10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own)

The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment

Cavalry regiments of the British Army

There are currently nine regular cavalry regiments of the British Army, with two tank regiments provided by the Royal Tank Regiment, traditionally classed alongside the cavalry, for a total of eleven regiments. Of these, five serve as armoured regiments, and five as formation reconnaissance...

of the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

from 1715 to 1969.

Early history

In response to the Jacobite Rebellion, the regiment was raised in 1715 as Humphrey Gore's Regiment of Dragoons. It was known by the names of several other colonels in subsequent years, fighting at the Battle of Falkirk

Battle of Falkirk (1746)

During the Second Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Falkirk Muir was the last noteworthy Jacobite success.-Background:...

and Battle of Culloden

Battle of Culloden

The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...

as Cobham's Regiment of Dragoons. It was retitled as the 10th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. During the Seven Years' War

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

, the light troop of the regiment (formed in 1755) fought in a number of raids on the French coast, and the regiment itself fought at the Battle of Warburg

Battle of Warburg

The Battle of Warburg was a battle fought on 31 July 1760 during the Seven Years' War. The Battle was a victory for the Hanoverians and the British against the French. British general John Manners, Marquess of Granby achieved some fame for charging at the head of the British cavalry and losing his...

, Battle of Kloster Camp

Battle of Kloster Kampen

The Battle of Kloster Kampen was a tactical French victory over a British and allied army in the Seven Years' War. The Allied forces were driven from the field.-Prelude:...

, Battle of Vellingshausen and Battle of Wilhelmsthal.

In 1779, the light troop was detached to form the 19th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons, and in 1783 the Dragoons Regiment was retitled as the 10th (Prince of Wales's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in honour of the future King George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...

. Beau Brummell

Beau Brummell

Beau Brummell, born as George Bryan Brummell , was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV...

was a cornet

Cornet (military rank)

Cornet was originally the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, after captain and lieutenant. A cornet is a new and junior officer.- Traditional duties :The cornet carried the troop standard, also known as a "cornet"....

at the time, and it was in the regiment that he met the prince.

Napoleonic Wars

In 1806, the regiment was again redesignated, this time becoming a hussar

Hussar

Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....

regiment as the 10th (Prince of Wales's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars), and sailed for Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

in 1808. During the Peninsular War

Peninsular War

The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

, they fought at Sahagun

Battle of Sahagún

The Battle of Sahagún was a cavalry clash in which the 15th Light Dragoons defeated two regiments of French cavalry during the Corunna Campaign of the Peninsular War. One of the French regiments lost so heavily that it was subsequently disbanded...

, Benavente

Battle of Benavente

The Battle of Benavente was a cavalry clash in which the British cavalry of Lord Paget defeated the elite Chasseurs à Cheval of the French Imperial Guard during the Corunna Campaign of the Peninsular War. The French chasseurs were broken and forced into the River Esla; their commanding officer,...

, and the Battle of Corunna

Battle of Corunna

The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...

.

In 1813, having landed once more in Spain, they fought at Morales, and Vittoria in Spain, and then at Orthes and Toulouse

Battle of Toulouse (1814)

The Battle of Toulouse was one of the final battles of the Napoleonic Wars, four days after Napoleon's surrender of the French Empire to the nations of the Sixth Coalition...

in France. In the Waterloo campaign they again saw action, fighting at the Battle of Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

as part of the charge which routed the French cavalry.

Victorian era

After being sent to India in the 1840s, the regiment was deployed during the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

. They saw action in the Siege of Sevastopol, with fighting at the Battle of Eupatoria

Battle of Eupatoria

The Battle of Eupatoria was the most important military engagement of the Crimean War on the Crimean theatre in 1855 outside Sevastopol.- Battle :...

and Kerch.

In 1861 they were renamed the 10th (The Prince of Wales's Own) Royal Hussars. They saw action in the Second Anglo-Afghan War

Second Anglo-Afghan War

The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the nation was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended in a manner...

, at the Battle of Ali Masjid

Battle of Ali Masjid

The Battle of Ali Masjid, which took place on 21 November 1878, was the opening battle in the Second Anglo-Afghan War between the British forces, under Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel James Browne, and the Afghan tribesmen, under Ghulam Haider Khan...

in 1878, and in the Sudan, Battle of El Teb, and Egypt in 1884.

With the outbreak of the Second Boer War

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

, the regiment sailed for South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

in 1899. After fighting at Colesberg

Colesberg

Colesberg is a town with 17,354 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, located on the main road from Cape Town to Johannesburg....

, the regiment participated in the relief of Kimberley

Siege of Kimberley

The Siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony , when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the British enclave when war broke out between the British and the two...

in February 1900, the Battle of Paardeberg

Battle of Paardeberg

The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley....

immediately afterwards, and then two years of fighting in the Transvaal

South African Republic

The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...

.

The regiment also saw action on the North-West Frontier

North-West Frontier (military history)

The North-West Frontier was the most difficult area, from a military point of view, of the former British India in the Indian sub-continent. It remains the frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the...

in 1908.

First World War

In 1914, the regiment was recalled to England and quickly despatched to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force, in 3rd Cavalry Division

3rd Cavalry Division

The 3rd Cavalry Division was a division of the British Army in the First World War. It was formed in Ludgershall, Wiltshire England in September 1914 under the command of General Major General Julian Byng...

. Whilst it did not see a great deal of action as cavalry, it provided one company of men for an infantry battalion, which served in the front lines.

Inter-war period

After brief service in Ireland after the war, the regiment returned to the UK in 1921 and were retitled 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own). Deploying to Egypt in 1929 and India in 1930, the regiment returned to the UK in 1936 and began the process of mechanisation. Originally assigned to 3rd Infantry Division

British 3rd Infantry Division

The 3rd Mechanised Division, known at various times as the Iron Division, 3rd Division or as Iron Sides; is a regular army division of the British Army...

, they were moved to the Mobile Division and then to 2nd Armoured Brigade

British 2nd Armoured Brigade

The 2nd Armoured Brigade was a regular British Army unit during the Second World War, originally titled 2nd Light Armoured Brigade.-History:The 2nd Armoured Brigade was part of the 1st Armoured Division when it was sent as part of the British Expeditionary Force to France in 1940...

of 1st Armoured Division

British 1st Armoured Division

The 1st Armoured Division is an armoured division of the British Army. Originally formed in November 1937 as the Mobile Division, it saw extensive service during the Second World War, was disbanded afterward, was reconstituted in 1976, and remains in service today...

in 1939. At the same time, they became part of the Royal Armoured Corps

Royal Armoured Corps

The Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...

Second World War

With the outbreak of war, the 1st Armoured deployed to France. It fought in northern France and Belgium, returning to England without any vehicles in June 1940. In December 1940, a group of personnel were detached to form the cadre of the 23rd Hussars

23rd Hussars

The 23rd Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1940 to 1946. It had no lineal connection with the earlier 23rd Regiment of Dragoons .-History:...

.

In November 1941 the regiment deployed to North Africa with 2nd Armoured Brigade, joining 7th Armoured Division. Now equipped with Crusader

Crusader tank

The Tank, Cruiser, Mk VI or A15 Crusader was one of the primary British cruiser tanks of the early part Second World War and perhaps the most important British tank of the North African Campaign...

tanks, they saw action in Operation Crusader

Operation Crusader

Operation Crusader was a military operation by the British Eighth Army between 18 November–30 December 1941. The operation successfully relieved the 1941 Siege of Tobruk....

, the Battle of Alam Halfa

Battle of Alam Halfa

The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Panzerarmee Afrika—a German-Italian force commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel—attempted an envelopment of the British 8th Army,...

and the Second Battle of El Alamein

Second Battle of El Alamein

The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...

.

In Italy, from 1944 to 45, the regiment fought both as an armoured unit and as dismounted infantry.

Post-war period

The regiment deployed to Italy and Germany as occupation forces in 1945-6, and then spent most of the subsequent years as an armoured regiment in the British Army of the Rhine

British Army of the Rhine

There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...

, with overseas deployments to Jordan and Aden.

In 1969, the regiment amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) to form The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own)

The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own)

The Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1969 to 1992.It was formed by the amalgamation of the 10th Royal Hussars , and 11th Hussars ....

Battle Honours
Battle honours of the British and Imperial Armies
The following battle honours were awarded to units of the British Army and the armies of British India and the Dominions of the British Empire. From their institution until the end of the Second World War, awards were made by, or in consultation with, the British government, but, since 1945, the...

Warburg, Peninsula, Waterloo, Sevastopol, Ali Masjid, Afghanistan 1878-79, Egypt 1884, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899-1902
The Great War: Ypres 1914 '15, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Frezenberg, Loos, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917, Somme 1918, St. Quentin, Avre, Amiens, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914-18
The Second World War: Somme 1940, North-West Europe 1940, Saunnu, Gazala, Bir el Aslagh, Alam el Halfa, El Alamein, El Hamma, El Kourzia, Djebel Kournine, Tunis, North Africa 1942-43, Coriano, Santarcangelo, Cosina Canal Crossing, Senio Pocket, Cesena, Valli di Commacchio, Argenta Gap, Italy 1944-45