1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XXX Corps Troops RE, North West Europe
211 Field Park Company was put into suspended animation on 28 March 1946, with some of its remaining personnel transferring to 11 Fd Co, and next day the remainder together with the cadres of 209 and 210 Fd Cos transferred to two field squadrons (4 and 621) of 7th Armoured Division, which took over the TA numbers of 209 and 210 before eventually being placed in suspended animation.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 208 (Sussex) Field Company
208 (Sussex) Fd Co joined 2nd Division on 4 May 1940, and by 12 May it was deployed on the Dyle Line (see above). During the retreat to Dunkirk its role was to destroy bridges and create anti-tank obstacles. Some of the volunteers who stayed behind to blow 'last minute' bridges were unable to make it back to Dunkirk, where the rest of the company was evacuated by 31 May.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 208 (Sussex) Field Company
The company served in home defence until April 1942 when it embarked for India with 2nd Division. In India it trained for amphibious operations on the coast of Burma, but when the Japanese launched a pre-emptive attack (the U Go Offensive) against Kohima and Imphal in March 1944, 2nd Division was among the reinforcements rushed to the Central Front. The company fought with the division to break through and relieve the defenders of Kohima and then to drive the Japanese off of Kohima Ridge. 2nd Division then continued its campaign through Monsoon rain to relieve Imphal, with 208 Fd Co clearing roadblocks and building bridges.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 208 (Sussex) Field Company
Operations resumed in November, and 208 Fd Co operated ferry services and repaired roads and bridges behind the advancing Fourteenth Army. On 24 February 2nd Division made a moonlight assault crossing of the Irrawaddy River with 208 Fd Co manning the assault boats under heavy fire. It then began a ferry to get tanks and vehicles across the river. The division advanced towards Mandalay before being disengaged and airlifted back to India for reorganisation. The Japanese surrendered before it saw action again, and the company went into suspended animation on 31 January 1946.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE
12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE mobilised as follows in September 1939, under the command of Lt-Col W.E. Dewdney as CRE:


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE
The unit moved to Milton Barracks, Gravesend, to guard the airport, undergo training, and receive reinforcements.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE, Battle of France
262 Field Co was ordered to proceed to France independently and arrived at Le Havre from Southampton on 20 March 1940. The company was put to work building accommodation for the new BEF. The infantry of 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division arrived in April as labour troops to work on airfields and lines of communication. On 17 May, after the BEF was forced to withdraw from the Dyle Line, 262 Field Co joined 36 Bde near Doullens, where it began constructing road blocks and preparing a massive fuel dump for destruction. It then cratered the main road and laid anti-tank mines.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE, Battle of France
By 20 May the Germans had taken Doullens and the sappers were part of a long retreating column fighting off German attacks. On 22 May about 100 men of 262 Fd Co and 50 men of the 7th Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment reached Boulogne, where 20th Guards Bde had just landed to defend the port. 262 Field Co took up position between two Guards battalions, with parties of 50 sappers posted either side of the Boulogne–Desvins road, while a party remained out to blow the last bridge over the river before joining their unit. 262 Field Co covered the retreat of 7th Royal West Kents into the defended perimeter. The defenders were attacked from all sides and by the evening of 23 May the Royal Navy was ordered to evacuate them. The last parties who could not be evacuated finally surrendered on 25 May.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE, Battle of France
The rest of the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE sailed from Gravesend and arrived at Le Havre on 20 April. They were sent to Rouen, where 263 Fd Co was put to building camps and 265 Fd Park Co set up an RE depot and workshop. When the German invasion began, the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division (less 36 Bde and 262 Fd Co) was ordered to concentrate at Amiens. The RE were entrained but never reached Amiens, which was already on fire after air raids.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE, Battle of France
They were then withdrawn via Le Mans to Blain on the Atlantic coast, where they began building a new camp at Chateau Pont Pietin. The infantry of the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division fought as part of 'Petreforce', holding up the German advance at the coast of heavy casualties before being evacuated through Dunkirk. The rest of the BEF remaining on the Atlantic coast then began to be evacuated through Cherbourg, the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE moving via Caen to get there early on 7 June. They embarked on the RMS Duke of Argyll and arrived at Southampton that evening.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 12th (Eastern) Infantry Divisional RE, Battle of France
The divisional RE was moved to Hexham in Northumberland, where 262 Fd Co rejoined, then returned to the south coast to work on anti-invasion beach defences along the South Coast and inland stop lines in Sussex and Kent. The 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division was broken up on 10 July, following the division's return to the United Kingdom. The divisional RE was converted into XII Corps Troops RE, the field companies formally being termed 'Army Field Companies'.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE
XII Corps HQ was formed in Aldershot Command in July 1940, and XII CTRE served with it for the rest of the war. 264 Field Co transferred to VIII CTRE in December 1941, and was replaced a year later by 280 Fd Co from 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE
The unit moved around the UK working on defences, laying minefields and supervising civilian contractors digging anti-tank ditches. On one occasion an infantry party wandered into a minefield near Chichester and some were killed and wounded. 262 Field Co was called upon for help and the officer commanding, Maj A.H.M. Morris, led a detachment and personally went into the crater to try to locate displaced mines, then disarmed others so that the casualties could be recovered. Major Morris was awarded the George Medal.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE
By July 1943 XII Corps formed part of 21st Army Group, training for Operation Overlord. In mid-October 1943 XII CTRE settled at Mote Park, Maidstone, and began intensive training in clearing mines and underwater obstacles.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE, Normandy
For the Normandy landings, XII CTRE's field companies were loaned to the assaulting divisions as obstacle clearance parties. Shortly after 07.45 on 6 June (D-Day) 262 Fd Co landed with troops of 3rd Canadian Division on Juno Beach, 263 Fd Co with 5th Assault Regiment, RE, supporting 3rd British Division on Sword Beach and 280 Fd Co with 6th Assault Regiment, RE, supporting 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division on Gold Beach.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE, Normandy
Once ashore, the sappers began the dangerous task of clearing the beach obstacles before they were covered by the rising tide, and constructing exits so the follow-up troops could quickly get into action. At Colleville-sur-Orne 263 Fd Co's sappers had to clear snipers from nearby houses while working on the exits, then cleared a nearby glider landing zone.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE, Normandy
From 7 to 10 June 263 Fd Co operated raft ferries at Bénouville, then on 10 and 11 June it assisted 71 Fd Co in building two Class 40 bridges ('London I & II') to duplicate Pegasus and Ranville bridges across the River Orne and Caen Canal. On 8 June 262 Fd Co established company HQ at Bernieres while the platoons continued beach clearance. They reverted to XII CTRE command around 11 June, and spent the rest of the campaign clearing roads of mines and debris, filling craters and minor bridgebuilding. 265 Field Park Co and the rear parties of the field companies joined the unit later. 265 Field Park Co operated quarries for road-building material and prepared bridging equipment for the field companies.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE, North West Europe
After the breakout from the Normandy beachhead, XII crossed the Seine, with 262, 263 and 265 Cos building a Class 40 pontoon bridge over the river at St Pierre de Vouvray on 28 August. XII Corps drove on towards Antwerp, bypassing German garrisons along the coast. On 6 September, Instead of building bridges, 280 Fd Co together with 621st Fd Squadron of 7th Armoured Division was given the task of destroying all bridges on the Lys and Escaut as far south as Oudenaarde and Deinze to prevent these Germans from threatening the flank of the advance. All these were successfully destroyed, except a large concrete bridge at Deinze that the Germans themselves later blew.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE, North West Europe
XII CTRE spent the autumn clearing roads and building bridges across the many watercourses of the Low Countries. During Operation Colin 51st (Highland) Division pushed through Schijndel to Boxtel, 262 and 263 Fd Cos building Class 40 Bailey bridges across the Halsche and Dommel rivers respectively; 262 had to use four bulldozers to clear away the old bridge before beginning work. XII CTRE supported 51st (H) Division again during Operation Ascot on 11–14 November, building a Bailey at Neder. The winter of 1944–1945 was spent keeping roads open during snow and floods.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE, North West Europe
In February and March 1945 the unit received special training in rafting and Folding Boat Equipment (FBE) bridging in preparation for the Rhine crossing, where XII Corps was to make an assault crossing alongside XXX Corps (see above). XII CTRE under Lt-Col C.J. Gardiner (together with 85 and 184 Gd Cos from 7th GHQ TRE) was allotted the task of building a Class 12 pontoon Bailey (codenamed 'Sussex') at the extreme left of the corps' area. The main bridge was 1,440 feet (440 m) long, with an additional 320 feet (98 m) across a minor gap. The start of construction was held up by enemy fire, but once work began the bridge was completed with the assistance of naval tugs on 26 March in just under 43 hours.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE, North West Europe
XII CTRE then took its turn on bridge maintenance until moving to Haffen to bridge the River Aa and remove concrete road blocks. It followed XII Corps' advance across Germany, building bridges especially across the Weser and Elbe. After the German surrender the unit was involved in bridgebuilding at Hamburg Docks.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, XII CTRE, North West Europe
During the summer of 1945 XII CTRE prepared to return to the UK to reorganise for service in the Far East. It got as far as handing in its equipment and concentrating at Ghent before the Japanese surrender ended the war. With reduced equipment the sappers assisted other units in erecting and dismantling Bailey bridges and other civil engineering works in rebuilding the occupied zone of West Germany. The unit and its companies were disbanded by 25 March 1946.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 264 (Sussex) Field Company
After it left XII CTRE, 264 Fd Co moved to VIII CTRE and then in July 1942 it joined 2nd GHQ TRE forming for the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch), where it landed on 23 November. It remained in North Africa after the Tunisian Campaign until December 1943 when it moved to Italy, supporting 15th Army Group, with a detachment on the island of Vis where it worked for several weeks with the Yugoslav Partisans. The company spent 1944 working on road improvements and bridging with 4th Indian Division and I Canadian Corps.


1st Sussex Engineers, Second World War, 264 (Sussex) Field Company
In the winter of 1944–1945 the Allies began Operation Goldflake, secretly transferring I Canadian Corps from Italy to reinforce 21st Army Group in North West Europe. 2nd GHQTRE was among the units selected, and 264 Fd Co travelled via Livorno and Marseilles to Belgium, where it worked on supply routes and bridging. It continued this work in occupied Germany until disbandment in December 1945.


1st Sussex Engineers, Postwar
When the TA was reconstituted in 1947, 44th (HC) Divisional RE was reformed as 119 Field Engineer Regiment with its seniority derived from the 1st Sussex Engineers of 1890. It had the following organisation:


1st Sussex Engineers, Postwar
In 1959, 210 Fd Sqn was awarded the freedom of Seaford, together with a Freedom Sword.


1st Sussex Engineers, Postwar
In the 1961 reorganisation of the TA, the division became 44th (HC) Division/District and 119 Rgt once again became 44th (HC) Divisional RE. Headquarters remained at Brighton with 209 Fd Park Sqn, 211 (T&M) Fd Sqn rejoined (though still based at Northfleet, Beckenham and Swanley in Kent), and 208 and 210 Fd Sqns were amalgamated, with a recruiting area covering Hastings, Eastbourne, Seaford, Lewes and Worthing. To avoid argument, both numbers were scrapped and the amalgamated squadron revived a First World War number as 490 Fd Sqn.


1st Sussex Engineers, Postwar
When the TA was reduced into the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) on 31 March 1967, the division/district was disbanded and its remaining RE companies absorbed (together with 559 Sqn Royal Corps of Transport) into a new TAVR unit at Eastbourne designated B Company (Royal Engineers), 9th Territorial Battalion, The Queen's Regiment (Royal Sussex), except 209 Fd Park Sqn, whose personnel joined C Company; other personnel joined the London and Kent Regiment, Royal Artillery. B Company was disbanded on 31 March 1969.


1st Sussex Engineers, Honorary Colonel
The following officers served as Honorary Colonel of the unit:


1st Sussex Engineers, Memorial
A memorial to the 16 men of 208 Fd Co who died in France and Burma was unveiled in All Souls Church, Susans Road, Eastbourne, on 28 October 1951.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers
The 1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Army first raised from the county of Sussex in 1859. It later became the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment. During World War I it served in home defence in Britain and Ireland, while its 2nd Line battalion served in India and Waziristan. It was not reformed after the war.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Volunteer Force
An invasion scare in 1859 led to the emergence of the Volunteer Movement, and Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) began to be organised throughout Great Britain. The 1st Sussex RVC was formed as two companies at Brighton on 23 November 1859, with Captains R. Moorsom (formerly of the Scots Fusilier Guards) and John Stuart Roupell as the company commanders. From April 1860 it was included in the 3rd Administrative Battalion of Sussex RVCs, but having attained a strength of six companies it became  an independent unit in July 1863.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Volunteer Force
Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, Volunteers were brigaded with their local Regular and Militia battalions. This was in Sub-District No 43 in South Eastern District for the 1st Sussex RVC, grouped with the 35th (Royal Sussex) and 107th Regiments of Foot, the Royal Sussex Light Infantry Militia and the 1st Cinque Ports and 1st Sussex Admin Battalions of RVCs.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Volunteer Force
The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, the linked battalions becoming county regiments to which the Volunteers were formally affiliated. The 35th and 107th became the Royal Sussex Regiment on 1 July 1881, the 1st Sussex RVC becoming its 1st Volunteer Battalion (VB), but without changing its title.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Volunteer Force
The late Victorian era saw a craze for cycling and the Volunteer Force took a leading role in developing the new Safety bicycle for military use. In April 1885 the 1st Sussex RVC was the first to raise a scout section using bicycles. The battalion raised its seventh and eighth companies in 1886, and officially changed its name to 1st Volunteer Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment in February 1887.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Volunteer Force
While Cardwell's sub-districts were often referred to as 'brigades', they were purely administrative organisations and the Volunteers were excluded from the 'mobilisation' part of the scheme. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a more comprehensive Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training. Under this scheme the 1st Sussex formed part of the Dover Brigade, later entitled the South Eastern Brigade, before the Royal Sussex VBs formed their own Sussex Brigade at the end of the 1890s. This became the Sussex and Kent Brigade in the early 1900s.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Volunteer Force, Second Boer War
After Black Week in December 1899, the Volunteers were invited to send active service units to assist the Regulars in the Second Boer War. The War Office decided that one company 116 strong could be recruited from the volunteer battalions of any infantry regiment that had a regular battalion serving in South Africa. The Royal Sussex's VBs accordingly raised a service company that joined the 1st Battalion, replaced by a second contingent after a year, and earned the volunteer battalions their first Battle honour: South Africa 1900–02.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Volunteer Force, Second Boer War
There was a general expansion of the Volunteers in 1900, and the 1st VB raised a ninth company. In addition, three school Cadet Corps were affiliated to the battalion: Brighton College in 1900, Christ's Hospital in 1904 and Cottesmore School (later Brighton College Preparatory School) in 1905.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Territorial Force
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, it was proposed that the 1st Volunteer Bn should be converted into the 2nd Home Counties Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, and an Army Service Corps company. However, the battalion's officers refused this unpopular conversion and were placed on the Unattached List; the artillery brigade was then organised from existing artillery volunteers. Brighton College and Christ's Hospital cadet corps joined the Officers' Training Corps and Brighton Prep School was affiliated to the 4th Bn Sussex Regiment.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Territorial Force
What remained of the battalion was then converted on 21 November 1911 into the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, consisting of headquarters (HQ) and A-H Companies. Lieutenant-Colonel Cecil Clarke, VD, commanding officer (CO) of the 1st Sussex VB since 18 January 1899, was confirmed in command of this successor unit. A regular officer, Captain B.M. Hynes of the Royal Sussex, was appointed adjutant to assist in raising the new battalion. Its drill hall was at 18 Montpelier Place in Brighton.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Territorial Force
The cyclist battalions were not included in the TF's main divisional structure but were instead given the role of using their mobility to defend vulnerable sectors of the coastline and to maintain communications between the static defence units. The 6th Bn Royal Sussex fulfilled this role in Eastern Command.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, Mobilisation
The battalion mobilised at Brighton on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, still under the command of Lt-Col Cecil Clarke. Shortly afterwards, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. Later 3rd Line units were created to train reinforcements for the 1st and 2nd lines.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 1/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
From August 1914 to the end of 1915 the battalion served in coast defence in Norfolk as 'Army Troops' attached to the 1st Mounted Division, with battalion HQ at Holt. During this period the cyclist battalions with 1st Mtd Division operated as dispersed companies. In line with their pre-war training they prepared all the important road and rail bridges for demolition to impede an invading force, manned coastal lookout stations, and mounted guards on important infrastructure locations such as ports and oil tanks. In the prevailing mood of 'spy fever' they were also alert for possible espionage. On 14 July 1915 the battalion's remaining Home Service men were sent to join the 9th Provisional Brigade (see below).


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 1/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
In July 1916 the Yeomanry of the 1st Mtd Division were converted to cyclists and the original cyclist battalions ceased to be attached. 1/6th Royal Sussex moved to St Leonards-on-Sea on the South Coast as part of the General Reserve. By March 1917 it was at Folkestone. In July 1917 it was at Wingham, Kent, attached to the reformed 1st Mtd Division.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 1/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
Early in 1918 the battalion was sent to Tralee in Ireland, where it was attached to the 6th Cyclist Brigade. By August it was at Limerick, where it remained until the end of the war.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
The 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, was mobilised at Brighton on 26 October 1914 under the temporary command of Maj C.V. Johnson. It moved to its war station at Southwold, Suffolk, on 12 March 1915 and deployed in the Centre Sub Section, Coast Defences, with one company detached at Dunwich, one at Wrentham and one at Southwold Fish Market. It was attached to 1st Mounted Division for operations, coordinating with the infantry of 2nd Welsh Border Brigade, 2nd Welsh Division. The battalion began a routine of training, trench digging, and road and railway patrols.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
On the night of 15/16 April Zeppelin L5 bombed Southwold and a patrol from the battalion opened fire on what they thought was spies signalling to it. Thereafter patrols frequently investigated reports of suspicious lights during a period of spy fever and occasional air raids. Many 2nd Line TF units had to make do with .256-in Japanese Ariska rifles; when the battalion received its Lee-Enfields in June they were a mixture of Long and Short models and carbines, in poor condition.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
The battalion then went through a series of rapid changes, coming under First Army, Central Force, in May, then  2/1st London Division in June. On 1 July it moved from Southwold to Norfolk, first at Norwich, with HQ later at Stalham, and finally at Potter Heigham. It formally came under 2nd Welsh Division (redesignated 68th (2nd Welsh) Division the following month) and manned No 3 Section Norfolk Coast Defences, with detachments at Winterton-on-Sea, Stalham, and Sea Palling. Once again responsibilities were split, with the battalion coming under North Midland Mounted Brigade for operations.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
By November the battalion was attached to 1st Mtd Division again. It had relatively few home service or unfit men who had to be transferred to the provisional company (see below) but about 60 Canadians and Rhodesians had been recruited into the battalion, and in July 1915 they were transferred to the Canadian Expeditionary Force, being replaced by a draft from the 3/6th Bn.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
In November 1915 the 2/6th Royal Sussex under Lt-Col F.W. Johnson, DSO, was sent to Chiseldon in Wiltshire where it was brigaded with three other cyclist battalions (1/9th Hampshire Regiment, 1/25th London and 1/1st Kent) and converted to infantry, dropping 'Cyclist' from their titles. The battalions were reinforced and reorganised on the infantry's four-company system, and there was a period of intensive training. The brigade was intended as reinforcements for the East African Campaign, and tropical uniforms and foreign service helmets were issued, while stores were marked '4th East African Brigade'.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
However, these were withdrawn before the end of the year. The brigade was then mobilised for the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, but instead was shipped to India. 2/6th Royal Sussex, with Capt Hynes promoted to Major as battalion second-in-command, embarked on the White Star liner Ceramic at Devonport, and landed at Bombay on 25 February 1916. The brigade assembled at Bangalore (at the time it was the only all-English brigade east of Suez) and resumed training.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, India
2/6th Sussex were stationed at Cornwallis Barracks in Bangalore, two companies later exchanging with two companies from 1/1st Kents at Hebbal Camp outside the city. At the beginning of December 1916 the brigade entrained for a six-day journey to a camp at Burhan, north of Rawalpindi. Here it was broken up and its individual units joined different brigades of 16th Indian Division, which was being assembled there. 2/6th Royal Sussex and 1/1st Kents joined 44th (Ferozepore) Brigade in February 1917. The division began training for mountain warfare on the North-West Frontier. However, training was abruptly stopped on 4 March when 44th Bde was sent to join a field force in South Waziristan.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, India
At the beginning of December 1916 the brigade entrained for a six-day journey to a camp at Burhan, north of Rawalpindi. Here the brigade was broken up and its individual units joined different brigades of 16th Indian Division, which was being assembled there. 2/6th Royal Sussex and 1/1st Kents joined 44th (Ferozepore) Brigade in February. The division began training for mountain warfare on the North-West Frontier. However, training was abruptly stopped when 44th Bde was sent to join a field force in South Waziristan.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, Waziristan 1917
The South Waziristan Field Force was mobilised at Tank, to carry out a punitive expedition against the Mahsud tribe who had ambushed and killed many of a force of the South Waziristan Militia at Serwekai. 2/6th Sussex entrained for Darya Khan on 5 March, marching into Dera Ismail Khan on 7 March where it organised camels and mules for the battalion transport. It reached Tank on 9 March, and 44th Bde moved out to Jatta three days later.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, Waziristan 1917
Here the brigade formed an entrenched camp with 2/6th Sussex deployed along the perimeter with outlying picquets and Lewis gun posts, though large numbers of the men were sick. It also escorted supply convoys and carried out sweeps through the surrounding area. The South Waziristan Field Force operated until 15 April. Major Hynes had been promoted from second-in-command of the battalion to command 1/25th Londons on 24 March 1917.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, Waziristan 1917
Next the North Waziristan Militia were attacked and the force was reorganised at Tank as the North Waziristan Field Force, with 2/6th Royal Sussex moving to 45th (Jullundur) Brigade in May. The force began its advance in June. 2/6th Royal Sussex and 45th Bde moved on the second night, 7/8 June, over appalling tracks past Zam Fort as the force closed up to Jandola. Here the force was subjected to night sniping, and the daytime picquets going out and coming back exchanged fire with tribesmen.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, Waziristan 1917
But when the brigade advanced again the passage of the Shahur Tangi Pass was unopposed, the 2/6th Royal Sussex reaching the fortified camp beyond on 16 June. The next 6 miles (9.7 km) march to Barwand entailed the heaviest fighting of the campaign, and picquets on the hills had to fight their way into position and then fight to hold them, sometimes through the night. A further 3 miles (4.8 km) advance was then made on 20 June to secure water supplies.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, Waziristan 1917
The tribesmen made a determined stand on the Ispana Raghra plateau before the force was able to camp there. Next day 45th Bde was sent to destroy the village of Nanu at the head of the Splitoi valley, with 2/6th Sussex suffering one killed and 11 wounded in seizing the heights and then acting as the rearguard. On 23 June 45th Bde cleared a very difficult defile to allow the Striking Force to advance, 2/6th Sussex suffering more casualties. Next day the battalion provided the reserve and covering force for another sweep into the Khaisora Valley.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, Waziristan 1917
On 25 June the Mahsuds offered to negotiate for peace, and a treaty was signed on 12 July. The force then withdrew down the valley as far as Manzal, where a semi-permanent camp was erected. There was still a month of hard duty, picquetting the heights and escorting supply convoys up the Shahur Tangi pass, while many sick had to be transported down to the nearest hospital, five days' march away. Once the peace conditions were completed, the field force withdrew by stages through Jandola and Zam to Tank, with 2/6th Sussex having to provide picquets and road repair parties. On 20 August the battalion entrained at Tank.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, Waziristan 1917
For many of the men in the field force, there as a long period of convalescence before they were fit for further service. In 81 days' campaigning 2/6th Sussex had lost 8 men killed or died of disease, 18 evacuated wounded and 415 evacuated sick. The division was reorganised and 2/6th Royal Sussex moved to 43rd Indian Brigade in August. In March 1918 2/6th Royal Sussex went to Lahore, which was within the division's area of responsibility, and remained there throughout the year.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, Waziristan 1919
Although World War I had ended in November 1918, 2/6th Royal Sussex was still stationed on the North-West Frontier when 16th Indian Division was mobilised in May 1919 on the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Afghan War. 44th and 45th Brigades were immediately sent up to Peshawar and took part in the campaign, but 43rd Bde went back to Waziristan where the Afghan war had rekindled trouble. The brigade's arrival at Bannu from 30 May transformed the situation, enabling relief columns to lift the sieges of some militia posts. However, 2/6th Royal Sussex had left for the UK by the time the Waziristan campaign 1919–1920 got under way in November 1919.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 3/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex
The role of 3rd Line battalions was to provide drafts for the 1st or 2nd Line battalions serving overseas; most had been formed early in 1915, but 2/6th Royal Sussex did not leave until February 1916. The 3/6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex, was then formed during 1916 at Purfleet in Essex. The battalion only had a short existence: on 1 September 1916 it was absorbed into 4th (Reserve) Battalion, which combined the 3rd Lines of the 4th, 5th and 6th Bns Royal Sussex.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 9th Provisional Cyclist Company
From May 1915 the remaining Home Service men of the TF were withdrawn from their units and formed into brigades of coast defence battalions, termed Provisional Battalions from June. The home service details of 1/6th Royal Sussex were withdrawn on 4 July, and on 8 September the 113 men were ordered to join two platoons (64 men) from 1/1st and 2/1st Kent Cyclist Battalions to form 9th Provisional Cyclist Company at Herne Bay, Kent, under the command of Capt H. Ewell of 1/6th Royal Sussex.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, World War I, 9th Provisional Cyclist Company
This was the cyclist unit for 9th Provisional Brigade, whose infantry battalions were mainly from Lancashire. The company was temporarily attached to 42nd Provisional Battalion. Its men had been engaged in coast patrol work and were considered untrained in infantry duties. Some sources report that the company was disbanded on 13 April 1916 at Margate, but when 9th Provisional Bde was expanded to form 73rd Division in November 1916, it formed 73rd Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps (Home Service). That unit was disbanded by 1 April 1918.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Disbandment
The remaining units of 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment were disbanded at Brighton at the end of 1919, the 2/6th Bn on 15 December and the 1/6th Bn on 29 December. The battalion was not reformed when the TF was reconstituted the following year.


1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, Disbandment
A new 6th Battalion, Royal Sussex, was formed in May 1939 as a duplicate of the 4th Battalion.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States)
The 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade is a sustainment brigade of the United States Army based at Fort Riley, Kansas. It provides logistics support to the 1st Infantry Division.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States)
Activated in 2007, the unit is a modular brigade capable of a variety of actions. Though assigned to the 1st Infantry Division on a permanent basis, it is capable of independent operations and taking on subordinate units to fulfill large scale sustainment operations for the United States Army.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States)
Formed from the Division Support Command of the 1st Infantry Division, the Brigade carries the lineage and honors of the division dating back to World War I campaigns as early as 1917. Having also seen action in World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War, the brigade has numerous awards and decorations from its previous designation. The brigade has also seen three tours in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), Organization
The 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade (1ID SB) in garrison at Fort Riley is composed of two subordinate battalions.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), Organization
The 541st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) provides logistics support to the 1st Infantry Division and area support to units that are echelons above brigade. The 541st CSSB has seven subordinate companies:


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Origins
The 1st Infantry Division Support Command (DISCOM) traces its origins to World War I, where in 1917, the Division Trains were formed to support the newly formed 1st Infantry Division. In 1921, the Division trains were consolidated into the Special Troops, 1st Infantry Division. After World War I, the Special Troops deployed to Fort Riley, Kansas . Three of the DISCOM's former subordinate battalions, the 101st Forward Support Battalion (FSB) and 201st Forward Support Battalions, and the 701st Main Support Battalion, served in World War I, but with different divisions.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Origins
These units deployed back to Germany to support the 1st Infantry Division during World War II, and participated in all eight campaigns credited to the 1st Infantry Division. In 1955, the Division and its support organizations returned to Fort Riley, Kansas.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Origins
In 1965, the division deployed to South Vietnam, as a part of the Vietnam War buildup. DISCOM units supported the Division in all of the eleven campaigns it participated in while deployed to South Vietnam .


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Origins
After Vietnam, the DISCOM underwent many changes. The Division Material Management Center (DMMC) was established, and the Finance and Personnel Services Companies (PSC) were reorganized into battalion commands. In 1990, the DISCOM deployed again, this time to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Desert Storm.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Origins
In 1996, the DISCOM, deployed to Europe for a third time and consisted of the 101st FSB at Fort Riley, Kansas, the 201st FSB in Vilseck, Germany, the 701st MSB in Kitzingen, Germany, the 601st Aviation Support Battalion(ASB) in Katterbach, Germany, and the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), also in Kitzingen.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
In 2003, the DISCOM was deployed to Turkey in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom I. The DISCOM simultaneously supported peacekeeping operations in the Balkans and deployed a logistics task force to support Operation Iraqi Freedom I throughout Iraq. In 2004, the DISCOM redeployed to Southwest Asia in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. In addition to the organic DISCOM units, the 225th Forward Support Battalion from Hawaii and the 230th Support Battalion from North Carolina deployed to support logistical operations for Task Force Danger. Finally, in 2005, the DISCOM redeployed to Germany to reconstitute and prepare for future contingency operations. The DISCOM was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its contributions during Operation Iraqi freedom II.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
As of January 2006, the DISCOM consisted of the 201st Field Support Battalion in Vilseck, Germany, the 701st Maneuver Support Battalion in Kitzingen, Germany, the 299th Field Support Battalion in Schweinfurt Germany, the 601st Aviation Support Battalion in Katterbach, Germany, and the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), also in Kitzingen.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
Over the months between January 2006 and July 2006 the 601st  returned to Fort Riley, the 701st was inactivated, the 299th was task organized to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team in preparation for another deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the 201st was task organized under the 3rd Brigade Combat Team and later deactivated. The DISCOM HHC was re-deployed to Fort Riley Kansas in August 2006 to build the 1st Sustainment Brigade.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
For a brief period, the DISCOM gained administrative control over the 97th Military Police Battalion, the 541st CSSB, the Band, and the 101st Military Intelligence Battalion. The 101st was in-activated in December 2006, the 541st and 97th were deployed and task organized away from the DISCOM.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
In November 2006, the brigade reviewed its own Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI) and Distinctive Unit Insignia. These items were based heavily on the SSI of the 1st Infantry Division. Later that month, the Brigade was informed that it would be deployed to Iraq again in 2007.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
The 1st Sustainment Brigade (SB) was activated on 15 February 2007 at 10:00 am local time at Fort Riley, Kansas. It is a scalable tailorable Sustainment Brigade, with a mission statement of: Plans, synchronizes, monitors, and executes distribution operations. Conducts sustainment operations within assigned area of operation. Conducts Theater Opening and/or Theater Distribution operations when directed. Provides support to joint, interagency, and multinational forces as directed.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
The brigade deployed to Iraq again in late 2007, operating in the areas such as those around Central Iraq. The brigade's headquarters during this time has been Camp Taji. The brigade made history on 16 June 2008 when it heralded the return of the battlefield promotion system in the US Army. The system, which was previously discontinued, was part of a pilot program that the Army was looking at to bring battlefield promotions back.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
Soldiers of the brigade were also some of the first to use the MRAP, or Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. The soldiers used the vehicles to train other soldiers on use of the vehicle, particularly leaders of the 10th Sustainment Brigade, which replaced the 1st Sustainment Brigade in late 2008.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
From October 2012 to September 2013 the 1ID Sustainment Brigade deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This was the brigade's first deployment to Afghanistan. They deployed to Afghanistan again in February 2019 in support of Operation Freedom Sentinel and Resolute Support under the title 1ID Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), History, Global War on Terrorism
The 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade provides a full spectrum support including: configuring for, distributions and retrogrades to and from maneuver Brigade Combat Teams, other support brigades, and to joint interagency and multinational elements as directed. The 1st SB supports Early Entry Operations or Hub operations with augmentation, providing postal, replacement, and casualty operations as well as essential personnel services and Trial Defense Services on an area basis. The brigade is assigned as the sustainment unit of the 1st Infantry Division, however it can also operate independently, being assigned other units and other missions independent of the division.


1st Sustainment Brigade (United States), Honors
As it was a part of the 1st Infantry Division's command, the Brigade received campaign participation credit and awards for all of the same conflicts as the Division Headquarters up until it became an independent unit in 2006. Thereafter, it retained separate lineage.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater)
The 1st Sustainment Command (Theater) (1st TSC) is a major subordinate unit of US Army Central at Fort Knox, Kentucky.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), History
The 1st Theater Sustainment Command maintains two headquarters, the main command post located at Fort Knox, Kentucky and the operational command post located at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. The 1st Logistical Command was activated as a planning headquarters in October 1950 at Fort McPherson, Georgia.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), History
During the Berlin Crisis of 1961, the new unit deployed to France to organize the base Logistics Command, which was responsible for the supervision of seven depots and area port operations in western and southwestern France. On August 11, 1962, the 1st Logistical Command returned to the United States where it was reassigned to III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas. Once at Fort Hood, the 1st Logistical Command resumed training and participated in a wide range of Logistical missions.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), History
On April 1, 1965, the unit deployed to Vietnam to serve as the Logistics Command Headquarters for all units in the war. The mission included provision and management of maintenance, supply and transportation. During the five-year tour, the command's ranks swelled to 50,000 to include three area support commands, numerous brigades and group-sized units.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), History
Two Soldiers assigned to 1st Logistical Command distinguished themselves by receiving the Medal of Honor: Sergeant William W. Seay and Specialist Fourth Class Larry G. Dahl.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), History
On June 22, 1972, the command was re-designated the 1st Corps Support Command and reassigned to XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. From 1972 until 2006, COSCOM deployed multiple times in support of disaster relief missions and the following operations: Urgent Fury (1983), Just Cause (1989), Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1990), Restore Hope (1992), Uphold Democracy (1994), Provide Refuge (1999), Operation Iraqi Freedom (2004), Enduring Freedom (2001), Spartan Shield (2012), Inherent Resolve (2014), Resolute Support (2015), and Freedom's Sentinel (2015)


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), History
On April 16, 2006, COSCOM was re-designed as the 1st Sustainment Command (Theater) and reassigned to Third Army, U.S. Army Central Command. In August 2017, the 1st Theater Sustainment Command ended its more than four decades of history on Fort Bragg when they cased their colors and moved to a new U.S. Headquarters at Fort Knox, Kentucky.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Background
As early as 1962, the need for a centralized U.S. logistical organization in South Vietnam was foreseen by Commander U.S.  Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam, Lieutenant General Paul D. Harkins. The proposal was disapproved, however by Commander in Chief, United States Army Pacific and Commander in Chief Pacific, who felt that the requirement was not justified at that time.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Background
The idea was revived in August 1964 by the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) J-4 (Logistics), who believed that the current and future situation would require a logistical command to support activities in South Vietnam. Accordingly, he saw that a plan was prepared which included the prompt introduction of a logistical construction capability. On 21 December 1964, the Joint Chiefs of Staff endorsed the MACV plan and recommended that 230 men be initially dispatched to South Vietnam to form a logistical command as soon as possible.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Background
Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara approved the plan in principle, but stated that additional justification was needed, particularly for the engineer construction group. However, he felt that the subject was of sufficient importance to send a special representative to South Vietnam and on 31 January 1965, a group from the Office of the Secretary of Defense arrived in Saigon. After four days of conferences, this group recommended the establishment of a logistical command with an initial strength of 350 men. The establishment of an engineer construction group, not recommended initially, was approved in April as planning for a further buildup developed.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Background
On 25 February 1965 McNamara approved the introduction of a logistical planning group in South Vietnam consisting of 17 officers and 21 enlisted men. Colonel Robert V. Duke was enroute to take command of the 9th Logistical Command in Thailand. He was intercepted in Hawaii and ordered to South Vietnam to take charge of the planning group. He arrived in Saigon on 6 March 1965. The balance of the officers and enlisted men for the planning group arrived in Saigon during the last two weeks of March 1965. On 1 April 1965, the 1st Logistical Command was activated in Saigon by Commander in Chief U.S. Army Pacific General Order, using the personnel of the logistical planning group as its initial strength.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Background
Prior to this time logistical support in South Vietnam had been fragmented, with the Army providing only Class II and IV items which were peculiar to the Army, Class V items used by the Army aviation units and maintenance of vehicles, armament, and instrument calibration by a small Direct Support shop in Saigon. The rest of the support was provided by the United States Navy through Headquarters Support Activity, Saigon because the Navy had been designated as the executive agency responsible for supporting the Military Assistance and Advisory Groups and missions in Southeast Asia.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Background
The mission of the 1st Logistical Command was, in broad terms that it would assume responsibility for all logistical support in South Vietnam, less that which was peculiar to the United States Air Force or Navy. This initial mission included procurement, medical, construction, engineer, finance and accounting of all U.S. Army forces in-country except MACV advisors; and excluded communications, aviation, and military police support which were retained by United States Army Vietnam (USARV) (the Army component command under MACV and over the 1st Logistical Command). Requirements beyond direct support and general support maintenance capability were to be retrograded to Okinawa.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Background
Subsequent add-on missions were planned to be put into effect as the capability became available. These add-on missions were to: assume support of MACV advisors from Headquarters Commandant, MACV, a task accomplished on 1 September 1965, phase out the Navy supply  activity in Saigon, the 1st Logistical Command started assuming Headquarters Support Activity Saigon functions in September 1965 and completed the mission in March 1966 and assume common item support for all U.S. forces in South Vietnam.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Organization
The 1st Logistical Command, in coordination with MACV operational planning, developed its own logistic concept for South Vietnam. The plan provided for two major base depots and five support commands. The seas and rivers were initially to be the main supply routes within South Vietnam. However, a changeover to road and rail would take place when the tactical situation permitted. Each support command would provide all logistic support on an area basis and have a 15 day stockage. Depots would have a 45 day stockage. The Saigon Depot would support the Vũng Tàu and Cần Thơ Support Commands. The Cam Ranh Bay Depot would support the Nha Trang, Qui Nhơn and Da Nang Support Commands.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Organization
A two depot concept was considered essential due to the vulnerability of the Saigon River and port to Viet Cong (VC) action and the limited port capacity. Vũng Tàu was considered an alternative to the Saigon port in the event of loss of Saigon or blockage of the Saigon River. Cam Ranh Bay was selected as the other base depot and port due to its excellent deep water harbor, the existing pier, its central location and U.S. capability to secure the area from VC attack.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Organization
This plan by the 1st Logistical Command was implemented with only two changes: the United States Marine Corps were landed at Da Nang and, by Commander in Chief Pacific direction, the Navy was given the responsibility for both tactical and logistical operations in I Corps and this was administered by Naval Support Activity Danang. The Da Nang Support Command was eliminated from the 1st Logistical Command plan. The anticipated scale of tactical operations in the Mekong Delta area of IV Corps did not materialize, so the Cần Thơ Support Command was not activated and IV Corps was supported by the Vũng Tàu Support Command by sea and air.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Organization
The original plan for the refinement of a logistical plan in an orderly fashion followed by a deliberate and orderly implementation never came to pass. Instead it quickly turned into a concurrent planning and implementation process. U.S. forces in South Vietnam were built up in an imbalanced manner. Continued enemy pressure on the beleaguered government of South Vietnam and manpower ceilings combined to cause the logistics base to be inadequate in relation to the total force level. Numerous changes were made in tactical plans in the initial stages of the buildup due to VC pressure. Such changes were necessary, but had an adverse effect on orderly logistical planning and implementation. As logistical units arrived in South Vietnam they were assigned to appropriate depots or Support Commands as the tactical situation demanded.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Organization
It was recognized that the continued influx of troops into Saigon would soon exceed its capability to absorb them and that usable real estate and facilities were not available in the Saigon area. The command was tasked with developing a short range plan to absorb the influx of troops and a long range plan that would ultimately move the bulk of U.S. Army personnel out of the Saigon area. A thorough reconnaissance was made and the Long Binh area was selected for the establishment of a major logistical and administrative base.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Organization
A master base development plan was prepared which provided areas for all activities in Saigon. General William Westmoreland (who was both MACV commander and Commanding General USARV) was briefed on the study and approved it in principle, except he elected to move Headquarters, USARV to Long Binh Post (Headquarters MACV, remained in the Saigon area). The command immediately began implementing the study by locating the ammunition depot, hospital, engineers, plus direct support and general support supply and maintenance support at Long Binh. The movement of headquarters activities was delayed by the requirement for $2 million to develop an adequate communication system in the area and by the time required for installation of the system. Long Binh Post eventually became the Army’s largest installation in South Vietnam.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Organization
In July 1965, the decision was made to deploy an engineer brigade to South Vietnam, and upon its arrival the engineer construction functions were transferred from the command to the Engineer Brigade. The 44th Medical Brigade became operational in May 1966 and assumed the command's medical services and supply function.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Organization
With the increase of Army forces in I Corps from early 1968 and the progressive reduction of Marine forces there in 1969, the command began to take over the logistics function there with the Army assuming full control by July 1970.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Vietnam War, Organization
In 1970 the command was merged into USARV and on 15 June the command was disestablished.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Late 20th Century
On 22 June 1972, the command was re-designated the 1st Corps Support Command and reassigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Late 20th Century
From 1972 until 2006, it deployed multiple times in support of disaster relief missions and Operations Operation Urgent Fury (1983); the United States invasion of Panama - "Operation Just Cause" (1989); the Gulf War ("Desert Shield/Desert Storm") (1990-March-April 1991); Joint Task Force Andrew to support South Florida after being devastated by Hurricane Andrew (August 1992-October 1992), Operation Restore Hope regarding support to United Nations efforts in Somalia (1993); Haiti with Uphold Democracy (1994); and Provide Refuge (1999).


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Current role
The 1st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC) provides mission command and operational-level sustainment support to Army, Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Forces; sets the theater, and conducts theater security cooperation within the USCENTCOM Area of Operations in order to enable unified land operations in support of combatant command directives.


1st Sustainment Command (Theater), Current role
The command maintains a headquarters in Fort Knox, Kentucky, while sustaining an enduring mission forward, based in Kuwait.


1st Swiss Regiment (France)
The 1st Swiss Regiment (French: 1ère Régiment Suisse) was a Swiss mercenary line infantry regiment in the French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. During the expansion of the Imperial Army in 1803, Napoleon decreed the formation of four swiss mercenary regiments, one of these later becoming the famed 1st Swiss. After a short time serving in Southern Italy, notably serving at the Battle of Maide, the 1st Swiss were sent to Poland for the impending Invasion of Russia.


1st Swiss Regiment (France)
During the invasion, the regiment remained in the reserve, but served with honour, notably at the Battles of Polotsk and later the crossing of the Berezina. After retreating from Russia, elements of the regiment served during the minor campaigns until May 1814. The regiment was then reformed under the Bourbon restored monarchy, and continued into the Royal Guard until its final disbandment in 1830.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Formation
On 27 November 1803, authorised articles were signed in which a new Swiss infantry regiment was to be created. However, it was not until March 1805, just before the Ulm Campaign, that the new French emperor, Napoleon, ordered the reorganisation of the Swiss troops by imperial decree. The remaining three Swiss Demi-brigades, which were the result of the merger of the original six Swiss demi-brigades of the Helvetic Legion. The men of these remaining small units were merged to form the new 1st Swiss Regiment, formed by imperial decree on 15 March 1805. The 1st


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Formation
Swiss Demi-Brigade was based in La Rochelle, where it was dissolved on 11 May 1805 to provide the 3rd Battalion of the new regiment. The 2nd Swiss Demi-Brigade formed the 4th Battalion a month later when it was based in Livorno. The 3rd Swiss Demi-Brigade was split, sourcing the personnel for the 1st and 2nd Battalions on 5 July 1805 while in Bastia, Corsica.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Formation
Napoleon took pains over their formation, demanding that the French rather than the Swiss authorities select officers and personnel appointing those above the rank of Major. He also had to approve all Grenadier Company (Compagnie des Grenadiers) officers, from names put forth by the Colonel-General of the Swiss (a French appointment, held in 1808 by Maréchal d’Empire Jean Lannes). To ensure that the Swiss Confederation did not evolve military institutions that would attract volunteers away from his Swiss regiments, Napoleon forbade developing Swiss general staff academies and limited the home forces to a self-defence militia of no more than 20,000 men.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Formation
Though the majority of the recruits for the new regiment came from the now disbanded Swiss demi-brigades, the battalions of 1st Swiss Infantry Regiment were now spread out between Northern Italy, Corsica, and Elba was not declared fully operational until 4 July 1806 – and even then, with only 2,887 men, to be increased by piecemeal arrivals from Switzerland over the following months.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition
In 1805, according to regimental records, parts of the regiment was embarked on the Mediterranean Squadron's ships at the Battle of Trafalgar, where one officer was wounded. By mid-1805, the regiment was consolidated within the new Kingdom of Italy with the Staff and 1st Battalion based at Bastia, the 2nd Battalion on Elba, the 3rd Battalion near Modena, and 4th Battalion in Genoa.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 4th Battalion
The 4th Battalion under Louis Clavel was detached to the Right Wing Division of the Army of Italy and fought at the Battle of Castelfranco Veneto where three officers were wounded. During the remainder of the campaign, the battalion was composed of 666 troops.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 4th Battalion
The 4th Battalion was still in the Right Wing, being involved in the Invasion of Naples under General de Division Jean Reynier, a fellow countryman. Their participation in the invasion was well noted, especially at the Battle of Maida, where the story of the Swiss is not as well known as their British victors.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 4th Battalion, Maida
Towards the end of the battle, the French right-wing broke, and because the British mistook the 1st Swiss as the British De Watteville's Regiment; because of the almost identical uniform; the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot allowed the 1st Swiss to advance within very close range. The 1st Swiss then fired a volley and caused mass casualties in the regiment and increased confusion as the 78th thought this was a friendly fire incident. When the 78th realised their mistake, it was too late, and they began to retreat. The 78th then reformed and pushed back the 1st Swiss towards Dignoet's Brigade, where the 1st Swiss began to retire slowly and in good order.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 4th Battalion, Maida
Following the end of the battle, the 1st Swiss were grouped with the 23rd Light Infantry Regiment, and 9th Mounted Chasseurs along with four 6-pounder cannons to cover the army's retreat. At the battle, the 1st Swiss with 600 men engaged, lost 82 men killed or wounded and 55 taken prisoner. However, these returns are disputed as official British returns show some 102 Swiss prisoners of war after the battle. Among the officers, one was killed, one mortally wounded, and four wounded, with Chef de Bataillon Clavel included amongst the latter. He was rescued by the British De Watteville's Regiment, who organised his exchange for French prisoners. However, his wounds were very severe, and he ultimately died from their effects on 23 July 1808, over two years after they were inflicted.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 4th Battalion, Calabria
Following the disaster at Maida, the populace of Calabria (a fiercely pro-Bourbon province of the newly created Kingdom of Naples) rebelled against King Joseph Bonaparte. On the 5th July 1806, the regiment and the remainder of Reynier's army were still retreating when it came upon the village of Marcellinara, desperate for food and water. To the amazement of the French, they were welcomed enthusiastically by the populace shouting "Long live the British" and "Death to the French", once again because they were mistaken for British soldiers. However, this comical situation ended tragically, when the Swiss opened fire on the populace, and the village was sacked.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 3rd Battalion
The 3rd Battalion was originally also scheduled for inclusion in the Army of Naples. Still, it was diverted to assist in the suppression of a significant uprising by Italian peasants in Parma, Piacenza, and the Trebbia Valley in January 1806. The incident, involving upwards of 20,000 inhabitants driven to insurrection by the abuses of the occupying French forces, gave the Swiss a taste of the type of action they would encounter again in Calabria. The 3rd Battalion finally made it to Naples in September 1806, followed shortly thereafter by the 1st and 2nd Battalions. The 4th Battalion was held back at Naples because it still had not made good the losses suffered at the Battle of Maida, but the other three battalions were plunged into the fighting in 1807 as the French attempted to pacify Calabria once and for all.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 3rd Battalion, Calabrian Campaign
Throughout the Cambrian campaign, the 1st Swiss proved themselves as a distinguished anti-partisan unit. The 1st Battalion even managed to distinguish itself at the crucial Siege of Cotrone at the end of June, when two of its offices earned the Legion of Honour. Because of its reliability in the field, Joseph Bonaparte of the new Kingdom of Naples conceived a plan of transferring the 1st Swiss Regiment into its own nascent Neapolitan Army and even persuaded Napoleon to permit that. He negotiated a convention to that effect in December 1807.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 3rd Battalion, Calabrian Campaign
Yet, it was not ratified by all the Swiss cantonal governments until June of the following year, by which time Joseph had already accepted a transfer to the throne of Spain. His successor, King Joachim Murat, decided it would be an insult to his new subjects to allow foreigners in his army, so the plan was never implemented.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 3rd Battalion, Calabrian Campaign
However, the new King did not object to the regiment's continued use in the vanguard of his military endeavours. The Grenadiers, Voltigeurs, and battalion artillery of the regiment were consequently included in the elite force that stormed the island of Capri in October 1808 and captured the British garrison commanded by General Sir Hudson Lowe. The following year, the 1st Swiss also played a prominent part in defending Capri and nearby coastal targets. The 1st Swiss suffered some combat casualties as a result of these endeavours, but the real enemy turned out to be the malaria that was endemic around the Bay of Naples, which killed nearly 800 men (including some who became so depressed by the disease that they committed suicide).


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Third Coalition, 3rd Battalion, Calabrian Campaign
In 1810, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, the elite companies (Grenadiers and Voltigeurs) of the 3rd and 4th Battalions, and the regimental artillery company were all assigned to the force that King Joachim Murat concentrated at the toe of Italy in August to launch an invasion of Sicily. That plan was abandoned after two Neapolitan battalions made their way to the shores of Sicily and were captured en masse, and the various components of the 1st Swiss were dispersed to a variety of garrisons and duties in lower Calabria. Finally, in July 1811, the 1st Swiss received a reprieve from its hard labours in the form of a summons to re-join the main French armies after an absence of over five years.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Preparations
As Napoleon's new Grande Armée assembled in the eastern parts of the Duchy of Warsaw, the need for Swiss troops became apparent. Napoleon even said, "We must pay serious attention to the Swiss regiments". He went on to call for a major effort to recruit the regiments up to strength and bring about their organisation. As a result, over the next year's course, the regiments were gradually reassembled, and each received a new regimental artillery company. Each artillery company composed of two 3-pounder mountain field cannons.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Preparations
The initiative also resulted in a re-negotiation of the convention governing the four Swiss regiments, after Napoleon decided that he preferred four smaller full-strength regiments rather than four larger ones which never came close to their prescribed establishment. Therefore, the overall Swiss contingent was reduced to 12,000 men and changed the composition of each regiment:


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Preparations
Under Article 9 of the new conventions, the Swiss government was required to produce a steady stream of 2,000 replacements a year to keep up with attrition, with an extra 1,000 per annum required in case of the outbreak of war in Germany or Italy.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Preparations
By 1812 following the reorganisations of the previous year, the 1st Swiss were reorganised into two active battalions with a total strength of 2,103. According to Dempsey, only two battalions were active at this time, though the regiment was actually the most numerous, with the 2nd Swiss being just behind in three battalions with 1,822 troops. By the time of the beginning of the Invasion of Russia, all Swiss regiments were grouped for the first time in Maréchal d’Empire Nicolas Oudinot's II Corps. the 1st and 2nd Swiss Regiments were grouped into General de Brigade Jacques Savettier de Candras's Brigade, which in turn was paired with Coutard's Brigade (3rd Swiss and 128th Line) and Amey's Brigade (4th Swiss and 3rd Provisional Croats) in General Merle's Division.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Preparations
On most levels, Napoleon's campaign against Russia was a hugely complex series of events. For the Swiss regiments, it was much simpler – it consisted of three major engagements separated by long stretches of inactivity. The First Battle of Polotsk and Second Battle of Polotsk are amongst the least known actions of the campaign because they took place far from the watchful eye of Napoleon. Howeve, the Battle of Berezina is better known, but the role played by the Swiss in that engagement is not always clearly described. Still, in all three instances, the Swiss covered themselves with glory and provided some of the most heroic episodes in the story of Napoleon's foreign troops.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, First Battle of Polotsk
At the very beginning of the invasion, the II Corps was detached along with Maréchal d'Empire Étienne Macdonald's X Corps to guard the left, or northern, flank of the advancing Grande Armée, which generally followed the line of the Dvina River. After encountering stiff resistance from the 1st Detached Corps from the Russian First Western Army lead by the soon to be well known Lieutenant General Peter Wittgenstein, both the II and VI (Bavarian) Corps under General de Division Laurent de Gouvion-Saint-Cyr fell back and took up a defensive position in and around Polotsk.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, First Battle of Polotsk
On 17th August, General Wittgenstein attacked the French in force, inflicting a sharp reserve on the II and VI Corps where Oudinot was wounded, and command was given to Marshal St Cyr, commanding VI Corps. The latter earned his Marshal's baton on the 18th when he counter-attacked and drove off the Russian Corps. During the engagement, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Swiss Regiments were initially not engaged, but the 18th St Cyr placed them in reserve as a precaution in case the action went against the French. St Cyr is said to have noted:


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, First Battle of Polotsk
"I know the Swiss. I had a battalion of the 1st [ Swiss] Regiment under my orders at Castlefranco in Italy. The French are more impetuous in an advance, but if it comes to a retreat, we can count on the calm and courage of the Swiss


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, First Battle of Polotsk
In the afternoon, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Swiss Regiments were called upon to play a small but important role in the action when General Wittgenstein launched a bold cavalry charge to stabilise his deteriorating position. The Russian cavalry overran a French brigade but were brought up short of their full objective by several squares of Swiss. The Marquis de Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, who was riding in a carriage because of a wound he had suffered, was nearly captured when his transport was upset but was saved by the 3rd Swiss Regiment. The casualties overall of the Swiss, fortunately, were very light.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, First Battle of Polotsk
For the next two months, the Swiss led a relatively calm existence in and around Polotsk despite the enemy's relative proximity. The fact that all the Swiss regiments were serving together for the first time since they were formed meant that there were many occasions for socialising among relatives and old comrades-in-arms who had not seen each other for a long time. The men built sturdy huts for themselves and entrenchments and field fortifications wherever the rivers did not cover the town's approaches. Meanwhile, the officers hunted and fought duels. Daily life here, however, was far from perfect, because a lack of fresh food and clean water led to outbreaks of dysentery and other diseases that ravaged the strength of the Swiss regiments.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
The Russians finally returned to the offensive on 17 October 1812, leading to the Second Battle of Polotsk. The Russians grouped once again under Lieutenant General Peter Wittgenstein in his 1st Detached Corps and grouped into three 'columns'. The First Column designated as the 'Right Hand Column' was commanded by Lieutenant General Prince Jaschwil, the Centre Column under Lieutenant General Gregor von Berg and the Left-Hand Column under Major General Begitschef. The French, meanwhile, were once again split between the II and VI (Bavarian) Corps, lead by Marshals Oudinot and the Marquis de Saint Cyr de Gouvion.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
The two forces were split between Wittgenstein's 40,000 men deploying a concentric attack against the positions held by less than 30,000 men under the Marquis of Saint Cyr. Simultaneously, another 12,000 Russians under General Stengel advanced along the Dvina's south bank in a flanking attack designed to cut off the French retreat. The 1st and 2nd Swiss of de Candrad's Brigade were part of the 9th Division under Divisional General Pierre Hugues Victoire Merle, though the 1st Swiss had only two battalions present while the 2nd-4th had three battalions each.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
The 9th Division was on the left of the French position though the 4th Swiss were in garrison in Polotsk itself and the 3rd Swiss was on the extreme right of the French some way down the road to Witebsk with some units of the 3rd Cuirassier Division and 3rd Light Horse Lancers. On that first day of fighting, the 1st Swiss had the most noteworthy role.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
The regiment had formed its elite grenadier and voltigeur companies in two separate 'elite battalions' and, on the 17th, the Grenadiers under Captain Jean Gilly and Jean Pierre Druey were posted in the chapel of Rostna and an adjoining walled cemetery that had been turned into a strong point. At 19:00 hours, the battalion was assailed by two Russian regiments. The Swiss fought until their ammunition was used up, then broke through the surrounding enemy forces in a desperate bayonet charge, leaving 150 dead behind while not abandoning a single wounded man. When the remaining Grenadiers were safely back within French lines, all of the regiment's officers gathered to assist in the midnight burial of the two Grenadier captains, who were killed in the battle.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
The fighting became more widespread on the 18th. The Russians first assaulted the French right but were finally driven off in see-saw action that lasted more of the day. Then Wittgenstein launched a late attack on the French left. This gesture should have had little consequences, but the 1st and 2nd Swiss Regiments and 3rd Provisional Croats were then posted somewhat in advance of the French entrenchments. However, before they could be withdrawn from harm's way, they came under fire and responded with a few volleys of their own, followed by a bayonet charge that repulsed the enemy.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
The Eagle-Bearer of the 2nd Swiss was wounded, and he passed his burden to Captain Louis Bégos. The officer was then confronted by Captain Leonard Müller, one of the regiment's biggest men, who demanded the honour of defending the regimental standard. To Bégos' amazement, however, no sooner did Müller take the Eagle than he ran directly toward the enemy yelling "En avant le 2e!" ("Forward the 2nd"). All orders to disengage were ignored, and the Swiss swept forward after the captain.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
It was magnificent, but also folly. The Swiss pushed forward unsupported in the face of Russian infantry and artillery fire, and the casualties were appalling. When it was impossible to advance further, they gave ground only grudgingly, withdrawing with parade-ground precision that inspired admiration in friend and foe alike. Wittgenstein attempted to administer a coup de grâce by launching his cavalry, including some elements of the Russian Combined Guards Cavalry Regiment, at the embattled redcoats, but they never lost their courage or composure as Colonel Raguettly of the 1st Swiss urged the men of both units to keep to their ranks, hold firm and not give up. The steadiness is demonstrated by the following passage from a memoir by an officer who participated in the action:


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
[ T]he resistance stubborn: I mention the 1st Swiss Regiment, which deployed, began firing by platoons, advanced, stopped and began firing again, this time by files. Ceasing fire, the unit performed an about-face and retreated at a normal pace, then stopped, faced around and began firing again.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
By the time the Swiss returned to French lines, the two regiments had suffered casualties of over 60 officers and 1,100 men. As an example to illustrate the carnage, at the end of the day, one company was commanded by a Sergeant Major named Bornand who had been wounded three times (a sabre-cut to the head, a musket ball in the arm and a wound in the leg) and mustered only three privates and a single corporal. Colonel Castella of the 2nd Swiss Regiment reported that 33 of the 50 officers of his unit present with the colours at the start of the day were killed or wounded.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
The Swiss preserved their standards as well as their honour. Captain Müller was shot dead shortly after starting his charge, leaving the eagle of the 2nd at the mercy of the Russians. Captain Bégos rushed forward to save it but found that the flag was pinned underneath Müller's corpse, which he was at first unable to budge because of Müller's great weight. Bégos got down on his knees and, undoubtedly with the help of some adrenaline, was finally able to pull the colours clear. He gave the eagle and the colours to an NCO to carry to safety, then retook his place at the head of his troops. Lieutenant Legler and Sergeant Kaa preserved the eagle of the 1st Swiss, but no details exist of this feat.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
On 19 October, the very day that Napoleon began retreating from Moscow, the battered Russians rested for the most part, waiting for their flanking movement to develop and provide more decisive results than they had been able to achieve on the battlefield. The Marquis de Saint Cyr realised what was happening and also realised that he had to withdraw to avoid encirclement. The French retirement through the town of Polotsk and across the bridges over the Dvina was favoured by a thick fog and was handled so discreetly that the Russians at first failed to notice what was happening.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
Unfortunately, some of the retreating soldiers set fire to their abandoned barracks in the early evening, and the flames brought on an immediate Russian assault. The 3rd and 4th Swiss Regiments were among the troops ordered to hold the town at all costs until the rest of the army had escaped.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Second Battle of Polotsk
The fight for Polotsk was one of the campaign's most savage battles, conducted at night in a town full of blazing wooden buildings. Once the outer perimeters were breached, the fighting became hand-to-hand in the streets and houses, but the Swiss maintained their discipline and organisation throughout.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Retreat from Russia
The performance of the Swiss at the Second Battle of Polotsk was one of the finest by foreign troops during the whole of the Napoleonic Wars. Marshal Sainte Cyr recognised in his report that he owed the escape of his baggage and all of his guns to the Swiss, although he did chide them for the 'excessive' courage that had led to such fearful losses on the 18th. Napoleon himself mentioned the stalwart performance of the Swiss in the 28th Bulletin published on 1 November, and the four regiments were awarded thirty-four Legion of Honour decorations.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Retreat from Russia
After Polotsk, the Swiss and the II Corps' other remaining units retired slowly towards the French main body returning from Moscow. Although reduced in numbers, the Swiss were in relatively good condition since many had warm overcoats and new shoes they had found in Polotsk. They were stunned when they finally met up with the ragged remains of the Grande Armée on the banks of the Berezina accompanied by a tired-looking Napoleon wearing his traditional grey overcoat.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Retreat from Russia, Berezina Crossing
The Emperor subjected the Swiss to an impromptu review on 27 November, then dispatched them across the improvised bridges with the all-important mission of protecting the French line of retreat from the forces of General Pavel Chichagov's 3rd Western Army. After a restless night spent bivouacked in a gloomy forest, they awoke to the unexpected sound of a traditional Swiss patriotic hymn sung by Lieutenant David Legler and a chorus of officers and men. This song of voyage and homecoming, known thereafter as the "Song of the Beresina", must have seemed both poignant and ironic to men who knew that few of them would survive that day.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Retreat from Russia, Berezina Crossing
The thin line of battle that was formed that morning of 28 November to face the Russian onslaught consisted of the four Swiss regiments, the Legion of the Vistula, the 123rd Line Infantry Regiment (formed from disbanded regiments of the Kingdom of Holland), and the 3rd Provisional Croatian Regiment, plus General of Division Jean-Pierre Doumerc's heavy cavalry division, all under the command of Marshals Michel Ney and Nicolas Oudinot. The understrength units mustered perhaps 7,000 men and were heavily outnumbered by the enemy.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Retreat from Russia, Berezina Crossing
The battle would last the whole day. Attacked by eight full regiments of infantry, the Swiss fired off all their ammunition and then, under direct orders from General Merle, advanced with the cold steel to drive the enemy back. Having won some breathing room, they retired, found more ammunition, then repeated the same sequence – something they were to do a remarkable total of eight times during the day.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Retreat from Russia, Berezina Crossing
The men who were not wounded were exhausted and had no opportunity to eat, but they fought on, never offering a complaint and mustering the same vigour for their bayonet attacks throughout the day. By the end, all the drummers had been killed or wounded, and Captain Rey had to pick up an abandoned drum to beat the charge himself.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Retreat from Russia, Berezina Crossing
The astonishing effort of the Swiss alone might not have been enough to win the day for the French, but it was matched by those of the other foreign troops in action and surpassed by that of Domerc's cavalry division. The 400 men of the 4th, 7th, and 14th Cuirassiers, representing almost the last organised cavalry in the whole of the Grande Armée, routed an entire Russian division and forced over 2,000 Russians to surrender. As soldiers on both sides collapsed from exhaustion at 22:00 hours, the French knew that they had held their position and had prevented the Russians from trapping the Emperor and the last remnants of his army.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Retreat from Russia, Berezina Crossing
The cost for the Swiss in human lives was severe, particularly regarding the many officers who were still mounted and therefore made easy targets. Chef de Bataillon Blattman was knocked from his horse and was killed by a bullet in the forehead. No exact count of casualties was possible in the circumstances, but the Swiss were virtually wiped out as a fighting force, although each of the four regiments had preserved their Eagles. Counting stragglers and detachments, there were perhaps just 300 men left in the division.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Invasion of Russia, Retreat from Russia, Berezina Crossing
General Merle told Napoleon that he thought that every Swiss soldier deserved to be decorated for the Battle of Berezina, and he persuaded the Emperor to award the Swiss sixty-two crosses of the Legion of Honour. Unfortunately, the order to that effect was lost, and so the deserving officer and men of the Swiss regiments never received any officer recompense for their valour. However, their performance was accorded proper recognition by their countrymen, who viewed them as heroes whose actions were a source of national pride.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Sixth Coalition, Reorganisation
The Swiss regiments suffered such stupendous casualties during the Russian campaign that they had to be completely reorganised for the 1813 campaign. After assembling the soldiers in the regimental depots, survivors of the Russian campaign, new recruits, recovering wounded, soldiers returning from Spain and other odds and ends, each of the four Swiss regiments fielded a single battalion for active service (formerly using three battalions). There were also small detachments of Swiss serving in several fortresses (including, most notably, Custrin) held by French garrisons when their main force retreated from the Duchy of Warsaw and East Prussia.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Sixth Coalition, German campaign
According to official returns, by 1813, the 1st Swiss was the weakest of the four regiments, standing at 587 in strength, with 210 Russian campaign veterans. By Spring 1813, all four of the Swiss regiments were assigned to General Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor's independent Corps of Observation of Holland charged with defending the Dutch departments of the French Empire. By October however, the 1st–3rd Swiss regiments advanced into Germany to take up a position at the famed battlefield of Minden in the Kingdom of Westphalia.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Sixth Coalition, German campaign
On 10 October, the 1st Swiss along with fifty recruits of the 4th Swiss Regiment joined the Bremen garrison. The town had 30,000 inhabitants, which were of dubious loyalty to the Emperor. The forces' arrival was quite timely for the French commandant, Colonel Thuillier, as on 13 October, the town was assaulted by a mixed force of 4-5,000 Russian Cossacks and Prussian Freikorps under General Tettenborn.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Sixth Coalition, German campaign
The voltigeur company under Captain Segesser was assigned to dispute the possession of the town's eastern suburb, and a French official who observed the combat noted that the Swiss "shot with such marvellous accuracy that any enemy soldier who showed himself was soon dead or wounded". The enemy retired. However, the Swiss made the mistake of pursuing them into open country. When a group of Cossacks appeared, a supporting French cavalry unit fled, leaving the voltigeurs surrounded. The Swiss chose to fight rather than surrender, but it was not a fair contest and 86 out of the 97 men were killed, captured, or wounded. Captain Segesser himself, badly wounded, is said to have fired two last pistol shots before he died and killed two cossacks.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Sixth Coalition, German campaign
The next day saw more fighting and more Swiss casualties, but resistance faltered when Colonel Thuillier was killed, and Major Dufresne wounded. The new commander negotiated an honourable capitulation on 15 October, which allowed the garrison to leave with the honours of war but bound them not to fight against the allies anywhere north of the Rhine. Recruiters of the Russian–German Legion attempted to persuade the Swiss to desert and enlist in the said unit. However, the Swiss proudly disdained these advances with indignation. By a decree of 22 December 1813, four Swiss officers and two other ranks received the Legion of Honour for their part in the town's defence.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Sixth Coalition, Defence of France
All the Swiss regiment fell back towards or into French territory after the Battle of Leipzig, and the different regiments experienced different fates. After its defeat at Bremen, the 1st Swiss were pulled back to the banks of the Rhine and were incorporated into the Maestricht Garrison. It would remain here until the end of the war, ravaged by typhus rather than warfare. However, a small detachment of the regiment was based and later besieged in Metz where it suffered a small mutiny when some men refused to work on the fortifications until they received all the pay due to them. The instigator of the trouble was quickly tried and shot.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Sixth Coalition, Defence of France
The Swiss government had tried to recall the Swiss regiments at the end of December 1813 by invoking a clause in the convention with Napoleon that permitted such an action if the Swiss homeland was invaded, but circumstances prevented that initiative from having any practical outcome.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), War of the Sixth Coalition, Defence of France
With Napoleon's First Abdication and subsequent Treaty of Fontainbleau, the hated Bourbons were restored to the throne of France. However, the Bourbons wanted to keep the convention in effect. So, under the First Restoration, the status of the Swiss regiments remained unchanged. However, life was hardly normal as released prisoners received the wounded, and missing detachments returned to their depots from all over Europe.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Disbandment
When Napoleon returned from Elba, the Swiss regiments found themselves in a serious dilemma. Their home government now bound them to serve the Bourbons, and the Swiss authorities refused to switch the benefit of the contract back to Napoleon. When Napoleon called upon the Swiss to defy their own government and serve again with him, most of them took the path of patriotism (and, possibly, disgusted with war) and returned home.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Disbandment
However, some Swiss did decide to join Napoleon. They were formed into a regiment under the command of Colonel Christopher Stoeffel, who had been a Captain in the 3rd Swiss in 1807 but had served exclusively in staff posts thereafter. A single battalion was formed in that regiment and served in General Vandamme's III Corps during the Waterloo Campaign, notably at the Battle of Wavre where it was wiped out. This regiment used the uniform and eagles of the 1st Swiss.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Bourbon Restoration
Under the complete reorganisation of the French Army in 1815-16, the old regiments were disbanded and reformed into new 'departmental legions' (Légions des Departments). However, in keeping with tradition, the 1st and 2nd Swiss were consequently reformed, this time within the Royal Guard as the 7th and 8th Swiss Royal Guard Regiments. The 7th Swiss was now uniformed as follows: red coat with blue lapels, red collar, blue cuffs, red cuff patches, white skirt turnbacks, and red piping. The fusiliers wore the shako, while the grenadiers worse a bearskin fur cap, and the voltigeurs had a shako with a yellow plume.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Bourbon Restoration
Following the 1830 July Revolution, the Royal Guard was disbanded. All Swiss regiments (including those in the Guard) were mustered out and subsequently disbanded. However, the majority of the troops from both of the beforementioned units were kept in the army, with the 1st Swiss helping to form the later famed Foreign Legion. It was, in fact, Colonel Stoffel, the former commander of the 2nd Foreign Regiment (Swiss) during the Hundred Days who helped form the legion. These soldiers would later help form the 2nd Foreign Legion in 1835, which later became the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment which remains in French service as a mechanised infantry regiment.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Uniform
The 1st Swiss was formed from the 3rd Swiss Demi-Brigade and seemed to have retained the uniforms of the latter unit, which were red coats with yellow lapels, cuffs (with red cuff flaps) and turnbacks, sky blue trim around the collar, the cuff flaps and the yellow facings and white turnbacks. Forthofer's uniform plates include an illustration of a plain red, single-breasted jacket with long tails and red turnbacks ornamented with gold grenades on a sky blue cloth background. During the period of 1809–12, the hat was a black shako with white cords, yellow shoulder straps, yellow collar and white piping all around.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Uniform
The uniform was further modified in style and detail by the 1812 dress regulations. The jackets now had yellow collars and closed yellow lapels, both with red piping, while white piping was prescribed for the cuff flaps. The fusiliers were assigned red shoulder straps piped yellow, while the grenadiers were now supposed to have red epaulettes. Apparently, the grenadiers maintained their bearskin caps, with a copper plate adorned with a grenade.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Uniform
The regiment had a full regimental band which participated in the Russian campaign. In 1805, the uniform jacket of the regimental drummers appeared to have been adapted from that for the 3rd Swiss Demi-Brigade – blue with yellow collar, cuffs, cuff flaps, and lapels, all trimmed with gold-laced and piped with sky blue. The drummers also wore red 'swallow's-nest' ornaments, trimmed yellow, on their shoulders.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Regimental Eagles
Each of the Swiss regiments received an Eagle and Model 1804 standard of the same type used by French line troops when it was formed. However, it appears the Swiss were never issued model 1812 eagles. The Swiss demi-brigades that were used to create the 1st Swiss possessed their own eagles and colours, but they were replaced when the new regiment was formed. The 1st Swiss recruited one eagle and one standard for each battalion, which were distributed during the course of the first trimester of 1806.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Regimental Eagles
A wing was broken off the eagle in action at the First Battle of Polotsk, and Sergeant Kaa had to save it from being captured at the 2nd Battle of the name. It was preserved during the retreat from Russia by Lieutenant Legler and is mentioned as having been in Maestricht in January 1814. Some officers preserved both the colour and the eagle in safekeeping after Napoleon's abdication, and they were used briefly by the 2nd Foreign Regiment in 1815.


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Commanding Officers
Throughout the regiment's history, only two colonels led the unit:


1st Swiss Regiment (France), Commanding Officers
Note: under the First Restoration, the Count of Artois (Comte d'Artois) was appointed as Colonel-General of the Swiss, making him the regimental chef; however, the above list only includes those officers who led during the Napoleonic Era pre-restoration.


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