British 3rd Infantry Division
List of military divisions — List of British divisions in WWI — List of British divisions in WWII
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| 3rd Division |
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| Army | Regular Army |
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| Formed | June 18 1809 |
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| Demobilised | Permanent |
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The British 3rd Division, known as the Iron Division, was originally formed in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsula War. In World War I it was a permanently established Regular Army division that was amongst the first to be sent to France at the outbreak of World War I. It served on the Western Front for the duration of the war.
During World War II the division was part of the ill-fated British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk. It was the first British division to land at 'Sword' beach on D-Day.
Currently the 3rd Division is the only division at continual operational readiness in the United Kingdom.
The division's World War I insignia was an St Andrew's Cross over a circle in yellow. When General Bernard Montgomery commanded the division during World War II, the insignia was the 'pattern of three' - a black triangle trisected by an inverted red triangle.
Unit History
Formation
World War I
; 7th Brigade (to October 18 1915) :
The brigade moved to the 25th Division in October
1915 and was replaced by the 76th Brigade.
; 8th Brigade :
The following battalions joined the brigade for periods in 1914 and 1915.
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment (from August 1914 to March 1915)
- 4th Battalion, the Middlesex Regiment (from August 1914 to November 1915)
The following battalions joined the brigade for periods in 1915 and 1916.
- 13th (Service) Battalion, the the King's (Liverpool) Regiment (from October 1915 to April 1916)
- 1/5th (City of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (from October 1915 to February 1916)
The following battalions left the brigade for the 76th Brigade when it
joined the division in October 1915:
- 2nd Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment (from October 1914)
- 1st Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders (from August 1914)
- 1/4th Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders (from February 1915)
; 9th Brigade :
- 1st Battalion, the Northumberland Fusiliers
- 4th Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers
- 12th (Service) Battalion, the West Yorkshire Regiment (from November 1915)
- 13th (Service) Battalion, the King's (Liverpool) Regiment (from April 1916)
Other battalions to serve with the brigade were:
- 1/10th (Scottish) Battalion, the King's (Liverpool) Regiment (from November 1914 to January 1916)
- 1st Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment (from August 1914 to November 1915)
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Scots Fusiliers (from August 1914 to April 1916)
The brigade moved to the 28th Division for a
brief period in early 1915.
; 76th Brigade (from October 15 1915) :
- 8th (Service) Battalion , the King's Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment
- 13th (Service) Battalion, the King's (Liverpool) Regiment
- 10th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers
- 2nd Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment
- 1st Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders
- 1/4th Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders (until February 1916)
The brigade joined the division from the 25th Division in October 1915.
World War II
; 8th Brigade :
- 1st Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, the East Yorkshire Regiment
- 1st Battalion, the South Lancashire Regiment
; 9th Brigade :
- 2nd Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment
- 1st Battalion, the King's Own Scottish Borderers
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Ulster Rifles
; 185th Brigade :
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Norfolk Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry
Current
; 1st Mechanised Brigade :
; 12th Mechanised Brigade :
; 19th Mechanised Brigade :
Battles
World War I
World War II
External Links
Referenced By
2nd Division (British) | 3rd Infantry Division | Battle of Normandy | British 2nd Division | British 2nd Infantry Division | British 4th Division | British 4th Infantry Division | British Divisions in WWII | D-day | List of British divisions in WWII | List of military divisions by number | Normandy Invasion | Operation OVERLORD | Operation Telic | Operation Telic order of battle | Roy Urquhart | Third Infantry Division | World War II/Normandy
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