Pioneer
Encyclopedia
A pioneer is a soldier employed to perform engineering tasks. The term is in principle similar to sapper
.
Pioneers were originally part of the Artillery
branch of European armies. Their primary job was to assist other Arms in tasks such as construction of field fortifications or military camp
s. During the First World War pioneers were often engaged in construction and repair of military railways.
Later pioneers have been in the engineer
ing branch, in the logistic
branch, part of the infantry, or a branch in their own right.
Many British Commonwealth military forces distinguish between small units of "assault pioneer
s" belonging to infantry regiments as opposed to separate pioneer regiments (as in the former Royal Pioneer Corps
). The United States Marine Corps have sometimes organized their sappers into "Pioneer Battalions".
The word was borrowed into English, from Old French pionnier, which meant a "foot soldier", from the root 'peon' recorded in 1523. It was used in a military sense as early as 1626–1627. Captain George Smith defines it as
Prior to World War I each sepoy
in a Pioneer regiment carried a pickaxe or a light spade in special leather equipment as well as rifle and bayonet. NCOs and buglers carried axes, saws and billhooks. Heavier equipment such as explosives was carried by mule. The unit was therefore well equipped for simple field engineering tasks, as well as being able to defend itself in hostile territory. During the War the increased specialisation required of Pioneers made them too valuable to use as regular assault infantry. Accordingly in 1929 the Pioneer regiments were taken out of the line infantry and grouped into the Corps of Madras Pioneers (four battalions), the Corps of Bombay Pioneers (four battalions), the Corps of Sikhs Pioneers (four battalions), and the Corps of Hazara Pioneers (one battalion).
All four Pioneer Corps were disbanded in 1933 and their personnel mostly transferred into the Corps of Sappers and Miners, whose role they had come to parallel. An Indian Pioneer Corps was re-established in 1943
s. They also inspired the creation of the Royal Pioneer Corps.
The Royal Pioneer Corps was a British Army
combatant corps used for light engineering tasks. The Royal Pioneer Corps was raised on 17 October 1939 as the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. It was renamed the Pioneer Corps on 22 November 1940. It was renamed the Royal Pioneer Corps on 28 November 1946. On 5 April 1993, the Royal Pioneer Corps united with other units to form the Royal Logistics Corps.
There are currently 3 specialist pioneer units in the Royal Logistics Corps.
All British infantry regiments still maintain assault pioneer units.
, in Hebrew Noar Halutzi Lohem or just "Nahal". This unit is an infantry brigade. The title of Israeli military pioneers is a back-derivation from the civilian term: The Israeli army's pioneers were formed in 1948 from Jewish civilian pioneers, i.e. settlers, who were permitted to combine military service and farming.
Sapper
A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...
.
Pioneers were originally part of the Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
branch of European armies. Their primary job was to assist other Arms in tasks such as construction of field fortifications or military camp
Military camp
A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent facility for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large campsites. In the Roman era the military camp had highly...
s. During the First World War pioneers were often engaged in construction and repair of military railways.
Later pioneers have been in the engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
ing branch, in the logistic
Military logistics
Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with:...
branch, part of the infantry, or a branch in their own right.
Many British Commonwealth military forces distinguish between small units of "assault pioneer
Assault Pioneer
An Assault Pioneer is an infantry soldier who is responsible for:* The construction of tools for infantry soldiers to cross natural and man-made obstacles as well as breaching of enemy fortifications;...
s" belonging to infantry regiments as opposed to separate pioneer regiments (as in the former Royal Pioneer Corps
Royal Pioneer Corps
The Royal Pioneer Corps was a British Army combatant corps used for light engineering tasks.The Royal Pioneer Corps was raised on 17 October 1939 as the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. It was renamed the Pioneer Corps on 22 November 1940...
). The United States Marine Corps have sometimes organized their sappers into "Pioneer Battalions".
History of the word
The word pioneer is originally from France.The word was borrowed into English, from Old French pionnier, which meant a "foot soldier", from the root 'peon' recorded in 1523. It was used in a military sense as early as 1626–1627. Captain George Smith defines it as
PIONEERS, in war-time, are such as are commanded in from the country, to march with an army, for mending the ways, for working on entrenchments, fortifications, and for making mines and approaches: the soldiers are likewise employed in all these things. Most of the foreign regiments of artillery have half a company of pioneers, well instructed in that important branch of duty. Our regiments of infantry and cavalry have 3 or 4 pioneers each, provided with aprons, hatchets, saws, spades, and pick-axes.
Pioneer units
- 1st Pioneer Battalion (New South Wales) First Division, 1 AIF
- 2nd Pioneer Battalion Second Division, 1 AIF
- 3rd Pioneer Battalion Second Division, 1 AIF
- 4th Pioneer Battalion Second Division, 1 AIF
- 5th Pioneer Battalion Second Division, 1 AIF
- 2/1 Australian Pioneer Battalion
- 2/2 Australian Pioneer Battalion
- 2/3 Australian Pioneer Battalion
- 2/4 Australian Pioneer Battalion
- 2/5 Australian Pioneer Battalion
- 1st Bavarian Pioneer Battalion, First Bavarian Division had 12 destruction squads during First World War
- 2nd Bavarian Pioneer Battalion
- British Garrison at Calais Pioneers
- Pioneer Corps
- 4th (Pioneer) Battalion Coldstream GuardsColdstream GuardsHer Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
with the Guards Division, 1917 alternatively known as Guards Pioneer Battalion - 6th East Yorkshire RegimentEast Yorkshire RegimentThe East Yorkshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the West Yorkshire Regiment , becoming The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of...
(Pioneer Battalion) with Division, 1917 (3-company establishment) - 3rd Salford Pals Battalion (19th Battalion, Lancashire FusiliersLancashire FusiliersThe Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...
) (converted to a 'pioneer' battalion) - 9th Battalion, Seaforth HighlandersSeaforth HighlandersThe Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...
Regiment (Pioneer Battalion) with 9th Division, 1917 - 1/6th Argyll and Sutherland HighlandersArgyll and Sutherland HighlandersThe Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland....
(Pioneer Battalion) with 5th Division, 1917 - 9th Battalion, South Staffordshire RegimentSouth Staffordshire RegimentThe South Staffordshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 38th Regiment of Foot and the 80th Regiment of Foot. In 1959 the regiment was amlagamated with the North Staffordshire Regiment to form the Staffordshire Regiment...
(Pioneer Battalion) with 23rd Division, 1917 - 19th Battalion, Middlesex RegimentMiddlesex RegimentThe Middlesex Regiment was a regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms when the 57th and 77th Regiments of Foot were amalgamated with the county's militia and rifle volunteer units.On 31 December 1966 The Middlesex Regiment was amalgamated with three...
(Pioneer Battalion) with 41st Division, 1917 - 1/5th Royal Sussex RegimentRoyal Sussex RegimentThe Royal Sussex Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed as part of the Childers reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th Regiment of Foot and the 107th Regiment of Foot...
(Pioneer Battalion) with 48th Division, 1917 - 8th (Pioneer) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment divisional pioneer battalion
- 12th (Pioneer) Battalion Sherwood ForestersSherwood ForestersThe Sherwood Foresters was formed during the Childers Reforms in 1881 from the amalgamation of the 45th Regiment of Foot and the 95th Regiment of Foot...
- Pioneer Battalion, The Royal Scots
- 19th Battalion (Pioneers), The Welsh Regiment (Glamorgan Pioneers)
- 15th (Pioneer) Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) recruited at OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, ThameThameThame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
, DoverDoverDover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, ElhamElhamElham is a village in East Kent situated approximately south of Canterbury and north east of Folkestone in the Elham Valley.-Toponomy:The origin of the village's name has always been a matter of argument. The village is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Alham. This may have derived from...
and LymingeLymingeLyminge is a village in southeast Kent, England. It lies about five miles from Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel, on the road passing through the Elham Valley. The Nailbourne stream begins in the village and flows north through the Valley, to become one of the tributary streams of the Great Stour...
, BudeBudeBude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
, WoolacombeWoolacombeWoolacombe is a seaside resort on the coast of North Devon, England, which lies at the mouth of a valley . The beach, which has Blue Flag and Premier Seaside Beach awards for its cleanliness, water quality and facilities, is long, sandy, gently sloping and faces the Atlantic Ocean near the...
and TruroTruroTruro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
areas during the Second World War - 5th (Pioneer) Battalion, Cheshire RegimentCheshire RegimentThe Cheshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division.The regiment was created in 1881 as part of the Childers reforms by the linking of the 22nd Regiment of Foot and the militia and rifle volunteers of Cheshire...
was appointed "in consequence of earning a high reputation as diggers and as constructors of field works" - 25th (Pioneer) Battalion, 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...
- Pioneer Battalion, 5th Royal Irish Lancers5th Royal Irish LancersThe 5th Royal Irish Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British army originally formed in 1689 as James Wynne's Regiment of Dragoons.They fought in the Battle of the Boyne and at the Battle of Aughrim under William of Orange...
, 1902 - 1922 was created to construct a new railway in the I Corps area on the Western Front. - 1st Battalions Monmouthshire Regiment Territorial Force 11 November 1915: Pioneer Battalion of 46th Division, south west of Avesnes, France.
- 2nd Battalions Monmouthshire Regiment Territorial Force 1 May 1916: Joined 29th Division as Pioneer Battalion.
- 3rd Battalions Monmouthshire Regiment Territorial Force 28 September 1915: Became Pioneer Battalion 28th Division.
- 16th (Pioneer) Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles
- 605th Pioneer Battalion, Pioneer Corps, The British Army - used for light engineering tasks
- 606th Pioneer Battalion, Pioneer Corps, The British Army - used for light engineering tasks
- 23 Pioneer Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps
- 168 Pioneer Regiment, Territorial Army
- African Pioneer Corps
- British Indian ArmyBritish Indian ArmyThe 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...
Pioneer Battalion (enlisted, drilled and trained as any other native infantry battalion of the line, but received additional construction training) - 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary ForceCanadian Expeditionary ForceThe Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...
with over a thousand men whose training gave them a combination of engineering and infantry skills. - 48th Battalion served in the field as the 3rd Canadian Pioneer Battalion (48th Canadians), with the 3rd Canadian Division
- 67th "Western Scots" (Pioneer Battalion) (Canadian Expeditionary Force) 1916
- 107th Pioneer Battalion (Canada)
- Imperial German Army pioneers were regarded as a separate combat arm trained in construction and demolition or fortifications, but were often used as emergency infantry. One battalion was assigned to each CorpsCorpsA corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
- The Guard Pioneer Battalion 1. (6 companies with 20 large and 18 small flame-throwers each)
- The Guard Pioneer Battalion 2.
- The Guard Pioneer Battalion 3.
- The Guard Reserve Pioneer Battalion - created from reservistReservistA reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is usually a former active-duty member of the armed...
s who had been civilian firemenFirefighterFirefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
, and were issued with experimental flame-throwers- Independent Pioneer Battalion (4th Hazara Pioneers4th Hazara PioneersThe 4th Hazara Pioneers was a regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1922, when the Indian army moved from single battalion regiments to multi-battalion regiments; the 106th Hazara Pioneers became the 1st Battalion 4th Hazara Pioneers...
), Indian Army - First Jangi Auxiliary Pioneer Battalion (1000 strong) of the Nepalese Army
- Jagannath Auxiliary Pioneer Battalion of the Nepalese Army
- The New Zealand Pioneer Battalion, sometimes referred to as the Pioneer Maori Battalion.
- Independent Pioneer Battalion (4th Hazara Pioneers
- The battalionBattalionA battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
included four companies, each with two Maori and two European (Pakeha) platoonPlatoonA platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
s, and included remnants of the Otago Mounted Rifles- Prussian Army pioneer battalions
- 1 Prussian Pioneer Battalion of the Guards - 3 Field companies, one Reserve company
- 12 Prussian Pioneer Battalions of the Line (18 officers, 495 men and 6 other persons)
- 2nd Pioneer Battalion at Stettin
- 4th Pioneer Battalion at Magdeburg
- 1st Pioneer Battalion, Imperial Russian ArmyImperial Russian ArmyThe Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
- 2nd Pioneer Battalion, Imperial Russian Army
- 3rd Pioneer Battalion (later 5th Pioneer Battalion), Imperial Russian Army
- 4th Pioneer Battalion, Imperial Russian Army
- Saxon Pioneer Battalion
- South African Army Pioneer Battalion
- First Pioneer Battalion of Engineers, Mounted, United States Army (1st Bn. mtd. Engra.) (3 companies)
- First Pioneer Battalion of Engineers, United States Army (1st Bn. Engrs.) (3 companies)
- 9th Pioneer Battalion, US Army
- 18th Reserve Pioneer Battalion, US Army
- Jefferson County Pioneer Battalion, Pennsylvania (CO Lieutenant-Colonel, Hance Robinson)
- 1st Pioneer Battalion United States Marine Corps
- 2nd Pioneer Battalion United States Marine Corps
- 3rd Pioneer Battalion United States Marine Corps
- 4th Pioneer Battalion United States Marine Corps
- 5th Pioneer Battalion United States Marine Corps
- WehrmachtWehrmachtThe Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
HeerHeerHeer is German for "army". Generally, its use as "army" is not restricted to any particular country, so "das britische Heer" would mean "the British army".However, more specifically it can refer to:*An army of Germany:...
Pioneer battalions
- 1st Pioneer Battalion, Imperial Russian Army
- Panzer-pionier-bataillon (armoured pioneer battalion performing engineering tasks during an assault from manoeuvre)
- Sturmpionierbataillon (assault pioneer battalion performing engineering tasks during an infantry assault)
- Gebirgs-pionier-bataillon 95, Wehrmacht Heer, a pioneer unit trained for the mountain terrain
- Pionier-bataillon 233 (divisional pioneer unit)
- Heeres-pionier-bataillon 73 (Corps pioneer unit)
- Pioneer Battalion Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, Waffen-SS
- Pioneer Battalion, Estonian Defence Forces
Pioneer regiments in the Indian Army
Extensive use was made of pioneers in the British Indian Army because of the demands of campaigning in difficult terrain with little or no infrastructure. In 1780 two companies of pioneers were raised in Madras, increasing to 16 in 1803 divided into two battalions. Bombay and Bengal pioneers were formed during the same period. In the late nineteenth century a number of existing Indian infantry regiments took the title and the construction role of pioneers. The twelve Indian Pioneer regiments in existence in 1914 were trained and equipped for road, rail and engineering work, as well as for conventional infantry service. While this dual function did not qualify them to be regarded as elite units, the frequency with which they saw active service made postings to pioneer regiments popular with British officers.Prior to World War I each sepoy
Sepoy
A sepoy was formerly the designation given to an Indian soldier in the service of a European power. In the modern Indian Army, Pakistan Army and Bangladesh Army it remains in use for the rank of private soldier.-Etymology and Historical usage:...
in a Pioneer regiment carried a pickaxe or a light spade in special leather equipment as well as rifle and bayonet. NCOs and buglers carried axes, saws and billhooks. Heavier equipment such as explosives was carried by mule. The unit was therefore well equipped for simple field engineering tasks, as well as being able to defend itself in hostile territory. During the War the increased specialisation required of Pioneers made them too valuable to use as regular assault infantry. Accordingly in 1929 the Pioneer regiments were taken out of the line infantry and grouped into the Corps of Madras Pioneers (four battalions), the Corps of Bombay Pioneers (four battalions), the Corps of Sikhs Pioneers (four battalions), and the Corps of Hazara Pioneers (one battalion).
All four Pioneer Corps were disbanded in 1933 and their personnel mostly transferred into the Corps of Sappers and Miners, whose role they had come to parallel. An Indian Pioneer Corps was re-established in 1943
Pioneers in the British Army
Historically, British infantry regiments maintained small units of pioneers for heavy work and engineering, especially for clearing paths through forests and for leading assaults on fortifications. These units evolved into assault pioneerAssault Pioneer
An Assault Pioneer is an infantry soldier who is responsible for:* The construction of tools for infantry soldiers to cross natural and man-made obstacles as well as breaching of enemy fortifications;...
s. They also inspired the creation of the Royal Pioneer Corps.
The Royal Pioneer Corps was a 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...
combatant corps used for light engineering tasks. The Royal Pioneer Corps was raised on 17 October 1939 as the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. It was renamed the Pioneer Corps on 22 November 1940. It was renamed the Royal Pioneer Corps on 28 November 1946. On 5 April 1993, the Royal Pioneer Corps united with other units to form the Royal Logistics Corps.
There are currently 3 specialist pioneer units in the Royal Logistics Corps.
- 23 Pioneer Regiment based at BicesterBicesterBicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...
, OxfordshireOxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire .... - The ARRC Support BattalionHeadquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction CorpsThe Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation High Readiness Force Headquarters ready for deployment worldwide within five to thirty days.-History:...
based at RheindahlenRheindahlenRheindahlen may refer to*RAF Rheindahlen*Rheindahlen Military Complex*Rheindahlen, Mönchengladbach...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , 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... - 168 Pioneer Regiment a specialist pioneer regiment in the Territorial Army, formed in 1995 with headquarters at GranthamGranthamGrantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
.
All British infantry regiments still maintain assault pioneer units.
Israeli Army
The Israeli army has a unit called the Fighting Pioneer YouthNahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
, in Hebrew Noar Halutzi Lohem or just "Nahal". This unit is an infantry brigade. The title of Israeli military pioneers is a back-derivation from the civilian term: The Israeli army's pioneers were formed in 1948 from Jewish civilian pioneers, i.e. settlers, who were permitted to combine military service and farming.