The 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 the
Second World War,
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
First World War
The
division landed at Suvla
Bay on the
Gallipoli Peninsula on 9
August.
On
26 March 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 the First World War to reinforce other
divisions.
158th (North Wales
)
Brigade
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
- 3rd/152nd Indian Infantry
(from 1918)
- 1st153rd Indian Infantry
(from 1918)
- 2nd/153 Indian Infantry (from 1918)
160th Brigade
Second World War
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 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 .
53rd Division landed in Normandy on
28 June
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
.
Advancing
into Holland, 53rd Division liberated the city of 's-Hertogenbosch
in four days of heavy fighting from 24
October. 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.
Order of battle 1944-45
71st Infantry Brigade
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
Post-war
The
division ended 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.
There remain a few remnants of the division in the
Territorial Army.
160 Brigade is the regional brigade
responsible for the administration of
TA units in
Wales, while
53 Signal
Squadron are the descendant formation of 53rd (Welsh)
Divisional Signal Regiment, and continues to serve in a very
similar capacity, providing communications support to
160 Brigade.
Battle Honours
First World War
Second World War
Bibliography and Notes
- Barclay, pp.8-58
- Barclay, pp.58-70
- Barclay, C.N., The History of the 53rd (Welsh) Division in
the Second World War, Wm. Clowes & Sons, 1956. No
ISBN.
See also
External links
) Battalion, Royal
Welsh Fusiliers
and Anglesey
) Battalion,
Royal Welsh Fusiliers
and Montgomery
) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
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