The 4th Infantry Division was a regular

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

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 ...

with a very long history, seeing active 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 ...

, 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 ...

, the First World War, and during the Second World War. It was disbanded after the war and reformed in the 1950s as an

armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

formation before being disbanded and reformed again and finally disbanded on 1 January 2012.

Napoleonic Wars

The 4th Division was originally formed 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 people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

, as part of the

Anglo-Portuguese Army The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined British and Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley. The Army is also referred to as the British-Portuguese Army and, in Portuguese, as the ''Ex� ...

, for service in the

. It fought in the Battles of Talavera,

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

Roncesvalles Roncesvalles ( , ; eu, Orreaga ; an, Ronzesbals ; french: Roncevaux ) is a small village and municipality in Navarre, northern Spain. It is situated on the small river Urrobi at an altitude of some in the Pyrenees, about from the French bor ...

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

, the Pyrenees,

Orthez Orthez (; eu, Ortheze; oc, Ortès, ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of New Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the sm ...

, and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

, and the siege of Badajoz.

Peninsular War order of battle

The order of battle from January 1812 was as follows: Major General Sir Charles Colville (to April 1812) Major General Lowry Cole (from June 1812) * 1st Brigade: Major General James Kemmis ** 3/27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot ** 1/40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot ** 1/48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot (from October 1812) ** 2nd Provisional Battalion (2nd & 1/53rd Regiments of Foot) (from December 1812) ** 1 Coy., 5/60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot * 2nd Brigade: Major General Sir

Edward Pakenham Major General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham, (19 March 1778 – 8 January 1815), was a British Army officer and politician. He was the son of the Baron Longford and the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he served in the Penin ...

** 1/7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers) ** 2/7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers) (November 1810 to May 1811) ** 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot (from November 1812) ** 1/23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) ** 1/48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot (to October 1812) ** 1/82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) (October to November 1812) ** 1 Coy., Brunswick-Oels Jaegers * 3rd Brigade: Major General Skerrett (October to December 1812) ** 3/1st Foot Guards ** 2/47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot ** 2/87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot ** 2 Cos., 2/95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) *

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Brigade: Major General Collins ** 1/11th Line Infantry of the Portuguese Army ** 2/11th Line Infantry of the Portuguese Army ** 1/23rd Line Infantry of the Portuguese Army ** 2/23rd Line Infantry of the Portuguese Army ** 7th ''

Caçadores The Caçadores (hunters) were the elite light infantry troops of the Portuguese Army, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Units of ''Caçadores'' – with features somewhat different from the original ones – continued to exist in the P ...

'' of the Portuguese Army

Waterloo

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 ...

it was tasked with holding Wellington's right flank and, with the exception of its 4th brigade, took no active part in the fighting, but did capture the town of Cambrai afterwards. The commanding general at this time was

Charles Colville General Sir Charles Colville (7 August 1770 – 27 March 1843) was a British Army officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He was an ensign in 1781. He served in the West Indies from 1791 to 1797 and while serving there was promoted to li ...

. In his novel ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

credits Colville with asking for the surrender of the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...

at Waterloo and receiving General Cambronne's reply of "''

Merde ''Shit'' is a word considered to be vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun, it refers to fecal matter, and as a verb it means to defecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it means diarrhea. ''Shite'' is a common variant in British a ...

''".

Waterloo order of battle

* Commanding General Major-General Sir

* 4th Brigade – Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Henry Mitchell ** 3/14th (Buckinghamshire) Regiment of Foot ** 1/23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers) ** 51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) * 6th Brigade – Major-General George Johnstone ** 2/35th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot **

54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot The 54th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881. History Early history The ...

** 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot ** 1/91st (Argyllshire) Regiment of Foot * 6th Hanoverian Brigade – Major-General Sir James Lyon ** Field Battalion Calenberg ** Field Battalion Lauenburg ** Landwehr Battalion Bentheim ** Landwehr Battalion Hoya ** Landwehr Battalion Nienburg

Crimean War

The Division was also called for service during the

fought between the allied forces of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, French Empire and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

on one side and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

on the other. It saw action 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 ...

the

Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, an ...

and the Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 (famous for the Charge of the Light Brigade and the Thin Red Line).

Crimean War order of battle

Commanding General: Major General Sir

George Cathcart Major-General Sir George Cathcart (12 May 1794 – 5 November 1854) was a British general and diplomat. Military career He was born in Renfrewshire, son of William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart. After receiving his education at Eton and in Edin ...

* 7th Brigade: Brigadier General Torrens **

20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars, and had many differen ...

** 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers **

68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) The 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1758. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 106th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Light Infantry), 106th Bombay Light Infantry to ...

* 8th Brigade **

46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot The 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1881, b ...

57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot The 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of line infantry in the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Middlesex Regiment in 1881. His ...

* one field battery royal Artillery

First World War

The First Battle of the Aisne, September 1914 Q51499

As a permanently established

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

it was amongst the first to be sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force at the outbreak of the First World War. It served on the Western Front for the duration of the war and was present during all the major offensives including the Battle of the Marne,

Battle of Ypres The Battle of Ypres was a series of engagements during the First World War, near the Belgian city of Ypres, between the German and the Allied armies (Belgian, French, British Expeditionary Force and Canadian Expeditionary Force). During the five ...

, Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Passchendaele.

Order of battle

The order of battle of 4th Division during the First World War was as follows: ; 10th Brigade : * 1st Battalion,

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

* 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders * 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers (''left August 1917'') * 2nd Battalion,

Royal Dublin Fusiliers The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an Irish infantry Regiment of the British Army created in 1881, one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with its home depot in Naas. The Regiment was created by the amalgamation of two Brit ...

(''left November 1916'') * 10th Machine Gun Company,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks ...

''(formed 22 December 1915, moved to 4th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 26 February 1918)'' * 10th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed June 1916)'' * 1/7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (''from January 1915 until March 1916'') * 1/9th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ''(from May to July 1915)'' *

Household Battalion The Household Battalion was an infantry battalion of the British army during the Great War. It was formed in September 1916 from the reserves of the Household Cavalry regiments (the 1st Life Guards, 2nd Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards) to ...

(''from November 1916 until February 1918'') * 3/10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (''from August 1917 until February 1918'') * 2nd Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

(''from February 1918'') ; 11th Brigade : * 1st Battalion,

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

* 1st Battalion,

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nottingh ...

''(left February 1918)'' * 1st Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

* 1st Battalion,

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Ri ...

* 1/5th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (

London Rifle Brigade The London Rifle Brigade was a volunteer regiment of the British Army. History The regiment was first raised in the City of London on 14 December 1859 as 1st London (City of London Volunteer Rifle Brigade) Rifle Volunteer Corps, a rifle volun ...

) (''from November 1914 until May 1915'') * 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment (''from July 1915 until May 1916'') * 11th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps ''(formed 23 December 1915, moved to 4th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 26 February 1918)'' * 11th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed June 1916)'' Western front 1915-16

; 12th Brigade : * 1st Battalion,

King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) 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 r ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

''(left December 1914)'' * 2nd Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

* 1/2nd Battalion,

Monmouthshire Regiment The Monmouthshire Regiment was a Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial infantry regiment of the British Army. Originating in units of Volunteer Force (Great Britain), rifle volunteers formed in Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in 1859, ...

(''until January 1916'') * 1/5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment (''from February 1915 until January 1916'') * 12th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps ''(formed 24 January 1916, moved to 4th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 26 February 1918)'' * 12th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 11 June 1916)'' * 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (''from January 1916 to 10th Bde. February 1918'') * 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment (''from March until July 1915'') From early November 1915 until February 1916 the 12th Brigade was swapped with the 107th Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division. Artillery * XIV Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (''until 14 January 1917'') * XXIX Brigade, Royal Field Artillery * XXXII Brigade, Royal Field Artillery * XXXVII (Howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (''until 17 February 1915'') * CXXVII (Howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (''from 6 August 1915 until 21 May 1916'') * 31st Heavy Battery,

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

(''until 29 April 1915'') Engineers * 7th Field Company, Royal Engineers (''until 29 April 1915'') * 9th Field Company, Royal Engineers * 1st West Lancashire Field Company, Royal Engineers (''from 14 February 1915 until 28 February 1916'') * 1st Renfrew Field Company, Royal Engineers (''joined 2 May 1916; became 406th (Renfrew) Field Company 3 February 1917'') * 1st Durham Field Company, Royal Engineers (''joined 20 September 1916; became 526th (Durham) Field Company 3 February 1917'') Pioneers * 21st (Service) Battalion,

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) wa ...

(''from 21 June 1916'')

Second World War

France and Belgium

Shortly after the outbreak of 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 opposi ...

in September 1939 the 4th Division, under

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 ...

Dudley Johnson, who had won the

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 ...

(VC) in the Great War, was sent to the border between France and Belgium as part of Lieutenant-General

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). All three of the division's brigades were commanded by distinguished soldiers, the

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The re ...

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. I ...

Evelyn Barker General Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker (22 May 1894 – 23 November 1983) was a British Army officer who saw service in both the First World War and the Second World War. During the latter, he commanded the 10th Brigade during the Battle of France in ...

, the

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first atteste ...

by Brigadier Kenneth Anderson and the

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

by Brigadier John Hawkesworth. After the disastrous Battle of France in May–June 1940, where the division sustained heavy losses, and the evacuation at Dunkirk, it spent the next two years in the United Kingdom on anti-invasion duties and training for its next deployment. The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H17909

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H17909

In June 1942 the division, now under Major General John Hawkesworth, was selected to be converted into a 'mixed' division, consisting of two infantry brigades and one tank brigade. As a result of this change, the divisions' 11th Infantry Brigade left the division and was replaced by the 21st Army Tank Brigade.

North Africa

The division departed for North Africa in early 1943, arriving in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in March, coming under Lieutenant-General

John Crocker General Sir John Tredinnick Crocker, (4 January 1896 – 9 March 1963) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both world wars. He served as both a private soldier and a junior officer in the First World War, and as a distinguished br ...

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial Germ ...

, part of the

British First Army The First Army was a formation of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. The First Army included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American and French units during the Second World War. F ...

. During the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

it was involved in

Operation Vulcan Operation Vulcan (22 April – 6 May 1943) and Operation Strike (6–12 May 1943) were the final ground attacks by the Allied forces against the Italian and German forces in Tunis, Cape Bon, and Bizerte, the last Axis toeholds in North Africa ...

, the final ground attack against

Axis forces The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

in North Africa which ended the North African Campaign, with the surrender of nearly 250,000 German and Italian soldiers. During the assault the division suffered heavy losses, with four battalions sustaining over 300 casualties. After the Axis defeat in North Africa, in May 1943, the division was to remain there for the next 9 months, during which time it was converted back into a standard infantry division, with the 28th Infantry Brigade, consisting mainly of

battalions who had served on garrison duties in Gibraltar, arriving to replace the 21st Tank Brigade.

Italy

The division arrived on the Italian Front in late February 1944, relieving the British 46th Infantry Division, initially coming under command of Lieutenant-General

Richard McCreery General Sir Richard Loudon McCreery, (1 February 1898 – 18 October 1967) was a career soldier of the British Army, who was decorated for leading one of the last cavalry actions in the First World War. During the Second World War, he was chief ...

's British X Corps, then serving under the U.S. Fifth Army. In March the division transferred to Lieutenant-General

Sidney Kirkman General Sir Sidney Chevalier Kirkman, (29 July 1895 – 29 October 1982) was a British Army officer, who served in both the First World War and Second World War. During the latter he commanded the artillery of the Eighth Army during the Second B ...

British XIII Corps XIII Corps was a corps-sized formation of the British Army that fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War and was reformed for service during the World War II, Second World War, serving in ...

, part of the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces ...

. The division, now under the command of Major-General

Alfred Dudley Ward General Sir Alfred Dudley Ward, (27 January 1905 – 28 December 1991), commonly known as Sir Dudley Ward, was a senior British Army officer who saw distinguished active service during the Second World War and later became Governor of Gibraltar. ...

, fought with distinction at the fourth and final Battle of Monte Cassino in May 1944, and later in severe fighting in the battles for the Gothic Line. During the battle of Cassino Captain

Richard Wakeford Major Richard Wakeford VC (23 July 1921 – 27 August 1972) was an English soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to ...

of the 2/4th Battalion,

was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Greece

However, in November 1944 it was dispatched, with the rest of III Corps, to Greece to provide assistance during the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...

, and was to remain there until the end of the war in Europe in May 1945.

Order of battle

The 4th Infantry Division was constituted as follows during the war 10th Infantry Brigade * 2nd Battalion,

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light ...

* 1st Battalion,

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

(''left 3 May 1940'') * 10th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (''disbanded 1 January 1941'') * 1/6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment (''from 4 May 1940'') 11th Infantry Brigade (''left 5 June 1942'') * 2nd Battalion,

* 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment * 1st Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

(''left 29 January 1940'') * 11th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (''disbanded 31 December 1940'') *

5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment The Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion was a bicycle infantry battalion of the British Army. Formed in the Territorial Force in February 1914, it remained in the United Kingdom throughout the First World War. After the war, in 1920, it was conve ...

(''from 29 January 1940'') 12th Infantry Brigade * 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers * 1st Battalion,

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Re ...

(''left 13 June 1940'') * 1st Battalion,

Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd Regiment of Foot, 42nd (Roy ...

(''left 4 March 1940'') * 12th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (''disbanded 3 January 1941'') * 6th Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) (''from 4 March 1940'') * 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment (''from 5 September 1940'') 21st Army Tank Brigade (''from 6 June 1942, left 12 December 1943'') *

12th Royal Tank Regiment 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

* 48th Royal Tank Regiment * 145th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps 28th Infantry Brigade (''from 24 December 1943'') * 2nd Battalion,

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...

* 2nd Battalion,

* 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (''from 5 January, left 2 February 1944'') * 2/4th Battalion,

(''from 24 March 1943'') Divisional Troops *

5th Dragoon Guards The 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards was a British army cavalry regiment, officially formed in January 1686 as Shrewsbury's Regiment of Horse. Following a number of name changes, it became the 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) ...

(''Reconnaissance Battalion, left 31 March 1940'') * 4th Battalion,

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 ...

''(from 1 January 1941, redesignated 4th Regiment 6 June 1942, became 4th Reconnaissance Regiment,

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

1 January 1944)'' * 2nd Battalion,

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...

''(joined as Machine Gun Battalion from 11 November 1941, left 20 May 1942, rejoined as Support Battalion 10 March 1944, became MG Battalion from 7 June 1944)'' * 17th Field Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(''left 19 February 1940'') * 22nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery * 30th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery * 77th (Highland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (''from 19 February 1940'') * 14th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery *

91st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery The 91st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, (91st LAA Rgt) was an air defence unit of the British Army during World War II. Initially raised as an infantry battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment in 1940, it transferred to the Ro ...

(''from 26 January 1942, disbanded 6 November 1944'') * 7th Field Company, Royal Engineers * 9th Field Company, Royal Engineers (''left 16 February 1940'') * 59th Field Company, Royal Engineers * 225th Field Company, Royal Engineers (''from 16 February 1940'') * 18th Field Park Company, Royal Engineers * 3rd Bridging Platoon, Royal Engineers (''from 18 October 1943'') * 4th Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals

Post Second World War

The Division was reformed from 11th Armoured Division on 1 April 1956, and took on 20th Armoured Brigade Group from the disbanding 6th Armoured Division in May 1958. At the time the Division also incorporated the (Canadian) 4th Infantry Brigade and the 4th Guards Brigade. During the 1970s, the division consisted of two "square" brigades, the 11th Armoured Brigade and the 20th Armoured Brigade. It was renamed 4th Armoured Division 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 Hammersmith Barracks in

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford. Geography Geographic locat ...

from 1978. After being briefly reorganised into two "task forces" ("Golf" and "Hotel") in the late 1970s, the division consisted of the 11th Armoured, the 20th Armoured, and the 33rd Armoured Brigades in the 1980s. The division ceased its role as a frontline Armoured Division on 1 July 1993.

1995–2012

The 4th Division was reformed as an administrative division – effectively a military district – from South East District and Eastern District on 1 April 1995. It had its permanent headquarters at the Military Headquarters Building in Steeles Road,

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

. The Division was responsible for the administration of Aldershot Garrison,

British Gurkhas Nepal British Gurkhas Nepal (BGN) is an administrative organisation of the British Army. History Following generations of territorial disputes between the successors of Prithvi Narayan Shah, Leader of the Gorkha Kingdom, and the East India Company a peac ...

and British Garrison Brunei and by 2000 comprised the following Regional Brigades: * 2nd (South East) Brigade * 49th (East) Brigade * 145th (South) Brigade * 16 Air Assault Brigade Following further reshuffling, 49th (East) Brigade came under the command of the 5th Division based in Shrewsbury from 1 April 2007, 43 (Wessex) Brigade was transferred to 4th Division on 1 April 2007 and 16 Air Assault Brigade became subordinated to

Joint Helicopter Command Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes. History Background Over the years, the grouping of all battlefield suppo ...

. The Division reported to Army Headquarters at

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 * Andove ...

from 2010. The new HQ Support Command in Aldershot began operation in January 2012 when HQ 4th Division in Aldershot disbanded.First tranche of Army unit moves confirmed
Defence News, 10 November 2011 HQ 2nd division in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and HQ

5th division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 5th Division (Australia) *5th Division (People's Republic of China) * 5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) * 5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Mo ...

in Shrewsbury were both disbanded in April 2012.House of Commons Library: Standard Note: SN06038
/ref>

Notes

References

* Becke, Major A.F. (1934) ''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 1: The Regular British Divisions'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1934/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Chappel M. (1986) ''British Battle Insignia (1). 1914–18'' Osprey Publishing * * * Litchfield, Norman E.H. (1992) ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, . * Pemberton, W. Baring (1962). ''Battles of the Crimean War''. Pan Books Ltd. *

External links

The British Army in the Great War: The 4th Division

British Military History: 4 Division (1930-38)

4 Infantry Division (1944–45)

Orbat.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:04 Infantry Division 1809 establishments in the United Kingdom 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 British military units and formations of the Crimean War

Napoleonic Wars

Peninsular War order of battle

Waterloo

Waterloo order of battle

Crimean War

Crimean War order of battle

First World War

Order of battle

Second World War

France and Belgium

North Africa

Italy

Greece

Order of battle

Post Second World War

1995–2012

See also

Notes

References

External links