List of wartime orders of battle for the British 3rd Division (1809–1945)

An order of battle is a list of the various elements of a military formation organised within a hierarchical command structure. It can also provide information on the strength of that formation and the equipment used. An order of battle is not necessarily a set structure, and it can change depending on tactical or strategic developments, or the evolution of military doctrine. For example, a division could be altered radically from one campaign to another through the adding or removing of subunits, but retain its identity and prior history. The size of a division can vary dramatically as a result of what forces are assigned and the doctrine employed at that time.
The first 3rd Division that was formed was a mere 3,747 men strong and did not include supporting weapons such as artillery. In comparison, the 3rd Infantry Division, from the Second World War period, was over 18,000 men strong and supported by 72 artillery pieces and numerous other support weapons. Each war that the division fought in, between 1809 and 1945, has a corresponding order of battle section.
Napoleonic Wars.
During the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), the British Army grew in size. On 18 June 1809, Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley, commander of the British forces in Spain and Portugal, ordered the creation of four divisions, including the 3rd Division. During the division's first action of the Peninsular War (the name given to Napoleonic Wars fought in Spain and Portugal), the Battle of Talavera (1809), it was 3,747 men strong. By the next year, it had grown to a strength of 4,743 men, including attached Portuguese troops. The strength of the division fluctuated over the following years, partially as a result of Portuguese troops being attached and detached. In 1811, the division had increased to 5,480 men. It then peaked at 7,437 men strong during 1813, before decreasing to 4,566 during the final stages of the Peninsular War. It was reformed on 11 April 1815, in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), on the resumption of hostilities. It fought at the Battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo, and had a strength of 6,970 men. It then marched into France. Shortly after, the Napoleonic Wars came to a conclusion. The division remained within the restored French kingdom, as part of the British Army of Occupation until it was disbanded in France during April 1817.
Talavera Campaign (July 1809).
During this period, brigades were referred to by their commander's names. Due to changes in command, the brigade names fluctuated frequently.
3rd Division
The division's 1st brigade:
The division's 2nd brigade:
Battle of Bussao (September 1810).
During this period, brigades were referred to by their commander's names. Due to changes in command, the brigade names fluctuated frequently.
3rd Division
The division's 1st brigade:
The division's 2nd brigade:
Portuguese Brigade:
Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (May 1811).
During this period, brigades were referred to by their commander's names. Due to changes in command, the brigade names fluctuated frequently.
3rd Division
The division's 1st brigade:
The division's 2nd brigade:
Portuguese Brigade:
Vittoria campaign (June 1813).
During this period, brigades were referred to by their commander's names. Due to changes in command, the brigade names fluctuated frequently.
3rd Division
The division's 1st brigade:
The division's 2nd brigade:
Portuguese Brigade:
Hundred Days campaign (1814).
3rd Division
British Fifth Brigade
Second King's German Legion Brigade
First Hanoverian Brigade
Divisional Artillery
Crimean War (1854–1856).
During the war, each division within the expeditionary force had a 1st and a 2nd Brigade.
1854–1855.
3rd Division
1st brigade:
2nd brigade:
Divisional artillery, Royal Artillery
June–December 1855.
3rd Division
1st brigade:
2nd brigade:
Divisional artillery, Royal Artillery
1856 (until April).
3rd Division
1st brigade:
2nd brigade:
Divisional artillery, Royal Artillery
1856 (after April).
3rd Division
1st brigade:
2nd brigade:
Divisional artillery, Royal Artillery
Second Boer War.
On mobilisation in 1899.
3rd Division
5th Brigade (Irish Brigade)
6th Brigade (Fusilier Brigade)
Divisional Troops:
January 1900.
3rd Division
5th Brigade
6th Brigade
Divisional Troops:
February 1900, onwards.
3rd Division
5th Brigade
6th Brigade
Divisional Troops:
April 1900, onwards.
3rd Division
22nd Brigade
23rd Brigade
Divisional Troops:
First World War.
On 28 July 1914, the First World War began. On 4 August, Germany invaded Belgium and the United Kingdom entered the war against the German Empire. The division soon after deployed to France, as part of the British Expeditionary Force, and it then served on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918.
The war establishment, the on-paper strength, of an infantry division in 1914 was 18,179 men, 5,594 horses, 18 motor vehicles, 76 pieces of artillery, and 24 machine guns. While there was a small change to the number of men and horses in a division in 1915, the main change was the decrease in artillery pieces to 48 and an increase in motor vehicles to 54. The establishment in 1916 increased the division size to 19,372 men, 5,145 horses, 61 motor vehicles, 64 artillery pieces, 40 trench mortars, and 200 machine guns. The 1917 changes saw a decrease to 18,825 men, 4,342 horses, 57 motor vehicles, and 48 artillery pieces, although the number of trench mortars remained the same, and the number of machine guns increased to 264. By 1918, the number of front line infantry within the British Army in France had decreased because of casualties and a lack of eligible replacements, and this had led to a manpower crisis. To consolidate manpower and to increase the ratio of machine guns and artillery support available to the infantry, the number of battalions in a division was reduced from twelve to nine. This resulted in the 1918 establishment of 16,035 men, 3,838 horses, 79 motor vehicles, 48 artillery pieces, 36 trench mortars, and 400 machine guns.
First World War (1914–1918).
3rd Division
7th Infantry Brigade (until 18 October 1915)
8th Infantry Brigade
9th Infantry Brigade
85th Infantry Brigade (joined 19 February 1915, left between 2 and 6 April 1915)
76th Infantry Brigade (from 15 October 1915)
Divisional Mounted Troops
Divisional Artillery
Divisional Engineers, Royal Engineers
Divisional Pioneers
Divisional Machine Guns
Divisional Medical Services, Royal Army Medical Corps
Divisional Veterinary Services, Army Veterinary Corps
Divisional Services, Army Service Corps
Second World War.
In 1939, following the German invasion of Poland, the United Kingdom declared war in support of the latter and entered the Second World War.
The war establishment of an infantry division in 1939 was 13,863 men, 2,993 vehicles, 72 artillery pieces, 48 anti-tank guns, 361 anti-tank rifles, 126 mortars, and 700 machine guns. In 1941, the war establishment was changed to 17,298 men, 4,166 vehicles, 72 artillery pieces, 48 anti-tanks guns, 444 anti-tank rifles, 48 anti-aircraft guns, 218 mortars, and 867 machine guns. From 1944, the establishment was updated to 18,347 men, 4,330 vehicles, 72 artillery pieces, 110 anti-tank guns, 436 other anti-tank weapons, 359 mortars, and 1,302 machine guns.
Second World War (1939).
7th Guards Brigade
8th Infantry Brigade
9th Infantry Brigade
Divisional Troops
Second World War (1940–1945).
7th Infantry Brigade (Until June 1942)
8th Infantry Brigade
9th Infantry Brigade
185th Infantry Brigade (1943 onwards)
33rd Tank Brigade (June 1942 - 1943)
Divisional Troops