17/21st Lancers (Famous Regiments S.)

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The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where Winston Churchill (then an officer of the 4th Hussars), rode with the unit. The whole regiment then deployed to the American War of Independence (1775-83), fighting at Bunker Hill (1775), Long Island (1776), White Plains (1776) and Crooked Billet (1778). Later, it was the only regular unit in Tarleton’s Legion in the southern colonies, where it served at the Battle of Cowpens (1781), but was interned after being captured at Yorktown (1781).

The main operational commitment post war for the Regiment was in Northern Ireland. Since 1969 and the beginning of the ‘troubles’, the 17th/21st were regularly deployed to the Province in both mounted and dismounted roles. The Regiment was employed in Saladin, Saracen and Ferret armoured cars during the first two and bloodiest years of the troubles. The Regiment also conducted dismounted four-month emergency tours. The Gulf War 1991 The regimental collection is held at The Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum which is based at Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire. [9] Victoria Crosses [ edit ] Omdurman" was the regiment's only battle honour, giving rise to the satirical regimental motto of "thou shalt not kill." [6] That same year, the regiment was given the title 21st (Empress of India's) Lancers, taking the name from Queen Victoria who was the Empress of India. [1] Service in Ireland and India [ edit ] A troop from the 21st Lancers passing Marlborough House, circa 1911 In 1898 the regiment served in Sudan during the Mahdist War, as the only British cavalry unit involved. It was there that the full regiment charged with lances in the classic cavalry style during the Battle of Omdurman in September 1898. Of less than 400 men involved in the charge 70 were killed and wounded [3] and the regiment won three Victoria Crosses. These three were Private Thomas Byrne, [4] Lieutenant Raymond de Montmorency [4] and Captain Paul Kenna. [4] This spectacular encounter earned considerable public attention and praise for the regiment, though it was also criticized as a costly and unnecessary anachronism - since the 2,000 Dervish spearmen dispersed by the 21st Lancers could have been destroyed by rifle fire with few if any British losses. [3] Winston Churchill (then an officer of the 4th Hussars), rode with the unit. [5]The regiment, which was based in Sialkot in India at the start of the First World War, landed in France as part of the 2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Indian Cavalry Division [53] in November 1914 for service on the Western Front. [54] The regiment fought in its conventional cavalry role at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. [45] The regiment was transferred to the 7th Cavalry Brigade, part of the 3rd Cavalry Division in February 1918 and was used as mobile infantry, plugging gaps whenever the need arose, both as cavalry and as infantry during the last-gasp German spring offensive. [45] Cannon, Richard (1841). Historical Record of the Seventeenth Regiment of Light Dragoons, Lancers: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1759 and of Its Subsequent Services to 1841. John W. Parker. Military unit Irish Cavalrymen, 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons, in the War of the American Revolution, 1775-1783

May saw the final action of the North Africa campaign with the capture of the Cap Bon Peninsula. The Germans were trying to delay its capture long enough to allow evacuation of their Army by sea. The Regiment conducted a ‘charge’ along the beach totally out manoeuvring the German defensive positions. Enemy resistance crumbled, thousands of prisoners were taken, and thus ended the campaign. a b c d e f g h i j k "17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own)". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 20 June 2006 . Retrieved 31 August 2016. In 1922, the regiment, as the 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own), was amalgamated with the 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) to form the 17th/21st Lancers.

First World War

The 21st was first raised in 1760 and was amalgamated with the 17th in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. It is most famous for the Charge at Omdurman in 1898, after which Queen Victoria awarded the title ‘21st Empress of India’s Lancers’. In November 1942, the division was deployed to Tunisia for Operation Torch. Now equipped with Valentine Mk III and Crusader Mk III tanks, the regiment saw action in the Tunisia Campaign for some time, including taking heavy losses defending Thala in the Battle of Kasserine Pass in February 1943 during which fourteen tanks were put out of action. Despite these losses the pass was held and the Germans retreated. [2] After the losses during this battle, the regiment was withdrawn from the front line. The Valentine tanks they were using were inferior to the German counterparts in both armour and weaponry, so the lancers were refitted with M4A2 Sherman tanks that carried a 75mm main gun. In April, the regiment attempted to take the Fondouk Pass during which thirty-two tanks were put out of action. Although this left the regiment with only a handful of tanks, it allowed command to send in the 16th/5th Lancers, and the pass was taken. [2] The campaign in Tunisia came to an end in May 1943, with the capture of the Cap Bon Peninsula. The Germans were trying to delay its capture long enough to allow evacuation of their Army by sea. The Regiment conducted a 'charge' along the beach totally out manoeuvring the German defensive positions. Enemy resistance crumbled, with the surrender of thousands of German and Italian soldiers who subsequently became prisoners of war (POWs). Most of the 6th Armoured Division (minus the 1st Guards Brigade) then deployed to the Italian Front in March 1944, and fought to breach the Gustav Line, taking part in Operation Diadem, the fourth and final Battle of Monte Cassino. [2] The regiment advanced to the Gothic Line, and spent the winter there—at points, serving as infantry rather than as an armoured unit, due to the static nature of the trench warfare there. [2] After the final breakthrough in April 1945, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, the regiment ended the war in Austria. [2] Post-war [ edit ] The 17th and 21st Lancers were amalgamated in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. During the Second World War the Regiment fought in North Africa and Italy. Later the 17th/21st became part of NATO’s front-line force in West Germany. Inter-War Years The advance north of Rome proved itself even harder than in the south. There were only three routes capable of supporting armoured formations with the Germans covering all of them with direct and indirect fire. The delaying action the Germans fought was so effective it took the Allies four months to reach the Gothic Line. The winter of 1944/1945 saw the 17th/21st taking their turn as infantry on the Gothic Line in The Apennine Mountains, not only manning trenches but machine guns and mortars. For the Regiment the battle of The Po Valley proved to be the final action of the war. By VE Day the 17th/21st Lancers had lost 21 officers and 135 other ranks killed. Greece, Egypt, Palestine 1945-1948