6th Battalion, The Manchester Regiment in the Great War
6th Battalion, The Manchester Regiment in the Great War

Author: John Hartley

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2011-02-23

Total Pages: 634

ISBN-13: 1783460962

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The 6th Battalion, The Manchester Regiment, was a prewar Territorial unit. Many of its members held white collar positions employed by the Citys legal, financial and stockbroking practices or worked for the major commercial organizations trading and manufacturing cotton goods. It went overseas in September 1914, taking with it many new recruits who would undertake their basic training whilst the Battalion formed part of the British garrison in Egypt.It saw action at Gallipoli from May 1915 until the evacuation at the end of the year and fascinating campaign is dealt with in considerable detail. The Battalion returned to Egypt until the spring of 1917 when it moved to France.The Manchesters saw regular action for most of 1918, coming under attack in the German offensive in March. Throughout the summer and autumn, the Battalion took part in the Advance to Victory and was still advancing when the Armistice was signed in November.The book also recounts the history of the second line battalion, the 2/6th Manchesters, from its inception in 1914 until it was all but destroyed in March 1918.The author draws on official records and personal accounts to tell the story of these fine battalions.

Duty First
Duty First

Author: David Murray Horner

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Published: 2008-03-01

Total Pages: 561

ISBN-13: 1741765331

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Duty First is the complete history of the Royal Australian Regiment, which has been the mainstay of the Australian Regular Army for over sixty years. With the formation of the regular army, including the Royal Australian Regiment, for the first time Australia had a permanent professional army, available in peacetime and in war for any task the government might direct. The Royal Australian Regiment is the key fighting force of the army and has carried the main burden of active service since the Second World War. Its history throws important light on the development of Australia's defence. In late 1945, three battalions were formed to serve with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. Active service began with a 'baptism of fire' fierce combat in the Korean War. This was followed by counter-guerrilla service in Malaya during the Emergency, action in Borneo during Confrontation, including the top secret 'Claret' operations into Indonesian territory, and active service in Vietnam. The book examines how the regiment adapted after the Vietnam War to the demands of peacetime soldiering, including the pressures of peacekeeping. Finally, it reveals how the regiment's traditions of flexibility and readiness have stood it in good stead in recent operations in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan. Duty First concludes with a series of short pieces in which former members of the regiment, from general to soldier, present fascinating accounts of their personal experiences in a range of different operational and peacetime circumstances. This is a story of humour and courage, of professionalism, and above all dedication to duty. The Royal Australian Regiment's motto, 'Duty First', continues to reflect its ethos and spirit today, over sixty years since its foundation.

The Rifles Are There
The Rifles Are There

Author: David Orr

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2005-11-19

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 178383028X

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This is the long overdue history of the two Royal Ulster Rifles battalions during the Second World War. Although there was a healthy rivalry between the battalions, both reserved their fighting skills for the luckless enemy. At the outbreak of the war the 1st Battalion was garrisoned in India whereas the 2nd went to France with the BEF. Indeed the title of this book is credited to Major General Bernard Montgomery who was commanding 3rd Division during the retreat to Dunkirk. On hearing that the RUR were in the line, he reputedly exclaimed, 'it's alright then the Rifles are there'.After arduous training both battalions landed in Normandy on D-Day; the 1st by gliders as part of 6th Airlanding Brigade and the 2nd with 9th Brigade of 3rd Division on SWORD Beach. Indeed the RUR have the unique distinction of being the only British regiment to be represented on D-Day by both regular battalions. In addition numerous Riflemen were in 9th Parachute Battalion (commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway, himself a Rifles' Officer) and there is a full description of the legendary assault on the Merville Battery.This well-researched work goes on to describe the long slog through North West Europe to the heart of Germany. Of the manyfierce engagements that the battalions fought, those in the Ardennes during the German counter-attack and the massive Rhine Crossing Operation (VARSITY) deserve special mention.There were numerous battles, both major and minor, where the Rifles' legendary fighting skills and courage were put to the test.

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment 1920-1950
Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment 1920-1950

Author: H. D. Chaplin

Publisher:

Published: 2004-11

Total Pages: 608

ISBN-13: 9781845741501

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This book tells the story of the Queen s Own Royal West Kent Regiment from the aftermath of the Great War in 1920 down to the wake of the Second World War in 1950. The RWK did garrison duty in India and the occupied Rhineland in the early 1920s, and in policing the turbulent north and south of Ireland during the Irish independence struggle. The author calls 1923-32 the lean years when post-war cutbacks hit the RWK hard. After 1933, however, the growing prospect of war with Nazi Germany meant gradual rearmament and partial mechanisation. In 1938-39 the RWK s second battalion policed Palestine against Arab unrest. The final months before war saw hasty preparation and expansion; and after war broke out most battalions crossed to Franceand Belgium as part of the BEF. Here they found themselves on the old battlefields of the Great War and even at Oudenarde, scene of one of Marlborough; s victories. Swept up in the German Blitzkrieg of May 1940, the 6th and 7th battalions were overrun at Doullens and Albert; while the Queen s Own Brigade were embarked in the Dunkirk evacuation. From June 1940 new battalions were recruited; the 2nd Battalion defended Malta and the 4th and 5th battalions joined the Eighth Army in Egypt; fighting at the battles of Alam Halfa and Alamein and also seeing service in Iraq. The 1st and 6th battalions joined Operation Torch , the Anglo-American invasion of French Algeria in November 1942; and fought the Germans in the tough Tunisian campaign. The 6th battalion was present at the invasion of Sicily, fighting in the fooothills of Mount Etna and was joined by the 1st and 5th battalions in the Italian campaigns, fighting at Cassino and slogging up the Peninsula to Florence, the Gothic Line and finally entering Austria. Meanwhile the 1st battalion had been in Greece, where it was caught up in the politicial in-fighting in Athens in December 1944; and the 4th battalion had formed part of Slim s forgotten army in Burma. In the five years after the war the RWK underwent extensive re-organisation while serving in Egypt and occupied Germany and in Malaya. With a Roll of Honour, 30 maps and 42 photographs. The text is accompanied by six appendices listing honours and awards, officers in campaigns, Home Guard units, Colonels and CO s etc.

History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol II (1784-1815)
History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol II (1784-1815)

Author: Major Francis Duncan

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2012-10-23

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13: 1781491755

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This two-volume history of the Royal Artillery is one of the earliest published on that subject, and covers the period from its formation in 1716 to Waterloo, a hundred years of history. This volume takes the history of the Regiment to Waterloo and the defeat of Napoleon, and in connection with performance of the Artillery in that battle the author devotes an Appendix to a letter from Wellington to Lord Mulgrave, then Master-General of the Ordnance, in which he wrote: "To tell you the truth, I was not very well pleased with the Artillery in the Battle of Waterloo" and when the French cavalry charged "they ran off the field entirely, taking with them limbers, ammunition and everything." Major Duncan angrily refutes, in detail, the accuracy of such a statement, based as it was on false reports, implying the Iron Duke was talking through his cocked hat. This makes a lively conclusion to a most entertaining account of a further thirty-two years in the history of the Gunners. Operations described include the ill-fated expedition against the French in Flanders, led by the Duke of York, but the main focus is on the Napoleonic Wars - the campaign in S America, the Walcheren campaign, a malaria-infested island where battle casualties amounted to a little over 200 while thousands died of sickness, and the Peninsular War culminating in the Battle of Waterloo. Descriptions include detailed order of battle of artillery units involved with strengths and names of all the officers in each unit. But just as impressive is the wealth of information on the continuing development of the Regiment, beginning with the raising of the Royal Horse Artillery in January 1793. We read all about equipment, dress, pay, in fact there is a statement of the Artillery Forces of Great Britain in the year 1810, according to the establishment laid down in the King's Warrant, listing every unit, with numbers in each rank and daily pay of each rank. To finish, the author provides a tabular statement showing date of formation and former designation of every battery now (1879) in the Service. There is a good index. These two volumes, telling the story of the first hundred years of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, are an invaluable source of information and essential reading for any historian, student or enthusiast.

The Liverpool Rifles
The Liverpool Rifles

Author: Kevin Shannon

Publisher:

Published: 2019-03-19

Total Pages: 496

ISBN-13: 9781781557013

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Using a wealth of contemporary sources, this book narrates the story of the Liverpool Rifles in the Great War from their mobilisation in August 1914 to their return to Liverpool in 1919, each day of their active service in France and Belgium detailed. The role played by 3,000 individuals, including every single casualty--wounded or killed--is covered in the narrative and in many cases, the exact position where this happened. ΒΆ The battalion served a tough apprenticeship in the Second Battle of Ypres, losing over 40 per cent casualties in their first five months overseas. By the time the battalion left the Somme in September 1916, their casualties figures exceeded the number who sailed to France in 1915. The ferocious struggle in the Third Battle of Ypres and their epic defensive actions at Little Priel Farm and Givenchy are described down to individual platoon level; twenty-one detailed sketch maps allowing the reader to follow the action. Uniquely, the battalion roll in the appendices includes every officer and man who served with the battalion overseas, many of whom do not feature in the Medal Rolls.