The 5th Cavalry Brigade was a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

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 served in 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 ...

(notably 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 ...

), in 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 ...

on the Western Front where it was initially independent before being assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division, and with the 1st Cavalry Division 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 ...

History

Napoleonic Wars

From June 1809,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

organized his cavalry into one, later two, cavalry divisions ( 1st and 2nd) for 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 ...

. These performed a purely administrative, rather than tactical, role; the normal tactical headquarters were provided by brigades commanding two, later usually three, regiments. The cavalry brigades were named for the commanding officer, rather than numbered. For the Hundred Days Campaign, he numbered his British cavalry brigades in a single sequence, 1st to 7th. The 5th Cavalry Brigade consisted of: * 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars) * 15th (The King's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars) * 2nd Hussars, King's German Legion It was commanded by Sir John

Colquhoun Grant (British cavalry general) Lieutenant General Sir John Colquhoun Grant (177220 December 1835) was a British soldier. Military career Sir Colquhoun GrantIn common with a number of contemporaries, such as Sir Richard Hussey Vivian, he made use of a distinctive middle name ...

. The 13th Regiment of Light Dragoons was attached to the brigade (from 7th Cavalry Brigade) in the absence of the 2nd Hussars, KGL. The brigade took part in the

. During the battle, the 7th Hussars suffered 155 casualties (56 killed, 99 wounded), the 15th Hussars 79 (23 killed, 51 wounded, 5 missing) and the 13th Light Dragoons 108 (12 killed, 78 wounded, 18 missing). This represented a loss rate of about 27%.

First World War

Mobilization

5th Cavalry Brigade was a peacetime formation of the British Army, based in

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and Eastern Commands. At the outbreak of the war, it was

headquartered Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and commanded the 2nd Dragoons (York),

12th Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...

(

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

), 20th Hussars (

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

) and 5th Signal Troop,

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 ...

(York).

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

-based V Brigade, RHA ( G and O Batteries) was attached. On mobilization, the brigade took on a role independent of The Cavalry Division. It moved to France in August 1914 with its three cavalry regiments and signal troop, and with the addition of J Battery, RHA, 4th Field Troop, Royal Engineers, and 5th Cavalry Brigade Field Ambulance.

Early Actions

In its independent role, the brigade took part in 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 ...

(23–24 August), Cerizy (28 August), the

Retreat from Mons 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 ...

(23 August–5 September) and in the Battle of the Marne (6–9 September). On 6 September, it joined 3rd Cavalry Brigade in

Gough's Command The 2nd Cavalry Division was a division of the regular British Army that saw service in the Peninsular War and in World War I, when it also known as Gough's Command, after its commanding general. It was part of the British Expeditionary Force t ...

(under 3rd Cavalry Brigade's Br-Gen

Hubert Gough General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough ( ; 12 August 1870 – 18 March 1963) was a senior officer in the British Army in the First World War. A favourite of the British Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, he experienced a meteoric ...

). As part of Gough's Command, it took part in the

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne (french: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated aft ...

(12–15 September). On 13 September, Gough's Command was redesignated as 2nd Cavalry Division with the addition of divisional troops ( RHA, RE, etc.). It remained with 2nd Cavalry Division on the Western Front until the end of the war.

2nd Cavalry Division

In 1914, the brigade, with the division, took part in

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 ...

, notably the battle of Gheluvelt (29–31 October). In 1915, the division was in action at the

Battle of Neuve Chapelle The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge and ...

(10–12 March 1915) and the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...

notable the Battle of St Julien (26 April–3 May) and the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge (24–25 May). On 26 February 1916, a Machine Gun Squadron was formed from the machine gun sections of the brigade's constituent regiments. 1916 saw no notable actions, but in 1917 the division saw action in the Battle of Arras (First Battle of the Scarpe, 9–11 April). and the Battle of Cambrai (the Tank Attack of 20–21 November, the Capture of Bourlon Wood of 24–28 November and the German Counter-Attack of 30 November–3 December). At other times, the brigade formed a dismounted unit and served in the trenches as a regiment under the command of the brigadier.

War of movement

1918 saw the return of the war of movement and the division took part in the

First Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place betw ...

notably the Battle of St Quentin (21–23 March), the Battle of the Lys (Battle of Hazebrouck of 14–15 April), the Battle of Amiens (8–11 August) and the

Second Battle of the Somme The Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought during the First World War on the Western Front from late August to early September, in the basin of the River Somme. It was part of a series of successful counter-offensives in response to th ...

( Battle of Albert of 21–23 August and the

Second Battle of Bapaume The Second Battle of Bapaume was a battle of the First World War that took place at Bapaume in France, from 21 August 1918 to 3 September 1918. It was a continuation of the Battle of Albert and is also referred to as the second phase of that ba ...

of 31 August–3 September). The division was then split up with the 5th Cavalry Brigade serving with Fourth Army. It took part in the battles of the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

: the battles of

St. Quentin Canal The Canal de Saint-Quentin () is a canal in northern France connecting the canalised river Escaut in Cambrai to the Canal latéral à l'Oise and Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne in Chauny. History The canal was built in two phases, the second much lo ...

(29 September–2 October), Beaurevoir Line (3–5 October) and

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

(8–9 October); and in the

Pursuit to the Selle Pursuit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Pursuit'' (1935 film), a 1935 American action film * ''Pursuit'' (1972 American film), a made-for-TV film directed by Michael Crichton * ''Pursuit'' (1972 Hong Kong film), a Shaw Brot ...

(9–12 October). Its final action was to take part in the

Advance in Picardy Advance commonly refers to: *Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits *Advance payment for goods or services *Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty pa ...

(17 October–11 November) including the Battle of the Sambre (4 November).

Armistice

At the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

, the brigade had reached

Clairfayts Clairfayts () is a commune of the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in ...

with Fourth Army. On 15 November, the division was re-assembled near

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical nl, Mabuse or nl, Malbode; pcd, Maubeuche) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and about from the Belgian border ...

and ordered to advance into Germany as an advance screen for Fourth Army and form part of the Occupation Force. The move began on 17 November,

Ciney Ciney (; wa, Cînè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. As of 2018, Ciney had a total population of 16,439. The total area is 147.56 km² which gives a population density of 111 inhabitants per k ...

and

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

were reached five days later and the 5th Cavalry Brigade crossed the German border south of

St. Vith St. Vith (german: Sankt Vith ; french: Saint-Vith ; lb, Sankt Väit ; wa, Sint-Vit) is a city and municipality of East Belgium located in the Walloon province of Liège. It was named after Saint Vitus. On January 1, 2006, St. Vith had a total ...

on 1 December. In late December, the division moved to winter quarters south and south-east of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

. It remained here until 30 January 1919 when it exchanged regiments with 1st and 3rd Cavalry Divisions then gradually moved back to England. The Division ceased to exist at midnight 31 March / 1 April 1919.

Order of battle

Second World War

The 5th Cavalry Brigade was a pre-war First Line Territorial Army cavalry brigade reformed in 1920. On the outbreak of the war, it was part of Northern Command and commanded the

Yorkshire Hussars The Yorkshire Hussars (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own) was an auxiliary unit of the British Army formed in 1794. The regiment was formed as volunteer cavalry (Yeomanry) in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars and served in the Second Boe ...

, the

Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) was a British Yeomanry regiment. In 1967 it was amalgamated with other units to form the Royal Yeomanry (RY), a light cavalry regiment of the Army Reserve. Originally raised as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cav ...

and the

Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons The Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1794 to 1956. It was formed as a volunteer cavalry force in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Its volunteer companies played an active role ...

. It joined the 1st Cavalry Division when it was formed on 31 October 1939. With the 1st Cavalry Division, the 5th Cavalry Brigade departed the United Kingdom in January 1940, transited across France, and arrived in Palestine on 29 January 1940. It served as a garrison force under British Forces, Palestine and Trans-Jordan. On 1 August 1941, the division was converted to the 10th Armoured Division and the Brigade units were split up. On 23 April 1942, the

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

was redesignated as Headquarters Desert (5 Cav) Brigade and performed administrative and Internal Security Duties in Ninth Army. On 2 June it was redesignated as headquarters

8th Division 8th Division, 8th Infantry Division or 8th Armored Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 8th Division (Australia) * 8th Canadian Infantry Division * 8th Air Division (People's Republic of China) * 8th Division (1st Formation) (People's Repu ...

Order of battle

Unlike in the First World War, when brigade compositions rarely changed, there was considerable movement of units between the 4th, 5th and 6th Cavalry Brigades in the Second World War. Of the three regiments with the brigade when it was broken up: *the Cheshire Yeomanry was the last but one mounted cavalry regiment in the

. It formed 5th Lines of Communications Signal Regiment in North Africa until 1944 and later 17th Lines of Communications Signal Regiment in the

North West Europe campaign The North West Europe campaign was a campaign by the British Commonwealth armed forces in North West Europe, including its skies and adjoining waters during World War II. The term Western Front has also sometimes been used informally. The United S ...

. *the Yorkshire Dragoons had the distinction of being the last active Cavalry unit of the British Army, then had a number of different roles Anti-Tank Artillery during the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

, then converted into an Infantry unit part of 18th Infantry Brigade. They were later redesignated as 9th Battalion,

Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

. *the North Somerset Yeomanry formed 4th Air Formations Signal Regiment (to provide communications between the Army and the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

) in North Africa and later in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It was redesignated as 14th Air Formations Signal Regiment and served throughout the North West Europe campaign.

Commanders

The 5th Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders during the First World War: The 5th Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders during the Second World War:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

* * * {{British mobile brigades of the Second World War 5 Military units and formations established in 1815 Military units and formations disestablished in 1815 Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Military units and formations established in 1920 1920 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations disestablished in 1942 1815 establishments in the United Kingdom