3rd Cavalry Division (United Kingdom)
The 3rd Cavalry Division was a division of the British Army in the First World War. It was formed at Ludgershall, Wiltshire England in September 1914 under the command of Major-General the Hon. Julian Byng. The division moved to Belgium in the first week of October 1914, landing at Ostend, although its third Brigade was only formed once there.
During the war the division took part in most of the major actions where cavalry were used as a mounted mobile force, and also many where the troops were dismounted and effectively served as infantry.
On 11 November 1918, units of the division had reached the River Dender at Leuze and Lessines in Belgium, when orders were received that they would cover the advance of the British Second Army into Germany. They started the advance on 17 November, divisional headquarters being established at Waterloo on 21 November. The following winter was spent in Belgium but by 31 March 1919, the division was demobilized.
History
Formation
The 3rd Cavalry Division began forming on 1 September 1914 at Ludgershall, Wiltshire. Initially it commanded just two cavalry brigades – the 6th and the 7th – and divisional troops.The 6th Cavalry Brigade was formed with the 1st Dragoons and the 10th Hussars, both from Potchefstroom, South Africa, and the 3rd Dragoon Guards from the Force in Egypt, the only regular British Army cavalry regiments not stationed in the United Kingdom or India at the outbreak of the war.
The 7th Cavalry Brigade was formed with the three Household Cavalry regiments, the only regular cavalry regiments remaining in the United Kingdom after mobilization of the BEF and its transport to France. The 1st Life Guards joined from Hyde Park, the 2nd Life Guards from Regent's Park and the Royal Horse Guards from Windsor. Each regiment only consisted of two squadrons as each had provided a squadron to the Household Cavalry Composite Regiment in 4th Cavalry Brigade in August 1914. The detached squadrons did not rejoin their parent regiments until 11 November 1914 in Belgium.
XV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery was formed for the division. In peacetime, K Battery, RHA was at Christchurch and C Battery, RHA at Canterbury. Later, G Battery, RHA would join in Belgium. Strangely, two RHA brigades formed early in the war were simultaneously designated as XV Brigade, RHA. The other was formed at Leamington, Warwickshire in January 1915 for 29th Division. The 3rd Cavalry Division's brigade was renumbered as IV Brigade, RHA in May 1915.
The 3rd Field Squadron, Royal Engineers was formed on 16 September and the 3rd Signal Squadron, Royal Engineers on 12 September, both at Ludgershall. The division was also provided with two Cavalry Field Ambulances, two Mobile Veterinary Sections, and a divisional supply column.
The division departed Ludgershall on 5 October, embarked at Southampton on 6 October and landed at Ostend on 8 October and deployed to the Western Front in France and Belgium.
Early actions
The 3rd Cavalry Division served on the Western Front until the end of the war. In 1914, the division saw action in the defence of Antwerp and the First Battle of Ypres, notably the battles of Langemarck, Gheluvelt and Nonne Bosschen.To bring the division up to the standard strength of three brigades, the 8th Cavalry Brigade was formed in Belgium on 20 November 1914 with the 10th Hussars from 6th Cavalry Brigade and the Royal Horse Guards from 7th Cavalry Brigade. Each brigade was made up to three-regiment strength with yeomanry regiments: 6th Cavalry Brigade with the 1/1st North Somerset Yeomanry from 1st South Western Mounted Brigade, 7th Cavalry Brigade with the 1/1st Leicestershire Yeomanry from North Midland Mounted Brigade, and 8th Cavalry Brigade with the 1/1st Essex Yeomanry from Eastern Mounted Brigade. With the addition of its third brigade, 3rd Cavalry Division also obtained a third Cavalry Field Ambulance and a third Mobile Veterinary Section.
1915–17
In 1915, the division took part in the Second Battle of Ypres and the Battle of Loos.On 29 February 1916, Machine Gun Squadrons were added to the cavalry brigades, formed from the machine gun sections of each brigade's constituent regiments.
1916 saw no notable actions, but in 1917 the division saw action in the Battle of Arras. At other times, the brigades formed dismounted units and served in the trenches as regiments under the command of their brigadiers.
Reconstituted
In March 1918, the 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions were broken up in France. The Indian elements were sent to Egypt where they formed part of the new 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions which played a major part in the successful conclusion of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. The British and Canadian units remained in France and most of them were transferred to the 3rd Cavalry Division causing it to be extensively reorganized.The Household Cavalry regiments were concentrated in the 7th Cavalry Brigade and the yeomanry regiments in the 8th Cavalry Brigade. The latter left the division on 14 March 1918, the day after the Canadian Cavalry Brigade joined from 5th Cavalry Division. The three Household Cavalry regiments left 7th Cavalry Brigade on 10 March. They were dismounted and converted to machine gunners as No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 Battalions of the Guards Machine Gun Regiment at Étaples. They were replaced in the brigade on the same day by the 7th Dragoon Guards from 9th Cavalry Brigade of the 5th Cavalry Division, the 6th Dragoons from 5th Cavalry Brigade of the 4th Cavalry Division and the 17th Lancers from 2nd Cavalry Brigade also of the 4th Cavalry Division. On 11 March, all three regiments came on the British War Establishment i.e. changed from a 4-squadron to a 3-squadron organisation.
1918 saw the return of the war of movement and the division took part in the First Battle of the Somme notably the Battle of St Quentin, Actions of the Somme Crossings and Battle of the Avre ; the Battle of Amiens and the battles of the Hindenburg Line. Its final action was in the Advance in Flanders.
Armistice
At the Armistice, units of the division had reached the River Dender at Leuze and Lessines in Belgium, when orders were received that they would cover the advance of the Second Army into Germany. They started the advance on 17 November, divisional headquarters being established at Waterloo on 21 November. Transport difficulties meant that the only one cavalry division could advance with Second Army so the following winter was spent in Belgium. By 31 March 1919, the division was demobilized.Order of battle
6th Cavalry Brigade
6th Cavalry Brigade was formed on 19 September 1914 at Ludgershall, Wiltshire and served with the division throughout the war.| Unit | From | To |
| 1st Dragoons | 19 September 1914 | |
| 10th Hussars | 22 September 1914 | 20 November 1914 |
| 10th Hussars | 12 March 1918 | |
| 3rd Dragoon Guards | 4 November 1914 | |
| 1/1st North Somerset Yeomanry | 13 November 1914 | 13 March 1918 |
| 1/1st North Somerset Yeomanry | April 1918 | |
| C Battery, RHA | 19 October 1914 | |
| 6th Signal Troop Royal Engineers | 19 September 1914 | |
| 6th Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, MGC | 28 February 1916 |
7th Cavalry Brigade
7th Cavalry Brigade was formed on 1 September 1914 at Ludgershall, Wiltshire and served with the division throughout the war. It was extensively restructured on 10 March 1918.| Unit | From | To |
| 1st Life Guards | 1 September 1914 | 10 March 1918 |
| 2nd Life Guards | 1 September 1914 | 10 March 1918 |
| Royal Horse Guards | 1 September 1914 | 21 November 1914 |
| Royal Horse Guards | 7 November 1917 | 10 March 1918 |
| 1/1st Leicestershire Yeomanry | 12 November 1914 | 7 November 1917 |
| 7th Dragoon Guards | 10 March 1918 | |
| 6th Dragoons | 10 March 1918 | |
| 17th Lancers | 10 March 1918 | |
| K Battery, RHA | 16 October 1914 | |
| 7th Signal Troop Royal Engineers | 1 September 1914 | |
| 7th Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, MGC | 28 February 1916 | 14 April 1918 |
| 8th Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, MGC | 11 March 1918 |
8th Cavalry Brigade
8th Cavalry Brigade was formed in Belgium on 20 November 1914. It left the division on 14 March 1918, the day after the Canadian Cavalry Brigade joined.| Unit | From | To |
| Royal Horse Guards | 20 November 1914 | 7 November 1917 |
| 10th Hussars | 20 November 1914 | 12 March 1918 |
| 1/1st Essex Yeomanry | 11 December 1914 | 14 March 1918 |
| 1/1st Leicestershire Yeomanry | 7 November 1917 | 14 March 1918 |
| 1/1st North Somerset Yeomanry | 13 March 1918 | 14 March 1918 |
| G Battery, RHA | 25 November 1914 | 13 March 1918 |
| 8th Signal Troop Royal Engineers | 20 November 1914 | |
| 8th Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, MGC | 29 February 1916 | 11 March 1918 |
Canadian Cavalry Brigade
The Canadian Cavalry Brigade was attached to the division from 10 April to 17 June 1916 before transferring to the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division. It rejoined the division on 13 March 1918 from 5th Cavalry Division.Divisional Artillery
Divisional Troops
The division was supported by the following units:| Unit | From | To | |
| Engineers | 3rd Field Squadron, Royal Engineers | 16 September 1914 | |
| Signals | 3rd Signal Squadron, Royal Engineers | 12 September 1914 | |
| Medical | 6th Cavalry Field Ambulance | 14 September 1914 | |
| Medical | 7th Cavalry Field Ambulance | 3 October 1914 | |
| Medical | 8th Cavalry Field Ambulance | 23 December 1914 | 14 March 1918 |
| Medical | 7th Canadian Field Ambulance | 13 March 1918 | |
| Medical | No. 12 Sanitary Section | 9 January 1915 | |
| Medical | 3rd Cavalry Division Field Ambulance Workshop | 14 May 1915 | 1 April 1916 |
| Veterinary | 13th Mobile Veterinary Section | Formation | |
| Veterinary | 14th Mobile Veterinary Section | Formation | |
| Veterinary | 20th Mobile Veterinary Section | 9 March 1915 | 14 March 1918 |
| Veterinary | "A" Canadian Mobile Veterinary Section | 13 March 1918 | |
| Army Service Corps | 81st Company, ASC HQ 3rd Cavalry Divisional ASC | 14 September 1914 | |
| Army Service Corps | 576th Company, ASC 3rd Cavalry Divisional Auxiliary Company | 23 September 1915 | |
| Army Service Corps | 73rd Company, ASC 3rd Cavalry Divisional Supply Column | 4 September 1914 | |
| Army Service Corps | 414th Company, ASC 3rd Cavalry Divisional Supply Column | 16 September 1914 | 10 October 1916 |
| Army Service Corps | 76th Company, ASC 3rd Cavalry Divisional Ammunition Park | Formation | 23 December 1917 |
| Others | 7th Light Armoured Car Battery | 30 March 1916 | 18 July 1917 |
| Others | 773rd Divisional Employment Company | 16 September 1917 |
Commanders
The 3rd Cavalry Division had the following commanders:| From | Rank | Name |
| 29 September 1914 Formation | Major-General | the Hon. J. H. G. Byng |
| 19 April 1915 | Brigadier-General | D. G. M. Campbell |
| 4 May 1915 | Major-General | the Hon. J. H. G. Byng |
| 7 May 1915 | Major-General | C. J. Briggs |
| 12 October 1915 | Brigadier-General | C. B. Bulkeley-Johnson |
| 15 October 1915 | Major-General | J. Vaughan |
| 17 October 1917 | Brigadier-General | A. E. W. Harman |
| 8 December 1917 | Major-General | J. Vaughan |
| 14 March 1918 | Brigadier-General | A. E. W. Harman |
| 5 May 1918 | Major-General | A. E. W. Harman |