A heavy brigade is a formation made up from 'Heavy' Cavalry; i.e. Dragoon Guards and Dragoons. The Heavy Brigade was a British heavy cavalry unit commanded by General Sir James York Scarlett at the Battle of Balaclava in 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 Brigade made a gallant uphill charge to defeat a superior force of onrushing Russian cavalry, an amazing instance of the triumph of the individual skill of the Victorian British soldier, as well as of British discipline and

unit cohesion Unit cohesion is a military concept, defined by one former United States Chief of staff in the early 1980s as "the bonding together of soldiers in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, the unit, and mission accomplishmen ...

. At the Battle of Balaclava the brigade was composed of 2 squadrons each of the

1st Dragoons The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) was a heavy cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1661 as the Tangier Horse. It served for three centuries and was in action during the First and the Second World Wars. It was amalgama ...

(The Royals), the 2nd Dragoons (Scots Greys), the

4th Dragoon Guards The 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Arran's Regiment of Cuirassiers. It was renamed as the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards in 1788 and service for two centuries, inclu ...

(Royal Irish), the

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) ...

(Princess Charlotte of Wales's), and the 6th Dragoons (Inniskilling). Terry Brighton: The Truth about the Charge of the Light Brigade. London: Viking, 2004. New York: Henry Holt, 2005. p.93

References

British military units and formations of the Crimean War {{UK-mil-unit-stub

See also

References