History of British light infantry
Encyclopedia
The History of British light infantry goes back to the early days of the British Army
, when irregular troops and mercenaries added skills in light infantry
fighting. From the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Army dedicated some line regiments as specific light infantry troops, were trained under the Shorncliffe System devised by Sir John Moore and Sir Kenneth MacKenzie Douglas. The light infantry had the nickname light bobs first used during the American Wars of Independence, and commonly applied to the Light Division
during the Napoleonic wars
.
relied on irregulars
and mercenaries
to provide most of its light infantry. During the Seven Years' War
and the American wars
, the need for more skirmishers, scouts resulted in a temporary secondment of regular line companies. These were frequently denigrated by regular army officers, and the specially trained companies were disbanded when the need for them decreased. From 1770 regular regiments were required to include a company of light infantry in their establishment, but the training of such light troops was inconsistent, and frequently inadequate. Beginning a restructure of the British Army in the late 18th century, the Duke of York
recognised a need for dedicated light troops. Certainly, the lack of such troops presented a further concern for the British Army, newly faced with a war against Napoleon and his experienced light infantry, the chasseur
s. During the early years of the war against Revolutionary France, the British Army was bolstered by light infantry mercenaries from Germany
and the Low Countries
, including the nominally British 60th Foot. It was finally decided in December 1797 to raise a fifth battalion for the 60th Royal Americans from the foreign, predominantly German, rifle corps still serving with British forces as a Jäger battalion. Here it must be stressed that, of course, Riflemen differed from the generality of light infantry in that they had a specialist role as sharpshooters.... Consequently, on 30 December 1797, 17 officers and 300 rank and file of the chasseur companies of Hompesch's Light Infantry under their existing Lieutenant-Colonel, Baron Francis de Rottenberg, were so constituted. The British light infantry companies proved inadequate against the experienced French during the Flanders campaign, and in the Netherlands
in 1799, and infantry reform became urgent. So useful had the fifth battalion proved, that in 1799 a rifle company was attached to each of the red-coated battalions of the 60th: the first, second, third, fourth. At the same time, a further two battalions of Germans were raised to serve as Riflemen and dressed in green, becoming the sixth and seventh battalions of the 60th.... [B]y late 1799 the British Army, albeit in its 'foreign' regiment, the 60th, already had in excess of three battalions of Riflemen and the Duke of York needed little additional evidence that a specialist 'British' rifle corps was now long overdue.
In 1801, the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" was raised (later designated the 95th Rifles), and a decision was made to train some line regiments
in light infantry techniques, so they might operate as both light and line infantry. Sir John Moore, a proponent of the light infantry model, offered his own regiment of line infantry, the 52nd Foot
, for this training, at Shorncliffe Camp
. Thus, in 1803, the 52nd became the first regular British Army regiment to be designated "Light Infantry". They were followed shortly afterwards by the 43rd Foot
; several other line regiments were designated "light infantry" in 1808. Much of the training was undertaken by Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth MacKenzie, who devised many of the tactics of light infantry training.
Moore wrote of his regiment in his diary that "it is evident that not only the officers, but that each individual soldier, knows perfectly what he has to do; the discipline is carried on without severity, the officers are attached to the men and the men to the officers." This had much to do with the method of training; unlike other regiments, officers drilled with the men and were expected to be familiar with drill routines, including weapons training. The ranks also received additional training, and were encouraged to develop initiative and self-direction; while skirmishing in the field they would need to react without direct orders.
regiments, and became standard for the newly formed Light Infantry regiments, since it represented the bugle call
s used for skirmishing orders.
While skirmishing, light infantry fought in pairs, so that one soldier could cover the other while loading. Line regiments fired in volleys, but skirmishers fired at will, taking careful aim at targets. While consideration was given to equipping light infantry with rifles
, due to their improved accuracy, expected difficulty and expense in obtaining sufficient rifled
weapons resulted in the standard infantry musket
being issued to most troops. The accuracy of the musket decreased at long range and, since the French chasseurs and voltigeurs
also used muskets, it is likely that skirmishers' firefights took place at ranges of only 50 yards (or less). 10 yards provided the accuracy of point-blank range. Although the French infantry (and, earlier, the Americans) frequently used multi-shot and grapeshot in their muskets, the British light infantry used only standard ball ammunition.
Light infantry were equipped more lightly than regular line regiments, and marched at 140 paces per minute.
Tasks of the light infantry included advance and rear guard action, flanking protection for armies and forward skirmishing. They were also called upon to form regular line formations during battles, or as part of fortification storming parties. During the Peninsular War, they regarded as the army's elite corps.
was party to most of the battles and sieges of the Peninsular War
.
Regular light infantry formations, besides the light company attached to each regular battalion, during this period included:
, but this was effectively a ceremonial distinction only; they did not have any specialised operational roles.
Two "light divisions", composed of battalions from light infantry regiments, fought in the First World War - the 14th (Light) Division and the 20th (Light) Division, both of the New Army
- but were employed purely as conventional divisions.
By contrast, the continental armies. including the French, Italians, Austro-Hungarians, and Germans, all maintained distinct mountain or alpine units, which remained true light infantry. German mountain battalions, Gebirsjäger, were one of the primary sources for their innovative Sturmtruppen assault battalions, which used classic light infantry tactics to penetrate British, French, and. most spectacularly, Italian infantry lines.
and special forces
units, all lightly equipped and often non-motorised.
In some cases, new infantry regiments were formed to take on these roles - the Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service Regiment both serve as specialist light infantry to this day. In other cases, however, existing infantry battalions were designated for the new roles. This was done without any distinction as to their ceremonial status, and the battalions came from both light infantry and line regiments.
A further development was the creation of mechanised infantry units intended to form part of armoured divisions or brigades, and equipped with tracked Universal Carrier
s, or later with Lend-Lease
half tracks. Battalions of the Rifle Brigade and King's Royal Rifle Corps were designated for this role. (Battalions of the Bombay Grenadiers performed a similar role in armoured formations of the British Indian Army
).
Following the end of the Second World War, the mechanisation of the army continued apace; by the 1970s, it was considered that the standard infantry battalion was one equipped with armoured personnel carriers. A number of battalions remained equipped as "light role" units; they carried less heavy weaponry than the other battalions, and were expected to travel on foot or by truck. Having no heavy vehicles, they were highly mobile; they could be transported in aircraft or helicopters without significantly limiting their combat potential.
It was planned that these units would be used as a reserve, because of their high strategic mobility, or employed for home defence or contingency operations. Because of their organisation, they were better suited for operations outside of a confrontation with the Warsaw Pact
, or in more varied terrain than that found in Western Europe. Perhaps the most notable use of British light infantry was in the Falklands War
, where the expeditionary force was made from three Royal Marine commando units, two battalions of the Parachute Regiment, two light role battalions of Guards infantry, and a light role battalion of 7th Gurkha Rifles
.
, Air assault
(or Airborne
), armoured
, mechanised and commando support, within a reduced number of large regiments such as the Rifles.
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...
, when irregular troops and mercenaries added skills in light infantry
Light infantry
Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
fighting. From the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Army dedicated some line regiments as specific light infantry troops, were trained under the Shorncliffe System devised by Sir John Moore and Sir Kenneth MacKenzie Douglas. The light infantry had the nickname light bobs first used during the American Wars of Independence, and commonly applied to the Light Division
Light Division
The Light Division was a light infantry Division of the British Army formed in the early 19th Century. It can trace its origins to the Light Companies which had been formed to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect the main forces by skirmishing tactics...
during the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Origins of British light infantry
Until the beginning of the 19th century, the British ArmyBritish 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...
relied on irregulars
Irregular military
Irregular military refers to any non-standard military. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used....
and mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
to provide most of its light infantry. 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...
and the American wars
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, the need for more skirmishers, scouts resulted in a temporary secondment of regular line companies. These were frequently denigrated by regular army officers, and the specially trained companies were disbanded when the need for them decreased. From 1770 regular regiments were required to include a company of light infantry in their establishment, but the training of such light troops was inconsistent, and frequently inadequate. Beginning a restructure of the British Army in the late 18th century, the Duke of York
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
recognised a need for dedicated light troops. Certainly, the lack of such troops presented a further concern for the British Army, newly faced with a war against Napoleon and his experienced light infantry, the chasseur
Chasseur
Chasseur [sha-sur; Fr. sha-sœr] is the designation given to certain regiments of French light infantry or light cavalry troops, trained for rapid action.-History:...
s. During the early years of the war against Revolutionary France, the British Army was bolstered by light infantry mercenaries from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, including the nominally British 60th Foot. It was finally decided in December 1797 to raise a fifth battalion for the 60th Royal Americans from the foreign, predominantly German, rifle corps still serving with British forces as a Jäger battalion. Here it must be stressed that, of course, Riflemen differed from the generality of light infantry in that they had a specialist role as sharpshooters.... Consequently, on 30 December 1797, 17 officers and 300 rank and file of the chasseur companies of Hompesch's Light Infantry under their existing Lieutenant-Colonel, Baron Francis de Rottenberg, were so constituted. The British light infantry companies proved inadequate against the experienced French during the Flanders campaign, and in the Netherlands
French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1799
By 1799, the French Revolutionary Wars had resumed after a period of relative peace in 1798. The Second Coalition had organized against France, with Great Britain allying with Russia, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, and several of the minor German and Italian states...
in 1799, and infantry reform became urgent. So useful had the fifth battalion proved, that in 1799 a rifle company was attached to each of the red-coated battalions of the 60th: the first, second, third, fourth. At the same time, a further two battalions of Germans were raised to serve as Riflemen and dressed in green, becoming the sixth and seventh battalions of the 60th.... [B]y late 1799 the British Army, albeit in its 'foreign' regiment, the 60th, already had in excess of three battalions of Riflemen and the Duke of York needed little additional evidence that a specialist 'British' rifle corps was now long overdue.
The Shorncliffe System
Line infantry
Line infantry is a type of infantry which composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century....
in light infantry techniques, so they might operate as both light and line infantry. Sir John Moore, a proponent of the light infantry model, offered his own regiment of line infantry, the 52nd Foot
52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot
The 52nd Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India during the Anglo-Mysore Wars...
, for this training, at Shorncliffe Camp
Shorncliffe Redoubt
Shorncliffe Redoubt is a British Napoleonic earthwork fort of great historic importance, as it is the birthplace of modern light infantry tactics...
. Thus, in 1803, the 52nd became the first regular British Army regiment to be designated "Light Infantry". They were followed shortly afterwards by the 43rd Foot
43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot
The 43rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was raised as Thomas Fowke's Regiment of Foot in 1741 with its headquarters at Winchester. The regiment was numbered 54th Foot until 1748 when it became the 43rd Foot...
; several other line regiments were designated "light infantry" in 1808. Much of the training was undertaken by Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth MacKenzie, who devised many of the tactics of light infantry training.
Moore wrote of his regiment in his diary that "it is evident that not only the officers, but that each individual soldier, knows perfectly what he has to do; the discipline is carried on without severity, the officers are attached to the men and the men to the officers." This had much to do with the method of training; unlike other regiments, officers drilled with the men and were expected to be familiar with drill routines, including weapons training. The ranks also received additional training, and were encouraged to develop initiative and self-direction; while skirmishing in the field they would need to react without direct orders.
Fighting techniques
While most regiments fought in tight formation, allowing easy administration of orders; with light infantry working in small groups, in advance of the main line, complicated bugle calls were developed to pass orders. Because of the use of the bugle, rather than the standard line infantry drum, the bugle horn had been the badge of light infantry regiments since 1770, adapted from the Hanoverian JägerJäger (military)
Jäger is a term that was adopted in the Enlightenment era in German-speaking states and others influenced by German military practice to describe a kind of light infantry, and it has continued in that use since then....
regiments, and became standard for the newly formed Light Infantry regiments, since it represented the bugle call
Bugle call
A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used for clear communication in the noise and confusion of a...
s used for skirmishing orders.
While skirmishing, light infantry fought in pairs, so that one soldier could cover the other while loading. Line regiments fired in volleys, but skirmishers fired at will, taking careful aim at targets. While consideration was given to equipping light infantry with rifles
Baker rifle
The Baker rifle was a flintlock rifle used by the Rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue, British-made rifle accepted by the British armed forces....
, due to their improved accuracy, expected difficulty and expense in obtaining sufficient rifled
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
weapons resulted in the standard infantry musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
being issued to most troops. The accuracy of the musket decreased at long range and, since the French chasseurs and voltigeurs
Voltigeurs
The Voltigeurs were French military skirmish units created in 1804 by Emperor Napoleon I.-Etymology:Voltigeurs hold their name from their originally conceived role of cavalry-transported skirmishers: the voltigeurs were intended to jump onto the croup of cavalry horses in order to advance more...
also used muskets, it is likely that skirmishers' firefights took place at ranges of only 50 yards (or less). 10 yards provided the accuracy of point-blank range. Although the French infantry (and, earlier, the Americans) frequently used multi-shot and grapeshot in their muskets, the British light infantry used only standard ball ammunition.
Light infantry were equipped more lightly than regular line regiments, and marched at 140 paces per minute.
Tasks of the light infantry included advance and rear guard action, flanking protection for armies and forward skirmishing. They were also called upon to form regular line formations during battles, or as part of fortification storming parties. During the Peninsular War, they regarded as the army's elite corps.
Napoleonic wars
The light infantry regiments were a significant force during the Napoleonic wars, when the Light DivisionLight Division
The Light Division was a light infantry Division of the British Army formed in the early 19th Century. It can trace its origins to the Light Companies which had been formed to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect the main forces by skirmishing tactics...
was party to most of the battles and sieges of 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...
.
Regular light infantry formations, besides the light company attached to each regular battalion, during this period included:
- 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of FootThe 43rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was raised as Thomas Fowke's Regiment of Foot in 1741 with its headquarters at Winchester. The regiment was numbered 54th Foot until 1748 when it became the 43rd Foot...
(Light Infantry) - 51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of FootThe 51st Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment. During the Childers Reforms it was united with the 105th Regiment of Foot to form the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry....
(Light Infantry) - 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of FootThe 52nd Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India during the Anglo-Mysore Wars...
(Light Infantry) - 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot - 5th & 6th battalions uniformed & equipped as Rifles; 7th battalion uniformed as Rifles, but armed with muskets.
- 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)
- 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot71st (Highland) Regiment of FootThe 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, which in 1881 became the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry .- First formation :...
(Light Infantry) - 85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) (Light Infantry)
- 90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers)90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers)The 90th Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army, active from 1794 to 1881.The 90th was raised in 1794 for service during the French Revolutionary Wars, and later the Napoleonic Wars. In the post-war period the regiment saw action inSouth Africa, serving in the 7th...
(Light Infantry) - 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles)
Decline of the light infantry regiments
By the late 19th century, with the universal adoption of the rifle and the abandonment of traditional formation fighting due to advancements in weaponry, the distinction between heavy and light infantry had effectively vanished in the British army. A number of regiments were titled as light infantry in the 1881 Cardwell ReformsCardwell Reforms
The Cardwell Reforms refer to a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874.-Background:...
, but this was effectively a ceremonial distinction only; they did not have any specialised operational roles.
Two "light divisions", composed of battalions from light infantry regiments, fought in the First World War - the 14th (Light) Division and the 20th (Light) Division, both of the New Army
Kitchener's Army
The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, Kitchener's Mob, was an all-volunteer army formed in the United Kingdom following the outbreak of hostilities in the First World War...
- but were employed purely as conventional divisions.
By contrast, the continental armies. including the French, Italians, Austro-Hungarians, and Germans, all maintained distinct mountain or alpine units, which remained true light infantry. German mountain battalions, Gebirsjäger, were one of the primary sources for their innovative Sturmtruppen assault battalions, which used classic light infantry tactics to penetrate British, French, and. most spectacularly, Italian infantry lines.
Modern light infantry units
By the Second World War, however, new tactics were beginning to be developed for the employment of a more modern form of light infantry. The growing mechanisation of the infantry meant that a distinction was created between normal battalions, which were carried in lorries and often possessed heavy weaponry, and those battalions which did not use them due to terrain or supply conditions. At the same time, the war saw the appearance of new parachute infantry, mountain infantryMountain warfare
Mountain warfare refers to warfare in the mountains or similarly rough terrain. This type of warfare is also called Alpine warfare, named after the Alps mountains...
and special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
units, all lightly equipped and often non-motorised.
In some cases, new infantry regiments were formed to take on these roles - the Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service Regiment both serve as specialist light infantry to this day. In other cases, however, existing infantry battalions were designated for the new roles. This was done without any distinction as to their ceremonial status, and the battalions came from both light infantry and line regiments.
A further development was the creation of mechanised infantry units intended to form part of armoured divisions or brigades, and equipped with tracked Universal Carrier
Universal Carrier
The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War...
s, or later with Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
half tracks. Battalions of the Rifle Brigade and King's Royal Rifle Corps were designated for this role. (Battalions of the Bombay Grenadiers performed a similar role in armoured formations of the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
).
Following the end of the Second World War, the mechanisation of the army continued apace; by the 1970s, it was considered that the standard infantry battalion was one equipped with armoured personnel carriers. A number of battalions remained equipped as "light role" units; they carried less heavy weaponry than the other battalions, and were expected to travel on foot or by truck. Having no heavy vehicles, they were highly mobile; they could be transported in aircraft or helicopters without significantly limiting their combat potential.
It was planned that these units would be used as a reserve, because of their high strategic mobility, or employed for home defence or contingency operations. Because of their organisation, they were better suited for operations outside of a confrontation with the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
, or in more varied terrain than that found in Western Europe. Perhaps the most notable use of British light infantry was in the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, where the expeditionary force was made from three Royal Marine commando units, two battalions of the Parachute Regiment, two light role battalions of Guards infantry, and a light role battalion of 7th Gurkha Rifles
7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles
The 7th Gurkha Rifles started as a regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence.-Formation:...
.
The fate of the light infantry regiments
Between 2004 and 2007, a number of amalgamations took place in the British Army, following an earlier series that dated back to 1958. The aim of this most recent round was to produce a more flexible fighting force to combat the threats of today, much removed from those of the Cold War; which ended in the early 1990s. Most of the regiments in existence prior to 1958 have now been disbanded (such as the Cameronians) or have been restructured into numbered battalions of larger regiments. This process has affected all of the historic light infantry regiments (see below). The reorganised infantry branch incorporates different battalions with the specialised roles of infantry; lightLight
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
, Air assault
Air assault
Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces...
(or Airborne
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
), armoured
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
, mechanised and commando support, within a reduced number of large regiments such as the Rifles.
- British Light Infantry Regiments (prior to the amalgamations between 1958 and 2006)
- Duke of Cornwall's Light InfantryDuke of Cornwall's Light InfantryThe Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. Its lineage is continued today by The Rifles....
- Durham Light InfantryDurham Light InfantryThe Durham Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1968. It was formed by the amalgamation of the 68th Regiment of Foot and the 106th Regiment of Foot along with the militia and rifle volunteers of County Durham...
- Highland Light InfantryHighland Light InfantryThe Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...
- King's Own Yorkshire Light InfantryKing's Own Yorkshire Light InfantryThe King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. The regiment's traditions and history are now maintained by The Rifles.-The 51st Foot:...
- King's Shropshire Light Infantry
- Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light InfantryOxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light InfantryThe Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The regiment was formed as a consequence of Childers reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell reforms, by the amalgamation of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 52nd Regiment of Foot , forming the 1st...
- Somerset Light Infantry
- Devonshire and Dorset Light InfantryDevonshire and Dorset RegimentThe Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, usually just known as the Devon and Dorsets, was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1958 by the amalgamation of two county regiments:*The Devonshire Regiment*The Dorset Regiment...
- Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
- British Rifle Regiments
- King's Royal Rifle CorpsKing's Royal Rifle CorpsThe King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
- The Rifle Brigade
- The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)The Cameronians was an infantry regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry...
- Royal Irish Rifles/Royal Ulster RiflesRoyal Ulster RiflesThe Royal Ulster Rifles was a British Army infantry regiment. It saw service in the Second Boer War, Great War, the Second World War and the Korean War, before being amalgamated into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1968.-History:...
- Royal Green JacketsRoyal Green JacketsThe Royal Green Jackets was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division .-History:...
- The Light InfantryThe Light InfantryThe Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. It was formed on 10 July 1968 as a "large regiment" by the amalgamation of the four remaining light infantry regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade:...
- The RiflesThe RiflesThe Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...
(only regiment of those listed above now having a separate existence)
- King's Royal Rifle Corps