King's Regiment (Liverpool)

The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British infantry regiments, which were associated with a county, the King's represented the city of Liverpool, one of only four regiments affiliated to a city in the British Army.^[3] After 273 years of continuous existence, the regiment was amalgamated with the Manchesters in 1958.

The King's notably saw active service in the Second Boer War, the two world wars, and the Korean War. In the First World War, the regiment contributed dozens of battalions to the Western Front, Salonika, and the North West Frontier. More than 15,000 men were killed. In the Second World War, the 5th and 8th (Irish) battalions landed during Operation Overlord, the 1st and 13th fought as Chindits in Burma, and the 2nd served in Italy and Greece. The King's later fought in the Korean War, earning the regiment's last battle honour.

Nine Victoria Crosses were awarded to the regiment, the first in 1900 and the last in 1918. An additional two were awarded to Royal Army Medical Corps officer Noel Godfrey Chavasse, who was attached to the Liverpool Scottish during the First World War.

In peacetime, the regiment's battalions were based in the United Kingdom and colonies in the British Empire. Duties varied: riots were suppressed in Belfast, England, and the Middle East; bases were garrisoned in places such as the North-West Frontier Province and West Germany; and reviews and parades conducted throughout the regiment's history.

For the King's, expansion was on a more modest scale than that of the previous world war. Ten battalions formed between 1939 and 1940, including the reconstituted 8th (Irish). Two of the battalions converted to armour and anti-air roles in 1941: the 11th became the 152nd Regiment in the Royal Armoured Corps, but continued to wear their King's Regiment cap badge on the black beret of the RAC, while the 12th transferred to the Royal Artillery as 101 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. Some 16 battalions and four batteries of the Lancashire Home Guard became affiliated with the King's. They performed varied duties in Britain supporting the Civil Defence Service and regular army, and served during the Liverpool Blitz.

By late 1941, the regiment had three battalions (1st, 2nd, and 13th) stationed abroad with the remainder poised to defend the United Kingdom against invasion. The 1st and 13th would serve in Burma as Chindits, the 2nd in Italy and Greece, and the 5th and 8th in North-West Europe. Of battalions that had switched to other roles, only 40 RTR (7th King's) experienced active service. With the 23rd Armoured Brigade, the 40th fought in North Africa, where they acquired the nickname "Monty's Foxhounds", Italy, and Greece.

Italy and Greece

Having spent five years in Gibraltar, the 2nd King's departed in December 1943 to reinforce the 4th Infantry Division in Egypt. The battalion landed in Italy with the 4th when the division joined the campaign in March 1944. On 11 May, the division conducted an opposed crossing of the Gari River during the final battle for Monte Cassino. The 2nd King's constituted, along with the 2nd Somersets, the main element of 28 Infantry Brigade's initial assault. Behind schedule by 35 minutes and thus lacking artillery support, the battalion attempted to traverse the Gari under sustained mortar and artillery fire. Many boats capsized because of the strong current with resultant losses. The 4th Division collectively struggled to consolidate its bridgehead and minefields and a determined defence inflicted casualties on the King's and mortally wounded their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Garmons-Williams. Depleted and disorganised, the remnants withdrew from an untenable bridgehead on the 14th. The 2nd King's by then had 72 men killed or missing and many wounded. After five months and four battles, Monte Cassino was captured on 18 May by the Polish II Corps and the Gustav Line broken.

The Allies captured Rome in June and the King's fought in the subsequent advance to the Trasimene Line. The King's captured Gioiella in a fierce battle that had involved the 2/4th Hampshires, and later secured and defended Tuori against counter-attack, earning the regiment a unique battle honour in the British Army.In about nine months of service, in difficult, mountainous terrain, with heavy casualties, the battalion was awarded four DSOs, nine MCs, three DCMs, four MMs, and six mentioned in despatches. Among the recipients were Sergeant Welsby, who single-handedly secured a fortified farmhouse, and Major J. A. de V. Reynolds, for his leadership and conduct around Casa Arlotti.

In December, the 4th Division deployed to Greece to reinforce British forces embroiled in the country's civil war. Conflict in Greece between government forces and Communist partisans followed the vacuum created by the German withdrawal. The partisans (ELAS) sought to establish themselves as the new political authority and confronted the British-supported government-in-exile when ordered to disband and disarm. Within 24 hours of being flown to Piraeus on 12 December, the 2nd King's had to engage partisans in a brief action, seizing occupied barracks at a cost of 14 casualties. During a seven-week internal security employment, there were many instances of house-to-house and street fighting in Athens. By mid-January 1945, the city had been cleared of insurgents and a ceasefire agreed upon, followed by the Varkiza Agreement in February. The King's remained for a year to support a tense peace until they left for Cyprus.

The 13th King's sailed for India in December 1941, coinciding with Japan's entrance into the war. Intended for garrison duties, the 13th's strength contained many men categorised as old or of a medically downgraded condition.^[129] After Japan occupied Burma in 1942, the Allies formed a unit intended to penetrate deep behind Japanese lines from India. The 13th King's provided the majority of the British contingent for the "Chindits", which was formally designated as the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade and commanded by Orde Wingate.

Organised into two groups, the Chindits' first operation (codenamed Longcloth) began on 8 February 1943. No. 2 Group, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel S.A. Cooke, was formed from the 13th King's and divided into five independent columns, two of which (Nos 7 and 8) were commanded by majors from the battalion. No Japanese opposition was encountered initially, allowing the Chindits to cross the Chindwin River and advance into Burma unimpeded.

Normandy and Germany

In 1943, the 5th and 8th King's (Liverpool Irish) received specialist training at Ayrshire in preparation for a planned invasion of France. They had been selected to form the nucleus of the 5th and 7th Beach Groups, which would have the objectives of maintaining beach organisation, securing positions, and providing defence against counter-attack.

As invasion neared in mid-1944, the two battalions moved from their camps to ports in southern England and embarked aboard troopships and landing ship tanks. Much of the Liverpool Irish embarked aboard the Ulster Monarch, a passenger ship that had served on the Belfast-Liverpool line before the war.Having been delayed, the invasion fleet proceeded to Normandy on 5 June. Both King's battalions landed on D-Day, the 5th at Sword with the 3rd Division and the Liverpool Irish at Juno with the Canadians.

Two companies of the Liverpool Irish landed in the assault wave with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. Under intense machine gun and mortar fire, the landing of Major Max Morrison's "A" Company proceeded well, allowing some to establish a command-post upon reaching the sand dunes. In contrast, in "B" Company's sector, the late arrival of the reconnaissance party and DD tanks exposed the landing infantry to heavy machine gun fire. The company's officer commanding, Major O'Brien, and the second-in-command were among those wounded. At Sword, as the 3rd Division moved inland, the 5th King's attempted to neutralise hostile positions and snipers. Casualties included Lieutenant-Colonel D. H. V. Board, killed by a sniper, and the OC of 9 Platoon, Lieutenant Scarfe, mortally wounded in an attack on a German position that captured 16 soldiers.

Under fire, the beach groups collected the wounded and dead, located and marked minefields, attempted to maintain organisation, and directed vehicles and troops inland. The two battalions operated with the beach groups for a further six weeks. While the depleted Liverpool Irish disbanded in August, much of its strength having been transferred to other units as reinforcements, the 5th King's survived as a reduced cadre. Disbandment had only been avoided through the determination of Lieutenant-Colonel G.D. Wreford-Brown, who argued that the 5th Battalion was nearly the most senior unit active in the Territorial Army.

Before the Allies advanced into Nazi Germany in February 1945, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) began to form dedicated units to secure important objectives—equipment, installations, intelligence, and personnel. The 5th King's provided the nucleus for No. 2 T (Target) Force. Elements of the 5th reached the naval port of Kiel in May 1945, securing the cruiser Admiral Hipper and taking 7,000 sailors prisoner. The battalion continued to conduct intelligence operations until disbandment in July 1946 during the demoblisation process. Reconstitution into the Territorial Army followed in 1947 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Stanley