Light Division

The Light Division
Active1803–1815
1853–1856
1914–1918
1968–2007
2022–present
CountryUnited Kingdom
BranchBritish Army
TypeLight Infantry
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQSir John Moore Barracks, Winchester
AnniversariesSalamanca Day
EquipmentBaker rifle
EngagementsBattle of Copenhagen (1807)
Peninsular War
Battle of Corunna
Battle of the River Côa
Battle of Bussaco
Battle of Sabugal
Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
Siege of Badajoz (1812)
Battle of Salamanca
Battle of Vitoria
Battle of the Pyrenees
Battle of Nivelle
Battle of Toulouse
Crimean War
Battle of Alma
Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)
Battle of Inkerman
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Robert Craufurd
William Erskine
Charles Alten
George Brown

The Light Division is a light infantry division of the British Army. It was reformed in 2022, as part of Future Soldier reforms.

Its origins lay in "Light Companies" formed during the late 18th century, to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect a main force with skirmishing tactics. These units took advantage of then-new technology in the form of rifles, which allowed it to emphasise marksmanship, and were aimed primarily at disrupting and harassing enemy forces, in skirmishes before the main forces clashed.

Formed in 1803, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Light Division was raised thereafter: during the Crimean War, the First World War, from 1968 to 2007, and from 2022 to the present day. Some light infantry units remained and remain outside of the Light Division.