The 6th (United Kingdom) Division is an

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 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 Gurkha ...

. It was first established 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 of ...

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 Spai ...

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 ...

and was active for most of the period since, including the First World War and the Second World War. The modern division was reformed on 1 February 2008, as a deployable two star Headquarters for service in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

during

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Ass ...

. The division was officially reformed with a parade and flag presentation at York on 5 August 2008 and then disbanded in April 2011. It was reformed as 6th (United Kingdom) Division from

Force Troops Command Force Troops Command was a combat support and combat service support command of the British Army. Its headquarters was at Upavon, Wiltshire. It was formed in 2013 as a re-designation of the previous Headquarters Theatre Troops. Force Troops Comma ...

in August 2019.

Peninsular War

The 6th Division was formed for service in the

, it was present at the Battles of Fuentes de Onoro,

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 ...

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

and 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 ...

Formation during the Peninsular War

The order of battle in summer 1813 was: * Commanding General Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton * 1st Brigade: Major General Hulse (to November 1812) ** 1/11th Foot ** 2/53rd Foot ** 1/61st Foot ** 1 coy., 5/60th Foot * 1st Brigade: Major General Pack (from November 1812) ** 1/42nd Foot ** 1/79th Foot ** 1/91st Foot ** 1 coy., 5/60th Foot * 2nd Brigade: Colonel Hinde (to November 1812) ** 2nd Foot ** 2/32nd Foot ** 1/36th Foot * 2nd Brigade: Major General Lambert (from November 1812) ** 1/11th Foot ** 1/32nd Foot ** 1/36th Foot ** 1/61st Foot ** 1 coy., 5/60th Foot * Portuguese Brigade: Brigadier General de Rezende ** 1/8th Portuguese Line ** 2/8th Portuguese Line ** 1/12th Portuguese Line ** 2/12th Portuguese Line ** 9th ''

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 Po ...

First World War

The 6th Division was a Regular Army division that was sent to France on 9 September 1914. It served on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

for the duration of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, first seeing action in 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 around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the Firs ...

as part of

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of t ...

. In 1915 the division moved into the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...

to relieve troops that had fought in 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 pr ...

. The Salient was relatively quiet for the rest of the year, except for an attack on the chateau at Hooge on 9 August. At the end of July 1916 the division was withdrawn, having suffered 11,000 casualties, and in September it was attached to

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

where it joined in the

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 be ...

by attacking the German fortification known as the Quadrilateral. It captured this area on 18 September. They then participated in the attacks on Morval and

Le Transloy Le Transloy () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Le Transloy is situated south of Arras, at the junction of the N17 and the D19 roads. Population Places of interest * The churc ...

before being withdrawn on 20 October and moved into Corps Reserve. Total casualties on the Somme were 277 officers and 6,640 other ranks. In November the division moved to the relatively quiet La Bassée sector, and in March 1917 it went to the Loos sector where it conducted operations and trench raids around Hill 70. The Battle of Cambrai, November-december 1917 Q6273

The Battle of Cambrai, November-december 1917 Q6273

It was withdrawn on 25 July, shortly before the final assault on the hill. From reserve, it then went to take part in the Battle of Cambrai as part of

. Four days after the battle ended, the division was withdrawn to rest at Basseux. By February 1918 the division was manning the

Lagnicourt Lagnicourt-Marcel is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated southeast of Arras, at the junction of the D18, D14 and the D5 roads. Population Places of interest ...

Sector and was there on 22 March when the Germans launched their Spring Offensive which drove the division back and caused 3,900 casualties out of its 5,000 infantry. On 25 March the division was withdrawn to the Ypres Salient again as part of the Second Army. By September the division was part of

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 German ...

and took part in the Battle of Épehy, participating in the general attack on St Quentin and The Quadrilateral (not the same as the position of the same name attacked at the Somme (see above)) that began on 18 September and ended with the Quadrilateral's capture on the 25th. The division's last two major assaults of the war were in October. On the 8th they captured

Bohain Bohain-en-Vermandois ( pcd, Bohain-in-Vérmindos) is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is the place where the painter Henri Matisse grew up. Etymology Formerly called Bohain, the town acquired its ...

and on the 18th they took the high ground overlooking the

Sambre–Oise Canal The Canal de la Sambre à l'Oise () is a canal in northern France. It forms a connection between the canalised river Sambre (Meuse basin) at Landrecies and the Oise (Seine basin) at La Fère. The canal is long, and has 38 locks. The junction m ...

that prepared the way for the Battle of the Sambre.

First World War formation

9 September 1914

The 6th Division embarked for France on 8 and 9 September. It was commanded by Major-General J. L. Keir, with Colonel W. T. Furse as GSO 1. Brigadier-General

W. L. H. Paget W. may refer to: * SoHo (Australian TV channel) (previously W.), an Australian pay television channel * W. (film), ''W.'' (film), a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of George W. Bush * "W.", the fifth track from Codeine's 199 ...

commanded the Royal Artillery, and Lieutenant-Colonel G. C. Kemp commanded the Royal Engineers. * 16th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier-General E. C. Ingouville-Williams) **1st The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) **1st

The Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both ...

**1st

The 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 196 ...

**2nd

The York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

* 17th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier-General W. R. B. Doran) **1st

The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

**1st

The Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment) The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalio ...

**2nd The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) **3rd The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) * 18th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier-General W. N. Congreve) **1st The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) **1st The East Yorkshire Regiment **2nd The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) **2nd

The Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and th ...

*Divisional Troops **Mounted Troops ***C Squadron, 19th (Queen Alexandra's Own Royal) Hussars ***6th Cyclist Company **Artillery *** II Brigade RFA ****21st Battery, RFA ****42nd Battery, RFA ****53rd Battery, RFA *** XXIV Brigade RFA ****110th Battery, RFA ****111th Battery, RFA ****112th Battery, RFA *** XXXVIII Brigade RFA ****24th Battery, RFA ****34th Battery, RFA ****72nd Battery, RFA *** XII (Howitzer) Brigade RFA ****43rd (Howitzer) Battery, RFA ****86th (Howitzer) Battery, RFA **** 87th (Howitzer) Battery, RFA ***24th Heavy Battery, RGA **Engineers ***12th Field Company, RE ***38th Field Company, RE

Later in the War

; 16th Infantry Brigade : * 1st Battalion, Buffs (East Kent) Regiment * 1st 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 196 ...

2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment The 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment was an infantry battalion of the British Army created in 1881 by the redesignation of the 84th (York and Lancaster) Regiment of Foot in 1881. The battalion was in existence from 1881 until 1948, when ...

* 8th (Service) 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 ...

(''from 71st Bde. November 1915, disbanded February 1918'') * 1st Battalion,

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

(''to 71st Bde. November 1915'') * 1/5th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (''from February 1915 to June 1915'') ; 17th Infantry Brigade (until 14 October 1915) : * 1st Battalion,

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

* 1st Battalion, Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment) * 2nd Battalion, Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) * 3rd 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 ...

* 1/2nd (

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

) Battalion, London Regiment (''from February 1915'') The brigade transferred to the 24th Division in October 1915, swapping with the 71st Brigade. ; 18th Infantry Brigade : * 1st 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 ...

* 1st Battalion,

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

(''until November 1915'') * 2nd Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

* 11th (Service) 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. ...

(''from 71st Bde. October 1915'') * 2nd Battalion,

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

(''to 71st Bde. October 1915'') * 14th (Service) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (''from November 1915, disbanded February 1918'') * 1/16th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (''until February 1916'') ; 19th Infantry Brigade (until 31 May 1915) : * 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers * 1st Battalion,

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Re ...

* 1/5th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) * 1st Battalion,

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

Originally an independent brigade before being attached to the division, the 19th Brigade moved to the 27th Division in May, 1915 and was not replaced, reducing the division to the standard three infantry brigades. ; 71st Infantry Brigade (from 11 October 1915) : * 9th (Service) Battalion,

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 ...

* 9th (Service) Battalion,

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before b ...

(''disbanded February 1918'') * 8th (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (''to 16th Bde. November 1915'') * 11th (Service) Battalion, Essex Regiment (''to 18th Bde. October 1915'') * 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (''from 16th Bde. November 1915'') * 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (''from 18th Bde. October 1915'') The brigade joined from the 24th Division in October 1915, swapping with the 17th Brigade. ;

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of ...

: * II Brigade, RFA * XXIV Brigade, RFA ;

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 head ...

: * 12th Field Company RE * 509th (1st London) Field Company RE * 459th (2/2nd West Riding) Field Company RE

Second World War

During the Second World War the division did not fight as a complete formation. On 3 November 1939 it was formed in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

by the redesignation of the British 7th Infantry Division, under the command of Major-General R.N.O'Connor. On 17 June 1940 Divisional H.Q. became H.Q. Western Desert Force. The Division effectively ceased to exist. The Division reformed in

on 17 February 1941, under the command of

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 ...

John Evetts. From 7 to 19 April it was temporarily under command of Brigadier C.E.N. Lomax. On 18 June, when command of the allied forces fighting in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign on the southern front were reorganised, the divisional HQ was placed under

Australian I Corps I Corps was an Australian Army corps, one of three that were raised by the Army during World War II. It was the main Australian operational corps for much of the war. Various Australian and other Allied divisions came under its control at di ...

to command the remnants of ''Gentforce'' ( 5th Indian Infantry Brigade and 1st Free French Light Division). Two days later the division was joined from Egypt by 16th Infantry Brigade and on 29 June by 23rd Infantry Brigade. ''Gentforce'' force captured

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

on 21 June. For the rest of the campaign, which ended with the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

surrender on 11 July, the division was engaged with the support of Australian units in attempts to force the Damascus to Beirut road through the

Anti-Lebanon mountains The Anti-Lebanon Mountains ( ar, جبال لبنان الشرقية, Jibāl Lubnān ash-Sharqiyyah, Eastern Mountains of Lebanon; Lebanese Arabic: , , "Eastern Mountains") are a southwest–northeast-trending mountain range that forms most of t ...

the entrance to which was dominated by the high Jebel Mazar. Despite intense efforts Vichy forces maintained control of the position and the main allied effort was switched to the advance on the coast. On 29 September 1941 Major-General Evetts left and Brigadier G.N.C. Martin took acting command. Eleven days later on 10 October that year it was redesignated the 70th Infantry Division, and Major-General

Ronald Scobie Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald MacKenzie Scobie, (8 June 1893 – 23 February 1969) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the First and Second World Wars, where he commanded the 70th Infantry Division and later III Corps. He was ...

assumed command.

Order of battle Second World War

* Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons) 25 Mar – 30 May 40 Artillery * 60th (North Midland) 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 ...

20 Jul – 30 Sep 41 Engineers * 2nd Field Company,

19 Feb – 30 Apr 41 & 29 Jun – 9 Oct 41 * 12th Field Company,

20 May – 7 Jun 40, 5 Mar – 6 Apr 41 & 15 Jun – 9 Oct 41 * 54th Field Company,

6 Mar – 7 Apr 41 & 11 Aug – 9 Oct 41 * 219th Field Park Company,

29 Jul – 9 Oct 41 * 6th Divisional Signals Regiment,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...

3 Nov 39 – 7 Jun 40 & 1 Mar 41 – 9 Oct 41 22nd Infantry Brigade 6 Division 3 Nov 39 – 11 Mar 40 & 10 – 17 Jun 40 * 2nd Battalion,

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the E ...

* 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment * 1st Battalion,

Welch Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fus ...

22nd Guards Brigade The 22nd Guards Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw distinguished active service during the Second World War. History The 22nd Infantry Brigade was formed by the redesignation of the 29th Infantry Brigade on 3 Septemb ...

6 Division 17 Feb – 6 Apr 41 * 2nd Battalion,

* 3rd Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

* 1st Battalion,

14th Infantry Brigade 6 Division 29 Mar – 30 May 40 & 10 Jul – 9 Oct 41 *

* 2nd Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) * 2nd Battalion, Kings Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) * 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment * 14th Infantry Brigade Anti Tank Company 16th Infantry Brigade 6 Division 23 Mar – 7 Jun 40 * 2nd Battalion,

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Ar ...

* 2nd Battalion,

* 1st Battalion,

* 16th Infantry Brigade Anti Tank Company 23rd Infantry Brigade 6 Division 29 Jun – 9 Oct 41 * 2nd Battalion,

Black Watch 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 (Royal Highland) Regime ...

* 4th Battalion,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...

* Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion * 23rd Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company

Twenty-First Century

On 26 July 2007 the Secretary of State for Defence announced that a new 'HQ 6 Division' would reform to direct the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 pursua ...

's Regional Command South in Afghanistan.

Des Browne Desmond Henry Browne, Baron Browne of Ladyton, (born 22 March 1952) is a Scottish politician who served in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as Secretary of State for Defence 2006 to 2008 and Secretary of St ...

said 'In order to meet these temporary demands we have decided to augment the forces’ command structure, and will temporarily establish an additional 2-Star deployable HQ. It will be based in York and will be known as HQ 6 Division, with a core of 55 Service personnel, drawn from existing structures. We will keep our planning assumption under review but currently we assess this HQ will be established until 2011.' Major General J D Page OBE took command of the new HQ with effect from 1 February 2008. The new divisional headquarters, ''Headquarters 6th (United Kingdom) Division'', marked its formation with a parade and flag presentation in York 5 August 2008. It had a clear focus on preparing brigades for Afghanistan and was based at

Imphal Barracks Imphal Barracks is a military installation located in Fulford, York, England. History Cavalry barracks were built in Fulford as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution and were completed in 1795 but these have now bee ...

, Fulford,

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 ...

.During summer 2009, the divisional headquarters was significantly reinforced and transformed into Combined Joint Task Force 6 before deploying to Afghanistan as

Regional Command South In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in November 2009. The division headquarters closed in April 2011.

Afghanistan War Formation

:(November 2009)

– Kandahar Airfield * 3rd Battalion,

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (formerly five) and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an indiv ...

– regional reserve

Task Force Helmand Task Force Helmand was the name given to a military unit of the International Security Assistance Force in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Task Force Helmand was part of Regional Command Southwest and consisted primarily of personnel from the Britis ...

– '' British 11th Light Brigade'' * The Light Dragoons * 1st Battalion,

* 1st Battalion,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Yorkshire Regiment The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence ...

* 3rd Battalion,

The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerl ...

* Danish Battle Group 8 Task Force Kandahar – '' Canadian 1st Mechanized Brigade Group'' * 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment * 1st Battalion,

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

Task Force Leatherneck – '' US 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade'' * Regimental Combat Team 7 **

2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion is a fast and mobilized armored terrestrial reconnaissance battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Their primary weapon system is the 8-wheeled LAV-25 and they fall under the command of the 2nd ...

** 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment ** 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment **

2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines (2/8) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina consisting of approximately 900 Marines and Sailors. Nicknamed "America's Battalion," they fa ...

Task Force Uruzgan Task Force Uruzgan (TFU) was Australia's and the Netherlands' contribution to NATO's Regional Command South, International Security Assistance Force, in Afghanistan. The Dutch led one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the southern r ...

– '' Dutch 11th Airmobile Brigade'' *

1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) is a regular motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion of the 34th Brigade (Australia) on Balikpapan in 1945 and sinc ...

* 17th Armored Infantry Battalion * Australian Special Operations Task Group

Task Force Zabul Task may refer to: * Task (computing), in computing, a program execution context * Task (language instruction) refers to a certain type of activity used in language instruction * Task (project management), an activity that needs to be accomplish ...

– '' Romanian 2nd Mountain Brigade'' * 280th Infantry Battalion Task Force Stryker - ''US 5th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division'' * 8th Battalion, 1st Cavalry Regiment * 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment * 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment * 4th Battalion,

23rd Infantry Regiment The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. A unit with the same name was formed on 26 June 1812 and saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812. In 1815 it was consolidated with the 6th, 16th, 22nd, ...

Re-formed in 2019

was renamed as 6th (United Kingdom) Division on 1 August 2019, and formed up with sub-units consisting of 1st Signal Brigade,

11th Signal Brigade 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 attested i ...

, 1st Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade, 77th Brigade and the

Specialised Infantry Group The Army Special Operations Brigade (Army Spec Ops Bde) (previously called the Specialised Infantry Group) is a formation of the British Army, initially created as a result of the Army 2020 Refine reorganisation, intended to train foreign force ...

. As of 16 October 2020, 11th Signal Brigade has reassigned from 6th Division to 3rd Division as of 16 October 2020. It will sit alongside restructured 1st UK Division and 3rd UK Division under the

Field Army A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, Air army, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, ...

. In later August 2021, the Specialised Infantry Group was redesignated as the

Army Special Operations Brigade The Army Special Operations Brigade (Army Spec Ops Bde) (previously called the Specialised Infantry Group) is a formation of the British Army, initially created as a result of the Army 2020 Refine reorganisation, intended to train foreign force ...

References

Bibliography

* * * *'Orders of Battle Volume I United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War 1939–1945', Lieutenant Colonel HF Joslen. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1960.

External links

Peninsular War

Formation during the Peninsular War

First World War

First World War formation

9 September 1914

Later in the War

Second World War

Order of battle Second World War

Twenty-First Century

Afghanistan War Formation

Re-formed in 2019

See also

References

Bibliography

External links