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82-714: The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence . In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the East Surrey Regiment , to form a single county regiment called

164-518: 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

246-500: 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

328-572: 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"

410-740: 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

492-435: 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

574-486: 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

656-655: A while by Major-General Brian Horrocks . The division was later sent to North Africa in mid-1942 to join the British Eighth Army and fought in the Battle of Alam el Halfa and later in the Second Battle of El Alamein where the 131st Brigade was assigned to the 7th Armoured Division and would remain with them for the rest of the war. The brigade participated in the Tunisian and Italian Campaigns and

738-535: The 131st Infantry Brigade , which was a part of the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division , a 1st Line Territorial Army division. The brigade was sent, along with the rest of the division, to France in 1940 to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and were quickly involved in the Battle of France and subsequent Dunkirk evacuation . They arrived in England and the division was led for

820-816: The 22nd Brigade in the 7th Division in October 1914 for service on the Western Front. It fought at the Battle of Ypres, Battle of Aubers Ridge, Battle of Festubert, Battle of Loos and the Battle of the Somme until November 1917, when it was sent to the Italian Front , taking part in the battles of the Piave and Vittorio Veneto . The 1/4th Battalion moved to India as part of the Surrey Brigade in

902-777: The 6th (Bermondsey) and 7th (Southwark) battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and joined the 5th Battalion in 131st Brigade . The 1st Battalion was serving in British India on the outbreak of the Second World War but did not see action until 1942 against the Imperial Japanese Army . The 1st Queens fought in the Burma Campaign throughout the war as part of the 33rd Indian Infantry Brigade , 7th Indian Infantry Division , of

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984-497: 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

1066-650: The Battle of Alexandria , the Siege of Fort Julien and the Siege of Alexandria . During the Napoleonic Wars , the regiment first fought in the Peninsular War at the battles of Vimeiro and Corunna . It then took part in the disastrous Walcheren Campaign before returning to the Peninsula to fight at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro , the second Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo , the Battle of Salamanca and

1148-617: The Battle of Dunkirk where they suffered heavy casualties due to the men having very little training. The division was disbanded shortly after returning to England and the 35th Brigade was later redesignated the 169th Infantry Brigade . The 169th Brigade was to serve with the 56th Division for the rest of the war in the Italian Campaign in battles at Salerno , Anzio and in the final Allied offensive in Italy, Operation Grapeshot . In January 1944 Lieutenant Alec George Horwood of

1230-588: The Bermuda Garrison . While in Bermuda, the Edison Studios filmed The Relief of Lucknow and For Valour there, and was provided extensive support from the garrison, with parts of Prospect Camp providing sets, and personnel from the 2nd Battalion appearing as extras. A 3rd ( Militia ) Battalion was formed from the former 2nd Royal Surrey Militia, with headquarters at Guildford. The Battalion

1312-705: The British Fourteenth Army under Lieutenant General William "Bill" Slim . The 2nd Battalion, initially commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ross until April 1940, spent the early years of the war in the Middle East and Syria before also going out to the Far East . They were part of the 16th Brigade , 6th Infantry Division which was later redesignated as the 70th Infantry Division and were involved in Operation Thursday ,

1394-586: The Communist guerrillas during the Malayan Emergency from 1954 to 1957. In 1957, it returned to Germany, where, in 1959, it was amalgamated with 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, to form the 1st Battalion, Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment (less Territorials). When the QRSs merged into the new larger Queen's Regiment , the battalion became the 1st (Queen's Royal Surreys) Battalion , but this subtitle

1476-655: 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

1558-884: The Glorious Revolution , it fought in Ireland for the new king, William III , defending the besieged Derry in 1689 and at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. From 1692 to 1696 it fought in Flanders in the Nine Years' War , at the Battle of Landen and the recapture of Namur in 1695. During the War of Spanish Succession it served in the Iberian campaign, at Cadiz , Vigo , the sieges of Valencia de Alcantara , Alburquerque, Badajoz , Alcantara and Ciudad Rodrigo , and

1640-874: The Home Counties Division in October 1914 and remained there throughout the war, serving on the North West Frontier , and was afterwards involved in the Third Afghan War in 1919. The 1/5th Battalion also went to India with the Home Counties Division, but then transferred to Mesopotamia in December 1915. As soon as the 1st-Line Territorials had gone overseas, the Territorial Associations started raising 2nd- and 3rd-Line battalions, designated

1722-630: 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

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1804-541: The Mulberry harbour after D-Day , and then defended Antwerp late in the war. The regiment raised many other battalions during the war, mainly for home defence or as training units. None of these units saw active service, they remained in the United Kingdom for the duration of war. They fulfilled a role of supplying the battalions overseas with trained infantrymen or were converted into other roles. For example,

1886-502: The North West Europe Campaign . In December 1944, due to heavy casualties and a shortage of infantrymen in the British Army, the 1/6th and 1/7th Battalions were replaced by 2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment and 9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry , both from the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division . The 1/6th and 1/7th would spend the rest of the war as training units with the 50th Infantry Division. Meanwhile

1968-787: The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment which was, on 31 December 1966, amalgamated with the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment , the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) to form the Queen's Regiment . Following a further amalgamation in 1992 with the Royal Hampshire Regiment , the lineage of the regiment is continued today by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) . The regiment

2050-593: The Siege of San Sebastián and, 1814, the battles of Orthes and Toulouse . The regiment was on garrison duty in Baluchistan when the First Afghan War broke out in 1839. It formed part of the force that attacked the previously impregnable city of Ghazni , taking the city by storm because the army lacked siege equipment, and opening the way to Kabul . It returned to India in November 1839, storming

2132-821: The Special Reserve and the Volunteers became part of the Territorial Force (TF). The regiment now had the 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve), with the 4th Battalion (TF) at the Old Barracks in Croydon and the 5th Battalion (TF) at Sandfield Terrace in Guildford (since demolished). The 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 3rd Brigade in the 1st Division in August 1914, and spent

2214-529: The Western Front where it served in 34th Division under French command before taking part in the final advance to victory in November 1918. The 3/4th Bn was sent to the Western Front as reinforcements in August 1917, where it joined 21st Division and fought at Broodseinde and Cambrai . It was broken up to provide drafts in February 1918. There were also 19th and 20th TF Battalions formed from

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 ,

2378-598: The 1/5th were detached from 131 Brigade to 22nd Armoured Brigade mounted in Kangaroos in April 1945 for the final weeks of the war and the fighting towards Hamburg. The regiment also raised the 2/5th, 2/6th, and 2/7th which were all 2nd Line Territorial Army battalions serving in the 35th Infantry Brigade of the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division , a 2nd Line Territorial Army duplicate of the 44th (Home Counties) Division. They were also sent to France in 1940 and were involved in

2460-586: The 1/6th Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross whilst fighting in the Burma Campaign whilst attached to the 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment . 63rd (Queen's) Searchlight Regiment served in Anti-Aircraft Command during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz , then converted into 127th (Queen's) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery and manned Bofors guns to protect

2542-457: The 13th Battalion, raised in 1940, was assigned–in an infantry capacity–to the 80th Infantry (Reserve) Division . The 14th Battalion was raised in Dorchester in early July 1940 commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Wilkinson . and in October the battalion was assigned to the 201st Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) and commenced anti-invasion duties. On 1 December 1941 the battalion

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2624-565: The 2/4th, 2/5th etc . The 4th Queen's was unusual in sending its 3rd-Line battalion overseas, so a 4/4th Bn was raised to train recruits; eventually it absorbed the 3/5th Bn as the 4th Reserve Battalion. The 2/4th Battalion saw more varied service than any of the other Queen's TF battalions, in the Gallipoli Campaign , in Egypt , and Palestine , all as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division , before being sent back as reinforcements to

2706-551: 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

2788-688: The 5th and 6th battalions of the East Surrey Regiment. However, in the reorganisation of the Territorial Army's infantry in the late 1930s, the 4th Queen's was transferred to the Royal Artillery and converted into the 63rd (Queen's) Searchlight Regiment . The regiment was also reassigned the 22nd and 24th (County of London) battalions of the London Regiment , which disbanded in 1938. These battalions became

2870-558: 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

2952-604: 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

3034-604: 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

3116-421: The Home Service men of the regiment. The Queen's also formed a number of battalions of the New Army, or ' Kitchener's Army ' Returning prisoners of war were awarded a "Welcome Home Medal" at a reception in Guildford in January 1919. The medal has the regimental badge on one side and the inscription, "Prisoners of War The Queens Regiment Welcome Home" on the reverse and is dated MCMXVIII. The 1st Battalion spent

3198-400: 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

3280-403: 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,

3362-453: The armed forces. Under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel F. L. O. Attye, the battalion arrived at the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda (aboard HMS Orontes from Gibraltar, via Madeira) on 15 July 1864, in the midst of one of these epidemics and its losses in Bermuda included Assistant Surgeon James Murray Chalk at St. George's Garrison on 8 February 1865 and Douglas James Mounteny Rose, the five-year-old son of Lieutenant-Colonel Rose, who died

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3444-478: 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

3526-430: The border to Afghanistan. The 2nd Battalion fought in the Third Anglo-Burmese War from 1886 to 1888 and in South Africa from 1899 to 1904 including during the Second Boer War (1899–1902). From October 1910 until October 1912, it was stationed in the Imperial fortress colony of Gibraltar . From October 1912 through 1914 it was stationed in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda , as the regular infantry battalion of

3608-448: The city of Khelat en route , and avoiding destruction along with the rest of Elphinstone's army . The regiment was shipped to the Cape Colony during the Eighth Xhosa War in 1851. On 25 February 1852 a detachment of 51 men under the command of Ensign Boyland were aboard HMS Birkenhead travelling from Simon's Town to Port Elizabeth when the ship struck rocks. The troops were assembled on deck and remained at attention to afford

3690-400: 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

3772-480: 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

3854-435: The embarked women and children time to take their place in the lifeboats. Shortly after this the ship broke up and the vast majority of the troops on board were either drowned or fell victim to sharks. The bravery of the troops, made up of cadres from ten different regiments, led to the naming of the Birkenhead Drill . It once again became the 1st Battalion when the 2nd Battalion was reformed in 1857, and went to China in 1860 at

3936-474: The entire war on the Western Front . The battalion saw action at the Battle of Mons , the Battle of the Marne , the Battle of the Aisne , the Battle of Ypres , the Battle of Aubers Ridge , the Battle of Festubert , Battle of Loos , The Hindenburg Line , the Battle of Bellecourt, the Battle of Broodseinde , the Battle of Passchendaele and the Battle of Arras . The 2nd Battalion was in South Africa when war broke out and landed at Zeebrugge as part of

4018-460: The following day. The battalion lost fifty-two officers and men in the epidemic. The battalion departed Bermuda for Cork, Ireland, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Werge, aboard HMS Orontes on 3 November 1866. The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at Stoughton Barracks in Guildford from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there

4100-399: 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,

4182-406: 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

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4264-424: The inter-war years on garrison duty, both in Britain and overseas. The 2nd Battalion took part in the Waziristan campaign of 1919–1920, attempting to pacify the tribal areas during the unrest following the Third Afghan War . It was in Palestine during the Insurgency of 1936–1939 . The 4th and 5th Battalions were both reformed in the Territorial Army , assigned to the 131st (Surrey) Infantry Brigade , alongside

4346-458: 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

4428-486: 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

4510-497: 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

4592-467: 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

4674-412: 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

4756-420: The regiment's service, it was granted the distinction of wearing a Naval Crown superscribed 1 June 1794 on its colours. The regiment was then reunited and sent to the West Indies where it took part in the capture of Guadeloupe in 1794, although the occupation was short-lived owing to outbreaks of disease, particularly yellow fever , among the troops, and the capture of Trinidad in 1797. A second battalion

4838-410: The regiments involved in putting down the Gordon Riots . On the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars , detachments were in the West Indies and acting as marines in the Channel Fleet, notably at the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794, where they served on Howe's flagship, Queen Charlotte and also on board Russell , Defence , Royal George and Majestic . In recognition of

4920-466: The rifle companies are referred to as "line officers" while billeted to positions such as Platoon Leaders and Commanding and Executive Officers. Battle of Alcantara (1706) The siege of Alcántara was a siege between Allied and French forces in 1706, as part of the War of the Spanish Succession . Lord Galway led a force of British and Portuguese soldiers to attack the garrison at Alcántara . Part of James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick 's army

5002-448: The second Chindits campaign. The Chindits were the creation of Brigadier Orde Wingate . After suffering heavy casualties in the Chindits campaign, 2nd Queen's reverted to being an ordinary infantry battalion, nicknamed PBI (Poor Bloody Infantry), and served with 29th Infantry Brigade , part of 36th Infantry Division from May 1945 onwards. The 1/5th, 1/6th, and 1/7th were all 1st Line Territorial Army battalions that were serving in

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5084-520: 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

5166-464: The time of the Second Opium War , fighting at the Third Battle of Taku Forts and the capture of Beijing . It was stationed in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda from 1864 to 1866. Although too far North for yellow fever to establish itself in perpetuity, the disease was introduced to Bermuda several times during the 19th century by mail boats from the West Indies, causing endemics that resulted in many deaths, most particularly among members of

5248-451: 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,

5330-443: The unsuccessful Siege of Burgos . By the winter of 1812, the regiment was so depleted by casualties and disease that four companies were amalgamated with the equally weakened 2nd Battalion, 53rd Foot , to form the 2nd Provisional Battalion. Six cadre companies returned home to re-form. As part of the 4th Division , the Provisional Battalion took part in the Wellington's triumph at the Battle of Vittoria on 21 June 1813, followed by

5412-422: 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

5494-402: 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

5576-487: Was converted into the 99th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery , and it subsequently served in Italy. The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1948 and its personnel transferred to 1st Battalion (which had previously been reduced to nil strength in 1947). The 1st Battalion served in Berlin during the blockade to 1949 then Iserlohn in BAOR ( British Army of the Rhine ) part of 5th Infantry Brigade , 2nd Infantry Division (Crossed Keys) until 1953. The 1st Battalion fought

5658-458: Was embodied in December 1899 to provide troops for the Second Boer War , 550 men embarked for South Africa in February 1900; and returned to the United Kingdom in May 1902, when it received a public welcome and reception at Guildford. Under the Childers Reforms, two battalions of the Volunteer Force were attached to the regiment in 1883. These had originally been raised in 1859–60 in response to an invasion scare. The 1st Volunteer Battalion (VB)

5740-417: Was formed from the 2nd Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) , at the Old Barracks , Mitcham Road, Croydon , while the 2nd VB was formed from the 4th Surrey RVC at Reigate Both Volunteer Battalions contributed to service companies of volunteers who served alongside the regulars during the Second Boer War , and received the battle honour for the campaign. Under the Haldane Reforms of 1908 the Militia became

5822-459: Was formed in 1795 and stationed in Guernsey before being shipped to Martinique , where it was disbanded in 1797, its personnel being absorbed by 1st Battalion. The regiment was transferred to Ireland in 1798 where it helped put down the Irish rebellion and then took part in the unsuccessful 1799 Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland . In 1800, it was part of the abortive expedition to Belle Isle , from which it sailed to Egypt where it fought at

5904-525: Was known as The Queen's Royal Regiment . In 1959, it was amalgamated with the East Surrey Regiment , to form the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment . The regiment shipped to Tangier where it remained until the port was evacuated in 1684, when it returned to England. It took part in the suppression of the Monmouth Rebellion , fighting at the Battle of Sedgemoor , where it earned a widespread (but probably exaggerated) reputation for brutality. After

5986-468: 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

6068-604: Was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment. Under the reforms it became The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment on 1 July 1881. In 1897–98, a battalion took part in the Tirah Expedition on the North-West Frontier . The 1st battalion was stationed at Malta from 1891, then in India where it was posted at Rawalpindi until late 1902 when it moved to Peshawar near the historic Khyber Pass on

6150-615: Was omitted on 1 July 1968. Today the regiment's successors can be traced to the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment . The Surrey Infantry Museum was based at Clandon Park House , near Guildford until it was destroyed in a fire in April 2015. The regiment's battle honours were as follows: The following members of the Regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross : Regimental titles in italics indicate they were disbanded or renumbered before 1881. Line infantry Line infantry mainly used three formations in its battles:

6232-626: Was raised in 1661 by Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough as The Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Foot on Putney Heath (then in Surrey ) specifically to garrison the new English acquisition of Tangier , part of Catherine of Braganza 's dowry when she married King Charles II . From this service, it was also known as the Tangier Regiment . As was usual at the time, it was also named after its current colonel , from one of whom, Percy Kirke , it acquired its nickname Kirke's Lambs . It

6314-588: Was re-designated The Queen's Own Regiment of Foot in 1727 when the Princess became Queen. It was ranked as 2nd Foot in the clothing regulations of 1747 , and was renamed 2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot by Royal warrant in 1751. In the Childers reforms of 1881 it became the county regiment of West Surrey , named The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment . In 1921, its title was slightly altered to The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) . By 1950 it

6396-485: 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

6478-419: 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,

6560-439: 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

6642-465: Was virtually destroyed in the disastrous Battle of Almansa . In the campaign in the Low Countries in 1703, it defended Tongres against overwhelming odds, giving Lord Overkirk time to re-group his forces, until it was eventually captured. It was for this action that it was awarded its Royal title and its mottoes. It spent most of the remainder of the 18th century on garrison duty, being one of

6724-586: Was withdrawn along with the rest of the Tangier Garrison when Charles II abandoned the colony. In 1685, it was given the Royal title the Queen Dowager's Regiment of Foot (after Queen Catherine, widow of Charles II) and in 1703 became The Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot . In 1715, it was renamed The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Foot after Caroline of Ansbach , then Princess of Wales, and

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