5th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)


The 5th Infantry Division was a regular army infantry division of the British Army. It was established by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsular War, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, and was active for most of the period since, including the First World War and the Second World War and was disbanded soon after. The division was reformed in 1995 as an administrative division covering Wales and the English regions of West Midlands, East Midlands and East. Its headquarters were in Shrewsbury. It was disbanded on 1 April 2012.

Peninsular War

The 5th Division during the Peninsular War under the command of General James Leith was present at most of the major engagements including the Battle of Bussaco, the Battle of Sabugal, the Siege of Almeida, the Battle of Badajoz, the Battle of Salamanca, the Battle of Vitoria, the Siege of San Sebastian, the Battle of Nivelle and the Battle of the Nive.

Peninsular War order of battle

The order of battle in summer 1813 was:
  • 1st Brigade
  • * 3/1st Regiment of Foot
  • * 1/9th Regiment of Foot
  • * 1/38th Regiment of Foot
  • * 2/38th Regiment of Foot
  • * 2/47th Regiment of Foot
  • * 1 Coy., Brunswick-Oels Jaegers
  • 2nd Brigade
  • * 1/4th Regiment of Foot
  • * 2/4th Regiment of Foot
  • * 2/30th Regiment of Foot
  • * 2/44th Regiment of Foot
  • * 2/47th Regiment of Foot
  • Portuguese Brigade
  • * 1/3rd Infantry Regiment, Portuguese Army
  • * 2/3rd Infantry Regiment, Portuguese Army
  • * 1/15th Infantry Regiment, Portuguese Army
  • * 2/15th Infantry Regiment, Portuguese Army
  • * 8th Caçadores Battalion, Portuguese Army

    Waterloo Campaign

The division was also present during the Waterloo Campaign first seeing action at the Battle of Quatre Bras then at the Battle of Waterloo under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton.

Waterloo order of battle

The division's order of battle at Waterloo was as follows:
On the outbreak of war in 1899 an Army Corps of three divisions was sent to South Africa from the UK; the troops already there constituted the 4th Division. The rapid deterioration of the situation led the War Office to announce on 11 November 1899 that a 5th Division was to be formed and sent out. This consisted of the 10th and 11th Brigades and concentrated at Estcourt on 8 January 1900. Under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Warren, 5th Division joined up with the Natal Field Force shortly after the Battle of Colenso and was a part of the relieving army of the besieged Ladysmith.

Second Boer War order of battle

The division was constituted as follows:

10th Brigade
11th Brigade
Royal Field Artillery
  • 13th, 67th and 69th Batteries – already in Natal
Royal Engineers

1914

Under the command of Major General Sir Charles Fergusson, who had taken over from Major General William Pitcairn Campbell in February 1913, the 5th Division, a key component of II Corps, was part of the original British Expeditionary Force which deployed to France in the summer of 1914, and where it would remain for the rest of the war, except for a brief period on the Italian Front from 27 November 1917 to 1 April 1918.
The division saw action in several pivotal battles, including the Battle of Mons and the subsequent retreat, where it engaged in the Action of Élouges and the Battle of Le Cateau. Continuing to play a significant role in the war effort, the division participated in the First Battle of the Marne, the First Battle of the Aisne, and the Battle of La Bassée. Following Fergusson's controversial removal by Field Marshal Sir John French, commander-in-chief of the BEF, Major-General Thomas Morland took command, and elements of the division saw action at Messines and Armentières. In November, the division took part in the First Battle of Ypres, specifically the Battle of Nonne Bosschen.

1915

In 1915, the 5th Division played a key role in several battles. It participated in the Capture of Hill 60 from 17-22 April. The division was also involved in the Second Battle of Ypres, with the 13th Infantry Brigade seeing action at the Battle of Grafenstafel and the Battle of St. Julien, both under the temporary command of V Corps.
Major-General Morland, in command for almost nine months, was promoted to a corps command on 15 July, and Major-General Charles Kavanagh, a cavalryman, took over the division.
Later in 1915, the division underwent changes, with some of its Regular units being exchanged with those from the 32nd Division, a newly arrived Kitchener's Army formation, comprising civilians who had volunteered for military service. This was done to bolster the inexperienced division with Regular Army troops, although many of the pre-war Regular units had already suffered heavily and the Regular battalions were by now actually largely composed of new recruits.

1916

In March 1916, the 5th Division redeployed to the Arras sector, assuming control of the front line stretching from St. Laurent Blangy to the southern edge of Vimy Ridge. The area was a hotbed of activity, with frequent trench raids, sniping incidents, and mining operations.
Major-General Reginald Stephens took command on 1 April from Major-General Kavanagh, who went to command a corps.
As the Franco-British offensive on the Somme commenced on 1 July, the 5th Division was withdrawn to the BEF's general headquarters reserve for rest and refurbishment. The division subsequently participated in several key Somme battles, including:
By early October, the division had relocated to the Festubert sector, where it endured a relatively calm period, punctuated by occasional artillery and sniper fire, which lasted until March 1917.

1917

The 5th Division played a key role in several battles in 1917, including the Battle of Arras in April and the Third Battle of Ypres, which began in late July. The 5th fought at Vimy Ridge under the Canadian Corps, at the Attack on La Coulotte, and the Third Battle of the Scarpe.
File:The Battle of Passchendaele, July-november 1917 Q6036.jpg|thumb|left|Men of the 1/6th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the divisional pioneers, resting beneath a tarpaulin, Ypres–Comines Canal, Belgium, 1 October 1917.
After several months in the Arras area, they were relieved and sent to Flanders for the Third Battle of Ypres, where they fought at Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcapelle, and the Second Battle of Passchendaele.
The division was then selected as one of ultimately five British divisions to be sent from the Western Front to the Italian Front, a move agreed upon by the British government to support Italian forces after the disaster at Caporetto in late October. Many British soldiers described the move to Italy as "like another world" after the harsh conditions of Passchendaele.
The division prepared to move to the Brenta mountains but eventually took up positions along the River Piave in late January 1918. Together with the 41st Division, they were later recalled to France in response to the German attack on 21 March, having seen no major actions in Italy.

1918

In 1918, the 5th Division fought in the Battles of the Lys, specifically the Battle of Hazebrouck under XI Corps, where they defended Nieppe Forest.
A leadership change occurred on 15 July, with Major General John Ponsonby succeeding Major General Stephens, who was promoted to command a corps.
The division was withdrawn for rest on 14 August and placed in GHQ Reserve. Two weeks later, they joined the “Hundred Days Offensive”, fighting through Albert, Irles, Beugny, Havrincourt, Gonnelieu, and the River Selle, eventually reaching Valenciennes and the River Sambre. They were in continuous action until late October.
The division's battles included:


The Second Battle of the Somme
The Battles of the Hindenburg Line
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 brought an end to the fighting on the Western Front.

Order of battle

The order of battle of the 5th Division during the Great War was as follows:
13th Infantry Brigade
The 13th Brigade was temporarily under the command of the 28th Division between 23 February and 7 April 1915, when it was replaced by the 84th Infantry Brigade from that division.
14th Infantry Brigade
The 14th Brigade transferred to the 32nd Division on 30 December 1915.
15th Infantry Brigade
The 15th Brigade was temporarily under the command of the 28th Division between 3 March and 7 April 1915, when it was replaced by the 83rd Brigade from that division.
95th Infantry Brigade
The 95th Brigade transferred from the 32nd Division on 26 December 1915
  • 12th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment '
  • 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment '
  • 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment '
  • 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry '
Artillery
Engineers
Pioneers'''
  • 1/6th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
  • 14th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment