1st Division (Iraq), History
"Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of Iraq's interim government announced organizational changes for the country's security forces, along with a plan for taking on Iraq's enemies, at a 20 June 2004 Baghdad news conference. Allawi envisions the Iraqi rapid intervention forces thwarting sabotage elements, "especially those who chose to hide behind innocent Iraqis in our cities and villages."


1st Division (Iraq), History
As a first order by Iraq's new Ministry of Defense, the all-Iraqi Intervention Forces began patrolling the streets of Baghdad on 28 June 2004."


1st Division (Iraq), History
Two battalions of the IIF conducted operations in Najaf between September and December 2004. Those same two battalions plus another IIF battalion, together with other Iraqi units, were present during the Second Battle of Fallujah soon afterwards. The first significant troop increase for the IIF in 2005 was the graduation of 670 soldiers from the Taji military training base on January 18, 2005. The State Department claimed the IIF had 9,159 men assigned as of the Iraq Weekly Status Report for January 12, 2005.


1st Division (Iraq), History
By January 2005, the IIF comprised twelve of the army’s 27 battalions and was integrated as the 1st Division.


1st Division (Iraq), History
According to Major Gary Schreckengost, a MiTT from the 1st Division's 4th Brigade, 2005–06: "The 1st Brigade (original IIF) was considered the 'elite' of the Iraqi Army and as such, was deployed around the country much like a fire brigade. From 2005–06, most of its battalions were deployed in and around Ramadi or out on the Syrian border. The 3rd brigade was posted at Habbaniya and the 2nd and 4th brigades were posted in or around Fallujah. The 4th Brigade was a motorized brigade and mostly held the area east of Fallujah out to Abu Gharib."


1st Division (Iraq), History
The division was transferred to the Iraqi Ground Forces Command on February 15, 2007. The February 2007 release said the Division was headquartered in Habbaniyah, Al Anbar and operates from Baghdad to Ramadi. All four brigades of the division were operational when the division was transferred to the IGFC's control. In 2008 a brigade of the division took part in the Battle of Basra (2008), which was officially designated 'Operation Charge of the Knights.' As of September 2008, the division was commanded by Brigadier General Adel Abbas.


1st Division (Iraq), History
The division acted as part of the Quick Intervention Corps, the Iraqi Army's strategic reserve. As such, it had brigades in Mosul and north Diyala as of January 2010.


1st Division (Iraq), History, Fight against ISIS
In June 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group attacked parts of northern Iraq. In the process, it was reported that two brigades of the 1st Division were lost during the attack. Mitchell Prothero of the McClatchy Foreign Staff reported July 14, 2014 that "the 1st Division also is basically gone, losing two brigades in Anbar province earlier in the year, then two more during last month's Islamic State onslaught, including one brigade that in the words of [a] senior Iraqi politician was "decimated" in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad."


1st Division (Iraq), Composition
As of January 2010 the division's dispositions appear to be:


1st Division (Japan)
The 1st Division (第1師団, Dai-Ichi Shidan) is one of nine active divisions of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. The division is subordinated to the Eastern Army and is headquartered at Camp Nerima in Nerima, Tokyo. Its responsibility is the defense of Tokyo and the Chiba, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures.


1st Division (Japan), History
The division was raised on 18 January 1962 but dates back to the 1st District Corps (Tokyo) of the then National Police Reserve formed in 1950 and reformed in 1962 as an Infantry Division.


1st Division (New Zealand)
The 1st Division was one of three New Zealand Army home defence divisions formed during World War II. The unit was established on 1 November 1941 and was responsible for protecting the northern region of New Zealand's North Island from invasion. The 1st Division was placed on alert during the early months of the Pacific War, but no threat developed. The division was greatly reduced in size during 1943 and was disbanded on 1 April 1944.


1st Division (New Zealand), History
As part of the preparations for the possible outbreak of war in the Pacific, the defensive forces stationed in New Zealand were expanded in late 1941. On 1 November, three new brigade headquarters were raised (taking the total in the New Zealand Military Forces, as the New Zealand Army was then known, to seven), and three divisional headquarters were established to coordinate the units located in the Northern, Central and Southern Military Districts. The division in the Northern Military District was designated the Northern Division, and comprised the 1st and 12th Brigade Groups. The 1st Brigade Group had been formed prior to World War II; the 12th Brigade Group was one of the new headquarters; both of these units were part of the Territorial Force and were manned by part-time reservists.


1st Division (New Zealand), History
The New Zealand Military Forces was further expanded following the outbreak of the Pacific War. The Territorial Force was fully mobilised on 10 January 1942, and reinforced by 7000 men who had originally enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force for overseas service. The role of the Territorial Force was to counter any Japanese landings in New Zealand, and it was organised into both mobile and fortress units. The Home Guard would support the Territorial units in the event of an invasion. During early 1942, camps were constructed for the 1st Brigade Group in South Auckland and the 12th Brigade Group at Kaikohe. The 1st Brigade subsequently moved to a camp near Warkworth. Later in the war, a divisional camp was constructed near Whangarei.


1st Division (New Zealand), History
Major General Harold Eric Barrowclough assumed command of the Northern Division in April 1942. Barrowclough had led the 6th Infantry Brigade during the Greek Campaign and subsequent fighting in North Africa, and had been posted back to New Zealand to command the forces in Fiji. However, on arrival in New Zealand he was assigned to command the Northern Division, to his displeasure.


1st Division (New Zealand), History
At about this time, the three divisions stationed in New Zealand were transformed into mobile formations and renamed; the Northern Division became the 1st Division; the divisions in the Central and Southern Military District were redesignated as the 4th and 5th Divisions respectively. As part of this change, the 1st Division's headquarters was expanded and relocated to the Northland Region. During mid-1942, the Bay of Islands Fortress formed part of the 1st Division, and Barrowclough treated it as the division's third brigade, though the fortress units were static.


1st Division (New Zealand), History
In August, Barrowclough was appointed to lead the 3rd New Zealand Division after its commander was killed in an accident. Until August and September, Territorial Force units across New Zealand were held at eight days notice to respond to an invasion, and defensive positions along the country's coastline were permanently manned.


1st Division (New Zealand), History
The forces stationed in New Zealand were considerably reduced as the threat of invasion passed. During early 1943 each of the three home defence divisions were cut from 22,358 to 11,530 men. The non-divisional units suffered even greater reductions. The New Zealand Government ordered a general stand-down of the defensive forces in the country on 28 June, which led to further reductions in the strength of units and a lower state of readiness.


1st Division (New Zealand), History
By the end of the year almost all of the Territorial Force personnel had been demobilised (though they retained their uniforms and equipment), and only 44 soldiers were posted to the three divisional and seven brigade headquarters. The war situation continued to improve and the 1st Division, along with the other two divisions and almost all the remaining Territorial Force units, was disbanded on 1 April 1944.


1st Division (Nigeria)
The 1st Division is a formation of the Nigerian Army. It was established during the Nigerian civil war and is charged with securing its area of responsibility covering the North Western flank of Nigeria and also ensuring that the borders located in its AOR are secured. The division is a mechanized infantry with affiliated combat support and combat service support units.


1st Division (Nigeria), History
In August–September 1967, 1 Area Command at Kaduna was predesignated 1 Infantry Division, and 2 Division was formed under Colonel Murtala Mohammed. At the end of the Civil War, the three divisions of the army were reorganized into four divisions, with each controlling territories running from North to South, with each division having access to the sea. This was later abandoned in favor of the assignment of sectors to the divisions.


1st Division (Nigeria), Divisional components
The existence of 3rd Brigade at Kano was corroborated by a May 2015 report of 1,000 soldiers dismissed "for allegedly disobeying orders during onslaughts against Boko Haram militants in the North-east."


1st Division (Nigeria), Divisional components
17 Brigade began its formation in late 2017, and was officially established on 20 February 2018 for internal security duties. It became part of 1 Division.


1st Division (North Korea)
The 1st Infantry Division is a military formation of the Korean People's Army.


1st Division (North Korea)
It was part of the North Korean advance from Seoul to Taejon.


1st Division (North Korea)
The intelligence section of U.S Far East Command headquarters listed the divisions order of battle as of 31 July 1952 as follows:


1st Division (North Korea)
This same report listed the 1st Division as being in III Corps Reserve at the same time period.


1st Division (Norway)
The 1st Division (Norwegian: 1. divisjon) is a former unit in the Norwegian Army, responsible for the defence of Eastern Norway along with 2nd Division.


1st Division (Norway)
Following the German invasion of Norway in 1940 the Norwegian 1st Division, commanded by Major General Carl Johan Erichsen, was responsible for defending the land areas on both side of the Oslofjord against the invading troops. The division was not well prepared for the situation, the troops were not mobilized and the division's stores depots in Fredrikstad were captured by the Germans already on 9 April. The 1st Division was responsible for Fossum Fortress (Høytorp Fort and Trøgstad Fort) in Askim and the Greåker Fort in Sarpsborg.


1st Division (Norway)
The Germans started attacking on 12 April, and there were battles at bridges crossing Glomma (Fossum Bridge, Langenes Railway Bridge, and a bridge near Kykkelsrud Power Station). Fossum Fortress was surrendered on 13 April. On 14 April a large number of troops in Østfold, around 3,000 men, chose to cross the border to Sweden instead of continuing the fight or surrendering to the German troops. At Kongsberg two bataillons surrendered without fighting, while some officers and soldiers disagreed with the surrender and defended the Vinje district for about one  month.


1st Division (Portugal)
The 1st Division was one of the two divisions of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Corpo Expedicionário Português), the main military force of Portugal that fought in the World War I Western Front on the side of the Allies. The Division was under the command of General Gomes da Costa, during most of its existence.


1st Division (Portugal)
From the June 2, 1917, to the April 6, 1918, the 1st Division was responsible for the subsectors of Neuve-Chappelle and Ferme du Bois of the Portuguese Sector of the Western Front.


1st Division (Portugal)
After heavy losses in the Front, the 1st Division was removed from the front line, three days before the April 9, 1918 German offensive that gave origin of the Battle of the Lys, where CEP was virtually destroyed.


1st Division (Portugal)
In July 1918, the 1st Division was the core for the reconstruction of the CEP and participated in the final Allied offensive.


1st Division (Portugal)
The 4th Company of IV Battalion the 1st Division, under the command of captain Barros Bastos made a final assault against the German positions near the Scheldt river on the November 11, 1918, on the same day of the Armistice. This was the last Portuguese combat action of World War I.


1st Division (Reichswehr)
The 1st Division was a unit of the Reichswehr, the armed forces of Germany during the Weimar Republic.


1st Division (Reichswehr), Creation
In the Order of 31 July 1920 for the Reduction of the Army (to comply with the upper limits on the size of the military contained in the Treaty of Versailles), it was determined that in every Wehrkreis (military district) a division would be established by 1 October 1920. The 1st Division was formed in January 1921 out of the Reichswehr-Brigaden 1 and 20, both part of the former Übergangsheer (Transition Army).


1st Division (Reichswehr), Creation
It consisted of 3 infantry regiments, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd (Prussian) Infantry Regiments (1. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment; 2. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment; 3. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment). It also included the 1st (Prussian) Artillery Regiment (1. (Preußisches) Artillerie-Regiment), an engineering battalion, a signals battalion, a transportation battalion and a medical battalion. It was subordinated to Gruppenkommando 1.


1st Division (Reichswehr), Creation
The commander of the Wehrkreis I was simultaneously the commander of the 1st Division. For the leadership of the troops, an Infanterieführer and an Artillerieführer were appointed, both subordinated to the commander of the Division.


1st Division (Reichswehr), Divisional commanders, Infanterieführers
The unit ceased to exist as such after October 1934, and its subordinate units were transferred to the 11, 21 Divisions newly created in that year. The 1. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment provided the personnel for the infantry regiments of the 1st Infantry Division of the new Wehrmacht.


1st Division (Royal Navy)
The 1st Division was a formation of the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy. It briefly existed before the First World War from 1909 to 1912.


1st Division (Royal Navy), History
In March 1909 following a Navy re-organisation, the Home Fleet absorbed the Channel Fleet, which became its First and Second divisions. Each division consisted of A battle squadron that had eight ships. This was essentially a reserve force allocated to major home commands. The new Dreadnought class battleships were allocated to the 1st Battle Squadron - 1st Division, Home Fleet. The Royal Navy's  Battle Cruisers were posted to the 1st Cruiser Squadron. The Atlantic Fleet managed to survive the organisational changes. The first division existed until 1912 when it re-styled 1st Battle Squadron.


1st Division (South Sudan)
The 1st Division, (South Sudan) of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) (alternatively known as Division I) was and is a division of the SPLA, now being renamed as the South Sudan People's Defence Forces. It was established in 2006, and has had its headquarters in Renk, Upper Nile State.


1st Division (South Sudan)
After the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed, George Athor was appointed to the rank of major general in the SPLA when ranks were formalized, and confirmed in overall commander of Division I (2005-07) before being moved to SPLA HQ in Bilpam as director for administration. Rands wrote in 2011 that 'The men at the Ketbek Garrison of Major General Gordon Kong of the SAF largely became SPLA with the [2006] Juba Declaration. They took with them most of the equipment held by the SSDF in the area, which had been supplied to them by SAF Military Intelligence. They are now integrated into elements of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division, under the command of Colonel Simon Yap.'


1st Division (South Sudan)
The UN Panel of Experts on South Sudan named it in January 2016 as one of the GOSS's most effective fighting forces (S/2016/70).


1st Division (South Sudan)
The Small Arms Survey wrote in early 2016 that '.. [ the] Division, stationed in Renk and widely regarded as the best fighting force in the country, is largely Nuer. Until 2 December 2015, it was under the command of Stephen Buay, a Bul Nuer who was subsequently redeployed to lead the SPLA’s 4th Division in Rubkona, Unity State. He was reassigned after months of rumours that he was planning to desert and join the SPLA–IO, following tensions with the Padang Dinka administration in Upper Nile.'


1st Division (South Vietnam)
The 1st Division  of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)—the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975—was part of the I Corps that oversaw the northernmost region of South Vietnam, the centre of Vietnam.


1st Division (South Vietnam)
The 1st Division was based in Huế, the old imperial city and one of two major cities in the region, which was also the corps headquarters. Until late 1971 the Division was also tasked with the defence of Quảng Trị, the closest town to the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and among the first to be hit by the Tet Offensive.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
In 1960 the 1st Field Division was redesignated the 1st Infantry Division.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
In late 1965 Maj. Gen. Lewis William Walt, the commander of the US III Marine Amphibious Force and the I Corps' senior adviser, assessed the Division under General Nguyễn Văn Chuân as "waging a skillful campaign" and "consistently destroying the VC in all significant encounters. "


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
On 12 March 1966 following the dismissal of General Nguyễn Chánh Thi as I Corps commander, General Chuân was appointed as the new I Corps commander and General Pham Xuan Nhuan, the head of the Ranger Command in Saigon, was given command of the Division. Following the dismissal of Thi, the northern zone erupted into a seething inferno of political dissent in the Buddhist Uprising. The number and intensity of strikes, marches, and rallies steadily increased, fueled by soldiers, police, and local officials loyal to Thi.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
By the beginning of April Struggle Movement forces appeared to control most of Huế, Da Nang and Hoi An and had the support of the I Corps headquarters and the Division. At the same time, South Vietnamese combat operations in the northern zone began to peter out, and the danger that the crisis presented to the war effort became evident. As the new Division commander, General Nhuan placed infantry and armored forces in blocking positions along Route 1, between Huế and Da Nang, and stood ready to reinforce Struggle units in Da Nang the situation inside the city was tense.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
The commander of the Quang Nam Special Zone, Col. Dam Quang Yeu, headed the rebel military units that, according to US estimates, included an infantry battalion from the 51st Regiment, three Regional Forces companies, eleven Popular Forces platoons, and six armored vehicles, plus about 6000 South Vietnamese administrative troops and 200 military police. When Yeu quickly positioned some of his units on the approaches to the downtown area, the start of civil war seemed imminent.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
On 10 June 1966 the South Vietnamese junta began a steady buildup of special riot police under Republic of Vietnam National Police commander Colonel Nguyễn Ngọc Loan on the outskirts of Huế and, on 15 June, sent a task force of two Airborne and two Marine battalions under Colonel Ngô Quang Trưởng into the city for a final showdown. Intermittent fighting lasted in Huế for four days. Opposition was disorganized and consisted of about 1000 Division troops, mostly soldiers from support units.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
Protected by Trưởng's forces, Loan's police removed the Buddhist altars and arrested most of the remaining leaders of the Struggle Movement, including Thích Trí Quang. The junta gave Trưởng command of the Division, and by the end of June both the Division and Huế were under firm government control. By 1967 US advisers reported that General Trưởng had whipped the formerly rebellious Division into one of South Vietnam's best army units.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
In mid-July 1966 the Division launched Operation Lam Son 289 in support of the US 3rd Marine Division's Operation Hastings in the southern DMZ. The Division lost 21 killed in the operation.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
From 18–26 May 1967 the Division conducted Operation Lam Son 54 in coordination with the US 3rd Marine Division's Operation Hickory near Con Thien.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
By 1968 the Division's 1st Regiment was responsible for Strongpoint A-1 () part of the Strongpoint Obstacle System south of the DMZ.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
On 25 May near Thong Nghia () the 2nd Regiment engaged a PAVN battalion killing 122 PAVN. The next day the Regiment killed another 110 PAVN while losing 2 killed.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
On 8 August the 2nd Regiment engaged a PAVN force from the 1st Battalion, 138th Regiment 2 km east of Gio Linh killing over 100 and forcing them to withdraw towards the DMZ. On the morning of 15 August the 2nd Regiment and the US 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, supported by Company A, 1st AMTRAC Battalion launched an assault into the southern DMZ which resulted in a reported 421 PAVN killed.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History
On 23 October the 2nd Regiment supported by Company H, 9th Marines and a tank platoon from Company A, 3rd Tank Battalion launched a raid into the DMZ north of Ha Loi Trung (), resulting in 112 PAVN killed.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
During the Battle of Hue, the division fought the entirety of the battle while its Mang Ca Garrison, headquarters in the northeast corner of the Citadel was completely surrounded. In the early morning hours of 31 January 1968, a division-sized force of PAVN and VC soldiers launched a coordinated attack on the city of Huế breaking through the western wall of the Citadel. On the Tây Lộc Airfield, the Division's elite Hac Bao (Black Panther) Company, reinforced by the 1st Division's 1st Ordnance Company, stopped the PAVN 800th Battalion. The 802nd Battalion struck the 1st Division headquarters at Mang Ca.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
Although the PAVN battalion penetrated the division compound, an ad hoc 200-man defensive force of staff officers and clerks staved off the enemy assaults. General Trưởng called back most of his Black Panther Company from the airfield to bolster the headquarters defenses, which kept division headquarters secure. General Trưởng called in reinforcements ordering his 3rd Regiment; the 3rd Troop, 7th ARVN Cavalry; and the 1st ARVN Airborne Task Force to relieve the pressure on Mang Ca.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
Responding to the call at PK-17 base 17 km north of Huế, the 3rd Troop and the 7th Battalion of the Airborne task force rolled out of their base area in an armored convoy onto Highway 1. A PAVN blocking force stopped the ARVN relief force about 400 meters short of the Citadel wall. Unable to force their way through the enemy positions, the South Vietnamese paratroopers asked for assistance. The 2nd ARVN Airborne Battalion reinforced the convoy, and the South Vietnamese finally penetrated the lines and entered the Citadel in the early morning hours of 1 February.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
The cost had been heavy: the ARVN suffered 131 casualties including 40 dead, and lost four of the 12 armored personnel carriers in the convoy. The ARVN claimed to have killed 250 PAVN, captured five prisoners, and recovered 71 individual and 25 crew-served weapons. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 3rd Regiment, advanced east from encampments southwest of the city along the northern bank of the Perfume River, but PAVN defensive fires forced them to fall back. Unable to enter the Citadel, the two battalions established their night positions outside the southeast wall of the old City.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
PAVN/VC forces surrounded the 1st and 4th Battalions of the regiment, operating to the southeast, as they attempted to reinforce the units in Huế. Captain Phan Ngoc Luong, the commander of the 1st Battalion, retreated with his unit to the coastal Ba Long outpost. At Ba Long, the battalion then embarked upon motorized junks and reached the Citadel the following day. The 4th Battalion, however, remained unable to break its encirclement for several days. South of the city, Lieutenant Colonel Phan Hu Chi, the commander of the 7th Armored Cavalry Squadron attempted to break the PAVN/VC stranglehold.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
He led an armored column toward Huế, but like the other South Vietnamese units, found it impossible to break through. With the promise of U.S. Marine reinforcements, Chi's column, with three tanks in the lead, tried once more. This time they crossed the An Cuu Bridge over the Phu Cam Canal () into the new city. Coming upon the central police headquarters in southern Huế, the tanks attempted to relieve the police defenders, but an enemy B-40 rocket made a direct hit upon Lieutenant Colonel Chi's tank, killing him instantly. The South Vietnamese armor pulled back.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
At 15:00, the 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment reached the Mang Ca compound. Later that day, U.S. Marine helicopters from HMM-165 brought part of the 4th Battalion, 2nd Regiment from Đông Hà Combat Base into the Citadel. The deteriorating weather forced the squadron to cancel the remaining lifts with about half of the battalion in the Citadel.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
The ARVN would attempt to regain the Citadel while the Marines regained the new city south of the Perfume River. Within the Citadel the ARVN 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment and the 1st Airborne task force cleared out the north and western parts of the Citadel including Tây Lộc Airfield and the Chanh Tay Gate, while the 4th Battalion, 2nd Regiment moved south from Mang Ca towards the Imperial Palace, killing over 700 PAVN/VC by 4 February. On 5 February General Trưởng exchanged the Airborne with the 4th Battalion, which had become stalled.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
On 6 February the 1st Battalion captured the An Hoa Gate on the northwest corner of the Citadel and the 4th Battalion captured the southwest wall. On the night of the 6th, the PAVN counterattacked, scaling the southwest wall and pushing the 4th Battalion back to Tây Lộc. On the 7th General Trưởng ordered the 3rd Regiment, which had been futilely trying to break into the southeast corner of the Citadel to move to Mang Ca to reinforce his units inside the Citadel.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
On 11 February the Vietnamese Marines Task Force A comprising the 1st and 5th Battalions, began to be lifted by helicopter into Mang Ca to replace the Airborne, however due to poor weather this deployment would not be completed until 13 February. General Trưởng called for assistance in clearing the Citadel and at 10:45 on 11 February Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines was airlifted aboard Marine CH-46s into Mang Ca, however enemy fire forced several of the helicopters to return to Phu Bai.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
The Marines together with 5 M48s from the 1st Tank Battalion would later be loaded onto Mike Boats at the LCU Ramp in southern Hue and ferried across to Mang Ca. On 14 February the Vietnamese Marine Task Force A joined the battle. The operational plan was for the Marines to move west from Tây Lộc and then turn south, however they were soon stopped by strong PAVN defenses; after two days the Vietnamese Marines had only advanced 400 metres. Meanwhile, the ARVN 3rd Regiment fought off a PAVN counterattack in the northwest corner of the Citadel.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
On 17 February the Vietnamese Marines and 3rd Regiment resumed their attacks south, while the Black Panther Company was moved to support the right flank of the 1/5 Marines, over the next 3 days these forces would slowly reduce the PAVN's perimeter. On 22 February after a barrage of 122mm rockets the PAVN counterattacked the Vietnamese Marines who pushed them back with the support of the Black Panther Company.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
On the night of 23 February the PAVN attempted another counterattack but were forced back by artillery fire and the 3rd Regiment launched a night attack along the southern wall of the Citadel, at 05:00 they raised the South Vietnamese flag on the Citadel flag tower and proceeded to secure the southern wall by 10:25. General Trưởng then ordered the 2nd Battalion 3rd Regiment and the Black Panther Company to recapture the Imperial City and this was achieved against minimal resistance by late afternoon.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue
The last remaining pocket of PAVN at the southwest corner of the Citadel was eliminated in an attack by the 4th Vietnamese Marine Battalion in the early hours of 25 February. As a result of the battle this division had earned several commendations from the RVN Government as well a US Presidential Unit Citation.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Quang Tri
Launched simultaneously with the attack on Hue the PAVN/VC also attacked Quang Tri on the early morning of 31 January. The PAVN 812th Regiment (reinforced), of the 324th Division was tasked with capturing the city. The brunt of the attack would fall on the ARVN forces in and around the city.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Quang Tri
These were the 1st Regiment, 1st Division, the 9th Airborne Battalion, 2nd Troop, 7th Cavalry an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) Troop attached to the 1st Regiment, the Republic of Vietnam National Police, a paramilitary body led by regular military officers stationed within the city, and Regional and Popular Force (militia) elements in the city. The 1st Regiment had two of its battalions in positions to the north of the city, and one to the northeast, protecting pacified villages in those areas.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Quang Tri
The Regiment's fourth battalion was in positions south of the city in and around the regiment's headquarters at La Vang Base. One Airborne company was bivouacked in Tri Buu village on the northern edge of the city with elements in the Citadel, and two Airborne companies were positioned just south of the city in the area of a large cemetery where Highway 1 crosses Route 555.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Quang Tri
Quảng Trị City was clear of PAVN/VC troops by midday on 1 February, and ARVN units with U.S. air support had cleared Tri Buu Village of PAVN troops. The remnants of the 812th, having been hit hard by ARVN defenders and American air power and ground troops on the outskirts of the city, particularly artillery and helicopters, broke up into small groups, sometimes mingling with crowds of fleeing refugees, and began to exfiltrate the area, trying to avoid further contact with Allied forces.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Quang Tri
They were pursued by the American forces in a circular formation forced contact with the fleeing PAVN/VC over the next ten days. Heavy fighting continued with large well-armed PAVN/VC forces south of Quảng Trị City, and there were lighter contacts in other areas. This pursuit continued throughout the first ten days of February.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Tet Offensive, Battle of Quang Tri
The US military considered the attack on Quảng Trị "without a doubt one of the major objectives of the Tet Offensive". They attributed the decisive defeat to the hard-nosed South Vietnamese defense, effective intelligence on PAVN/VC movements and the air mobile tactics of the 1st Cavalry Division. Between 31 January and 6 February, the Allies killed an estimated 914 PAVN/VC and captured another 86 in and around Quang Tri. The successful defense of Quang Tri prevented reinforcement at Hue, as well as preventing the further collapse of security in the region.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, May Offensive
On 28 April at the start of the May Offensive the Division's Hac Bao Company located the 8th Battalion, 90th Regiment in the fishing hamlet of Phuoc Yen 6 km northwest of Huế. Units from the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 501st Infantry Regiment surrounded the hamlet and destroyed the battalion in a 4 day long battle.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, May Offensive
PAVN losses 309 killed (including all the senior officers) and 104 captured. On 2 May a Regional Force company reported that PAVN were in the hamlet of Bon Tri, 6 km west of Huế that had been used as a supply station during the Battle of Huế. Several companies from the 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment and the Hac Bao Company engaged the PAVN 3rd Battalion, 812th Regiment in a 2 day battle resulting in 121 PAVN dead for Allied losses of 4 killed and 18 wounded.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, May Offensive
On 29 April the PAVN 320th Division attacked An Binh, north of Đông Hà Combat Base, this drew two Battalions of the 2nd Regiment into a running battle and the 1st Battalion 9th Marines was sent in to support the ARVN resulting in a 7-hour long battle that left 11 Marines, 17 ARVN and over 150 PAVN dead. On 30 April, a PAVN unit opened fire on a US Navy Clearwater patrol from entrenched positions near Dai Do, 2.5 km northeast of Đông Hà.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, May Offensive
It was later discovered that four PAVN Battalions including the 48th and 56th from the 320th had established themselves at Dai Do. The Battle of Dai Do lasted until 3 May and resulted in 81 Marines, 5 ARVN and over 600 PAVN killed. On 26 May the 2nd Regiment killed 110 PAVN north of Thuong Nghia.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, May Offensive
From 4–20 August 1968 the Division participated in Operation Somerset Plain a spoiling attack on the PAVN logistics hub in the A Sầu Valley with the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. The US/ARVN forces proceeded to search the valley meeting only scattered resistance until 10/11 August when the ARVN 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment was attacked by elements of the PAVN 816th and 818th Main Force Battalions. Air and artillery support was called in and the PAVN retreated into the jungle losing several dozen killed. The Division lost 11 killed while the PAVN lost 181 killed and 4 captured.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, May Offensive
From 10–20 September 1968, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 54th Regiment participated in Operation Vinh Loc a security operation on Vinh Loc Island (), Phú Vang District, east of Huế with the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. VC losses were 154 killed, 370 captured and 56 Chieu Hoi.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
Throughout this period the Division conducted operations to defend the DMZ in addition to numerous named operations.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
From 15 March to 2 May 1969 the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Regiment participated in Operation Maine Crag with the 3rd Marine Division in the "Vietnam Salient" in northwest Quảng Trị Province.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
From 30 March to 26 May 1969 the 51st Regiment participated in Operation Oklahoma Hills with the 1st Marine Division against PAVN/VC base areas southwest of Da Nang.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
From 10 May to 7 June 1969 the 1st and 3rd Regiment participated in Operation Apache Snow with the US 101st Airborne Division in the A Sau valley. During this operation the 3rd Regiment participated in the Battle of Hamburger Hill. ARVN losses were 31 killed while PAVN losses were 675 killed and 3 captured.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
From 26 May to 7 November 1969 the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 51st Regiment participated in Operation Pipestone Canyon with the 37th Ranger Battalion and the US 1st Marine Division against PAVN/VC base areas on Go Noi Island southwest of Da Nang.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
From 12 June to 6 July 1969 the 2nd Regiment participated in Operation Utah Mesa with US Marine and Army forces on the Khe Sanh plateau.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
At the end of 1969 Maj. Gen. Melvin Zais, commanding US XXIV Corps in I Corps, proposed breaking up the Division (with four regiments and about nineteen combat battalions) into two divisions controlled by a "light corps" headquarters responsible for the defense of the DMZ area, but his immediate superior, Lt. Gen. Herman Nickerson Jr. (USMC), commanding the III Marine Amphibious Force (and the I Corps senior adviser), and General Lãm, the I Corps commander, both vetoed the idea, citing the lack of enough experienced Vietnamese officers to staff a new command.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
From 1 April to 5 September 1970 the Division participated in Operation Texas Star with the US 101st Airborne Division in Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên Provinces. In late July 1970 following the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord, the PAVN 6th Regiment attacked the 1st Regiment's Firebase O'Reilly 8 km north of Ripcord. General Trưởng reinforced O'Reilly with another Regiment and the ARVN defended the base for 2 months before abandoning it and Firebase Barnett in September.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
From 5 September 1970 to 8 October 1971 the Division participated in Operation Jefferson Glenn with the US 101st Airborne Division to patrol the PAVN/VC rocket belts that threatened Huế and Da Nang.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
From 8 February to 25 March 1971 the Division troops participated in Operation Lam Son 719. They developed a series of firebases along the south Route 9 in Laos to screen the southern flank of the ARVN advance. On 3 March, elements of the Division were helilifted into two firebases (Lolo and Sophia) and LZ Liz, all south of Route 9.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
Eleven helicopters were shot down and another 44 were damaged as they carried one battalion into FSB Lolo. Three days later, 276 UH-1 helicopters protected by Cobra gunships and fighter aircraft, lifted the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 2nd Regiment from Khe Sanh to Tchepone – the largest helicopter assault of the Vietnam War. Only one helicopter was downed by anti-aircraft fire as the troops combat assaulted into LZ Hope, four kilometers northeast of Tchepone.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
For two days the two battalions searched Tchepone and the immediate vicinity, but found little but the bodies of PAVN soldiers killed by air strikes. PAVN responded by increasing its daily artillery bombardments of the firebases, notably Lolo and Hope. During the extraction of the 2nd Regiment, 28 of the 40 helicopters participating were damaged. Official ARVN sources stated that the division lost 491 dead during the operation, however division officers in private conversations with American officers said that they hadlost at least 775 of their men in Laos.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
In October 1971 the Division's 2nd Regiment and several of its battalions were transferred to the newly formed 3rd Division which assumed responsibility for the defense of the DMZ and Quảng Trị Province.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1969-71
The 1st Division's new operational area was south of the Quảng Trị-Thừa Thiên Province boundary and north of the Hải Vân Pass. Its primary responsibility was to defend the western approaches to Huế. Its 1st Regiment and 7th Armored Cavalry Regiment were deployed at Camp Evans, its 3rd Regiment at Firebase T-Bone () and its 54th Regiment at Firebase Bastogne. Division headquarters were at Camp Eagle southeast of Huế.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Easter Offensive
In February ARVN intelligence detected that the PAVN 324B Division was moving into the A Sầu Valley in western Thừa Thiên Province. The Division moved its units west of Huế and clashed with PAVN units along Route 547 in early March.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Easter Offensive
The initial thrust of the Easter Offensive fell on the 3rd Division in Quảng Trị Province and the initial PAVN actions in Thừa Thiên Province were designed to keep the 1st Division in place while the PAVN overran Quảng Trị. The 1st Division maintained a strong defense in the foothills west of Huế holding a line from Camp Evans in the north to Firebase Rakkasan () then southeast through Firebase Bastogne and Firebase Checkmate and then to Firebase Birmingham. The 3rd Regiment was kept in reserve to add depth to the defense. Firebase Veghel had been abandoned at the start of the offensive.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Easter Offensive
The areas around Firebases Bastogne and Checkmate straddling Route 547 came under intense pressure from the PAVN 324B Division and by the second week of April both were cut off. On 11 April the 1st Regiment attempted clear Route 547 but was stopped by the PAVN 24th Regiment despite intensive artillery and air support. By late April the situation at the Firebases was increasingly desperate with the defending battalions reduced to 50% effective and medical evacuation increasingly difficult. On 28 April the PAVN 29th and 803rd Regiments attacked Firebase Bastogne overrunning it within 3 hours, destroying much of the 54th Regiment and forcing the defenders to retreat to Firebase Birmingham. The loss of Bastogne forced the abandonment of Firebase Checkmate during the night.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Easter Offensive
On 1 May as the defense of Quảng Trị City disintegrated, PAVN pressure on the 1st Division increased as the PAVN launched an assault on Firebase King northwest of Firebase Bastogne and rocketed Camp Eagle.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Easter Offensive
On 3 May I Corps commander General Hoàng Xuân Lãm was replaced by Lieutenant General Trưởng, commander of IV Corps and former commander of the 1st Division and this change of command and reinforcement by forces of the general reserve stabilized the ARVN position in Thừa Thiên Province. The newly arrived Marine Division was given responsibility for north and northwest Thừa Thiên Province, while the Division was given responsibility for the area southwest and south of Huế blocking any further PAVN advance from the A Sầu Valley.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Easter Offensive
On 15 May the Division launched a helicopter assault on Firebase Bastogne recapturing the base while 2 regiments cleared the high ground between the base and Firebase Birmingham and by 25 May Firebase Checkmate had also been reoccupied by the Division.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Easter Offensive
From 11 to 18 June the Division launched an attack west towards Firebase Veghel to probe PAVN strength ahead of the launch of General Trưởng's Operation Lam Son 72 to recapture Quảng Trị Province. The main effort would be made by the Airborne and Marine Divisions while the Division would pin down PAVN forces southwest of Huế.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, Easter Offensive
In July the PAVN launched attacks on Firebase Checkmate which changed hands several times and then Firebase Bastogne, capturing both bases. In early August with heavy support from B-52s and reinforced by the independent 51st Regiment, the Division recaptured both firebases and expanded its control of the area, recapturing Firebase Veghel on 19 September.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1973-4
In late July 1973 two 3rd Infantry positions west of the Ngoc Ke Trai stream fell to PAVN attack. The pressure continued, and the 3rd Infantry gave up four more outposts along the Song Bo river in late August. Another series of positions along the Ngoc Ke Trai fell in November as signs of deteriorating morale and weak leadership began to appear in the formerly highly respected Division. Casualties resulting from the PAVN assaults were light, and the rapid collapse of the defenses could only be attributed to faltering will and uninspired leadership.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1973-4
At this time Lt. Gen. Lam Quang Thi, I Corps Deputy Commanding General and commander north of the Hải Vân Pass, detached a battalion from the 51st Infantry and returned it to the 1st Division to reinforce the Song Bo defenses. The 1st Division Commander, Brig. Gen. Le Van Than, further reinforced the 3rd Regiment with a battalion of the 1st Infantry Regiment. The line stabilized toward the end of the year, but not until after General Truong had accomplished the removal of General Than and replaced him with Col. Nguyen Van Diem.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1973-4
Colonel Diem took command of the division on 31 October but could make no noticeable headway in solving the Division's tactical and morale problems. These were too much the results of conditions beyond the control of the commander: an extended front under continuous enemy pressure, the debilitating effects of cold, wet, typhoon weather; inadequate supply to the forward infantry outposts; and the worsening economic straits in which the soldiers found themselves.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1973-4
From 18 July to 7 August 1974 a Regiment of the Division fought the Battle of Thượng Đức together with elements of the 3rd Division and a Ranger Group.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1973-4
On 25 July, General Trưởng ordered the 54th Regiment from Thua Thien to Quang Nam Province for attachment to the 3rd Division fighting the Battle of Duc Duc. The 54th Regiment arrived in Quang Nam on 26 July, put its headquarters at Điện Bàn District Town, and immediately went into action. While the 1st Battalion took over a security mission in the Da Nang rocket belt near Hill 55, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions began clearing the area around Ky Chau Village on Go Noi Island. Both the 2nd and 3rd met heavy resistance and proceeded westward slowly, engaging a PAVN/VC force on 28 July and dispersing it with heavy losses. The Regiment returned to Thua Thien in September.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1973-4
From 28 August to 10 December 1974 the 3rd and 51st Regiments together with the 15th Ranger Group fought the Battle of Phú Lộc forcing the PAVN back from hills overlooking Highway 1 and from which they could shell Phu Bai Air Base. The fighting here and at Thượng Đức weakened the Division and depleted the I Corps reserve forces.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1973-4
By making timely and appropriate economy of force deployments, often accepting significant risks, General Trưởng was able to hold the PAVN main force at bay around Huế. But the ring was closing on the Imperial City. Reinforced PAVN battalions equipped with new weapons, ranks filling with fresh replacements from the north-were in close contact with ARVN outposts the length of the front. Behind these battalions, new formations of tanks were being assembled and large logistical installations were being constructed, heavily protected by antiaircraft and supplied by newly improved roads.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
On the early morning of 8 March regiments of the PAVN 324B Division began the Thua Thien campaign attacking along an 8 km sector southeast of Huế. Supported by intense artillery concentrations,PAVN infantry swarmed over the surrounding hills. The 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, held on Hill 121, but the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, was shattered and driven from Hill 224. The 2nd Battalion, 54th Regiment, was initially forced to give ground but recovered its positions on Hill 144 on 9 March. The Hac Bao Reconnaissance Company was forced from Hill 50 southwest of Nui Bong. Brig.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
Gen. Diem reacted by dispatching the 15th Ranger Group with the 61st and 94th Ranger Battalions to reinforce the line and recover lost positions. The 61st was ambushed en route, sustained moderate losses, but recovered to join the94th in a counterattack on 10 March. The next day a prisoner of war confirmed that the PAVN 325th Division had moved south and was in position to join the attack in Phú Lộc District.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
A battalion of the PAVN 6th Regiment infiltrated through Phú Lộc, and two of its companies seized 12 fishing boats, which ferried them across Dam Cau Hai Bay to Vinh Loc Island. There they attacked Vinh Hien Village on the southern tip of the island and swept north to attack Vinh Giang. Some of the battalion pushed into Phu Thu District east of Huế. The 8th Airborne Battalion, reinforced with two companies of the 1st Battalion, 54th Regiment and a troop of armored cavalry, moved against the PAVN battalion and badly mauled and dispersed it.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
On 16 March a unit of the 54th Regiment ambushed a remnant of the battalion south of Huế, killing the battalion commander, his staff, and 20 men. Five prisoners taken by the 54th Infantry said that the population gave them no support, and only 33 men, mostly wounded, remained alive in their battalion.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
On 13 March two battalions of the 3rd Regiment were forced from the Firebase Bastogne area but regained most of their positions in a counterattack the following day.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
On 14 March, General Trưởng met with General Thi, commanding I Corps troops in Quảng Trị and Thua Thien Provinces, and General Lan, the Marine Division commander, to explain his concept for the final defense of Da Nang. He would pull all combat forces into Quang Nam and defend Da Nang with the 1st, 3rd and Marine Divisions on line and the 2nd Division in reserve, but this deployment would be approached gradually as divisional troops were relieved in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Provinces and terrain in the southern part of the region was abandoned. Generals Trưởng and Thi anticipated a mass civilian exodus from Quảng Trị as soon as the people saw that the Marines were leaving, and he directed his staff to prepare plans to assist the refugees.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
On 19 March at meetings in Saigon with President Thiệu General Trưởng was directed to stop the evacuation of Hue and to defend enclaves at Huế, Da Nang, Chu Lai and Quang Ngai City. He could, when forced, surrender Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, but he was to defend Huế and Da Nang at all costs. When General Truong returned to his headquarters on 20 March, he turned around the displacing 175mm. batteries moving to Da Nang and stopped the evacuation of ammunition from Huế.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
The Imperial City would be defended despite the fact that PAVN artillery had, on 19 March, already struck inside the Citadel and Highway 1 was clogged with the southbound traffic of thousands of refugees. The contracted organization for the defense of Huế, under the command of General Thi, was divided between the deputy commander of the Marine Division, Col. Tri, who was responsible north of Hue, and the 1st Division commander. Brig. Gen. Nguyen Van Diem, south of the city. Colonel Tri's outposts were just inside the Thua Thien-Quang Tri boundary, nearly 30 km northwest of Huế.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
Here, under the direct command of the 14th Ranger Group, were the 77th Ranger Battalion, seven RF battalions, and a troop of armored personnel carriers of the 17th Armored Cavalry Squadron. The four Marine battalions of the 147th Brigade were in the vital Bo Corridor, within light artillery range of the Citadel, while the 78th and 79th Ranger Battalions were on outposts 10 km west of the Marines. South of the Marines, on the high ground at Fire Support Base Lion (also called Nui Gio) () was the 51st Regiment, with two of its battalions.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
General Diem's responsibility began southwest of his 51st Regiment, which was attached to Colonel Tri's command. The 3rd Regiment, with two battalions, held the high ground around Firebase Birmingham, above the Song Huu Trach, south of Huế. East of the 3rd Regiment, the 54th Regiment with two of its battalions defended the Mo Tau sector, while the reinforced 1st Regiment extended the line southeast to the Nui Bong area. The 1st Regiment had, in addition to its own three battalions, one battalion of the 51st Regiment, a company of M48 tanks and a troop of armored personnel carriers.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
The 15th Ranger Group, with its three battalions and one battalion of the 3rd Regiment, dug in on the hills above Highway 1 west of Phú Lộc District Town. The 258th Marine Brigade, with two battalions, was also near Phú Lộc, while the 914th RF Group of three battalions guarded the Hải Vân Pass.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
On the morning of 21 March the lead battalions of the PAVN 324B and 325th Divisions, together with the independent Tri-Thien Regiment, with heavy artillery support, assaulted South Vietnamese positions from the Bo Corridor to Phú Lộc. The attacks against the Marines in the Bo Valley were repulsed with heavy PAVN losses, but the Phú Lộc sector, taking the brunt of the attack, began to crumble. In the area of the 1st Regiment, the PAVN 18th Regiment, 325th Division, supported by the 98th Artillery Regiment, took Hill 350 and drove on to assault Nui Bong.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
Although the mountain changed hands three times that afternoon, the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, controlled it on 22 March. Other formations of the 325th, notably the 101st Regiment, forced the 60th Ranger Battalion, 15th Group, from Hill 500 west of Phú Lộc, and supporting artillery interdicted Highway 1. A stream of refugees began piling up along the road northwest of Phú Lộc. By evening, however, one lane was opened for traffic to Da Nang.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
To the west, in the hills around Mo Tau, the 27tst Independent Regiment and the 29th Regiment of the 304th Division, both operating under the 324th Division, attacked the 54th Regiment and were repelled. A prisoner from the 27lst said thatcasualties in his regiment were very heavy, that the 9th Battalion was nearly destroyed. PAVN attacks continued all along the Thua Thien front on 22 March. An ARVN counterattack to recapture Hill 224, a key position in the Mo Tau sector, failed. The population of Huế had declined to only 50,000, and the Hải Vân Pass was clogged with desperate people trying to escape.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
On 23 March the 913th Regional Forces Group on the My Chanh Line north of Huế withdrew without orders and they refused to stop at the next delaying position near Phong Dien District Town. The 913th's pulloutcaused some panic among other forces and a general rout developed. I Corps officers attempted to rally the troops at the Bo River. The mass desertion was not motivated by fear of the PAVN but by the soldiers' overwhelming concern for the safety of their families in Huế.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
On 24 March, after receiving the report of the collapse of the My Chanh line, General Trưởng met with his commanders, General Thi, Maj. Gen. Lan, Maj. Gen. Hoang Van Lac (deputy commander of I Corps) and 1st Air Division commander, Brig. Gen. Nguyen Duc Khanh. General Lac reported that Da Nang was close to panic also, with more than 300,000 refugees jamming the streets. At 18:00 on 24 March. General Trưởng ordered General Thi to begin the evacuation of all troops defending Huế.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
All forces north and west of Huế would assemble at Tân Mỹ Base, the port of Huế northeast of the city, cross the narrow channel to Phu Thuan and march southwest down Vinh Loc Island. Crossing the mouth of Dam Cau Hai Bay on a pontoon bridge to be constructed by ARVN engineers and moving along the beach to Highway 1, they would cross over the Hải Vân Pass and on to Da Nang. No trucks, tanks, or guns could make this march; all would have to be disabled or destroyed.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
The Division would protect the column by blocking in Phu Thu District. By the time these orders were issued, what was left of the population of Hue was streaming toward Tân Mỹ Base to take any available boat or ship out of Thua Thien Province. I Corps Forward commanded by General Thi, established its command post in Tân Mỹ, together with the command posts of the Marine Division and the 147th Marine Brigade. The 7th Marine Battalion deployed there to secure the port and the command posts. The Division withdrew from the Troui-Nui Bong sector.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
The 15th Ranger Group, which had held the Troui River for the pulled back to Phu Bai Combat Base with heavy casualties. The 54th Regiment withdrew from the Mo Tau sector to Camp Eagle, southeast of Huế near Highway 1. The 3rd Regiment withdrew from its forward positions on the Son Hue Trach and assembled in Nam Hoa, south of Huế. The 51st Regiment pulled back and located just west of the city while the division headquarters and the 1st Regiment, which had suffered moderate casualties in the Nui Bong sector, were around Huế.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
The withdrawal from Thua Thien Province began in a rather orderly fashion. The 258th Marine Brigade linked up with the 914th RF Group on Vinh Loc Island to cross the narrow channel over to Loc Tri in Phú Lộc District, but the bridge to be installed by ARVN engineers never got there; engineer boats were evidently commandeered by other military units attempting to escape. The withdrawing forces crossed anyway, using local fishing boats.


1st Division (South Vietnam), History, 1975
General Trưởng flew over the column making its way down the long stretch of Vinh Loc Island and noted that the only apparent disciplined, cohesive units were marines. The rest was a mob and the Division ceased to exist as an identifiable unit, most Division soldiers who escaped from Huế were subsequently captured at Da Nang; no attempt was made to reconstitute the Division.


1st Division (Spain)
The 1st Division (Spanish: 1.ª División) was a division of the Spanish Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War.


1st Division (Spain)
This unit was deployed in a relatively inactive section of the front located in the mountainous area north of Madrid.


1st Division (Spain), History
The First Division was established on 31 December 1936 with the militia forces that had been operating in the Somosierra sector and which had been led by Lt. Colonel Enrique Jurado Barrio. The headquarters of the division was in Loyozuela.


1st Division (Spain), History
This unit was garrisoned at the secondary sector of El Escorial and did not take part in any important military operation. The commander who replaced Enrique Jurado, Lt. Colonel Fernando Cueto Herrero, was discovered when he was trying to join the enemy forces and was summarily dismissed and shot for treason on 18 September 1937. Except for a few sporadic skirmishes the unit rarely saw combat action and was mainly engaged in fortification work. The First Division was disbanded at the end of the war in late March 1939.


1st Division (Thailand)
The 1st Division, King's Guard (Thai: กองพลที่ 1 รักษาพระองค์) (พล.๑ รอ.) is an infantry division of the Royal Thai Army, it is currently a part of the First Army Area. King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) founded the division in 1905. The Royal Command of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) designated the division as a King's Guard unit in 1973.


1st Division (Thailand)
The division comprises one infantry regiment and four attachment units, the 31st Infantry Regiment, King's Guard. The division and its subsidiary units are mostly based in or around Bangkok, Thailand. The 31st Regiment is garrisoned in Lopburi.


1st Division (Thailand), History
The command of King Chulalongkorn formed the division in 1905 on the recommendation of the Prince Chirapravati Voradej, the director of operations of the Ministry of Defence. The Prince wanted to organize the Siamese army on European lines, comprising at least ten army divisions. By 1906, the 1st Division became fully recruited and garrisoned in Bangkok.


1st Division (Thailand), History
In 1908, the army was once again reorganized, by this date the division was made up of five units (1st Infantry Regiment, King's Own Bodyguard, 2nd Infantry Regiment (the name later changed to 11th Infantry), 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Artillery Battery and the 1st Engineer Regiment). The 1st Division was then given the responsibility of protecting the king, his Grand Palace, the royal capital and the surrounding Menam basin.


1st Division (Thailand), History
In the early hours of 24 June 1932, a revolution broke out in Bangkok. The Khana Ratsadon (a group of disgruntled military officers and civilians) staged a coup d'état to replace the absolute rule of King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) with a constitutional monarchy. The conspirators began by arresting key military personnel in the capital, including the Commander of the 1st Infantry Division; Phraya Saena Sonogram (Mom Rajawongse Ei Noppawong) at his private residence. A scuffle ensued and an unnamed Lieutenant shot and wounded the resisting commander.


1st Division (Thailand), History
Sometime later, a Major Luang Kraichingrit (Puth Vinitchaikul) of the King's Own Bodyguards ordered a company of troops towards the Makawan bridge to resist the coup; however, by that time the revolution was a fait accompli and the troops were ordered to return to their barracks. Other than this one incidence of violence, the revolution was carried out smoothly without further bloodshed. The King complied with the Khana Ratsadon's demands and Siam was granted its first Constitution in December of the same year. As a result of the coup, the new administration temporarily dissolved all formations above battalion level, including the 1st Infantry Division.


1st Division (Thailand), History
During the Franco-Thai War of 1940-1941, the division's former components incorporated the Burapha Army (Eastern army) on the orders of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram. The division took part in the army's objectives of retaking the French Indochinese provinces of Sisophon and Battambang (now in modern-day Cambodia). After this brief conflict, the Burapha Army formation disbanded and the 1st Infantry Division commenced in 1942.


1st Division (Thailand), History
In 1948, the division moved into a permanent headquarters next to the Suan Kularb Mansion of the Dusit Palace. In 1956, the Royal Thai Army reorganized and the 1st Infantry Division came under the command of the First Army Area. In 1958, the division, in full, took part in the Royal guards parade to celebrate the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Since that year, the division have taken part in the organizing and performing of the ceremony until the present day. On 2 April 1973, Royal Command designated the 1st Infantry Division as a King's Guard unit and changed its name to '1st Division, King's Guard', the first of its kind.


1st Division (Thailand), History
On 1 October 2019, 1st Infantry Regiment and 11th Infantry Regiment was put under the command of the Royal Security Command.


1st Division (Vietnam)
The 1st Infantry Division was a division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), first formed from PAVN units in 1965.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
The Division was formed on 20 December 1965 from the PAVN 32nd, 33rd, 66th and 320th Regiment was under the control of the PAVN B3 Front in the Central Highlands.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
The Division's 33rd and 66th Regiments were engaged in the Battle of Ia Drang from 14-18 November 1965, losing 1070-1753 killed.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
The Division was the target of Operation Paul Revere from 10 May to 1 August 1966, losing 546 killed and 68 captured.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
The Division's 33rd Regiment and the Viet Cong 95B and 101C Regiments were the target of Operation Paul Revere IV from 20 October to 30 December 1966, losing an estimated 120 killed.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
The Division and the 10th Division were the target of Operation Sam Houston from 12 February to 5 April 1967, losing 733 killed.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
The Division was the target of Operation Francis Marion from 6 April to 11 October 1967, losing 1,530 killed.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
The Division was engaged in the Battle of Dak To from 3 to 23 November 1967.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
During the Tet Offensive of January/February 1968, the Division's 66th and 174th Regiments attacked Ben Het Camp, Tân Cảnh Base Camp and attempted to cut Highway 14 between Dak To and Kontum. The 174th Regiment's attack on Tân Cảnh took place on 30 January but by the end of the day they had been repelled for the loss of over 300 killed. On 8 February the 174th Regiment attacked Tân Cảnh again and were repulsed for the loss of 150 killed. The 32nd Regiment attempted to cut Highway 19 at Thanh An on 1 February, losing 275 soldiers in the attack. Allied forces located the Regiment's base camp on 5 February and killed a further 35 soldiers.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
In August 1968 as part of the Phase III Offensive, the Division was tasked with seizing Duc Lap Camp and then threatening Buôn Ma Thuột. During the Battle of Duc Lap from 24 to 27 August the Division's 66th Regiment lost more than 700 killed.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
In 1969 the Division, now comprising the 95C, 101C and 209th Regiments, was sent to the Mekong Delta area.


1st Division (Vietnam), Vietnam War
During the Easter Offensive in southern Cambodia and the Mekong Delta the Division was the only full PAVN division engaged in the fighting. The Division suffered heavy losses in the fighting at Kompong Trach, Cambodia from 22 March to the end of April and then was unable to achieve its objectives in the Mekong Delta.


1st Division (Yugoslav Partisans)
The First Proletarian Division of the NOVJ was formed on November 1, 1942 from the First Proletarian Brigade, the Third Proletarian Brigade and the Third Krajina Brigade in Bosanski Petrovac, under command of Koča Popović. It was considered one of the elite units of the NOVJ.


1st Division (Yugoslav Partisans), The combat path of the First Proletarian Division
After its establishment, it undertook operations in central Bosnia. From November 19 to December 4, 1942, it destroyed the garrisons in Sitnica, Čađavica, Mrkonjić Grad, Jajce (in cooperation with the 3rd Division), Skender Vakuf and Kotor Varoš. During January 1943, it captured Teslić and     Prnjavor.


1st Division (Yugoslav Partisans), The combat path of the First Proletarian Division
During the Battle of the Neretva in the Neretva delta, it represented the left attack column, and took part in the counterattack near Gornji Vakuf and the fighting against the Chetniks near Nevesinje and Kalinovik.


1st Division (Yugoslav Partisans), The combat path of the First Proletarian Division
During the Battle of Sutjeska, it took part in the attack in the Foča area at the end of May 1943, and played a major role in breaking through the encirclement at Zelengora, inflicting a heavy blow against the 369th (Croatian) Infantry Division.


1st Division (Yugoslav Partisans), The combat path of the First Proletarian Division
In June 1943, the 3rd Sandzak Brigade left the division, and in November 1943, the 13th Proletarian Brigade joined the Division. From September 1, 1943, the First Proletarian Division was part of the 1st Proletarian Corps. The division also included the Seventh Krajina Brigade from mid-July to mid-August 1943, the Eighth Montenegrin Brigade from November 6, 1944 to February 7, 1945, the "Italy" Brigade (composed of Italian volunteers) from October 29, 1944, and the Artillery Brigade of November 21, 1944.


1st Division (Yugoslav Partisans), The combat path of the First Proletarian Division
Since November 1943, the Thirteenth Proletarian Strike Brigade "Rade Končar" has been included in its composition, with which it went through fierce fighting during the winter operations of 1944, known as Operation Reselšprung, the Durmitor Operation, the offensive in western Serbia in September 1944, the Belgrade offensive and the Syrmian Front.


1st Division (Yugoslav Partisans), The combat path of the First Proletarian Division
At the end of 1944, the First Proletarian Division had 12,367 fighters, and on April 15, 1945, 11,775 fighters. Since January 1, 1945, it was part of the First Yugoslav Army. The First Proletarian Division ended the War on May 20, 1945, stationed in the area around Trieste and Gorizia.


1st Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
The 1st Xinjiang Agriculture Construction Division is a para-military formation of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.


1st Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
5th Division(Chinese: 第5师)was activated in February 1949 from 359th Brigade, 2nd Column of the Northwest Field Army. The division commander was Xu Guoxian, and political commissar Li Quan. Its origin could be trace to 6th Army Corps, Chinese Red Army established in August 1933.


1st Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
In the Sino–Japanese War period, the division and its predecessor troops participated in the Kelan, Shaojiazhuang, Shangxiyaojian and Xiaxiyaojian, Hundred Regiments and other important battles, killing 15977 people. During the Chinese Civil War, in the Central Plains, southwest Shanxi, Fenyang andi Xiaoyi, north Shaanxi three war three victory, Shagudian, Yuncheng, Yichuan, Xifu and east Gansu, north Dali, Fufeng and Meixian and other important battles.


1st Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
March 1952, 5th Division of the 13th Regiment (Red Army, less 3rd Battalion) absorbed 15th Division of PLA 5th Corps.


1st Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
In March 1953, the 5th Division reorganized as 1st Xinjiang Agricultural Construction Division(Chinese: 新疆农业建设第1师), the city set up an Aksu Military Sub district offices, 14th Regiment, 15th Regiment, 13th Regiment 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Army Training Corps of the Border Camp combined into 4th Infantry Division 11th Regiment (14th regiment based).


1st Don Cossack Division (Russian Empire)
The 1st Don Cossack Division was a Don Cossack cavalry division of the Russian Imperial Army.


1st Donetsk Corps
The 1st Donetsk Corps was a military formation of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, it was created on September 1, 1919 and existed until 1920.


1st Donetsk Corps, History
On September 1, 1919, a meeting of rebels was held in Dobrovelychkivka, at which a delegate was elected from each regiment. The meeting discussed the question of the further political existence of the Makhnovshchina as an independent organism. They also discussed the issue of reorganizing the rebel regiments into a single army that would be effective in guerrilla warfare. The meeting elected the Revolutionary Military Council of the Army, the central command of the Insurrectionary Army. The insurgent regiments led by Nestor Makhno were officially named the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (RIAU).


1st Donetsk Corps, History
Viktor Belash was in charge of organizing the army. Belash developed the structure of the RIAU, which consisted of four corps (three active and one reserve), each built from a number of divisions, which were in turn divided into regiments, battalions, companies and platoons. Kalashnikov was appointed at the head of the 1st Donetsk corps.


1st Donetsk Corps, History
On September 27, 1919, the 1st corps took part in the Battle of Peregonovka, in which the RIAU won a major victory. On September 28, 1919, Makhno decided to conduct a deep raid on the Yekaterinoslav, in which the 1st corps also took part. The Insurgent Army set off on a march in three main columns for the raid. The infantry in carts and cavalry made daily marches of 80-90 versts. The left column, consisting of infantry regiments of the 1st corps, moved 320 miles along the route from Novoarkhanhelsk, to Elisavetgrad, Adjamka and Kamenka, before they arrived at Yekaterinoslav. Units of the 1st corps did not delay in storming the city and changed their route. As a result, Kalashnikov's column occupied Krivoy Rog (this was part of the task of the 2nd corps), and his attack on Yekaterinoslav did not take place.


1st Donetsk Corps, History
On January 11, 1920, at a meeting of commanders in Gulyaypole, it was decided to immediately disband the 1st corps to their homes. In the spring of 1920, an insurgent detachment headed by Nestor Makhno was created from the soldiers of the former 1st corps.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers
The 1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers and its successors were part-time coast defence units of the British Army from 1859 to 1956. Although these units saw no action, they protected the Dorset Coast, including the naval base of Portland Harbour, in both World Wars and also supplied trained gunners to siege batteries engaged on the Western Front during World War I. The unit continued in the Territorial Army after World War II.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Volunteer Force
The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle and Artillery Volunteer Corps composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. Four Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) were quickly formed in Dorsetshire:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Volunteer Force
In November 1863 they were attached to the 1st Administrative Brigade, Hampshire AVCs based at Portsmouth, then transferred to the 1st Devonshire Admin Brigade at Exeter in January 1866. Two further AVCs were formed in Dorsetshire at this time:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Volunteer Force
The Dorsetshire AVCs returned to the 1st Hants Admin Bde in 1873, but the 3rd (Bridport) Corps was disbanded that year. When the Volunteers were consolidated in 1880, the Dorsetshire units became part of the 1st Hants & Dorset Artillery Volunteers:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Volunteer Force
On 1 April 1886 the Dorset companies were separated to form an independent 1st Dorsetshire AVC, with eight companies and its HQ initially at Portland, moving to Weymouth by July 1886, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel G.E. Eliot, previously the second Lt-col of the 1st Hants & Dorset. Since 1882 all the AVCs had been affiliated to one of the territorial garrison divisions of the Royal Artillery (RA), with the 1st Hants and Dorset in the Southern Division. In 1886 the 1st Dorset AVC officially became the 2nd Volunteer (Dorsetshire) Brigade, Southern Division, RA. In 1889 the corps resumed its former title and two additional batteries were formed. In January 1891 the personnel from Portland were separated into the 2nd Dorsetshire AVC, but this was absorbed back into the 1st in June 1894, giving the following organisation:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Volunteer Force
By 1893 the War Office Mobilisation Scheme had allocated both Dorset Artillery Volunteer units to the Weymouth fixed defences.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Volunteer Force
In 1899 the RA was divided into separate field and garrison branches, and the artillery volunteers were all assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). When the divisional structure was abolished their titles were changed, the  unit becoming the 1st Dorsetshire Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) on 1 January 1902. It consisted of 10 companies (nine by 1908) with its HQ at Lower St Alban's Street, Weymouth.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Territorial Force
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the unit was split up:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, Mobilisation
On the outbreak of war the Dorsetshire RGA mobilised in Southern Coast Defences under the command of Major M.J. Raymond. Shortly afterwards TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and on 15 August 1914, the War Office (WO) issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. 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 companies were created, bringing the Dorsetshire RGA up to a strength of six companies.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, Mobilisation
By October 1914, the campaign on the Western Front was bogging down into Trench warfare and there was an urgent need for batteries of Siege artillery to be sent to France. The WO decided that the TF coastal gunners were well enough trained to take over many of the duties in the coastal defences, releasing Regular RGA gunners for service in the field, and 1st line RGA companies that had volunteered for overseas service had been authorised to increase their strength by 50 per cent.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, Mobilisation
Although complete defended ports units never left the UK, they did supply drafts of trained gunners to RGA units serving overseas. They also provided cadres as the basis on which to form complete new units for front line service. 52nd Siege Battery, RGA, was formed on 30 July 1915 at Weymouth with a nucleus from the Dorsetshire RGA. Equipped with two 12-inch howitzers on railway mountings it went out to the Western Front in December 1915 and served there for the rest of the war, latterly supporting First Army.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, Mobilisation
Similarly, the cadres of 123rd and 174th Siege Batteries formed in 1916 (see below) were provided by the Dorsetshire RGA, while a large number of other siege batteries formed at Portland (87th, 116th, 129th, 136th, 145th, 177th, 183rd, 209th, 216th, 241st, 277th, 285th, 305th) and Weymouth (106th, 111th, 200th, 226th, 249th, 291st, 304th) may have included trained men from the unit among the recruits, although the Army Council Instructions did not specifically order this.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, Mobilisation
Under Army Council Instruction 686 of April 1917, the coastal defence companies of the RGA (TF) were reorganised. The Dorsetshire RGA serving in the Portland garrison was reduced from six to just two companies, which were to be kept up to strength with non-TF recruits. In April 1918 the Portland Garrison comprised the following batteries (manned by the two Dorsetshire RGA companies and Nos 16, 28 and 30 Companies, RGA) under the control of No 5 Coastal Fire Command:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 123rd Siege Battery
123rd Siege Battery, RGA, was raised at Portland on 22 March 1916 under Army Council Instruction 701 of 31 March 1916 with a cadre of 3 officers and 78 other ranks from the Dorsetshire RGA. It went out to the Western Front on 18 July 1916, manning four 6-inch howitzers, and joined Third Army. Third Army was not engaged in any major operations during the second half of 1916, so this was a relatively quiet sector of the front. 123rd Siege Bty was assigned to 47th Heavy Artillery Group (HAG) but the policy was to transfer siege batteries from one HAG to another as the situation demanded, and 123rd regularly switched between 8th and 46th HAGs with Third Army during the winter of 1916–17.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 123rd Siege Battery, 1917
123rd Siege Bty served with Third Army at the Battle of Arras and then in July it moved to Fifth Army, whose heavy guns were engaged in a long artillery duel with the Germans in preparation for the Third Ypres Offensive. Slowly the British got the upper hand, and a large proportion of German guns were out of action when the infantry attacked on 31 July. However, the offensive bogged down through the summer and autumn of 1917. 123rd Siege Bty was joined by a section from the newly-arrived 414th Siege Bty in August, in preparation for bringing the battery up to a strength of six 6-inch howitzers; however it does not appear that the additional guns arrived until 19 February 1918.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 123rd Siege Battery, 1917
Second Army HQ took over the faltering offensive in September, and the battery came under its control. The Battles of the Menin Road, Polygon Wood and Broodseinde were highly successful because of the weight of artillery brought to bear on German positions. But as the offensive continued British batteries were clearly observable from the Passchendaele Ridge and were subjected to counter-battery (CB) fire, while their own guns sank into the mud and became difficult to aim and fire.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 123rd Siege Battery, 1917
On 13 November the battery transferred to 88th HAG; by now HAG allocations were becoming more fixed, and in December the 88th was converted into a permanent RGA brigade. 123rd Siege Bty stayed with it until the Armistice a year later. 88th Brigade and 123rd Siege Bty were with Third Army for its surprise attack with tanks at the Battle of Cambrai.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 123rd Siege Battery, 1918
When the German spring offensive opened on 21 March 1918, 88th Bde was ordered to move to assist the hard-pressed VI Corps. Over the next two weeks, VI Corps and Third Army fought a series of rearguard actions through the 'Great Retreat'.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 123rd Siege Battery, 1918
88th Brigade was still with VI Corps when Third Army joined in the Allied Hundred Days Offensive at the Battle of Albert on 23 August. The artillery barrage was very good and the infantry were on their objective less than an hour after Zero. This was followed by the Battles of the Scarpe (28 August), the Drocourt-Quéant Switch Line (2 September), Épehy (18 September), the Canal du Nord (28 September) and the Second Battle of Cambrai (8 October).


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 123rd Siege Battery, 1918
The battery's last major operation was the Battle of the Selle on 20 October. By the beginning of November 88th Bde was standing by for further operations, but the enemy was retiring so rapidly that it was difficult to get heavy guns forward into range. The brigade's batteries hardly fired another shot before the Armistice with Germany came into force on 11 November.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 174th Siege Battery
174th Siege Battery, RGA, was raised at Weymouth on 13 June 1916 under Army Council Instruction 1239 of 21 June 1916 with a cadre of 3 officers and 78 other ranks from the Dorsetshire RGA. It went out to the Western Front in October 1916, equipped with four 6-inch howitzers, and soon joined Fifth Army which was engaged in the final stages of the Somme Offensive.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 174th Siege Battery
Like 123rd Siege Bty, 174th regularly switched between 8th and 46th HAGs during the winter of 1916–17. 174th Siege Bty took part in the Battle of Arras (see above) in April 1917.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 174th Siege Battery, 1917
On 21 May 1917 174th Siege Bty was transferred to Second Army in the Ypres Salient where a mass of guns and howitzers had been assembled for the Battle of Messines. Although this attack was characterised by the surprise explosion of 19 huge mines under the German lines at Zero hour, it was preceded by days of preliminary bombardment aimed at destroying strongpoints and the opposing artillery. This continued until 02.40 on 7 June, when the guns fell silent. Then at 03.10 the mines were exploded and the assault went in with massive artillery support.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 174th Siege Battery, 1917
Next, 174th Siege Bty moved to Fifth Army for the opening of the Third Ypres Offensive (see above). An even greater concentration of guns was massed than for Messines, but the circumstances were less favourable. Gun batteries were packed into the Ypres Salient where they were under observation and CB fire from the Germans on the higher ground: casualties among guns and gunners were high. 174th Siege Bty was rested from 19 August to 4 September before returning for the final attacks.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 174th Siege Battery, 1917
After the Passchendaele fighting the battery joined 79th HAG, which became a permanent RGA brigade the following February; 174th Siege Bty remained with it until the Armistice. The battery was joined by a section from the newly-formed 448th Siege Bty on 16 February, bringing it up to a strength of six howitzers.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 174th Siege Battery, 1918
79th Brigade was with Second Army and was not involved in the first phase of the German Spring Offensive of 1918, but the Army was directly attacked and driven back from its positions during the following Battle of the Lys. Nevertheless the line held, and the heavy guns, often well forward, took a heavy toll of the attackers.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 174th Siege Battery, 1918
79th Brigade had shifted to First Army by 1 May, and on 28 June it supported XI Corps in Operation Borderland, a limited counter-attack on La Becque and other fortified farms in front of the Forest of Nieppe, in what was described as 'a model operation' for artillery cooperation.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 174th Siege Battery, 1918
79th Brigade joined Fourth Army on 18 August, soon after the beginning of the final Hundred Days Offensive. On 29 September IX Corps carried out an assault crossing of the St Quentin Canal, with 79th Bde amongst the mass of artillery supporting the operation. The heavy guns continued firing on the canal banks until the last possible moment as 137th (Staffordshire) Brigade stormed the outpost line and then scrambled across the canal in the morning mist. IX Corps continued to attack, at the Beaurevoir Line on 8 October, and the River Selle on 17 October. The first day of the battle went well, one German counter-attack being broken up when all available guns were turned onto it. Steady progress was also made on the second and third days as Fourth Army closed up to the Sambre Canal.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War I, 174th Siege Battery, 1918
IX Corps renewed its advance on 23 October, with 79th Bde part of a massive corps artillery reserve. As the regimental historian relates, 'The guns of Fourth Army demonstrated, on 23 October, the crushing effect of well co-ordinated massed artillery. they simply swept away the opposition'. After a pause to regroup and reconnoitre, IX Corps stormed across the canal on 4 November (the Battle of the Sambre). After that the campaign became a pursuit of a beaten enemy until the Armistice, in which the slow-moving siege guns could play no part.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Interwar
The Dorsetshire RGA was placed in suspended animation after demobilisation in 1919. It reformed in 1920 at Weymouth with one battery from the former HQ and one from the former No 3 Company. When the TF was reconstituted as the Territorial Army (TA) in 1921, the unit was renamed the Dorsetshire Coast Brigade, RGA, and the batteries were numbered 179 and 180. Then, when the RGA was subsumed into the Royal Artillery in 1924, the unit became the Dorsetshire Heavy Brigade, RA.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Interwar
In 1926 it was decided that the coast defences of the UK would be manned by the TA alone. When the RA updated its unit designations from 'brigade' to 'regiment', the Dorsetshire changed designation on 1 November 1938. It formed part of the coast defence troops in 43rd (Wessex) Divisional Area with the following organisation:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Mobilisation
On the outbreak of war the regiment and its three batteries mobilised in the Portland Defences. The guns were controlled by Portland Fire Command at Weymouth and companies of the Dorsetshire Fortress Royal Engineers manned searchlights for coast and anti-aircraft defence.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Mobilisation
With the danger of invasion after the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from Dunkirk, the coastal artillery regiments underwent a major reorganisation in the summer of 1940. On 1 July the Dorsetshire Heavy Regiment was redesignated 522nd (Dorsetshire) Coast Regiment and reorganised as six batteries, designated A to F. A number of emergency batteries of ex-Royal Navy guns were obtained for the South Coast ports, including two 6-inch Mk XII naval guns manned by the army, ordered for Poole Harbour on 22 May. These were followed by two 4.7-inch guns ordered for Lyme Regis on 14 July. Other emergency coastal batteries (each of two 4-inch Mk VII guns) were ordered on 21 July for Abbotsbury and Swanage. On 31 December 387 Coast Bty at Abbotsbury was incorporated into the regiment.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Home Defence
On 1 April 1941, A to F Btys were numbered 102 to 107, and on 10 May 1941, 239 Independent Coast Bty (formed on 10 March) was attached to the regiment for administration and training, stationed at West Bay, Bridport Harbour, with 2 x 5.5-inch guns and 2 x searchlights. Then on 5 June 1941, 134 Bty from 533rd (Orkney) Coast Rgt arrived from Buchanan, Stirling, in Scotland, to join  522nd Rgt, taking over defences at Upton, Weymouth


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Home Defence
From June 1941, 522nd Coast Rgt had the following organisation:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Home Defence
At their height in September 1941, the Portland area defences contained the following guns:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Home Defence
On 20 December 1941, 239 and 387 Btys were transferred to a new 'Special Coast Rgt' (569th Coast Rgt, see bwlow), which was forming at Bridport


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Home Defence
In April 1942 the regiment came under the command of V Corps Coast Artillery HQ, changing to Hampshire & Dorset District by October when V Corps embarked for North Africa (Operation Torch). From 7 December 1942, RHQ at Portland was included in Portland Fire Command HQ. Then Canadian Corps took over responsibility for coast defence in the area as part of South Eastern Command, until it joined 21st Army Group in June 1943 and Sussex District Coast Artillery HQ took over control of 522nd Rgt. The regiment returned to the command of Hants & Dorset District in April 1944.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, 569th Coast Regiment
569th Coast Regiment was formed as a headquarters at Bridport on 12 December 1941. It took over a number of existing batteries on 20 December:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, 569th Coast Regiment
In 1942 the regiment was also under V Corps CA HQ and then Hants & Dorset District. 58 COD rejoined 555th Coast Rgt during the summer of that year. On 6 February 1943, 239, 376 and 387 Coast Btys joined or rejoined 522nd (Dorsetshire) Coast Rgt. 569th Coast Rgt's HQ was disbanded the following day.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Later war
As the invasion threat receded, the coast defences were seen as absorbing excessive manpower and were scaled back, the gunners being redeployed. 569th Coast Rgt had been disbanded in early 1943, and its batteries rejoined 522nd, giving the following organisation:


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Later war
However, Portland Harbour was a major concentration point for shipping being assembled for the Allied invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord), and Weymouth Bay was used for invasion exercises, so 522nd Coast Rgt did not see the same reductions as regiments elsewhere. Nevertheless, by the end of 1944 serious naval attacks on the coast could be discounted and the War Office began  reorganising surplus coastal units into infantry battalions for duties in the rear areas.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Later war
In January 1945 most of the gun positions were reduced to 'care and maintenance', and on 15 January 1945 RHQ 522nd Coast Rgt and HQ Portland Fire Command were converted into RHQ  618th (Dorsetshire) Infantry Regiment, RA at Falmouth, leaving a few HQ details at Portland. On 28 February 1945 the remaining personnel of 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 134, 239 and 387 Btys joined 527th (Hampshire) Coast Rgt and the HQ details of 522nd Rgt were disbanded.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, World War II, Later war
As well as men transferred from 522nd, the new infantry regiment included a draft of 130 men from 523rd (Cornwall) Coast Rgt. It does not appear to have served overseas. 618th (Dorsetshire) Rgt began to enter suspended animation on 10 January 1946, completing the process by the end of the month.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Postwar
When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, the regiment was reformed at Weymouth as 421st (Dorset) Coast Regiment in 102 Coast Brigade.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Postwar
In 1956 the Coast Artillery branch was abolished, and on 31 October 421st Coast Rgt merged with 255th (Wessex) Medium Rgt to form 255th (West Somerset Yeomanry and Dorset Garrison) Medium Rgt, with its HQ at Yeovil.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Postwar
In 1961, 255th Med Rgt amalgamated with 294th (Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry) Medium Rgt as 250th (Queen's Own Dorset and West Somerset Yeomanry) Med Rgt, which included R (Dorset Garrison) Battery. The Dorset artillery lineage ended when the TA was reduced into the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve in 1967.


1st Dorsetshire Artillery Volunteers, Uniforms and Insignia
The 5th and 6th Dorsetshire AVCs wore distinctive buttons marked with a crown above a field gun and a laurel spray on either side. Beneath the gun was the figure 5 or 6 and round the lower edge was the word 'DORSET'.


1st Down
1st Down was a Detroit hip-hop group consisting of Jay Dee and Phat Kat.


1st Down
The duo signed to Payday Records in 1995, and released one 12", "A Day Wit' The Homies", before disbanding as a group, due to label trouble. They once again reunited for Phat Kat's Dedication to the Suckers EP, in 1999, which was produced entirely by Jay Dee. Some of their further collaborations can be found on Slum Village's Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1), Jay Dee's Welcome 2 Detroit, and both of Phat Kat's solo albums, The Undeniable LP and Carte Blanche.


1st Durham Engineers
The 1st Durham Engineers, later Durham Fortress Engineers, was a Volunteer unit of the British Army's Royal Engineers. First founded in 1868 it was sometimes united with the Tyne Electrical Engineers, at other times it formed an independent unit. Although its main role was defence of the North East Coast of England, the unit sent detachments on active service to the Suakin Expedition, the Second Boer War, and the Western Front and Italy during the First World War.


1st Durham Engineers, Volunteer Force
In 1868 a new unit of Engineer Volunteers (EV) was formed at Jarrow on the County Durham bank of the River Tyne. The 1st Durham EV was raised and commanded by Charles Palmer (1822–1907), founder of Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company and later the first mayor and Member of Parliament for Jarrow. The 1st Durham initially comprised six companies and Palmer was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant.


1st Durham Engineers, Volunteer Force
By 1874 the 1st Durham EV (now 8 companies strong) and the 1st Newcastle EV (1 company) were united into the 1st Durham Administrative Battalion EV, consolidated in 1880 as the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EV, with Palmer as commanding officer and an establishment of 1300 men.


1st Durham Engineers, Volunteer Force
In 1885, the Inspector-General of Fortifications, Lieutenant-General Sir Andrew Clarke, sent a detachment of Volunteers to the Red Sea port of Suakin to assist the Regular Royal Engineers (RE) in railway construction for the British force engaged there. The detachment of 40 men was drawn from the 1st Newcastle & Durham EV and the 1st Lancashire EV.


1st Durham Engineers, Volunteer Force
Palmer, by now created Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet of Grinkle Park, retired from the unit in 1888 with the rank of Colonel. The same year, the 1st Newcastle & Durham was split into three separate units: the 1st Durham RE (Volunteers), at Jarrow, and the Tyne Division RE (V), Submarine Miners, at North Shields, with Palmer as Honorary Commandant of both units, together with a new 1st Newcastle-on-Tyne RE (V) at Newcastle.


1st Durham Engineers, Volunteer Force
The 1st Durham RE (V) sent a detachment of one officer and 25 other ranks to assist the regular REs during the Second Boer War in 1900, and a second section the following year.


1st Durham Engineers, Territorial Force
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the original plan was for the 1st Durham RE to provide the 1st Northumbrian Field Company and Divisional Signal Company in the TF's Northumbrian Division. However, by 1910 this plan had been altered, and instead the 1st Durham was redesignated the Durham Fortress Engineers, with the addition of an Electric Light Company provided by the Tyne Electrical Engineers (formerly Submarine Miners).


1st Durham Engineers, Territorial Force
The organisation of the unit on the eve of the First World War was as follows: