Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)
On 25 August 1800, three companies, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Stewart, spearheaded a British amphibious landing at Ferrol, Spain, where the Rifles helped to dislodge the Spanish defenders on the heights.[6] In 1803, the 95th moved to Shorncliffe Army Camp, Kent, where it underwent light infantry training, along with the 43rd and 52nd Regiments of Foot, under the tutelage of Manningham and Sir John Moore; the latter, like the 95th, would gain fame during the Peninsular War.[7] In 1805, a 2nd Battalion was raised at Canterbury, Kent, and later in the year the 1st/95th deployed to Germany as part of a British expedition, under the command of Lord Cathcart, designed to liberate Hanover from occupation by France.The 95th subsequently saw action in June at San Pedro where they, the 40th and light companies, fought against the Spanish force that had crossed from Buenos Aires and defeated them.During the assault on Buenos Aires on 5 July, the 95th and the rest of the British force suffered heavy casualties in bitter fighting to capture the city.[8] However, once they had reached Gothenburg in May, the troops remained aboard the anchored ships for two months due to a misunderstanding between the British and Swedish governments and returned to Britain.[10] In August 1808 the 2nd/95th was part of the immediate forces sent in the Portuguese expedition initially commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley and covered the landings at Mondego Bay (Figueira da Foz).[8] Rifleman Thomas Plunket of the 1st Battalion, 95th Rifles, shot the French General Auguste François-Marie de Colbert-Chabanais at a range of up to 800 yards (730 m) at the Battle of Cacabelos on 3 January 1809.[8] At the Battle of San Marcial in August 1813 a company of the 95th Rifles under the command of Captain Daniel Cadoux held off an entire French division at Vera before withdrawing.[8] At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the size of the British Army was reduced; in line with precedent the more recently formed regiments were disbanded first.[21] In 1866, Private Timothy O'Hea of the 1st Battalion, was awarded the Victoria Cross for an act of bravery in peacetime, while his unit was stationed in the Province of Canada.On 9 June 1866, at Danville, Canada East, on the main railway between Montreal and Quebec City, a fire broke out in a car containing 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of ammunition.[34] The 4th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 80th Brigade in the 27th Division in December 1914 for service on the Western Front but moved to Salonika in November 1915.The battalion made good ground but retired when the units on both its flanks were forced back and it lost many many killed, wounded and missing during this withdrawal.[47] Now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Stephens, the 1st Battalion's four 6-pounders were credited with destroying many tanks from the 21st Panzer Division at the Battle of Alam el Halfa on 31 August 1942.[48] The 1st Battalion subsequently took part in the Second Battle of El Alamein and the Tunisian Campaign until May 1943 when the war in North Africa ended with the surrender of almost 250,000 German and Italian soldiers.[47] The battalion, with the rest of the 7th Armoured Division, took part in the Allied invasion of Italy, and the early stages of the Italian Campaign, in September 1943, returning to England in January 1944 and took part in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, going on to fight throughout the North West Europe Campaign until Victory in Europe Day in May 1945, ending the war in Hamburg, Germany, and commanded throughout by Lieutenant Colonel A. G. V.[47] The battalion, then commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Renton, later fought with distinction as part of the 7th Motor Brigade in the 1st Armoured Division in the Western Desert Campaign, especially in the "Snipe" action during the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942, when the four 6-pounders of the battalion, supported by a 6-pounder Anti-Tank battery of the Royal Artillery, knocked out over 50 German and Italian tanks in a lengthy battle.[49][50] Lieutenant Colonel Victor Buller Turner, commanding the battalion, received the Victoria Cross for his actions fighting with the guns.[6] The regimental collection is held by the Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum which is based at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester.
95th Rifle DivisionUnited KingdomBritish ArmyInfantryLight infantryPeninsula BarracksWinchesterrifle regimentsharpshootersscoutsskirmishersNapoleonic Warsred coatBaker rifleSecond World Wars1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd)2nd Green Jackets (King's Royal Rifle Corps)Royal Green JacketsPortrait of Prince AlbertFranz Xaver WinterhalterPrince ConsortCoote ManninghamWilliam StewartfacingsshakoesFerrolBattle of CopenhagenHoratio NelsonShorncliffe Army CampSir John MoorePeninsular WarCanterburyLord CathcartHanoverFranceBremenCuxhavenBritish invasions of the River PlateBuenos AiresSir Home PophamSir Samuel Auchmutysiege and subsequent stormingMontevideoUruguayColoniaSan PedroJohn WhitelockeRobert CraufurdDenmarkArthur Wellesley'sScandinavianSwedenRussiaGothenburgÓbidosRalph Bunbury6th Brigade5th/60th FootBattle of RoliçaThomas PlunketAuguste François-Marie de Colbert-ChabanaisBattle of CacabelosBattle of CorunnaBattalion of detachmentsBattle of TalaveraBattle of the PyreneesBattle of BussacosiegesCiudad RodrigoBadajozBattle of VitoriaBattle of San MarcialBattle of NivelleJames FullartonOld Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia)Leuze, AisneThomas GrahamNorth AmericaWar of 1812return of Napoleon from exileBattle of Quatre BrasBattle of Waterloo95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of FootDuke of WellingtonColonel-in-ChiefBattle of AlmaHRH Prince Albert, the Prince ConsortCrimean WarAlma RiverBattle of InkermanSiege of SevastopolVictoria CrossesIndian RebellionSiege of LucknowTimothy O'HeaProvince of CanadaDanville, Canada EastBattle of Ali MasjidSecond Anglo-Afghan WarMahsudThird Anglo-Burmese WarFourth Anglo-Ashanti WarMahdist WarSecond Boer WarBattle of ColensoBattle of Vaal KrantzSiege of LadysmithCape TownSouthamptonPortsmouthPort NatalMilitiaTerritorial ForceSpecial ReserveIlfordSecond Battle of YpresLe Havre11th Brigade4th DivisionWestern FrontFirst Battle of the MarneFirst Battle of the AisneBattle of MessinesBattle of the SommeBattle of ArrasBattle of Passchendaele