| 2nd Division 2nd Infantry Division 2nd Armoured Division | |
|---|---|
 The divisional insignia used from ~1940 until 2012 | |
| Active | Raised and disbanded numerous times between 1809 and 2012 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Engagements | Napoleonic Wars Crimean War Second Boer War First World War Second World War |
An order of battle is a list of the various elements of a military formation organised within a hierarchical command structure. It can also provide information on the strength of that formation and the equipment used.[1] An order of battle is not necessarily a set structure, and it can change depending on tactical or strategic developments, or the evolution of military doctrine. For example, a division could be altered radically from one campaign to another through the adding or removing of subunits, but retain its identity and prior history. The size of a division can vary dramatically as a result of what forces are assigned and the doctrine employed at that time.
The 2nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which was formed numerous times over a 203-year period. Several formations bore the name, the "2nd Division", from 1809 through to the end of the 19th century. The historian Everard Wyrall, the compiler of the division's First World War official history, only included those formations that fought in the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, and the Second Boer War as being linked with the division that was created in the 20th century and fought in the First World War.[2] That modern formation was created in 1902 and would go to further serve in the Second World War.[3][4] The first 2nd Division that was formed was a mere 3,900 men strong and did not include supporting weapons such as artillery.[5] In comparison, the 2nd Infantry Division, from the Second World War period, was over 18,000 men strong and supported by 72 artillery pieces and numerous other support weapons.[6] Each war that the division fought in has a corresponding order of battle section.
- ^ McDonald 2020, p. x.
- ^ Wyrall 1921a, pp. xi–xii.
- ^ Dunlop 1938, pp. 218–219, 245.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 40.
- ^ Oman 1903, pp. 645, 650–651.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 131.