Irish Guards

The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has participated in campaigns in the First World War, the Second World War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan as well as numerous other operations throughout its history. The Irish Guards claim six Victoria Cross recipients, four from the First World War and two from the Second World War.

History

The Irish Guards were formed on 1 April 1900 by order of Queen Victoria to commemorate the Irishmen who fought in the Second Boer War for the British Empire.Irish Guards Regimental website

First World War

Following the outbreak of the First World War, 1st Battalion Irish Guards was deployed to France almost immediately, and they remained on the Western Front for the duration of the war. During the early part of the war, the Battalion took part in the Battle of Mons and formed the Allied rearguard during the Great Retreat. The Battalion then took part in one of the bloodiest battles of 1914, the First Battle of Ypres, which began on 19 October, inflicting major casualties among the old Regular Army.

The 1st Battalion was involved in fighting for the duration of 'First Ypres', at Langemarck, Gheluvelt and Nonne Bosschen. The 1st Battalion suffered huge casualties between 1–8 November holding the line against near defeat by German forces, while defending Klein Zillebeke.

In May 1915, the 1st Battalion took part in the Battle of Festubert, though did not see much action. Two further battalions were formed for the regiment in July. In September that year, all three battalions took part in the Battle of Loos, which lasted from 25 September until early October.

The Irish Guards went into action again on 1 July 1916 when the Battle of the Somme began. The 1st Battalion took part in an action at Flers–Courcelette where they suffered severe casualties in the attack in the face of withering fire from the German machine-guns. The Battalion also took part in the action at Morval before they were relieved by the 2nd Battalion.

In 1917 the Irish Guards took part in the Battle of Pilckem which began on 31 July during the Third Battle of Ypres. The Irish Guards also took part in the Battle of Cambrai that year. In 1918 the regiment fought in a number of engagements during the Second Battle of the Somme, including at Arras and Albert. The regiment then went on to take part in a number of battles during the British offensives against the Hindenburg Line. On 11 November 1918 the Armistice with Germany was signed. The 1st Battalion was at Maubeuge when the Armistice was signed.

The regiment's continued existence was threatened briefly when Winston Churchill, who served as Secretary of State for War between 1919 and 1921, sought the elimination of the Irish Guards and Welsh Guards as an economy measure. This proposal, however, did not find favour in government or army circles and was dropped. Between the wars, the regiment was deployed at various times to Turkey, Gibraltar, Egypt and Palestine.

Second World War

During the Second World War, the regiment fought in Norway, France, North Africa, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. The regiment first saw combat during the Norwegian Campaign. Following a challenging sea voyage to Norway, the 1st Battalion arrived in May 1940 and fought for two days at the town of Pothus before they were forced to retreat. The Irish Guards conducted a fighting withdrawal and served as the Allied rearguard.

The Battalion was evacuated along with the rest of the expeditionary force in June. While the 1st Battalion was fighting in Norway, the 2nd Battalion was deployed to the Hook of Holland to cover the evacuation of the Dutch Royal Family and Government in May 1940. The 2nd Battalion was then deployed to France and ordered to defend the port of Boulogne. The guardsmen held out against overwhelming odds for three days, buying valuable time for the Dunkirk Evacuation, before they were evacuated themselves. In November 1942, during the Second World War, Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg joined the British Army as a volunteer in the Irish Guards.

In March 1943 the 1st Battalion landed, with the rest of the 24th Guards Brigade, in Tunisia, to fight in the final stages of the campaign in North Africa. The Battalion saw extensive action while fighting through Tunisia and was subsequently deployed to the Italian Front in December of that year. The Battalion took part in the Anzio landings on 22 January 1944. They also participated in the fierce fighting around the Allied beachhead and suffered severe casualties fighting off a German counterattack at Campoleone after which the depleted battalion was returned to the UK in April.

The Irish Guards returned to France in June 1944 when the 2nd and 3rd Battalions took part in the Normandy Campaign. Both battalions served as part of the Guards Armoured Division and took part in the attempt to capture Caen. They also saw action in the Mont Pincon area. On 29 August, the 3rd Battalion crossed the Seine and began the advance into Belgium with the rest of the Guards Armoured Division towards Brussels.

The Irish Guards were part of the ground force of Operation Market Garden, 'Market' being the airborne assault and 'Garden' the ground attack. The Irish Guards led the vanguard of XXX Corps in their advance towards Arnhem, which was the objective of the British 1st Airborne Division, furthest from XXX Corps' start line. The Corps crossed the Belgian-Dutch border, advancing from Neerpelt on 17 September but the Irish Guards encountered heavy resistance which slowed the advance. Following the conclusion of Market Garden, the Irish Guards remained in the Netherlands until taking part in the Allied advance into Germany and seeing heavy action during the Rhineland Campaign with Guardsman Edward Charlton winning the final Victoria Cross to be awarded in the European theatre.

1945 – 2019

After the war, the regiment was reduced to a single battalion. In 1947, the 1st Battalion deployed to Palestine to perform internal security duties there. It was then posted to the Suez Canal Zone in Egypt, remaining there until the British withdrawal in 1956. The regiment continued to serve in troubled regions such as Cyprus and Aden throughout the 1950s and 1960s. During this time they were also part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in Germany on a number of occasions. They also served as the garrison of Hong Kong from 1970 to 1972.

The Irish Guards were one of the few regiments in the British Army initially exempt from service in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. However, a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb blasted a bus carrying members of the regiment band to Chelsea Barracks in October 1981. 39 people (23 soldiers and 16 others) were wounded and two civilians were killed. 1992 saw the regiment finally carry out its first tour-of-duty in Northern Ireland, based in County Fermanagh.

The Irish Guards were involved in the Balkans Conflicts when they were deployed to Macedonia and Kosovo in 1999 and were the first British unit to enter the Kosovan capital city of Pristina on 12 June. The regiment played a significant role in the initial stages of the Iraq War as part of the 7th Armoured Brigade and they led the British advance into Basra in March 2003. The Irish Guards deployed to Iraq on Operation Telic 10 in 2007. In 2010, the regiment deployed on their first tour of duty to Afghanistan. Number 2 Company deployed to Afghanistan in 2013 as a Brigade Operations Company.

In 2014 the entire regiment deployed to Cyprus to patrol the buffer zone as part of Operation Tosca 20. Following the Manchester Arena bombing, the Irish Guards were deployed in London to guard key locations, including the Ministry of Defence building in Whitehall, as part of Operation Temperer. Later that year Number 1 Company deployed to the Falkland Islands as the Roulement Infantry Company while Number 2 Company deployed to Thailand on an overseas training exercise where they worked alongside the Thai Army.

2019 – 2020

December 2019 saw the Irish Guards deploy on two operations concurrently. Number 1 Company deployed to South Sudan on Operation Trenton and the rest of the Battalion deployed to Iraq on Operation Shader, training Iraqi Security Forces in the mission to defeat Daesh. However, the deployment rapidly changed in January 2020 with the escalation of the 2019–20 Persian Gulf crisis following the American strike on Major General Qasem Soleimani. The Irish Guards' mission changed from training to force protection in order to protect British assets in Iraq from possible retaliation by Iran. Eventual de-escalation saw the Irish Guards resume their original mission.

Current role and organisation

In the light infantry role the 1st Battalion comprised five companies; Nos 1, 2, 3 and 4 Companies, and the Headquarters Company. Following the Integrated Review and after the Queen’s Birthday Parade 2022, 1st Battalion took on the security force assistance role for 4 years. With a much-reduced establishment, this role required a substantial readjustment to the battalion. Concurrently, the Irish Guards raised two public duties incremental companies (PDICs). These are Numbers 9 and 12 Companies, Public Duties Incremental Companies, taking on Irish Guardsmen fresh out of the Infantry Training Centre before the young soldiers progress to the 1st Battalion. Number 12 Company carries on the traditions of the former 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards. Finally there is Number 15 (Loos) Company in the Army Reserve, based at Flodden Road, London.

Recruitment

The regiment recruits in Northern Ireland and among residents of Irish extraction in mainland Britain. Although restrictions in Ireland's Defence Act make it illegal to induce, procure or persuade enlistment of any citizen of Ireland into the military of another state, people from the Republic do frequently enlist in the Regiment.

Uniform

Like the other Foot Guards regiments, the " Home Service Dress" of the Irish Guards is a scarlet tunic and bearskin. Buttons are worn in fours, reflecting the regiment's position as the fourth most senior Guards regiment, and the collar is adorned with embroided shamrock. They also sport a St. Patrick's blue plume on the right side of the bearskin. A plume of St Patrick's blue was selected because blue is the colour of the mantle and sash of the Order of St Patrick, a chivalric order, founded by George III of the United Kingdom for the Kingdom of Ireland in February 1783 from which the regiment also draws its cap star and motto. The Irish Guards pipers wear saffron kilts, green hose with saffron flashes and heavy black shoes known as brogues with no spats, a rifle green doublet