Light Division

The Light Division is a light infantry division of the British Army. It was reformed in 2022, as part of Future Soldier reforms.
Its origins lay in "Light Companies" formed during the late 18th century, to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect a main force with skirmishing tactics. These units took advantage of then-new technology in the form of rifles, which allowed them to emphasise marksmanship, and were tasked primarily with disrupting and harassing enemy forces in skirmishes before the main forces clashed.
Formed in 1803, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Light Division was raised thereafter: during the Crimean War, the First World War, from 1968 to 2007, and from 2022 to the present day. Some light infantry units remained and remain outside of the Light Division.

Origins of the Light Division

The British Army's first three "Rifle Battalion" was raised by the 60th in 1797–99. The command of this first rifle battalion was given to Francis de Rottenburg, who had extensive experience with light infantry. While the 60th did not officially become part of the Light Division, it and Rottenburg were influential in terms of British Army doctrine regarding rifle-armed light infantry.
In 1800, an "Experimental Corps of Riflemen", was raised by Colonel Coote Manningham and Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. William Stewart – drawn from officers and other ranks from drafts of a variety of British regiments. The corps differed in several regards from the Line infantry of the British Army. Most significantly, it was armed with the formidable Baker rifle, which was more accurate and of longer range than the musket, although it took longer to load. As the rifle was shorter than the musket, it was issued with a 21-inch sword bayonet. Riflemen wore dark green jackets rather than the bright red coats of the British line infantry regiments of that time; pantaloons, rather than breeches; black leather facings and belts rather than white and; a green plume on their "stovepipe shakoes". They were trained to work alone or in pairs, in open order and to think for themselves.

Napoleonic Wars

Four months after its formation, the Rifle Corps was judged ready for its first operation. On 25 August 1800, three companies, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Stewart, spearheaded a British amphibious landing at Ferrol, Spain, where the Rifles helped to dislodge the Spanish defenders on the heights. However the expedition was defeated and withdrew the following day. In 1801, one company of the corps, under the command of Captain Sidney Beckwith, served as marksmen aboard Royal Navy ships at the First Battle of Copenhagen. During the battle, the Rifle Corps suffered one lieutenant killed, its first officer to fall, and two other ranks killed and six wounded, some of whom died later.
In January 1803, the corps became an established regular regiment and was renamed the 95th Regiment of Foot.
On 17 July 1803, an unofficial "Corps of Light Infantry" was formed, by brigading together the

General Sir John Moore finished training the 43rd, 52nd, and 95th in September 1805.
Because the three Rifle battalions of the 60th Royal Americans were already wearing the green clothing and black leather equipment that were typical of continental light infantry, the 95th Rifles adopted the same uniform as the 60th. But despite the best efforts of Moore, the other light infantry regiments were ordered to conform to the regulations for light companies of line regiments by retaining their red jackets.
Armed with the Baker rifle and wearing dark green uniforms, the Green Jackets were hard to spot and spent their time sniping at enemy officers, NCOs and any other figure of authority in an enemy formation. A well-aimed shot could bring down an enemy commander with ease, lowering morale in the enemy. The Baker Rifle had far greater accuracy and range than the standard muskets of the time and the men using them were considered marksmen, trading devastating firepower for superior accuracy and range.
In 1807, Denmark while officially neutral, was suspected by the British of planning to ally itself with France. The corps of light infantry led by Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, was part of a force that defeated Danish forces at the Siege of Køge and Second Battle of Copenhagen, and with it the entire Danish fleet.
The Corps of Light Infantry, under Moore, sailed for Spain for what would become known as the Peninsular War. The campaign established the value of light infantry armed with rifles.
Four further battalions were trained by Rottenberg in the Curragh of Kildare in Ireland during May 1808. Later, Rottenberg returned to England and, at Brabdourn Lees barracks in Ashford, retrained the 68th, 85th and 71st Regiments as light infantry, to help meet the demand for such troops in the Peninsula.
During the Peninsular war of 1808–1809, Caçadores Battalions of the Portuguese Army were attached to the Light Division.

Battle of Corunna

The Battle of Corunna,, was an attack by 16,000 French under Marshal Soult during the amphibious evacuation of 16,000 British under General Sir John Moore. Moore had hoped to draw the French Army away from Portugal, to allow the small British force in that country to be reinforced, and to allow the Spanish armies to reform. Hugely outnumbered, Moore was forced to retreat. Made in a harsh winter and under constant pressure, the retreat severely tried his men. The exhausting marches, cold weather and frequent skirmishes with the pursuing French units saw many fall to illness or exhaustion, or to turn to alcohol and become so drunk that they were left behind. The Light Division was one of the few units that kept its discipline and, along with units of British cavalry, fought a series of rearguard actions against the French. The brigade then fought at Corunna where the French were repulsed. It was then sent to Vigo for embarkation.
''Thomas Plunket was a Rifleman in the 95th Rifles. During the retreat Plunket shot the French Général de Brigade Auguste-Marie-François Colbert at a range of between 200 and 600 metres using a Baker rifle. Plunket had run forward to make this shot, and before returning to his own lines he reloaded, and shot a trumpet-major who had rushed to the aid of the fallen general. This second feat showed that the first shot had not been a fluke, and the deaths were sufficient to throw the pending French attack into disarray. The shots were at a sufficiently long distance to impress others in the 95th Rifles, whose marksmanship was far better than the ordinary British soldier who, armed with a Brown Bess musket, was trained to shoot into a body of men at 50 metres with volley fire.''

Battle of Talavera

While reforming in England after their evacuation from Corunna, Brigadier-General Robert Craufurd was ordered to take his brigade, now composed of the 1st Battalion of the 43rd, 1st Battalion of the 52nd and 1st Battalion of the 95th, back to the Peninsula. The brigade landed at Lisbon on 2 July 1809 and embarked on a series of grueling marches in the July heat to join Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington's army. Wellesley fought and won the battle while the Light Brigade was still pouring sweat on the road, although at times it averaged 30 miles per day. The Riflemen of the 60th performed sterling service in their absence, being one of the few regiments mentioned by name in Wellesley's dispatch to the British government. During the reorganizations that followed, Craufurd was given command of the 3rd Division, whose previous commander, Major-General Mackenzie, had been killed at Talavera. With the subsequent addition of Captain Hew Ross's troop of Royal Horse Artillery, the 1st Hussars of the K.G.L. and the Portuguese 3rd Caçadores Battalion, this became the Light Division.' Craufurd also wrote the first Standing Orders for the Light Division, a training manual and handbook.

Battle of the River Côa

Craufurd's operations on the Côa and Águeda in 1810 were daring to the point of rashness; the drawing on of the French forces into what became the Battle of the River Côa, in particular was a rare lapse in judgement that almost saw his removal from command. Although Wellington censured him for his conduct, he at the same time increased his force to a full division by the addition of two picked battalions of Portuguese Caçadores, Chestnut troop, Royal Horse Artillery & part of the 14th & 16th, Light Dragoons

Battle of Bussaco

The Battle of Bussaco, was a defensive battle won by the Allies which allowed Wellington to resume the retreat of his army into the previously fortified Lines of Torres Vedras. He reached these by 10 October. Finding the lines too strong to attack, the French withdrew into winter quarters. Deprived of food and harried by British hit-and-run tactics, the French lost 25,000 men captured or dead from starvation or sickness before they retreated into Spain early in 1811, freeing Portugal from French occupation except for Almeida, near the frontier. During the retreat, the Battle of Sabugal was also fought.

Battle of Sabugal

The Battle of Sabugal, Craufurd had taken ill and was home in England so the Division was under the command of Major-General William Erskine, the plan was for the Light Division and two brigades of cavalry to circle behind the French open left flank while the other four divisions attacked the front. On the day of the battle there was a heavy fog, the other commanders decided to wait until visibility improved. Undeterred, Erskine ordered Lieut-Colonel Thomas Sydney Beckwith's 1st Brigade forward. Instead of crossing the Côa beyond the French, the brigade drifted to the left in the fog, crossed at the wrong location and struck the French left flank.
Erskine, who was very nearsighted and mentally unbalanced, then became cautious and issued explicit instructions to Colonel George Drummond not to support his fellow brigade commander. At this point, Erskine rode off to join the cavalry, leaving the Light Division leaderless for the rest of the battle. The French switched most of their 10,000-man corps against Beckwith's 1,500 and pressed the light infantry back. When Drummond heard the sounds of battle approaching, he deduced that Beckwith's men were retreating. Disobeying orders, Drummond led his 2nd Brigade across the Côa and joined Beckwith. Together they drove the French back.