2nd Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

2nd Division 2nd Infantry Division 2nd Armoured Division
Divisional insignia used from 1940, until the division was disbanded in 2012.
Active	Raised and disbanded numerous times between 1809 and 2012
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Engagements	Crimean War Siege of Sevastopol Battle of Inkerman Battle of the Great Redan Second Boer War Battle of Colenso Battle of Vaal Krantz Battle of the Tugela Heights First World War Western Front Battle of Mons Rearguard Affair of Le Grand Fayt Rearguard Affair of Villers-Cotterêts First Battle of the Marne First Battle of the Aisne First Battle of Ypres Battle of Neuve Chapelle Second Battle of Artois Battle of Festubert Battle of Loos Defence of Vimy Ridge Battle of the Somme Battle of Delville Wood Battle of Guillemont Battle of Ancre Attacks on Ancre Drive on Hindenburg Line Nivelle offensive Battle of Arras Battle of Arleux Battle of the Scarpe Battle of Cambrai (1917) Hundred Days Offensive Second Battle of the Somme Battle of Albert Battle of Arras Battle of Havrincourt Battle of Canal du Nord Second Battle of Cambrai Battle of the Selle Second World War Western Front Battle of Belgium Battle of France Le Paradis massacre Battle of Dunkirk Pacific War Burma Campaign Arakan Campaign Battle of Kohima Operation Capital Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay Operation Dracula
Insignia
Identification symbol	Divisional insignia, during the First World War.

The 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed and disestablished numerous times between 1809 and 2012. It was raised by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley for service in the Peninsular War (part of the Coalition Wars of the Napoleonic Wars) as the 2nd Division. It was disestablished in 1814, but re-formed the following year for service in the War of the Seventh Coalition. The formation fought at the Battle of Waterloo and played an important role in defeating the final French attack of the day. It then marched into France and became part of the Army of Occupation, and was the only British force allowed to march through Paris. In December 1818, the division was disbanded once again.

During the mid- to late-19th century, several formations bearing the name 2nd Division were formed. Only two such were considered part of the division's lineage by Everard Wyrall, who compiled its First World War history. The first was created in 1854 to take part in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire, fighting in the Battle of Inkerman and throughout the Siege of Sevastopol. In 1856, after the conclusion of hostilities, it was stood down. The second incarnation was raised in 1899 for the Second Boer War. It took part in all the battles that made up the Relief of Ladysmith, before advancing into Boer territory. At the end of 1900, when conventional warfare ended, the division was broken up so its forces could be reassigned to mobile columns or to garrison towns in an effort to combat the Boer guerrilla tactics.

The division was re-formed in 1902, but this time as a permanent formation and not on an ad hoc basis for a particular emergency. It was based at Aldershot, in southern England, before the First World War. In 1914 it was deployed to France a few weeks after the start of the war, as part of the British Expeditionary Force. The formation served on the Western Front and suffered heavy casualties. After the war, the division returned to Aldershot where it remained throughout the inter-war period. During the Second World War, the formation was again deployed to France in the opening stages of the conflict. In the subsequent Battle of France it was forced back to the port of Dunkirk and evacuated to the United Kingdom. It then served in Burma, and ended the war in British India. The division remained within the British order of battle in the post-war years, and formed part of the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. In 1976 the formation was transformed into the 2nd Armoured Division and maintained this role until the end of 1982. It was then disbanded in Germany, and the 2nd Division was re-formed in York, England, in 1983. Following the end of the Cold War and the decrease in the size of the British Army, it was again disbanded; only to be re-raised in the mid-1990s. At the turn of the millennium the division moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, and was most recently disbanded in 2012.