53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division


caption= The insignia of the 53rd Division in World War II
dates= 1908 - 1968
country= United Kingdom
allegiance=
branch= Infantry
type= Infantry Division
role=
size= Approximately 18,000 men
command_structure=
garrison=
garrison_label=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
colors_label=
march=
mascot=
equipment=
equipment_label=
battles= World War I:
* Battle of Gallipoli
* First Battle of Gaza
World War II:
* Battle of Normandy
* Battle of Falaise
* Battle of the Bulge
* Operation Veritable
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=
disbanded= 1968
commander1= Major-General R.K. Ross (World War II)
commander1_label= Officer Commanding
commander2=command structure
name= 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division
date= 1944-1945
parent= XII Corps
subordinate= 71st Infantry Brigade
158th Infantry Brigade
160th Infantry BrigadeThe British 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army division that fought in both World Wars. During the First World War the division fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle East. Remaining active during the interwar years as a peace-time formation, the division again saw action in World War II, fighting in North-West Europe. It was temporarily disbanded at the end of the war, but reactivated in 1947. In 1968 the division was finally deactivated, but its 160th Infantry Brigade remains in service today.

=History=

World War I

The division landed at Suvla Bay on the Gallipoli Peninsula on August 9.

On March 26, 1917, the 53rd Division bore the brunt of the First Battle of Gaza where the three brigades, along with the 161st Brigade of the 54th Division, had to advance across exposed ground, withstanding shrapnel, machine gun and rifle fire, to capture the Turkish fortifications. Despite gaining the advantage towards the end of the day, the British commander called off the attack so that the division's casualties, close to 3,500, were suffered in vain.

53rd (Welsh) Division, 1914-1918

The division comprised three infantry brigades. Some original battalions were detached early in World War I to reinforce other divisions.

158th (North Wales) Brigade
*1/5th (Flintshire) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
*1/6th (Caernarvonshire and Anglesey) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
*1/7th (Merioneth and Montgomery) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
*1/1st Battalion, Herefordshire Regiment

159th (Cheshire) Brigade
*1/4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
*1/5th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment "(until February 1915)"
*1/7th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
*2/5th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment "(until April 1915)"
*2/6th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment "(until April 1915)"
*1/4th Battalion, Welsh Regiment
*1/5th Battalion, Welsh Regiment

160th (Welsh Border) Brigade
*2/4th Battalion, Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment
*1/4th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
*2/4th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment
*2/10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
*1/1st Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment "(until February 1915)"
*1/3rd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment "(until February 1915)"

World War II

Remaining active throughout the interwar years, the division served as part of the Home Defence Forces of the United Kingdom between 1939-1940, fittingly based to defend Wales and the borders. In April 1940 the Division transferred to Northern Ireland, where it remained until November 1941. It returned to the mainland again to defend Kent and the South Coast between 1941-1943, when it was earmarked to form part of the British Second Army. In October of 1943 the division was reorganised, its 159th Infantry Brigade detaching to form part of 11th Armoured Division, with the 71st Infantry Brigade taking its place. The division spent the remaining period in the build-up to the Invasion of Normandy in intensive training [Barclay, pp.8-58] .

53rd Division landed in Normandy on June 28, 1944 and was placed under command of XII Corps, now defending the Odon Valley position. The division was involved in heavy fighting in this area days leading up to Operation Goodwood. In August it began to push out of the Odon region and crossed the river Orne, helping to close the Falaise Pocket. It was during this fighting that Captain Tasker Watkins of 158th Brigade won his Victoria Cross. Due to the casualties suffered by the division in Normandy and the acute lack of infantry reinforcements, some of its battalions were replaced [Barclay, pp.58-70] .

Advancing into Holland, 53rd Division liberatied the city of 's-Hertogenbosch in four days of heavy fighting from October 24. In December 1944, attached now to XXX Corps, it was one of the British divisions that took part in the Battle of the Bulge, helping to cut off the northern tip of the German salient. It was later sent north to take part in Operation Veritable. The division end the war in Hamburg, serving later as a peacekeeping force in the Rhineland. It was disbanded to reform the 2nd Infantry Division in Germany in early 1947, but reactivated later that year. Serving as part of the peacetime Territorial Army, the 53rd (Welsh) Division was finally disbanded in 1968.

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division, 1944-45

71st Infantry Brigade
*1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment "(until 26 August 1944)"
*1st Battalion, Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
*1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry
*4th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers "(from 26 August 1944)"

158th Infantry Brigade
*4th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers "(until 26 August 1944)"
*6th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers "(until 26 August 1944)"
*7th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers
*1/5th Battalion, Welch Regiment "(from 26 August 1944)"
*1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment "(from 26 August 1944)"

160th Infantry Brigade
*2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment
*4th Battalion, Welch Regiment "(until 26 August 1944)"
*1/5th Battalion, Welch Regiment
*6th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers "(from 26 August 1944)"

Divisional Troops
*1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment (Machine-Gun Regiment)
*53rd Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps
*81st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
*83rd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
*133rd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
*71st Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
*244th Field Company, Royal Engineers
*282nd Field Company, Royal Engineers
*555th Field Company, Royal Engineers

Battle Honours

World War I

*Battle of Gallipoli
**Battle of Sari Bair
*First Battle of Gaza

World War II

*Battle of Normandy
*Battle of Falaise
*Battle of the Bulge
*Crossing of the Rhine

Bibliography and Notes

*Barclay, C.N., "The History of the 53rd (Welsh) Division in the Second World War", Wm. Clowes & Sons, 1956. No ISBN.

ee also

*List of British divisions in WWI

External links

* [http://montormel.evl.pl/?id=98 History of the 53rd (Welsh) division on memorial-montormel.org]
* [http://www.1914-1918.net/53div.htm The British Army in the Great War: The 53rd (Welsh) Division]