1st (United Kingdom) Division
The 1st (United Kingdom) Division is an active division of the British Army that has been formed and disestablished numerous times between 1809 and the present. In its original incarnation as the 1st Division, it took part in the Peninsular War—part of the Coalition Wars of the Napoleonic Wars—and was disbanded in 1814 but was re-formed the following year for service in the War of the Seventh Coalition and fought at the Battle of Waterloo. It remained active as part of the British occupation of France until it was disbanded in 1818, when the British military withdrew. The division was then raised as needed; it served in the Crimean War, the Anglo-Zulu War, and the Second Boer War. In 1902, the British Army formed several permanent divisions, which included the 1st Division, which fought in the First World War, made various deployments during the interwar period, and took part in the Second World War when it was known as the 1st Infantry Division.
For the Second World War armoured formation, see 1st Armoured Division (United Kingdom).
- 1st Division
- 1st Infantry Division
- 1st Armoured Division
- 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division
- 1st (United Kingdom) Division
- 1st Division
- 1st Infantry Division
- 1st Armoured Division
- 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division
- 1st (United Kingdom) Division
In the post-war period, the division was deployed to Mandatory Palestine on internal security operations during the Jewish insurgency. In 1948, when all British troops left, the division transferred to Tripoli, Libya, which was then under occupation by Anglo-French forces following the conclusion of the Second World War. With rising tensions in Egypt, the division was moved there to defend the Suez Canal. It remained there until 1955, when it was withdrawn to the UK as Britain removed its military from the area. The stay in the UK was short because there was little need for an additional divisional headquarters, and the division was disbanded on 30 June 1960. The following day, it was reformed in Germany as the 1st Division by the renaming of the 5th Division and served as part of the British Army of the Rhine, and helped pioneer new tactics. On 1 April 1978, the name was again changed when the division was converted into an armoured formation and it became the 1st Armoured Division.[a]
The division formed the basis of Operation Granby, the British contribution to the Gulf War in 1991. During a 48-hour period, the formation destroyed 300 Iraqi tanks and captured 7,000 prisoners. It then returned to Germany and was disbanded in 1992 as part of an army restructuring and downsizing that followed the end of the Cold War. In 1993, the formation was reformed when the 4th Armoured Division was redesignated as the 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division. It contributed to various peacekeeping operations during the 1990s. In 2003, the division again returned to the Middle East and formed the basis of Operation Telic, the British contribution to the US-led 2003 Invasion of Iraq. It rapidly achieved the objectives assigned to it, including the capture of the city of Basra. The division was withdrawn after a few months and southern Iraq came under the control of the Multi-National Division (South-East). Over the following years, the division was based in Germany and deployed brigades to the multi-national division in Iraq.
From 2010, the division has undergone several changes following defence reviews and army restructuring progammes. These included Army 2020, Army 2020 Refine, and the Future Soldier programme. As a result, in 2014, the formation was redesignated as the 1st (United Kingdom) Division; with this relabeling, the division transformed from an armoured formation into a light infantry one. The following year, the headquarters moved from Germany to Imphal Barracks, York. It is currently planned for the headquarters to be relocated to Catterick Garrison after 2028.
16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team will re-subordinate under command of 1st (UK) Division by 2024. A parade is being held on 15 November.[2]
Army 2020[edit]
As with the Gulf War, the division returned to Germany following its time in Iraq and continued to be headquartered at Hereford. While deploying a brigade at a time to Iraq under the oversight of the Multi-National Division (South-East), the 1st (UK) Armoured Division maintained command over the 4th Armoured Brigade based at Osnabruck, the 7th Armoured Brigade at Bergen, and the 20th Armoured Brigade at Paderborn. Combined with the divisional assets and support personnel, the formation was around 17,000 strong. In 2006, following decisions made in the 2003 Delivering Security in a Changing World white paper, the 4th Armoured Brigade was converted into the 4th Mechanized Brigade, a move that decreased the number of its tank regiments and replaced them with infantry battalions. Two years later, the brigade was moved to England and joined the 3rd Division, which reduced the 1st (UK) Armoured Division to a formation of two brigades. By 2013, the 7th Armoured Brigade had relocated to Hohne.[87][88]
The Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2010 made a commitment to rebase all remaining British forces stationed in Germany and to move them to the UK. The review also outlined the Army 2020 plan, which aimed to restructure the army from one optimized for the War in Afghanistan to one that was more flexible. This included establishing a Reaction Force and an Adaptable Force, the former of which was to based around the 3rd Division and would contain the army's tanks. This force would be primed for short-notice deployments. The Adaptable Force was to be based around the 1st Division, and would be responsible for Britain's standing commitments in Brunei, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, public duties, and United Nation peacekeeping, and to support any enduring operations undertaken by the army.[89][90]
On 21 July 2014, the division was renamed the 1st (United Kingdom) Division. The redesignation, part of the Army 2020 changes, was the start of the division's restructure from an armoured formation to one that consisted of light infantry, and the start of its role in the Adaptable Force.[91][92] On 2 June 2015, the divisional headquarters moved from Germany to Imphal Barracks, York.[93] Upon its reorganisation, the division consisted of the 4th Infantry Brigade—previously the 4th Mechanized and the 15th (North East) Brigades—and was based at Catterick Garrison); the 7th infantry Brigade—the previous 7th Armoured Brigade's headquarters merged with the 49th (Eastern) Brigade—and was based at Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell); the 11th Infantry Brigade at Aldershot Garrison; the 38th (Irish) Brigade at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn; the 42nd Infantry Brigade at Fulwood Barracks, Preston; the 51st Infantry Brigade at Redford Barracks, Edinburgh; the 102nd Logistic Brigade at Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, Grantham; and the 160th Infantry Brigade at The Barracks, Brecon.[91]
Further changes occurred following the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, resulting in Army 2020 Refine, which was implemented in 2019.[94][95] The division then consisted of the 4th, 7th, 11th, and 51st Infantry Brigades, as well as the 2nd Medical Brigade at Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Strensall; 8th Engineer Brigade at Gibraltar Barracks, Minley; the 102nd Logistical Brigade; and the 104th Logistical Brigade at Duke of Gloucester Barracks, South Cerney.[95][96] The role of the division was also expanded to "provide more strategic choice and a range of capabilities, conducting capacity building, stabilisation operations, disaster relief and UK resilience operations".[95] In December 2020, the 1st Military Police Brigade joined the division.[97]
Under the 2021 Future Soldier programme, additional organisational changes were made. The divisional headquarters will relocate to Catterick but this move will not take place before 2028. Under this programme, the division was re-organised as such:[98]
Following the Future Soldier transformation, at DSEI 2023, General Patrick Sanders announced changes to the structure of the division, such as: "1st (UK) Division taking 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team under its command and becoming a land component command of a joint and multi-domain sovereign Global Response Force (GRF) by 2024."