2nd Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed and disestablished numerous times between 1809 and 2012. It was raised by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley for service in the Peninsular War (part of the Coalition Wars of the Napoleonic Wars) as the 2nd Division. It was disestablished in 1814, but re-formed the following year for service in the War of the Seventh Coalition. The formation fought at the Battle of Waterloo and played an important role in defeating the final French attack of the day. It then marched into France and became part of the Army of Occupation, and was the only British force allowed to march through Paris. In December 1818, the division was disbanded once again.
For the Second World War armoured formation, see, see 2nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom).
- 2nd Division
- 2nd Infantry Division
- 2nd Armoured Division
- 2nd Division
- 2nd Infantry Division
- 2nd Armoured Division
Raised and disbanded numerous times between 1809 and 2012
- Crimean War
- Second Boer War
- First World War
- Western Front
- Battle of Mons
- Rearguard Affair of Le Grand Fayt
- Rearguard Affair of Villers-Cotterêts
- First Battle of the Marne
- First Battle of the Aisne
- First Battle of Ypres
- Battle of Neuve Chapelle
- Second Battle of Artois
- Battle of Loos
- Defence of Vimy Ridge
- Battle of the Somme
- Attacks on Ancre
- Drive on Hindenburg Line
- Nivelle offensive
- Battle of Cambrai (1917)
- Hundred Days Offensive
- Western Front
- Second World War
Divisional insignia, during the First World War.
During the mid- to late-19th century, several formations bearing the name 2nd Division were formed. Only two such were considered part of the division's lineage by Everard Wyrall, who compiled its First World War history. The first was created in 1854 to take part in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire, fighting in the Battle of Inkerman and throughout the Siege of Sevastopol. In 1856, after the conclusion of hostilities, it was stood down. The second incarnation was raised in 1899 for the Second Boer War. It took part in all the battles that made up the Relief of Ladysmith, before advancing into Boer territory. At the end of 1900, when conventional warfare ended, the division was broken up so its forces could be reassigned to mobile columns or to garrison towns in an effort to combat the Boer guerrilla tactics.
The division was re-formed in 1902, but this time as a permanent formation and not on an ad hoc basis for a particular emergency. It was based at Aldershot, in southern England, before the First World War. In 1914 it was deployed to France a few weeks after the start of the war, as part of the British Expeditionary Force. The formation served on the Western Front and suffered heavy casualties. After the war, the division returned to Aldershot where it remained throughout the inter-war period. During the Second World War, the formation was again deployed to France in the opening stages of the conflict. In the subsequent Battle of France it was forced back to the port of Dunkirk and evacuated to the United Kingdom. It then served in Burma, and ended the war in British India. The division remained within the British order of battle in the post-war years, and formed part of the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. In 1976 the formation was transformed into the 2nd Armoured Division and maintained this role until the end of 1982. It was then disbanded in Germany, and the 2nd Division was re-formed in York, England, in 1983. Following the end of the Cold War and the decrease in the size of the British Army, it was again disbanded; only to be re-raised in the mid-1990s. At the turn of the millennium the division moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, and was most recently disbanded in 2012.
Reform period[edit]
In response to the lessons learnt from the war, which included the army's failings in the opening months, the Secretary of State for War, St John Brodrick, set out to reform the standing army.[92] He intended to create six army corps, three of which would be composed of permanent standing formations that consisted of the army's regulars. They would be ready for immediate dispatch in light of an imperial crisis or in the event of European war.[93] In 1902 three corps were formed that would allow up to nine divisions, each of two brigades, to be created. This included the 2nd Division formed on 1 April 1902, under the command of Major-General Charles Douglas. The division consisted of the 3rd and the 4th Brigades, and was based in Aldershot. The division was part of the 1st Army Corps, of only two divisions (the 3rd Division would be mobilised in the event of war).[94][95] In 1907 the Haldane Reforms further restructured the regular army into six infantry divisions, each with three brigades. These would form the basis of any British Expeditionary Force (BEF) that would be dispatched to Europe in the case of war. This included the 2nd Division, which then consisted of the 4th (Guards), the 5th, and the 6th Brigades. The 1st and the 2nd Divisions were allocated to Aldershot Command, a military district based at Aldershot. On the outbreak of war, Aldershot Command would form the nucleus of a new I Corps, which would then be dispatched with the BEF.[96] The 2nd Division took part in the Army Manoeuvres of 1912 and 1913.[97]
Inter-war period[edit]
After the conclusion of fighting, the division advanced into Germany to join the occupation force, the British Army of the Rhine. It entered Germany on 9 December and arrived between Düren and Cologne on 27 December.[148] On 17 February 1919 the division was demobilised. The six regular army battalions within the division, along with the artillery and one engineer unit, were ordered home. The division, with the troops remaining in Germany, was re-designated as the Light Division and the 2nd Division ceased to exist.[150] On 28 June 1919 the 2nd Division was re-formed in Aldershot, and included the same brigades as before the First World War.[151] In 1923 a memorial was erected in Aldershot to commemorate the war's casualties. The design incorporated the division's insignia as the memorial rested on a central red star flanked by two white stars.[152][153]
Second World War[edit]
Battle of France and home defence[edit]
On 3 September 1939 the UK declared war on Germany, in response to the German invasion of Poland. The division landed at Cherbourg on 21 September 1939 and arrived on the Franco–Belgian border on 3 October. Along with the three other divisions of the BEF, it was based east of Lille.[154][155] During the rest of the year and into 1940, the division trained and assisted in the construction of field fortifications. David Fraser, a historian and former British general, wrote that the regular formations of the BEF were well-trained in small arms, but lacked tactical skill. Though mobile, the formations lacked specialist weapons, ammunition, spare parts, and communication equipment because of the budget cuts of the inter-war period.[156]
End of the Cold War and into the 21st century[edit]
On 1 January 1983 the 2nd Infantry Division was re-formed, based at Imphal Barracks, in York, England.[224][225] The re-formed division was assigned the territorial 15th Brigade at Alanbrooke Barracks, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire; the territorial 49th Brigade, based in Nottingham; the regular army 24th Brigade, at Catterick Garrison; and the 29th Engineer Brigade, based in Newcastle upon Tyne.[224] On 24 June 1987 Elizabeth II unveiled a memorial to the division at York Minster.[226]
Following the end of the Cold War, the division was disbanded in early 1992 as part of the British Government's Options for Change plan.[227] In 1994 the 2nd Division was re-established in York as a training formation and replaced the existing Eastern District.[228][229][230] In 1998 the division was 28,500 strong. As part of the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, the British Army restructured its forces within the UK to cut costs. In line with this, in April 2000, the 2nd Division absorbed Scotland District. The division headquarters was then moved to Craigiehall, near Edinburgh.[231] The division then comprised the 15th (North East) Brigade based in York; the 42nd (North West) Brigade based in Preston; the 51st (Scottish) Brigade based in Stirling; and the 52nd Infantry Brigade based in Edinburgh. Elements of the division were also based in Chester. The division was around 2,100 men strong in 2002 and was responsible for the administration and training of soldiers in the north of England and in Scotland. If war broke out, it was to expand to 16,000–18,000 men, in line with the army's combat formations of that time.[232] In April 2012, as part of a further restructure, the division was disbanded.[233]
Insignia[edit]
In 1916, during the First World War, the British Army divisions adopted formation signs. The design the 2nd Division chose, represented "The Second Division of the First Corps", which was indicated by two white stars (the division) either side of a single larger red star that represented I Corps.[234] In 1940, during the Second World War, a new insignia was adopted. Major-General Charles Loyd, who had taken command of the division in 1939, designed it. He had previously commanded the 1st (Guards) Brigade before his appointment to the division, and they had used a single key as a brigade insignia. Loyd updated that design for his new command, by adding a second key.[235][236][237] The design was used throughout the Second World War, through the Cold War, and until the division was disbanded in 2012.[195][224][238] It has also been highlighted that the insignia resembles the coat of arms of the Archbishop of York, and could reference troop recruitment in that area.[171]