History Of The London Rifle Brigade 1859 1919

The London Rifle Brigade (LRB) began life in 1859 as a Volunteer Rifle Corps with the title London Rifle Volunteer Brigade and the motto Primus in Urbe. It was a sore point that when the London Regiment was formed in 1908 as part of the new Territorial Force, the four Royal Fusilier Volunteer battalions (also London battalions) were given precedence relegating the LRB to fifth place, despite its motto; it became the 5th (City of London) Bn The London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade). The first 60 or so pages deal with the pre-war history; they sent five officers and 145 NCOs and men to S Africa and the names are given in an appendix. The rest of book is devoted to the Great War in which three battalions served, the 1st and 2nd Battalions on the Western Front, the 3rd was a training battalion. Each battalion is covered separately concluding, in the case of the active service battalions, with a detailed itinerary. On the outbreak of war the LRB was in the 2nd Brigade of the 1st London Division, which was effectively broken up in the early months to provide replacements for regular battalions coming home from abroad and reinforcements for the BEF. In September 1914 a second line battalion was formed and in November a third line giving 1/5th, 2/5th and 3/5th Battalions of the LRB. The 1st Battalion was soon in France where it arrived on 5 November 1914. During 1914/15 it was with 4th and 3rd Divisions and at GHQ; in February 1916 the 1st London Division was reformed in France and numbered 56th; the 1/5th LRB rejoined the division in 169th Brigade where it remained for the rest of the war. In all it suffered just under 4,200 casualties of whom 755 were dead. The 2nd Battalion arrived in France in January 1917 as part of 174th Brigade, 58th (2nd/1st London) Division. A year later, In the reorganisation of the BEF in which divisions were reduced from twelve to nine battalions the 2/5th LRB was broken up and the personnel distributed among other battalions. This is a very good history with many informative appendices including casualty lists by battalions, nominal roll of all officers who served between 1859 and 1919 with service, and in a number of cases biographical details (genealogists), honours and awards including mentions (medallists). The divisional report on the attack on Gommecourt on 1st July 1916, with casualty details is included as is the translation of the War Diary of the 55th Reserve Infantry Regiment which opposed them.

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What really happened on the first day of the Somme? Much controversy has surrounded the Somme offensive relating to its justification and its impact upon the course of the war. General Sir Douglas Haig's policies have been the subject of considerable debate about whether the heavy losses sustained were worth the small gains that were achieved which appeared to have little strategic value. That was certainly the case on many sectors on 1 July 1916, where British soldiers were unable to cross No Man's Land and failed to reach, or penetrate into, the German trenches. In other sectors, however, breaches were made in the German lines culminating in the capture that day of Leipzig Redoubt, Mametz and Montauban. This book aims to highlight the failures and successes on that day and for the first time evaluate those factors that caused some divisions to succeed in capturing their objectives whilst others failed. An important new study, this book is certain to answer these questions as well as challenging the many myths and misconceptions surrounding the battle that have been propagated for the last 100 years. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

The London Rifle Brigade were part of the London Regiment, at eighty battalions, the largest Territorial Force Regiment of the Great War. Those men who enlisted in the 5th Battalion, The London Regiment, The London Rifle Brigade before the outbreak of the war were of the same educated social class, worked and socialised together and served with a self-discipline unknown to their regular army comrades. This pre- war pride in their battalion proved vital as the London Rifle Brigade went off to war in November 1914. A second and then a third battalion were formed to provide reinforcements for the first battalion as casualties mounted in 1915 and 1916. These new riflemen were enthused with the record of their comrades fighting on the Western Front, and soon the second battalion joined the first in Belgium. Although the men now were of a different social class, the spirit and discipline of the old pre- war battalion lived on for they, as well as the rest of the British Army, faced defeat in March 1918 as the German Spring Offensive might force an outcome in any peace negotiations in Germany's favour. The London Rifle Brigade would find themselves in the thick of the action once more, and in the advances of The Hundred Days which led to the Armistice in November 1918.