pre 1922 |
1922 - 1958 |
pre 1922 |
1922 - 1958 |
The Cheshire Regiment consisted of Infantry Battalions that would have had an MG Section as part of its Battalion Headquarters. These weapons would have been brigaded when the Machine Gun Corps was formed in 1915. The guns, and crews, would have been formed into a Machine Gun Company.
During the Great War, the Battalions were distributed as follows:
The 1st Battalion was part of the 15th Brigade, attached to the 5th Division. It's MG Section was transferred on 27 December 1915 to form the 15th Bde. MG Coy..
As a unit of the 5th Infantry Division, it will have taken part in the following battles and engagements.
| 1914 | |
| 23 and 24 August | Battle of Mons [II. Corps]. |
| 23 August to 05 September | RETREAT FROM MONS [II. Corps]. |
| 24 August | Elouges (1/Norf. and 1/Ches., and 119 R.F.A.). |
| 26 August | Battle of le Cateau [II. Corps]. |
| 01 September | Crepy en Valois. |
| 06 to 09 September | Battle of the Marne [II. Corps] |
| 13 to 20 September | BATTLE OF THE AISNE [II. Corps] |
| 13 September | Passage of the Aisne. |
| 20 September | Actions on the Aisne Heights. |
| 10 October to 02 November | Battle of la Bassee [II. Corps]. |
| 05 to 19 November | BATTLE OF YPRES [I. Corps] |
| 11 November | Battle of Nonne Bosschen (2/K.O.S.B., 2/Duke's (13th Bde.), and 1/Bedf., 1/Ches. (15th Bde.)) [I. Corps]. |
| 1915 | |
| 17 to 22 April | Capture of Hill 60 [II. Corps, Second Army]. |
| 23 April to 01 May | BATTLE OF YPRES [V. Corps, Second Army]. |
In 1922, the Machine Gun Corps was disbanded and the guns returned to the Infantry Battalion as a Machine Gun Platoon and then formed as a Machine Gun Company in the early 1930s.
This remained until the formation of Divisional Machine Gun Battalions in 1936 where guns were brigaded once again. The Cheshires were one of those Infantry Regiments converted to this new role.
The 1st Battalion was in North Africa when Italy declared war in 1940. It fought in the battles of Mersa Matruh, Sidi Barani and Torbruk until February 1941 when it ws despatched to Malta to take part in the defence of that island. The Battalion remained there until July 1943 when C Company was despatched to North Africa to join the 7th Armoured Division and it provided the Independent Machine Gun Company to that Division for the invasion of Salerno.
The Battalion re-absorbed C Company when they returned from Italy to the UK and was stationed in the Grimsby area. It was allocated to prepare for operations in NW Europe but the 21st Army Group had no requirement for an additional MG Battalion so it was converted to an Infantry Battalion and joined the British Liberation Army as a regular Infantry Battalion as part of the 115th Independent Infantry Brigade. It embarked for Operations in Holland in February 1945.
When War broke out the Battalion was mobilised and sent to France where it joined the I Corps and was attached to the 1st Division. It remained this way until withdrawn from Dunkirk in May 1940. February 1941 saw the Battalion leave I Corps and 1st Division and join the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. It remained attached to this Division for the rest of the War.
The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was mobilised in September 1939 as a First Line Territorial Army Infantry Division. It saw action at the following battles:
This Battalion was an interesting one as it was never 'mobilized' but instead 'embodied'. It was part of the 55th Division initially but soon transferred to the 48th Division for administrative purposes but it was in reality part of the Corps Troops and did not wear divisional insignia. It went to France in January 1940 and took part in several actions there. After serious losses, including two complete companies, it returned to the UK at the end of May - via Bray Dunes.
It remained in the United Kingdom being a breeding ground for MG and Small Arms instructors and these were picked off by other Battalions and Regiments.
In October 1943, it became part of 61st Infantry Division but was never called on to fight and was dispersed in April, 1944.
Formed as part of the expansion of the Territorial Army in early 1939 when the 4th/5th Battalion was split and the 4th and 5th Battalions became separate entities. It became part of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division. It was then, in November 1939, transferred to the 59th Division and took up duties as a defence battalion in the Liverpool defence zone in April 1940.
It moved to Northern Ireland and took part in the defence of the border between the Northern province and Eire. It then became part of the 53rd Division.
"A" Company became part of the 148th Independent Brigade on their formation as an Independent Machine Gun Company. They remained in Norther Ireland while the rest of the Battalion returned to the mainland.
Various training locations were used until the Battalion became part of the coastal defences in Dorset in September 1942. In January 1943, the Battalion joined the 80th Reserve Division and became a Continuation Training Battalion in Trearddur Bay, Anglesey and spent the rest of the war training Machine Gunners and Mortarmen in the practical aspects of support warfare. This remained unchanged other than an administrative move from the 80th to the 38th Division in October 1944.
The 6th was formed in March 1939 and spent the following 18 months training and providing home defence duties. In October 1940, it joined the 44th (Home Counties) Division. In 1942, it embarked for North Africa with the Division and subsequently took part in actions at Alam Halfa, El Alamein, Iraq, Enfidaville and Tahouna. After El Alamein, the 44th Division was disbanded and the Battalion became part of the Divisional MG Battalion to the 56th (London) Infantry Division.
The 56th (London) Infantry Division was mobilised in June 1940 as a First Line Territorial Army Infantry Division. It took part in actions in Iraq, Enfidaville and Tahouna. It was one of the Divisions that took part in the Salerno landings in September 1943 and fought its way through Italy including actions at Ulipelli, the Volturno, Montanaro, Monte Camino, Garigliano, Anzio and from the Gothic Line to the River Po.
Within its time in the 56th Division, the Battalion expended the following quantities of ammunition:
| Machine Gun Ammunition | ||
| Western Desert and Tunisia | 1942 - 1943 | NO RECORD |
| Italy | September 1943 - March 1944 | 3,683,700 |
| Italy | September 1944 - April 1945 | 2,719,200 |
| 5,402,900 rounds | ||
| 4.2 inch Mortar Bombs | ||
| Gothic Line to Venice | September 1944 to April 1945 | 32,757 rounds (or 292.5 tonnes) |
From November 1939, the Battalion was the Divisional MG Battalion to the 5th (Yorkshire) Infantry Division.
The 5th (Yorkshire) Infantry Division was mobilised in September 1939 as a Regular Army Infantry Division. It saw action at the following battles:
Unlike the other units of the Cheshires, this Battalion never seems to have been converted to the Machine Gun or Support role and spent the war as Garrison troops providing base and stores security and guards details in the UK, North Africa and Italy.
After the Second World War, the MG assets reverted to MG Platoons within support companies of Infantry Battalions.