The 3rd (United Kingdom) Division is a

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. It was created in 1809 by

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

, as part of the

Anglo-Portuguese Army The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and Portugal, Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesl ...

, for service in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, and was known as the Fighting 3rd under

Sir Thomas Picton Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respected for his courage and feared for his irascible ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. The division fought at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, as well as during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

and the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. As a result of bitter fighting in 1916, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the division became referred to as the 3rd (Iron) Division, or the Iron Division or Ironsides. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the division (now known as the 3rd Infantry Division) fought in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

including a rearguard action during the

Dunkirk Evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

, and played a prominent role in the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944. The division was to have been part of a proposed

Commonwealth Corps The Commonwealth Corps was the name given to a proposed British Commonwealth army formation, which was scheduled to take part in the planned Allied invasion of Japan during 1945 and 1946. The corps was never formed, however, as the Japanese surr ...

, formed for a planned invasion of Japan in 1945–46, and later served in the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

. During the Second World War, the insignia became the "pattern of three" — a black triangle trisected by an inverted red triangle, created by Bernard Montgomery to instil pride in his troops.

Napoleonic Wars

The division was part of the Allied British and Portuguese forces that took part in the

. It fought at the

Battle of Bussaco The Battle of Buçaco () or Bussaco, fought on 27 September 1810 during the Peninsular War in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco, resulted in the defeat of French forces by Lord Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army. Having o ...

in September 1810, the

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalema ...

in May 1811 and the

Battle of El Bodón The Battle of El Bodón was a successful rearguard action fought on 25 September 1811 by elements of the Anglo-Portuguese army against waves of French cavalry, supported by a division of infantry of the French army during the Peninsular W ...

in September 1811, before further combat at the

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo are a series of sieges of the Spanish town Ciudad Rodrigo. Specific sieges are: * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1370) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1707) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812) ...

in January 1812, the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812 and the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, so ...

in July 1812. It also fought at the

Siege of Burgos At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of ...

in September 1812 and the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leading to ...

in June 1813.Cannon, p. 81 It then pursued the French army into France and saw action at the

Battle of the Pyrenees The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive (the author David Chandler recognises the 'battle' as an offensive) launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon’s ord ...

in July 1813, the

Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...

in November 1813 and the

Battle of the Nive The Battles of the Nive (9–13 December 1813) were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army on French soil ...

in December 1813. After that it fought at the

Battle of Orthez The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...

in February 1814 and the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. According to Picton, the fighting by the 3rd was so intense at the

, that the division lost 1,800 men (over one third of all Allied losses at the battle) having taken a key bridge and village, where they were subjected to fire by 40 to 50

cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

, and a counter-attack on the right flank (which was open because the rest of the army had not kept pace). The 3rd held their ground and pushed on with other divisions to capture the village of Arinez.

The 3rd Division was also present at the

Battle of Quatre Bras The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought on 16 June 1815, as a preliminary engagement to the decisive Battle of Waterloo that occurred two days later. The battle took place near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras and was contested between ele ...

and the

in the

Waterloo campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by ...

under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir

Charles Alten Field Marshal Sir Charles (Carl) August von Alten (21 October 1764 – 20 April 1840) was a Hanoverian and British soldier who led the famous Light Division during the last two years of the Peninsular War. At the Battle of Waterloo, he command ...

K.C.B. (Count Carl von Alten).

Crimean War

The 3rd Division took part in the

and fought in the

Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septem ...

and the Siege of Sevastopol. It was under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Richard England.

Second Boer War

During the

(1899–1902) the division began under the command of General

Gatacre Gatacre may refer to: *Galfry Gatacre or Gataker (1907–1983), Australian naval officer * Thomas Gatacre, 16th-century English politician and cleric * William Gatacre (MP) (died 1577), English politician *William Forbes Gatacre (1843–1906), Bri ...

. In 1902 the army was restructured, and a 3rd Infantry division was established permanently at

Bordon Bordon is a town in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies in the interior of the royal Woolmer Forest, about southeast of Alton. The town forms a part of the civil parish of Whitehill which is one of two contiguous villag ...

as part of the 1st Army Corps, comprising the 5th and 6th Infantry Brigades.

First World War

The German Spring Offensive, March-july 1918 Q6506

During the

the 3rd Division was a permanently established

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

that was amongst the first to be sent to France at the outbreak of the war as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The 3rd Division served on the Western Front in France and Belgium for four years, from 1914 to 1918. During this time, it was nicknamed "The Iron Division". Its first commander during the war,

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Hubert Hamilton Major-General Hubert Ion Wetherall Hamilton, (27 June 1861 – 14 October 1914) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction throughout his career, seeing battle in the Mahdist War in Egypt and the Second Boer War in South Afric ...

, was killed by shellfire near

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

in October 1914. The division served in many major battles of the war, including the

Battle of Mons A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and the subsequent

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fr ...

, and later the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. Th ...

Inter-War Period

After the end of the First World War, the division was stationed in southern England where it formed part of Southern Command. In 1937, one of its brigades, the 9th Infantry Brigade, was commanded by

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...

. He assumed command of the 3rd Division shortly before Britain declared war on

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in September 1939.

Second World War

The 3rd Infantry Division, under the command of Major General

, was sent overseas to France in late September 1939, just under a month after the outbreak of the

.Joslen, p. 43-44 There the division became part of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Alan Brooke Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, (23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963), was a senior officer of the British Army. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, during the Sec ...

's II Corps of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). However, unlike in the First World War, where the division was almost immediately engaged in desperate fighting, there was no action. Montgomery instantly began training the men of his division in a tough training regime. As with most of the rest of the BEF, training was severely hampered by a shortage of modern equipment. The British Army in France 1940 F3238

In May 1940, after several months of relative inactivity, the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

launched its attack in the west which resulted in the BEF being split up from the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, evacuated from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Kenneth Anderson took temporary control of the division before, in July, Major General

James Gammell Lieutenant-General Sir James Andrew Harcourt Gammell (26 September 1892 – 1 September 1975) was a British Army officer who fought during both the First and the Second World Wars. Early life and military career Born in Edinburgh on 26 Septemb ...

assumed command. The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H8379

For over a year after Dunkirk the composition of 3rd Division remained largely unchanged (except that the motorcycle battalion was converted into 3rd (RNF) Reconnaissance Regiment,

Reconnaissance Corps The Reconnaissance Corps, or simply Recce Corps, was a corps of the British Army, formed during the Second World War whose units provided reconnaissance for infantry divisions. It was formed from infantry brigade reconnaissance groups on 14 Janu ...

). Then, in September 1941, the 7th Guards Brigade was transferred to help create the

Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier ...

, and, in November, the 37th Infantry Brigade Group joined the 3rd Division and was renumbered 7th Brigade with the following composition:Joslen, pp. 43–4. The brigade anti-tank companies were disbanded during 1941 and

92nd (Loyals) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery The 92nd (Loyals) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (92nd LAA Rgt) was a mobile air defence unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery (RA) during World War II. The regiment had a special role on D-Day, and afterwards served throughout the campaign ...

, formerly the 7th Battalion,

Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire Reg ...

, joined the division in March 1942. In June 1942, 3rd Infantry Division was reorganised as a 'Mixed' Division, with

33rd Tank Brigade The 33rd Army Tank Brigade (later 33rd Tank Brigade) was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army raised during the Second World War. Origin 33rd Army Tank Brigade was created on 30 August 1941 under GHQ Home Forces to supervise the t ...

replacing 7th Infantry Brigade. By early 1943, the experiment with 'mixed' divisions was abandoned, and division reverted to being an infantry formation, 33rd Tank Brigade being replaced by 185th Infantry Brigade.

D-Day

The 3rd British Infantry Division was the first British formation to land at

Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, 6 June 1944, as part of the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, part of the larger

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

. For the assault landing, 3rd British Division was organised as a Division Group, with other formations temporarily under its command. These included 27th Armoured Brigade ( Sherman DD amphibious tanks) and 22nd Dragoons (

Sherman Crab A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a minefield by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. They were first used by the British during World War II. The mine flail consists of ...

flail tanks), 1st Special Service Brigade and No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando, 5th Royal Marine Independent Armoured Support Battery ( Centaur IV close support tanks), 77 and 79 Assault Squadrons of 5th Assault Regiment,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

(

Churchill AVRE This is a list of specialist variants of the Churchill tank which were used for purposes other than frontline combat. Churchill Oke A Churchill II or III with a flamethrower. The Oke flamethrowing tank was named after its designer, Major J.M. ...

s). The division's own artillery were all self-propelled (field regiments:

M7 Priest The 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was an American self-propelled gun vehicle produced during World War II. It was given the official service name 105 mm Self Propelled Gun, Priest by the British Army, due to the pulpit-like machin ...

; anti-tank regiment:

M10 tank destroyer The M10 tank destroyer was an American tank destroyer of World War II. After US entry into World War II and the formation of the Tank Destroyer Force, a suitable vehicle was needed to equip the new battalions. By November 1941, the Army requeste ...

) and the SP field guns and RM Centaurs were able to fire from their landing craft during the run-in to the beach. In addition, 3rd British Division had 101 Beach Sub-Area HQ and Nos 5 and 6

Beach groups During the Second World War, the Allies realised the need for the landing zone of an amphibious assault to be organised for the efficient passage of follow on forces. The British formed such units from all three services – the Royal Navy (Command ...

under command for the assault phase: these included additional engineers, transport, pioneers, medical services and vehicle recovery sections.Ellis, pp. 173, 184–6. The 3rd Division's brigades were organised as

brigade group Brigade Enterprises Limited is a real estate and property development company that is based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The Brigade Group also has operations in Mangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chikmagalur, Ahmedabad and a r ...

s for the assault, with 8 Brigade Group making the first landing, followed by 185 Brigade Group and 9 Brigade Group in succession during the morning and early afternoon.

After D-Day

The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 BU1226

After D-Day the 3rd Infantry Division fought through the

Battle for Caen The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) is the name given to fighting between the British Second Army and the German in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the larger Battle of Normandy. The battles ...

, in

Operation Charnwood Operation Charnwood was an Anglo-Canadian offensive that took place from 8 to 9 July 1944, during the Battle for Caen, part of the larger Operation Overlord (code-name for the Battle of Normandy) in the Second World War. The operation was in ...

and

Operation Goodwood Operation Goodwood was a British offensive during the Second World War, which took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, ...

. With the fighting in Normandy over after the Battle of the Falaise Gap, the division also participated in the

Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine The Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine, also known as the Siegfried Line campaign, was a phase in the Western European campaign of World War II. This phase spans from the end of the Battle of Normandy, or Operation Overlord, (25 August 194 ...

and fought in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and later the Allied invasion of Germany. For the campaign in Normandy, the division was commanded by

Tom Rennie Major-General Thomas Gordon Rennie CB DSO MBE (3 January 1900 – 24 March 1945) was a British Army officer who served with distinction during World War II. He was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 3rd Infantry Division during the ...

until he was wounded on 13 June 1944; Major-General 'Bolo' Whistler, a highly popular commander, took command on 23 June 1944. During the campaign in Normandy, the division won its first

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

of the Second World War, awarded in August 1944 to

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

Sidney Bates Corporal Sidney Bates VC (14 June 1921 – 8 August 1944) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Ear ...

of 1st Battalion,

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

, part of the 185th Brigade.

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

James Stokes James Stokes VC (6 February 1915 – 1 March 1945) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Details ...

of the 2nd Battalion,

King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 19 ...

, also of the 185th Brigade, was the second recipient awarded the Victoria Cross in March 1945. During the often intense fighting from Sword Beach to Bremen, the 3rd Division suffered 2,586 killed with over 12,000 wounded.

Cold War

Postwar, the division was reformed on 1 April 1951, in the Suez Canal Zone, under the command of Sir Hugh Stockwell. The division became part of

Middle East Land Forces Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

. It consisted of three recently reraised brigades, the 32nd Guards, the 19th Infantry, and the 39th Infantry. It served in the UK for many years and was part of

Army Strategic Command The Army Strategic Reserves Command ( id, Komando Cadangan Strategis Angkatan Darat; abbreviated ) is a combined-arms formation of the Indonesian Army. Kostrad is a Corps level command which has up to 35,000 troops. It also supervises operationa ...

in 1968. It had elements of 5th, 19th, and 24th Brigades attached to it. During the 1970s the division consisted of two "square" brigades, the 6th Armoured Brigade and 33rd Armoured Brigade. It became 3rd Armoured Division in 1976 and served with

I (BR) Corps I Corps ("First Corps") was an army corps in existence as an active formation in the British Army for most of the 80 years from its creation in the First World War until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived ...

being based at St Sebastian Barracks in Soest near the

Möhne Dam The Möhne () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen and Warstein. There is a large artificial lake near the mouth of the river, the Möhne Reservoir, us ...

from 1977. After being briefly reorganised into two "task forces" ("Echo" and "Foxtrot") in the late 1970s, it consisted of the 4th Armoured Brigade, the 6th Airmobile Brigade and the 19th Infantry Brigade in the 1980s.

Post–Cold War

In September 1992, the headquarters of 3rd Armoured Division was relocated from Germany to

Bulford Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington and about north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is separate from the village but within the parish. ...

, Wiltshire in the UK, where it became 3rd Mechanised Division. It provided the headquarters for Multi-National Division (South-West) in

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

in 1995 / 1996 and again in 1998. In early 2002, the division headquarters and its GOC, Major General John McColl, formed the initial basis of the headquarters of the

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , comman ...

in Kabul, Afghanistan. On 1 September 1999 the division was freed from its administrative and regional responsibilities and became a deployable or "fly-away" division. As 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division it was the only division at continual operational readiness in the United Kingdom (the other at operational readiness being 1st (UK) Armoured Division in Germany). It was based at Picton Barracks, Bulford Camp, and reported to the

Commander Land Forces Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces (CINCLAND), was a senior officer in the British Army. CINCLAND commanded HQ Land Forces, an administrative apparatus that had responsibility for all of the army's fighting units in the United Kingdom (excluding Nor ...

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

. On 11 July 2003, the division deployed to Iraq to replace the British 1st Armoured Division, signalling the start of

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

II. The 3rd Division also controlled numerous other coalition forces in southeast Iraq, including contingents from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway. Under

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

, the division was renamed as 3rd (United Kingdom) Division and continued to be based at

Bulford Camp Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about northeast of the town of Amesbury. ...

and to command the Reaction Force. In 2015, Brigadier General Mike Tarsa of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

was assigned as deputy commanding general of the division. He was replaced in May 2016 by Brigadier General Doug Crissman. Crissman was replaced by Brigadier General Matthew J. Van Wagenen in April 2018. This was part of a growing practice for senior officers of the British Army and the United States Army to be assigned as deputy commanders (and effectively liaison officers) in each other's operational units.

Future

Under the Future Soldier programme, the division will be re-structured with the 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade becoming the '' Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team'', the 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade becoming ''12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team'', 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade becoming ''20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team'', 11th Signal Brigade reduced to just 7th Signals Group, and 1st Artillery Brigade disbanding.

Order of battle

;3rd (UK) Mechanised Division (1990s)British Army Units
/ref> * 1st Mechanized Brigade * 4th Mechanized Brigade * 12th Mechanized Brigade * 3rd Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment * 5 Regiment

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

(Lynx) * 36 Engineer Regiment,

* 3 Regiment,

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operation ...

The Royal Wessex Yeomanry The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) is a Reserve armoured regiment of the British Army Reserve consisting of five squadrons. Formerly part of 43 (Wessex) Brigade, the regiment joined 3rd (UK) Division in July 2014, to provide armoured (main battle ...

;3rd (United Kingdom) Division (2019–present) * 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade *

12th Armoured Infantry Brigade The 12th Armoured Brigade Combat team, formerly the 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade, is a regular brigade of the British Army which has been in almost continuous existence since 1899 and now forms part of 3rd Division (United Kingdom), 3rd (United ...

* 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade *

101 Logistic Brigade 101st Operational Sustainment Brigade is a logistic brigade within 3rd (United Kingdom) Division of the British Army, formed from the Combat Service Support Group in 1999. The brigade is held in high readiness and is described as a "vanguard sup ...

* 1st Artillery Brigade * 11th Signal Brigade * 1st Military Police Brigade -tactical command *

7 Air Defence Group 7th Air Defence Group (7 AD Gp) is a formation of the British Army and part of 3rd (United Kingdom) Division. It is responsible for all the army's ground based air defence assets. All of the organisation's subordinate units are drawn from the Roy ...

* 25 (Close Support) Engineer Group

Recipients of the Victoria Cross

* indicates a posthumous award

Notes

Footnotes Citations

References

* * Blaxland, Gregory (1971) ''The Regiments Depart: A History of the British Army 1945–70'', London: William Kimber. * *Chappel M., (1986) ''British Battle Insignia (1). 1914–18'' Osprey Publishing * * Delaforce, Patrick (1995) ''Monty's Iron Sides'', Stroud: Alan Sutton, , * Ellis, Major L.F. (2004) ''History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Volume I: ''The Battle of Normandy'', London: HMSO, 1962/Uckfield: Naval & Military, . * * Horrocks, Lt-Gen Sir Brian, (1960) ''A Full Life'', London: Collins. * * Keegan, John (1991), ''Churchill's Generals'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. * Montgomery, Field Marshal Viscount, (1958) ''Memoirs'', London: Collins. * * Scarfe, Norman (2006)

947 Year 947 ( CMXLVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – A Hungarian army led by Grand Prince Taksony campaigns in Italy, heading ...

Assault Division: A History of the 3rd Division from the Invasion of Normandy to the Surrender of Germany. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Spellmount. .

External links

3rd (UK) Division
on British Army official website
British Military History: 3 Division (1930 - 1938)

British Military History: 3 Infantry Division (1939)

British Military History: 3 Infantry Division (1940)

British Military History: 3 Infantry Division (1944-45)
{{DEFAULTSORT:03 Infantry Division Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War I Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1809 1809 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Peninsular War