List of orders of battle for the British 2nd Division explained

Unit Name:2nd Division
2nd Infantry Division
2nd Armoured Division
Dates:Raised and disbanded numerous times between 1809 and 2012
Country: United Kingdom
Branch: British Army
Battles:Napoleonic Wars
Crimean War
Second Boer War
First World War
Second World War

An order of battle is a list of the various elements of a military formation organised within a hierarchical command structure. It can also provide information on the strength of that formation and the equipment used. An order of battle is not necessarily a set structure, and it can change depending on tactical or strategic developments, or the evolution of military doctrine. For example, a division could be altered radically from one campaign to another through the adding or removing of subunits, but retain its identity and prior history. The size of a division can vary dramatically as a result of what forces are assigned and the doctrine employed at that time.

The 2nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which was formed numerous times over a 203-year period. Several formations bore the name, the "2nd Division", from 1809 through to the end of the 19th century. The historian Everard Wyrall, the compiler of the division's First World War official history, only included those formations that fought in the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, and the Second Boer War as being linked with the division that was created in the 20th century and fought in the First World War. That modern formation was created in 1902 and would go to further serve in the Second World War. The first 2nd Division that was formed was a mere 3,900 men strong and did not include supporting weapons such as artillery. In comparison, the 2nd Infantry Division, from the Second World War period, was over 18,000 men strong and supported by 72 artillery pieces and numerous other support weapons. Each war that the division fought in has a corresponding order of battle section.

Napoleonic Wars

During the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), the British Army grew in size. On 18 June 1809, Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley, commander of the British forces in Spain and Portugal, ordered the creation of four divisions, including the 2nd Division. During the division's first action of the Peninsular War (the name given to Napoleonic Wars fought in Spain and Portugal), the Battle of Talavera (1809), it was 3,905 men strong. By the next year, it had grown to a strength of 10,677 men. It roughly maintained this strength for the rest of the Peninsular War, and was disbanded when the fighting ended in 1814. It was reformed on 11 April 1815, in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), on the resumption of hostilities. It fought at the Battle of Waterloo, where it had a strength of 6,833 men. It then marched into France. Shortly after, the Napoleonic Wars came to a conclusion. The division remained within the restored French kingdom, as part of the British Army of Occupation. In December 1818, the Army of Occupation and the division were disbanded and the troops returned to Britain.

Talavera Campaign (July 1809)

2nd Division

Christopher Tilson's Brigade:

William Stewart's Brigade:

1810–1811, including the Battle of Bussaco, the Lines of Torres Vedras, and Battle of Albuera

During this period, brigades were referred to by their commander's names. Due to changes in command, the brigade names fluctuated frequently.

2nd Division

The division's 1st brigade:

The division's 2nd brigade:

The division's 3rd brigade:

John Hamilton's Portuguese Division (attached to 2nd Division)

1813–1814, including the Battle of Vitoria and the Battle of the Pyrenees

During this period, brigades were referred to by their commander's names. Due to changes in command, the brigade names fluctuated frequently.

2nd Division

The division's 1st brigade:

The division's 2nd brigade:

The division's 3rd brigade:

Portuguese Brigade (attached):

Battle of Waterloo (1815)

2nd Division

3rd British Brigade:

1st Brigade of the King's German Legion:

3rd Hanoverian Brigade:

Divisional Artillery:

Army of Occupation (1815–1818)

2nd Division

3rd Brigade:

1st Brigade of the King's German Legion (Left December 1814):

3rd Hanoverian Brigade (Left December 1814):

6th Brigade (joined December 1814):

Divisional troops:

Crimean War

In June 1854, a new 2nd Division was formed following the reorganisation of a British expeditionary force that had been dispatched to Ottoman Bulgaria, to support the Ottoman Empire during the early stages of the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. The division proceeded to the Crimea, where it landed on 14 September, and fought throughout the Siege of Sevastopol. During this period, the division numbered around 3,500 men. The division remained in the Crimea until 1856, and demobilised following the conclusion of hostilities.

Crimean War (1854–1855)

Each division within the expeditionary force to the Crimea had a 1st and a 2nd Brigade.

2nd Division

1st Brigade:

2nd Brigade:

Divisional artillery, Royal Artillery:

Second Boer War

A new 2nd Division was mobilised in England following the outbreak of the Second Boer War, with the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. It was transported to southern Africa, and fought in the majority of battles related to the Relief of Ladysmith, in the Colony of Natal. It then advanced into the South African Republic, guarded the lines of communication, and was then disbanded by the end of 1900 following the end of conventional warfare.

At the Battle of Colenso, the initial attempt to relieve Ladysmith, the division commanded the majority of British forces in Natal Colony. This force was 16,000 men strong, supported by 44 artillery pieces and 16 machine guns. When it next took the field, on the march towards the Battle of Spion Kop, it was much reduced. The entire force that marched numbered 20,000 men, but this included two divisions, an independent brigade, several batteries of artillery, and various other regiments, squadrons, and companies of cavalry and mounted infantry.

On mobilisation in 1899

2nd Division

3rd (Highland) Brigade:

4th Brigade (Light Infantry):

Divisional Troops:

Battle of Colenso (December 1899)

2nd Division

2nd Brigade:

4th Brigade:

5th Brigade:

6th Brigade:

Divisional Troops:

Spion Kop campaign (January 1900)

2nd Division

2nd Brigade:

5th Brigade:

Divisional Troops:

February 1900 – end of 1900

2nd Division

2nd Brigade:

4th Brigade:

Divisional Troops:

First World War

On 28 July 1914, the First World War began. On 4 August, Germany invaded Belgium and the United Kingdom entered the war against the German Empire. The division soon after deployed to France, as part of the British Expeditionary Force, and it then served on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918.

The war establishment, the on-paper strength, of an infantry division in 1914 was 18,179 men, 5,594 horses, 18 motor vehicles, 76 pieces of artillery, and 24 machine guns. While there was a small change to the number of men and horses in a division in 1915, the main change was the decrease in artillery pieces to 48 and an increase in motor vehicles to 54. The establishment in 1916 increased the division size to 19,372 men, 5,145 horses, 61 motor vehicles, 64 artillery pieces, 40 trench mortars, and 200 machine guns. The 1917 changes saw a decrease to 18,825 men, 4,342 horses, 57 motor vehicles, and 48 artillery pieces, although the number of trench mortars remained the same, and the number of machine guns increased to 264. By 1918, the number of front line infantry within the British Army in France had decreased because of casualties and a lack of eligible replacements, and this had led to a manpower crisis. To consolidate manpower and to increase the ratio of machine guns and artillery support available to the infantry, the number of battalions in a division was reduced from twelve to nine. This resulted in the 1918 establishment of 16,035 men, 3,838 horses, 79 motor vehicles, 48 artillery pieces, 36 trench mortars, and 400 machine guns.

First World War (1914–1918)

2nd Division

4th (Guards) Brigade (until 19 August 1915):

5th Brigade

6th Brigade

19th Brigade (19 August 1915, until 25 November 1915):

99th Brigade (from 25 November 1915:

Divisional Mounted Troops:

Divisional Artillery:

Divisional Engineers, Royal Engineers:

Divisional Pioneers:

Divisional Machine Guns:

Divisional Medical Services, Royal Army Medical Corps:

Divisional Veterinary Services, Army Veterinary Corps:

Divisional Services, Army Service Corps:

Second World War

In 1939, following the German invasion of Poland, the United Kingdom declared war in support of the latter and entered the Second World War. The division, now styled as an infantry division, saw combat in France in 1940. After the British Army's defeat, the division returned to and defended the United Kingdom. It was then transferred to India, following the Empire of Japan's entry into the war. The division then fought in India and Burma in 1944 and 1945.

The war establishment of an infantry division in 1939 was 13,863 men, 2,993 vehicles, 72 artillery pieces, 48 anti-tank guns, 361 anti-tank rifles, 126 mortars, and 700 machine guns. In 1941, the war establishment was changed to 17,298 men, 4,166 vehicles, 72 artillery pieces, 48 anti-tanks guns, 444 anti-tank rifles, 48 anti-aircraft guns, 218 mortars, and 867 machine guns. From 1944, the establishment was updated to 18,347 men, 4,330 vehicles, 72 artillery pieces, 110 anti-tank guns, 436 other anti-tank weapons, 359 mortars, and 1,302 machine guns.

Second World War (1939–1945)

2nd Infantry Division

4th Infantry Brigade (detached between 26 July 1944 and 19 September 1944):

5th Infantry Brigade (detached between 19 July 1944, until 8 August 1944):

6th Infantry Brigade (until 31 October 1942; then from 1 June 1943 until 18 April 1945):

Divisional Troops:

See also

Notes

Citations

References

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Bedfordshire Regiment in the Great War: 1914 and 1915 War Diary. The Bedfordshire Regiment in the Great War. Steven. Fuller. 28 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201004084143/http://www.bedfordregiment.org.uk/hertsrgt/1stherts1915diary.html. 4 October 2020. dead.

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