The 5th Infantry Division was a regular army infantry division of the British Army. It was established by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsular War, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, and was active for most of the period since, including the First World War and the Second World War and was disbanded soon after. The division was reformed in 1995 as an administrative division covering Wales and the English regions of West Midlands, East Midlands and East. Its headquarters were in Shrewsbury. It was disbanded on 1 April 2012.

Peninsular War During the Peninsular War, the 5th Division, which was under the command of General James Leith, was present at most of the major engagements, including the Battle of Bussaco, the Battle of Sabugal, the Siege of Almeida, the Battle of Badajoz, the Battle of Salamanca, the Battle of Vitoria, the Siege of San Sebastian, the Battle of Nivelle and the Battle of the Nive.Pivka, p. 16

Peninsular War order of battle The order of battle in summer 1813 was: 1st Brigade 3/1st (Royal Scots) Regiment of Foot 1/9th (Norfolk) Regiment of Foot 1/38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot (from June 1812) 2/38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot (to December 1812) 2/47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot (from October 1813) 1 Coy., Brunswick-Oels Jaegers 2nd Brigade 1/4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot 2/4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot (May to December 1812) 2/30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot 2/44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot 2/47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot (to October 1813) Portuguese Brigade 1/3rd Infantry Regiment, Portuguese Army 2/3rd Infantry Regiment, Portuguese Army 1/15th Infantry Regiment, Portuguese Army 2/15th Infantry Regiment, Portuguese Army 8th Caçadores Battalion, Portuguese Army

Waterloo Campaign

The division was also present during the Waterloo Campaign, first seeing action at the Battle of Quatre Bras, then at the Battle of Waterloo under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton.

Waterloo order of battle The division's order of battle at Waterloo was as follows: 8th British Brigade, Major-General Sir James Kempt 1/28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot 1/32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot 79th Regiment of Foot (Cameron Highlanders) 1/95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) 9th British Brigade, Major-General Sir Dennis Pack 3/1st Regiment of Foot (Royal Scots) 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot "Black Watch" 2/44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot 92nd Regiment of Foot (Gordon Highlanders) 5th Hanoverian Brigade, Colonel Ernst von Vincke Landwehr Battalion Gifhorn Landwehr Battalion Hameln Landwehr Battalion Hildesheim Landwehr Battalion Peine Artillery, Major Heinrich Heise Roger's Battery, Royal Artillery Braun's Battery, Hanoverian Foot Artillery

Second Boer War

On the outbreak of war in 1899, an Army Corps of three divisions was sent to South Africa from the UK; the troops already there constituted the 4th Division. The rapid deterioration of the situation led the War Office to announce on 11 November 1899 that a 5th Division was to be formed and sent out. This consisted of the 10th and 11th (Lancashire) Brigades and concentrated at Estcourt on 8 January 1900.Col John K. Dunlop, The Development of the British Army 1899–1914, London: Methuen, 1938, p. 74.L.S. Amery (ed), The Times History of the War in South Africa 1899-1902, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Vol II, pp. 283–4.Times History, Vol III, pp. 206–15. Under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Warren, 5th Division joined up with the Natal Field Force shortly after the Battle of Colenso and was a part of the relieving army of the besieged Ladysmith.

Second Boer War order of battle The division was constituted as follows:Times History, Vol IV, Appendix to Chapters I-XIV, pp. 503–14.

10th BrigadeCoke's 10th Brigade Commanded by Major-General John Talbot Coke. 2nd Battalion Dorset Regiment 2nd Battalion Middlesex Regiment 2nd Battalion Somerset Light Infantry Yorkshires and Warwickshires being left at Cape Colony10th Battalion Imperial Light Infantry joined later

11th (Lancashire) BrigadeWoodgate's 11th Brigade Initially commanded by Major-General Edward Woodgate,Kings Own who was wounded at Spion Kop and died shortly afterwards. He was succeeded by Major-General Arthur Wynne who was later wounded at the Battle of the Tugela Heights and was temporarily succeeded by Brigadier-General Walter Kitchener. 2nd Battalion Kings Own Royal Lancasters 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment 1st Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment

Royal Field Artillery 13th, 67th and 69th Batteries – already in NatalMonthly Army List, January 1899.

Royal Engineers 37th Company

First World War 1914

Under the command of Major General Sir Charles Fergusson, who had taken over as GOC 5th Division from Major General William Pitcairn Campbell in February 1913, the division, a key component of II Corps, was part of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF) that deployed to France in the summer of 1914, and where it would remain for the rest of the war, except for a brief period on the Italian Front from 27 November 1917 to 1 April 1918.

The division saw action in several pivotal battles, including the Battle of Mons (23-24 August) and the subsequent retreat, where it engaged in the Action of Élouges (24 August) and the Battle of Le Cateau (26 August). Continuing to play a significant role in the war effort, the division participated in the First Battle of the Marne (7-10 September), the First Battle of the Aisne (12-15 September), and the Battle of La Bassée (10 October – 2 November). Following Fergusson's controversial removal by Field Marshal Sir John French, commander-in-chief of the BEF, Major-General Thomas Morland took command, and elements of the division saw action at Messines (12 October – 2 November) and Armentières (13 October – 2 November). In November, the division took part in the First Battle of Ypres, specifically the Battle of Nonne Bosschen (11 November).

1915

In 1915, the 5th Division played a key role in several battles. It participated in the Capture of Hill 60 from 17-22 April. The division was also involved in the Second Battle of Ypres, with the 13th Infantry Brigade seeing action at the Battle of Grafenstafel (22-23 April) and the Battle of St. Julien (24 April – 4 May), both under the temporary command of V Corps.

Major-General Morland, in command for almost nine months, was promoted to a corps command on 15 July, and Major-General Charles Kavanagh, a cavalryman, took over the division.

Later in 1915, the division underwent changes, with some of its Regular units being exchanged with those from the 32nd Division, a newly arrived Kitchener's Army formation, comprising civilians who had volunteered for military service. This was done to bolster the inexperienced division with Regular Army troops, although many of the pre-war Regular units had already suffered heavily and the Regular battalions were by now actually largely composed of new recruits.

1916

In March 1916, the 5th Division redeployed to the Arras sector, assuming control of the front line stretching from St. Laurent Blangy to the southern edge of Vimy Ridge. The area was a hotbed of activity, with frequent trench raids, sniping incidents, and mining operations.

Major-General Reginald Stephens took command on 1 April from Major-General Kavanagh, who went to command a corps.

As the Franco-British offensive on the Somme commenced on 1 July, the 5th Division was withdrawn to the BEF's general headquarters reserve for rest and refurbishment. The division subsequently participated in several key Somme battles, including: Attacks on High Wood (XV Corps, 20-25 July) Guillemont (XIV Corps, 3-6 September) Flers–Courcelette (XIV Corps, 15-22 September) Morval (XIV Corps, 25-28 September)

By early October, the division had relocated to the Festubert sector, where it endured a relatively calm period, punctuated by occasional artillery and sniper fire, which lasted until March 1917.

1917 The 5th Division played a key role in several battles in 1917, including the Battle of Arras in April and the Third Battle of Ypres, which began in late July. The 5th fought at Vimy Ridge under the Canadian Corps (9-14 April), at the Attack on La Coulotte (23 April), and the Third Battle of the Scarpe (3-4 May).

After several months in the Arras area, they were relieved and sent to Flanders for the Third Battle of Ypres, where they fought at Polygon Wood (26 September – 3 October), Broodseinde (4 October), Poelcapelle (9 October), and the Second Battle of Passchendaele (26 October – 10 November).

The division was then selected as one of ultimately five British divisions to be sent from the Western Front to the Italian Front, a move agreed upon by the British government to support Italian forces after the disaster at Caporetto in late October. Many British soldiers described the move to Italy as "like another world" after the harsh conditions of Passchendaele.

The division prepared to move to the Brenta mountains but eventually took up positions along the River Piave in late January 1918. Together with the 41st Division (which had also been sent from the Western Front to Italy, like the 5th), they were later recalled to France in response to the German attack on 21 March, having seen no major actions in Italy.

1918 In 1918, the 5th Division fought in the Battles of the Lys, specifically the Battle of Hazebrouck (12-15 April) under XI Corps, where they defended Nieppe Forest.

A leadership change occurred on 15 July, with Major General John Ponsonby succeeding Major General Stephens, who was promoted to command a corps.

The division was withdrawn for rest on 14 August and placed in GHQ Reserve. Two weeks later, they joined the “Hundred Days Offensive”, fighting through Albert, Irles, Beugny, Havrincourt, Gonnelieu, and the River Selle, eventually reaching Valenciennes and the River Sambre. They were in continuous action until late October.

The division's battles included:

The Second Battle of the Somme (August-September) Battle of Albert (21-23 August) under IV Corps Second Battle of Bapaume (31 August – 3 September) under IV Corps The Battles of the Hindenburg Line (September-October) Battle of Épehy (18 September) under IV Corps Battle of the Canal du Nord (27 September – 1 October) under IV Corps Pursuit to the Selle (9-12 October) under IV Corps Battle of the Selle (17-25 October) under IV Corps, part of the Final Advance in Picardy

The Armistice of 11 November 1918 brought an end to the fighting on the Western Front.

Order of battle The order of battle of the 5th Division during the Great War was as follows:

13th Infantry Brigade The 13th Brigade was temporarily under the command of the 28th Division between 23 February and 7 April 1915, when it was replaced by the 84th Infantry Brigade from that division. 2nd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment (left January 1916) 1st Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) 2nd Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (left December 1915) 1/9th (City of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria's), London Regiment (joined November 1914, left February 1915) 14th (Service) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (joined December 1915, became Divisional Pioneers October 1918) 15th (Service) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (joined January 1916, disbanded October 1918) 16th (Service) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (joined October 1918) 13th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed 24 December 1915, moved to 5th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 26 April 1918) 13th Trench Mortar Battery (formed April 1916)Becke, pp. 65–71.

14th Infantry Brigade The 14th Brigade transferred to the 32nd Division on 30 December 1915.