- 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 52nd (Lowland) Division
caption=
dates=World War I 1908 -1919 World War II 1920 -1948
As 52 Infantry Brigade1982 -
country= United Kingdom
allegiance=
branch=Territorial Force
type=Infantry
role= Air Landing and Mountain
size=
command_structure=
current_commander=
mascot=
battles= World War IBattle of the Somme (1916)
Third Battle of Ypres
World War IIBattle of the Scheldt
notable_commanders= Sir Neil Ritchie
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=The British 52nd (Lowland) Division was a
Territorial Army division that was originally formed as part of theTerritorial Force in 1908.World War I
Initially assigned to the defence of the Scottish coast, the Division moved to Gallipoli (less two of its artillery Brigades) arriving there by early July 1915. While moving from Scotland, the Division lost 210 officers and men killed, and another 224 injured, in the
Quintinshill rail crash near Gretna that involved the 1/7th Bn, theRoyal Scots .During the First World War the division fought at Gallipoli, in the
Middle East (Sinai andPalestine ) and on theWestern Front inFrance .The division began landing at the Helles front on the
Gallipoli peninsula in June,1915 as part of VIII Corps. The 156th Brigade was landed in time to be mauled in theBattle of Gully Ravine . Advancing along Fir Tree Spur, to the right of the ravine, the brigade had little artillery support and no experience of the Gallipoli battlefield. The brigade suffered 1400 casualties, or about half its strength, of which 800 were killed.When the remaining brigades were landed, they were sent in to attack towards Krithia along Achi Baba Nullah on
July 12 . They succeeded in capturing the Turkish trenches but were left unsupported and vulnerable to counter-attack. For a modest gain in ground, they suffered 30% casualties and were in no fit state to exploit their position.The division moved to Egypt as part of the
Egyptian Expeditionary Force , where it manned the east-facing defensive fortifications during theBattle of Romani but was not heavily involved in the fighting which was concentrated on the Australian light horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade to the south. Following the battle they advanced across the Sinai but remained in a supporting role as the fluid nature of the fighting suited the mounted troops best.The Division fought in the
First Battle of Gaza andSecond Battle of Gaza in March and April 1917. The annihilation of Sea Post, a strong Turkishredoubt west of Gaza, in June 1917, by 1/5th King's Own Scottish Borderers, inaugurated the series of successful raids that did much to harass the enemy during the four months prior to the winter campaign.As a Division of XXIst Corps it played an important part in the final overthrow of the Turks at the
Third Battle of Gaza and the subsequent advance.The Division then participated in the Battle of Jerusalem. According to General Sir Edmund Allenby's despatch, the passage of the Nahr El Auja on the night of December 20th-21st, 1917 by the Division's three Brigades "reflects great credit on the 52nd (Lowland) Division. It involved considerable preparation, the details of which were thought out with care and precision. The sodden state of the ground, and, on the night of the crossing, the swollen state of the river, added to the difficulties, yet by dawn the whole of the infantry had crossed. The fact that the enemy were taken by surprise, and, that all resistance was overcome with the bayonet without a shot being fired, bears testimony to the discipline of this division. The operation, by increasing the distance between the enemy and
Jaffa from three to eight miles, rendered Jaffa and its harbour secure, and gained elbow-room for the troops covering Ludd andRamleh and the main Jaffa-Jerusalem road."In March
1918 the division moved to France where it fought in the 2nd Battle of the Somme, the 2ndBattle of Arras and at theBattle of the Hindenburg Line during theHundred Days Offensive .After the war the Division was disbanded along with the rest of the
Territorial Force . However it was re-established in 1920 as part of theTerritorial Army and was mobilised again in 1939 as part of theBritish Expeditionary Force in France.Composition during World War I
The division comprised three
infantry brigade s and one mounted (yeomanry ) brigade:155th (South Scottish) Brigade
* 1/4th Battalion, the
Royal Scots Fusiliers
* 1/5th Battalion, the Royal Scots Fusiliers
* 1/4th (The Border) Battalion, theKing's Own Scottish Borderers
* 1/5th (Dumfries and Galloway) Battalion, the King's Own Scottish Borderers156th (Scottish Rifles) Brigade
* 1/4th (Queens
Edinburgh Rifles) Battalion, theRoyal Scots
* 1/7th Battalion, the Royal Scots
* 1/5th Battalion, theCameronians (Scottish Rifles)
* 1/6th Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
* 1/7th Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
* 1/8th Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)157th (Highland Light Infantry) Brigade
* 1/5th (City of
Glasgow ) Battalion, theHighland Light Infantry Regiment
* 1/6th (City of Glasgow) Battalion, the Highland Light Infantry Regiment
* 1/7th (Blythswood) Battalion, the Highland Light Infantry Regiment
* 1/9th (Glasgow Highlanders ) Battalion, the Highland Light Infantry Regiment
* 1/5th (Renfrewshire ) Battalion, theArgyll & Sutherland Highlanders Lowland Mounted Brigade
* 1/1st
Ayrshire Yeomanry
*1/1stLothian and Border Horse
*2/1st Lothian and Border HorseWorld War II
After evacuation from France in 1940 having been part of the 'Second BEF' that remained in France after Dunkirk, eventually being evacuated in late June 1940 during
Operation Ariel , it trained as a mountain warfare formation but was never used in that role. In August 1944, it became part of theFirst Allied Airborne Army . (As a mountain formation, it had little heavy equipment and transport, and could therefore operate as an air-transportable formation.)On
9 October 1944 , soon after the division arrived on the Continent, Montgomery asked Brooke to assign the 52nd Lowland Division to theFirst Canadian Army to help open the vital port ofAntwerp . Therefore the first major operations of the 52nd were not in mountainous terrain or through the air, but deployed below sea level on the flooded polders around the Scheldt Estuary ofBelgium and theNetherlands .Operation Vitality andOperation Infatuate were aimed at capturingSouth Beveland and the island ofWalcheren to open the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. This would enable the Allies to use the port of Antwerp as a supply route for the troops in North-West Europe. It was in this vital operation that the 52nd Division was to fight its first great battle with brilliant success.In January
1945 the 52nd Division participated inOperation Blackcock , the clearing of theRoer Triangle between the riversMeuse and Roer. Divisional Commanders during World War II included Major General J.S. Drew, Major General J.E. Laurie, Major General E Hakewell Smith, late of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, and Major GeneralNeil Ritchie , the former Eighth Army commander.The famous territorial Regiments that were incorporated in the 52nd Lowland Division, were all drawn from the Scottish Lowlands, and have a history that in some cases goes back more than 300 years. It consisted of 3 Brigades, the 155th, 156th, and 157th Brigades.
Component Units during World War II
(on
1 November 1944 soon after arrival in the North-West Europe theatre.)155th Infantry Brigade
* 4th Bn.
The King's Own Scottish Borderers
* 5th Bn. The King's Own Scottish Borderers
* 7th/9th Bn.The Royal Scots 156th Infantry Brigade
* 4th/5th Bn.
The Royal Scots Fusiliers
* 6th Bn.The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
* 7th Bn. The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles157th Infantry Brigade
* 1st Bn. The Glasgow Highlanders
* 5th Bn.The Highland Light Infantry
* 6th Bn. The Highland Light InfantryIt should be noted that these Scottish Territorial battalions were bolstered with large drafts of soldiers from all over
Great Britain and were not just drawn from their traditional Regimental recruiting areas.Divisional Units
* 52 Reconnaissance Regiment RAC
* 7th Bn. The Manchester Regiment ("divisional machine gun unit")
* 79 Field Regiment RA
* 80 Field Regiment RA
* 186 Field Regiment RA
* 1 Mountain Regiment RA
* 54 Anti-Tank Regiment RA
* 108 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA
* 202 Field Company RE
* 241 Field Company RE
* 554 Field Company RE
* 243 Field Park Company RE
* 17 Bridging Platoon REPost World War II
After the war the Division was returned to the
Territorial Army order of battle. In 1948 the 52nd Lowland Division was amalgamated with 51st (Highland) Division to become the 51st/52nd Scottish Division until 1967, when the Division was split into two brigades with 52nd Lowland Brigade carrying on the lineage of the division's number and the lineage of the Divisions' constituent infantry Battalions were continued after they were all amalgamated together to form what would eventually become the52nd Lowland Regiment .See also
*
List of British divisions in WWI External links
* [http://www.1914-1918.net/52div.htm The British Army in the Great War: The 52nd (Lowland) Division]
* [http://www.operation-blackcock.com Operation Blackcock]
*
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