of the Seven Years' War in 1756, it was part of the Menorca garrison; forced to surrender in June it was transported to Gibraltar . It spent the rest of the war in the West Indies , taking part in the capture of Guadeloupe , Martinique and Saint Lucia before returning home in July 1764. When the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, it was sent to North America ; over

5412-451: 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,

5494-422: 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

5576-451: The war ended with the October 1691 Treaty of Limerick , it returned to England. Transferred to Flanders in March 1692, it took part in the latter stages of the 1689 to 1697 Nine Years' War . The regiment fought at the battles of Steenkerque in August 1692, and Landen in July 1693 and the Siege of Namur in summer 1695. After the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, it was reduced in strength and used to garrison Plymouth and Penryn . When

5658-412: The war, the 5th Battalion, King's Own transferred from 164th (North Lancashire) Infantry Brigade , 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division to 126th (East Lancashire) Infantry Brigade , 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division . The battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hayman Hayman-Joyce , mobilised with the rest of the 42nd Division and served with the British Expeditionary Force in

5740-412: Was attached to 38th Brigade in 13th (Western) Division ; it landed at Gallipoli July 1915 and later served in Mesopotamia . The 7th (Service) Battalion was formed in September 1914; it was attached to 56th Brigade in 19th (Western) Division ; it landed in France in July 1915 and was disbanded February 1918 due to an Army-wide reorganisation. The 8th (Service) Battalion was formed in October 1914; it

5822-426: Was attached to 76th Brigade in 25th Division ; it landed in France in September 1915 and served on the Western Front for the war: it helped to slow the German Advance at the Battle of St. Quentin on 21 March 1918. The 9th (Service) Battalion was formed in October 1914; it was attached to 65th Brigade in 22nd Division and served in Salonika. The 10th (Reserve) Battalion was formed in October 1914; it remained in

5904-459: Was based in the front line and took the brunt of the Jacobite charge; it suffered the heaviest casualties on the government side, with 18 dead and 108 wounded. The regiment's commander, Sir Robert Rich , was among the wounded, losing his left hand. Lord Robert Kerr , captain of the regiment's grenadier company, was among the dead. The two Regulation Colours (flags) carried by the regiment during

5986-467: 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

6068-423: Was formed June 1915 as a reserve battalion; it remained in the United Kingdom and supplied drafts of trained infantrymen to the 1/5th and 2/5th battalions; it 5th (Reserve) Battalion. The 12th Battalion was formed on 1 January 1917 from 41st Provisional Battalion (TF) in 218th Brigade of 73rd Division , a Home Defence formation; it was disbanded March 1918. The 6th (Service) Battalion was formed in August 1914; it

6150-468: 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

6232-485: 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

6314-645: Was relieved in 1837 and headed to India. During the Crimean War , the regiment fought at the Battle of Alma in September 1854 and Battle of Inkerman in November 1854 and took part in the Siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854. It also saw action in Abyssinia in 1868, and in South Africa in 1879. The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it

6396-419: Was renumbered as the 10th Battalion. 10th Battalion was assigned to 225th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) , formed for service in the United Kingdom. When the brigade was converted into a tank brigade in December 1941, the battalion became the 151st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps . When 107th RAC was disbanded in December 1943, a cadre transferred to 151st RAC, which adopted the number of 107th to perpetuate

6478-526: Was sent to Portugal in August 1808 for service in the Napoleonic Wars and fought under General Sir John Moore at the Battle of Corunna in January 1809, before being evacuated to England later that month. It returned to the Peninsula in October 1810 where it fought at the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812, the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812 and the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 as well as

6560-419: Was slow, and unless the battalion was superbly trained, 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,

6642-470: Was temporarily attached to 28th Division and 1st Division ; it returned to 166th (South Lancashire) Brigade in the 55th Division in January 1916. The 2/4th Battalion was formed September 1914 as a 2nd Line duplicate of 1/4th Battalion; it became the 4th (Reserve) Battalion and absorbed 5th (Reserve) Battalion 1916; it was stationed in Dublin from June 1918. The 2/5th Battalion was formed September 1914 as

6724-439: 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 the enemy’s line as possible so that they could deliver several devastating volleys at

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