View source for Devonshire Regiment

{{Short description|Former regiment of the British Army}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = Devonshire Regiment
| image                         = Devons cap badge.gif
| caption                       = [[Cap badge]] of the Devons
| dates                         = 1685&ndash;1958
| country                       = {{flag|Kingdom of England}} (1685–1707)<br />{{flag|Kingdom of Great Britain}} (1707–1800)<br />{{flag|United Kingdom}} (1801–1958)
| branch                        = {{army|United Kingdom}}
| type                          = [[Line infantry]]
| role                          = [[Infantry]]
| size                          = 1&ndash;2 [[Standing army|Regular]] battalions<br />Up to 2 [[Militia (United Kingdom)|Militia]] and [[Militia (United Kingdom)#The Special Reserve|Reserve]] battalions<br />Up to 5 [[Volunteer Force (Great Britain)|Volunteer]] and [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial]] battalions<br />Up to 19 Hostilities-only battalions
| garrison                      = [[Wyvern Barracks|Topsham Barracks]], [[Exeter]]
| ceremonial_chief              = 
| colonel_of_the_regiment       = 
| nickname                      = The Bloody Eleventh<ref>{{cite book|last=Farmer|first=John S.|year=1984|title=The Regimental Records of the British Army|location=Bristol|publisher=Crecy Books|isbn=0 947554 03 3|page=99}}</ref>
| colors                        = Lincoln green facings
| march                         = ''We've Lived and We've Loved Together''
| mascot                        = 
| battles                       = 
| notable_commanders            = 
| anniversaries                 = 
| identification_symbol_2       = [[File:Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 ribbon.svg|106px]]<br />{{Lang|fr|Croix de Guerre|italic=no}}
| identification_symbol_2_label = Arm Badge
| motto                         = ''Semper Fidelis'' (Ever faithful)
}}
The '''Devonshire Regiment''' was a [[line infantry]] [[regiment]] of the [[British Army]] that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the [[Second Boer War]], the [[World War I|First World War]] and the [[World War II|Second World War]]. In 1958 the regiment was amalgamated with the [[Dorset Regiment]] to form the [[Devonshire and Dorset Regiment]] which, in 2007, was amalgamated with the [[Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment]], the [[Royal Green Jackets]] and [[The Light Infantry]] to form a new [[large regiment]], [[The Rifles]].

==History==
===Formation===
[[File:Henry Somerset (1629–1699), 1st Duke of Beaufort, KG, PC.jpg|thumb|left|[[Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort|Henry Somerset, Marquess of Worcester]], founder of the regiment]]
In June 1667 [[Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort|Henry Somerset, Marquess of Worcester]], was granted a commission to raise a regiment of foot, '''The Marquess of Worcester's Regiment of Foot'''.<ref name=regiments>{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/011Devon.htm |title=The Devonshire Regiment at the archive of regiments.org |access-date=2013-09-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113060232/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/011Devon.htm |archive-date=January 13, 2008 }}</ref> The regiment remained in existence for only a few months and was disbanded in the same year. It was re-raised in January 1673 and again disbanded in 1674. In 1682, Henry Somerset was created [[Duke of Beaufort]], and in 1685 he was again commissioned to raise a regiment, '''The Duke of Beaufort's Regiment of Foot''', or '''Beaufort Musketeers''', to defend [[Bristol]] against the [[Monmouth Rebellion|Duke of Monmouth's rebellion]].<ref name=early>{{cite web|url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/early+days|title=Early Days of the Regiments|publisher=The Keep Military Museum|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-date=22 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122004250/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/early%20days|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Early years===
[[File:Soldier of 11th regiment 1742.jpg|thumb|Soldier of the 11th Foot in 1742. The red coat displays the regiment's green facings.]]
The regiment was not required to fight at the time of its formation since the Duke of Monmouth was drawn away from Bristol. Its first action came in [[Ireland]] at the [[Battle of the Boyne]] in July 1690<ref>Cannon, p. 16</ref> and the [[Siege of Limerick (1691)|siege of Limerick]] in August 1691 when it fought for [[William III of England|William III]] against the [[Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland)|Irish Army]] of the deposed [[James II of England|James II]].<ref>Cannon, p. 18</ref> It joined the armies of the [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]] in [[Holland]] in the [[War of Spanish Succession]] in 1703, and also fought in the Iberian Campaign, being captured by the French at [[Portalegre, Portugal|Portalegre]] in 1704<ref>Cannon, p. 20</ref> and part of the British army defeated at the [[Battle of Almansa]] in April 1707.<ref>Cannon, p. 21</ref> Back in the United Kingdom, it helped put down the [[Jacobite rising of 1715]], fighting the rebels at the inconclusive [[Battle of Sheriffmuir]] in November 1715<ref>Cannon, p. 26</ref> and at the [[Battle of Glen Shiel]] in June 1719.<ref>Cannon, p. 28</ref>

The regiment was deployed to [[Flanders]] in summer 1742 for service in the [[War of Austrian Succession]]<ref>Cannon, p. 29</ref> and took part in the [[Battle of Dettingen]] in June 1743,<ref>Cannon, p. 30</ref> the [[Battle of Fontenoy]] in May 1745<ref>Cannon, p. 31</ref> and the [[Battle of Rocoux]] in October 1746.<ref>Cannon, p. 33</ref>

The regiment embarked for the continent in spring 1760 for service in the [[Seven Years' War]]; it fought at the [[Battle of Warburg]] in July 1760,<ref>Cannon, p. 36</ref> the [[Battle of Kloster Kampen]] in October 1760<ref>Cannon, p. 37</ref> and the [[Battle of Villinghausen]] in July 1761<ref>Cannon, p. 38</ref> as well as the [[Battle of Wilhelmsthal]] in June 1762<ref>Cannon, p. 40</ref> and the inconclusive [[Spanish invasion of Portugal (1762)|Iberian campaign]]. After the war, it garrisoned the island of [[Menorca]].<ref>Cannon, p. 41</ref>

The regiment served under the name of its various [[Colonel]]s until it was numbered as the '''11th Regiment of Foot''' when the numerical system of regimental designation was adopted in 1751.<ref name=regiments/> It was given the additional county title of '''11th (North Devonshire) Regiment of Foot''' in 1782.<ref name=regiments/>

===French and Napoleonic Wars===
The 11th Regiment spent the early years of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] serving as detachments in the Mediterranean with the [[Royal Navy]].<ref>Cannon, p. 42</ref> It also took part in an abortive raid on the port of [[Ostend]] in 1798.<ref>Cannon, p. 49</ref> It was deployed to the [[West Indies]] in 1801 where it captured [[Saint Barthélemy]] and [[Saint Martin (island)|Saint Martin]] later that year.<ref>Cannon, p. 51</ref> A 2nd Battalion was formed in 1809 and took part in the disastrous [[Walcheren Campaign]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/early+days/11th+regiment+of+foot+in+the+napoleonic+war+the+2nd+battalion|title=The 11th Regiment of Foot in the Napoleonic War - the 2nd Battalion by Sir David Pepper KCMG|publisher=The Keep Military Museum|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-date=28 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228230405/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/early+days/11th+regiment+of+foot+in+the+napoleonic+war+the+2nd+battalion|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 1st battalion returned to Europe in July 1809 to fight in the [[Peninsular War]].<ref>Cannon, p. 55</ref> It took part in the [[Battle of Bussaco]] in September 1810 and then fell back to the [[Lines of Torres Vedras]].<ref>Cannon, p. 57</ref> It took part in the [[Second Siege of Badajoz (1811)|siege of Badajoz]] in April 1811,<ref name=cannon61>Cannon, p. 61</ref> the [[Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812)|siege of Ciudad Rodrigo]] in January 1812<ref name=cannon61/> and earned its nickname, ''The Bloody Eleventh'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.devonheritage.org/Nonplace/DevonReg/The_DevonshireRegiment.htm |title=The Devonshire Regiment |publisher=Devon Heritage |access-date=2013-09-06}}</ref> at the [[Battle of Salamanca]] in July 1812.<ref>Cannon, p. 64</ref> It fought at the [[siege of Burgos]] in September 1812<ref>Cannon, p. 69</ref> and then pursued the French Army into France taking part in the [[Battle of the Pyrenees]] in July 1813,<ref>Cannon, p. 71</ref> the [[Battle of Nivelle]] in November 1813<ref>Cannon, p. 73</ref> and the [[Battle of the Nive]] in December 1813<ref>Cannon, p. 74</ref> as well as the [[Battle of Orthez]] in February 1814<ref name=cannon76>Cannon, p. 76</ref> and the [[Battle of Toulouse (1814)|Battle of Toulouse]] in April 1814.<ref name=cannon76/>

===The Victoria era===
[[File:Devonshire Regiment-Ladysmith.JPG|thumb|Soldiers of the Devonshire Regiment at the [[Relief of Ladysmith]], 1900. They are facing Pepworth Hill, firing from behind boulders which provided for an effective cover.]]
The regiment spent most of the 19th century on garrison duty throughout the [[British Empire|Empire]].<ref >{{cite web
  |url=http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/devonshire-regiment
  |title=Devonshire Regiment
  |publisher=[[National Army Museum]]
  |access-date=17 December 2016
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220132540/http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/devonshire-regiment  |archive-date=20 December 2016  |url-status=dead
}}</ref> The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the [[Cardwell Reforms]] of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at [[Wyvern Barracks|Topsham Barracks]] in [[Exeter]] from 1873, or by the [[Childers reforms]] of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment.{{efn-lr|The depot was the 34th Brigade Depot from 1873 to 1881, and the 11th Regimental District depot thereafter.<ref >{{cite web
  |url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/1873.htm
  |title=Training Depots 1873–1881
  |website=Regiments.org
  |access-date=16 October 2016
  |url-status=bot: unknown  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210172841/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/depot/1873.htm  |archive-date=10 February 2006 
}}</ref>}} Under the reforms the regiment became the '''Devonshire Regiment''' on 1 July 1881.<ref>{{London Gazette
  |issue=24992
  |pages=3300–3301
  |date=1 July 1881
}}</ref> At the same time it merged with the [[militia (United Kingdom)|militia]] and [[Volunteer Force (Great Britain)|rifle volunteer]] units of the county of [[Devon]]. It took part in the [[Tirah Campaign]] in 1897 and the [[Second Boer War]] in 1899. The 1st Battalion were besieged at Ladysmith. It departed for India on 3 January 1902. The 2nd Battalion fought in the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]], the [[Anglo-Ashanti wars]] and the [[Second Boer War]].<ref >{{cite web
  |url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/the+boer+war
  |title=The Boer War
  |publisher=The Keep Military Museum
  |access-date=27 December 2015
  |archive-date=22 January 2016  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122140040/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/the+boer+war  |url-status=dead
}}</ref>

In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the [[Territorial Force]] and the latter the [[Special Reserve (militia)|Special Reserve]];<ref >{{cite Hansard
  |url= https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1908/mar/31/territorial-and-reserve-forces-act-1907
  |title=Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907
  |date=31 March 1908
  |access-date=20 June 2017
  |column=295
}}</ref> the regiment now had one Reserve and four Territorial battalions.{{efn-lr|These were the 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve), with the 4th Battalion at [[Bedford Circus, Exeter]] (since demolished), the 5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion at Prospect Place in [[Plymouth]] (since demolished), the 6th Battalion at The Strand in [[Barnstaple]] (since demolished) and the 7th (Cyclist) Battalion at Leighton Terrace in Exeter (since demolished) (all Territorial Force).<ref name=regiments/>}}

===First World War===
{{see also|List of battalions of the Devonshire Regiment#First World War}}
[[image:monument 2 Devonshire 08284.JPG|thumb|right|Memorial at [[La Ville-aux-Bois-lès-Pontavert]].]]

====Regular Army====
The 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment was a [[Standing army|Regular Army]] unit and, after absorbing some 500 reservists, departed for France, landing at [[Le Havre]] on 21 August 1914, just 17 days since Britain's entry into the war, as part of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF). The battalion joined the [[8th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|8th Brigade]] of the [[3rd Division (United Kingdom)|3rd Division]] in early September 1914, and then transferred to the [[14th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|14th Brigade]] of the [[5th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|5th Division]] later in the month.<ref name=trail>{{cite web|url=http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/devonshire-regiment/|title=Devonshire Regiment|publisher=The Long, Long Trail|access-date=27 December 2015}}</ref> The battalion served on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] throughout the war, seeing action first during the [[Battle of La Bassée]] in October where they helped in the capture of Givenchy Ridge, followed by the [[First Battle of Ypres]], where the battalion, in common with most of the rest of the British Regular Army, sustained very heavy casualties. The 1st Devons lost in the battle two thirds of their officers and a third of the other ranks. The battalion then took part in the [[Winter operations 1914–1915]], occupying [[Trench warfare|trenches]] in deep mud and snow before, in April 1915, suffering 200 casualties from shelling and German [[counterattack]]s after holding [[Hill 60 (Ypres)|Hill 60]] after its capture a few days before.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/first+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+first+battalion |title=The 1st Battalion The Devonshire Regiment in World War One - The Keep Military Museum, Dorchester, Dorset |publisher=Keepmilitarymuseum.org |access-date=2017-05-10 |archive-date=15 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315163115/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/first+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+first+battalion |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:The Battle of the Somme, July-november 1916 Q1395.jpg|thumb|left|[[Lewis gun]] section of the 8th (Service) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment resting after an attack near Fricourt, France, August 1916.]]

The 2nd Battalion, assigned to the [[23rd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|23rd Brigade]], [[8th Division (United Kingdom) in the First World War|8th Division]],<ref name=trail/> was another Regular Army unit, that was awarded the French {{Lang|fr|[[Croix de Guerre#French Croix de guerre|Croix de Guerre]]|italic=no}} for holding up the massive final German advance of the war at the [[Bois des Buttes (Battle honour)|Bois des Buttes]] on 27 May 1918, the first day of the [[Third Battle of the Aisne]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/bois_des_buttes.php?&dx=3&ob=3&rpn=World |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415095642/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/bois_des_buttes.php?&dx=3&ob=3&rpn=World |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 April 2013 |title=The Battle of Bois des Buttes |publisher=The Keep Military Museum |access-date=2013-09-06 }}</ref> General [[Henri Mathias Berthelot|Henri Berthelot]], General Office Commanding the [[Fifth Army (France)|French 5th Army]] in his Order of the Day of 20 August 1918 said: "Thus the whole battalion, colonel, 28 officers and 552 non-commissioned officers and men, responded with one accord and offered their lives in ungrudging sacrifice to the sacred cause of the Allies."<ref>{{cite book|last=Blanchard|first=David|title=Aisne 1918|page=228|publisher=Battleground Books|year=2015|isbn=978-1783376056}}</ref>

The [[3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment|3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion]] (formerly part of the [[Militia (United Kingdom)|Militia]]) was mobilised upon the outbreak of war to serve mainly in a training capacity, holding and training officers and men before sending them overseas to active battalions of the regiment throughout the world. By the end of the war over 13,000 men and 750 officers had passed through the battalion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/first+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+3rd+special+reserve+battalion |title=The 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion The Devonshire Regiment in World War One - The Keep Military Museum, Dorchester, Dorset |publisher=Keepmilitarymuseum.org |access-date=2017-05-10 |archive-date=27 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527181825/https://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/first+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+3rd+special+reserve+battalion |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Territorial Force====
The [[Exeter and South Devon Volunteers#1/4th Battalion|1/4th]], [[5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment#1/5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion|1/5th (Prince of Wales's)]] and 1/6th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiment, all First Line [[Territorial Force]] (TF) units, were mobilised upon the outbreak of war, serving together in the [[130th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|Devon and Cornwall Brigade]] of the [[43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division|Wessex Division]], and were sent to [[British Raj|India]]. The 1/4th and 1/6th Battalions later saw action in [[Mesopotamian campaign|Mesopotamia]], while the 1/5th was transferred to the [[western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. The Second Line battalions ([[Exeter and South Devon Volunteers#2/4th Battalion|2/4th]], [[5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment#2/5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion|2/5th (Prince of Wales's)]] and 2/6th) also went to India, with the 2/4th and 2/5th later serving in Palestine and Mesopotamia respectively. The 1/7th and 2/7th (Cyclist) Battalions served in Home Defence.<ref name = Trail>[http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/devonshire-regiment/ Devonshire Regiment at Long, Long Trail.]</ref>

====Kitchener's Army====
The 9th (Service) Battalion{{efn-lr|The ''Service'' designation indicates that this was a battalion of [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener's]] [[Kitchener's Army|New Army]].}} was one of the few British units to reach its initial objectives on the [[First day on the Somme|first day]] of the [[Battle of the Somme]], albeit at the cost of 463 dead or wounded of the 775 men who went 'over the top', with only one officer remaining unwounded.<ref>{{cite web
  |url=http://www.devonremembers.co.uk/discover-more/the-devons-in-world-war-one
  |title=The Devons in World War One
  |date=4 June 2014
  |publisher=Devon Remembers|access-date=27 December 2015
}}</ref> The 8th (Service) Battalion, part of [[20th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|20th Brigade]] reserve, was committed within 3 hours of the beginning of the attack and suffered 639 casualties on the first day.<ref>{{cite web
  |url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/first+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+eighth+and+ninth+battalions
  |title=The 8th and 9th (Service) Battalions The Devonshire Regiment in World War One
  |publisher=The Keep Military Museum
  |access-date=27 December 2015
  |archive-date=6 January 2016  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106004403/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/first%20world%20war/the%20devonshire%20regiment/the%20eighth%20and%20ninth%20battalions  |url-status=dead
}}</ref> The 8th Battalion later served on the [[Italian Campaign (World War I)|Italian Front]]. The 10th (Service) Battalion served at [[Macedonian front|Salonika]]. The regiment also raised the [[11th (Reserve) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment|11th (Reserve)]], 12th (Labour), 13th (Works) and 14th (Labour) Battalions.<ref name = Trail />

====The later years of the war====
The experience of an 18-year-old volunteer joining the 35th Training Reserve Battalion, part of the Devon Regiment, in 1918, is provided by A S Bullock.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bullock |first=Arthur |title=Gloucestershire Between the Wars: A Memoir |publisher=The History Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7524-4793-3}} (Page 52)
</ref>

===Second World War===
{{see also|List of battalions of the Devonshire Regiment#Second World War}}
The 1st Battalion was serving in [[British Raj|British India]] when the [[World War II|Second World War]] broke out, and spent the entire war in [[British Raj|India]], [[British Ceylon|Ceylon]] and [[Burma Campaign|Burma]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+first+battalion|title=The 1st Battalion The Devonshire Regiment in World War Two|publisher=The Keep Military Museum|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105201409/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+first+battalion|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1942 the battalion joined the [[80th Indian Infantry Brigade]], attached to the [[20th Infantry Division (India)|20th Indian Infantry Division]] and served with them until 1945 when the battalion was transferred to the [[26th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|British 26th Infantry Brigade]]. The brigade was part of the [[36th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|British 36th Infantry Division]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ordersofbattle.com/Units/UnitSubordinates?UniX=3547|title=26 Infantry Brigade|publisher=Orders of Battle|access-date=27 December 2015}}</ref>

[[File:The Second World War 1939 - 1945- the War in the Far East 1941 - 1945 IND3383.jpg|thumb|right|Men of the 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment sign their autographs on Japanese flags captured at Nippon Ridge during the Battle of Imphal-Kohima, March–July 1944.]]

The 2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment was a [[Standing army|Regular Army]] unit that was serving on the [[Crown colony of Malta|island of Malta]] as part of the [[231st Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Malta Infantry Brigade]] (redesignated as the 231st Infantry Brigade in April 1943) and was involved in the [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|siege of Malta]] from June 1940 until November 1942. In July 1943 the battalion, together with the 231st Brigade, fought in the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], and, briefly, in the [[Allied invasion of Italy]] in September. After Italy the brigade was withdrawn to Sicily and then the United Kingdom where it became permanently part of the veteran [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]] and trained with them in preparation for the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[invasion of Normandy]]. On [[Normandy landings|D-Day]], 6 June 1944, it was intended that the battalion, commanded by [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Cosmo Nevill]], should land at Le Hamel, on [[Gold Beach]], behind the 1st Hampshires. However, owing to adverse sea conditions and an unexpectedly high tidal surge, three of the four rifle companies were carried over a mile to the east before they could make landfall and had to make their way to their assigned assembly point on foot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://warchronicle.com/50th_div/regimentals_wwii/devons_dday.htm |title=The Devons on D-Day |publisher=Warchronicle.com |access-date=2013-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205003106/http://warchronicle.com/50th_div/regimentals_wwii/devons_dday.htm |archive-date=2013-12-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Of the four [[company commander]]s, two were wounded and one was killed.<ref>{{cite web|author=Patrick Elie - Normandie - France |url=http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/gold/en_page.php?page=50 |title=50th Infantry Division - Order of battle |publisher=6juin1944.com |access-date=2013-09-06}}</ref> The battalion continued to fight well throughout the [[Operation Overlord|Battle of Normandy]] and the [[Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine|liberation of North-West Europe]]. However, in December 1944, the 50th Division was disbanded, due to a severe shortage of infantrymen in the British Army at the time, and the battalion was transferred to the [[131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|131st (Lorried) Infantry Brigade]], part of the [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|7th Armoured Division]], ''The Desert Rats'', and remained with them for the rest of the war, participating in [[Operation Blackcock]] in January 1945 followed by [[Operation Plunder]] where they crossed the [[Rhine|River Rhine]]. The division advanced on its destination of the city of [[Hamburg]], [[Germany]], as part of the [[Western Allied invasion of Germany]], taking part in the [[Battle of Hamburg (1945)|Battle of Hamburg]] in late April 1945.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+second+battalion|title=The 2nd Battalion The Devonshire Regiment in World War Two|publisher=The Keep Military Museum|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105201412/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+second+battalion|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Devonshire Regiment raised the 7th, 8th and 9th [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] battalions, in addition to the 4th, 5th and 6th, all of which (except the 5th, which was converted pre-war into 86th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery) were serving in the [[45th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|45th (Wessex) Infantry Division]] on the outbreak of war. However, none of these units, save the 4th Battalion, saw active service outside of the United Kingdom and were used mainly for home defence, training or supplying the other battalions of the regiment with infantry replacements and served with many different brigades and divisions such as the [[80th Infantry (Reserve) Division (United Kingdom)|80th Infantry (Reserve) Division]]. The 4th Battalion was sent, in May 1940, to Gibraltar to join the [[2nd Gibraltar Brigade]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+fourth+sixth+eighth+ninth+tenth+11th+and+30th+battalions|title=The 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 30th Battalions The Devonshire Regiment in World War Two|publisher=The Keep Military Museum|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902175307/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second%2Bworld%2Bwar/the%2Bdevonshire%2Bregiment/the%2Bfourth%2Bsixth%2Beighth%2Bninth%2Btenth%2B11th%2Band%2B30th%2Bbattalions|url-status=dead}}</ref> and returned to the United Kingdom on 28 December 1943 and eventually joined the [[164th (North Lancashire) Brigade|164th Brigade]], [[55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division]] before finally ending the war in the [[183rd (2nd Gloucester and Worcester) Brigade|183rd Infantry Brigade]], [[61st Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|61st Infantry Division]]. The 6th Battalion was transferred to the [[141st (5th London) Brigade|141st Brigade]], [[47th (London) Infantry Division|47th Division]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/webeasycms/hold/uploads/bmh_document_pdf/47_Infantry_Division__1944_45_.pdf|title=47th (London) Infantry Division|publisher=British Military History|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194942/http://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/webeasycms/hold/uploads/bmh_document_pdf/47_Infantry_Division__1944_45_.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 5th and 7th Battalions were converted to anti-tank units, becoming 86th, and 87th Anti-Tank Regiments, Royal Artillery respectively. The 86th Anti-Tank Regiment was a corps-level Anti-tank unit with XII Corps in the [[North West Europe Campaign]], while the 87th Anti-Tank Regiment was active in North Africa with the [[British 1st Army]] before being disbanded in 1944.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+firth+and+seventh+battalions|title=The 5th and 7th Battalions The Devonshire Regiment in World War Two|publisher=The Keep Military Museum|access-date=19 July 2021|archive-date=27 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027011509/https://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+firth+and+seventh+battalions|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 50th (Holding) Battalion was raised in 1940 and renumbered the 12th Battalion the same year and spent most of its time on home defence anticipating a [[Operation Sea Lion|German invasion]]. In June 1943, due to the huge expansion of the British Army's [[airborne forces]], the battalion was transferred to the [[6th Airlanding Brigade (United Kingdom)|6th Airlanding Brigade]], part of the [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|6th Airborne Division]], and were converted into [[glider infantry]], trained to enter battle by [[Military glider|glider]]. The battalion landed in Normandy in the late afternoon of 6 June 1944 in [[Operation Mallard]]. The battalion also fought in the [[Battle of Breville]], and served throughout the [[Operation Overlord|Battle of Normandy]] but as normal infantrymen. The battalion remained in Normandy until August 1944 where it participated in the [[6th Airborne Division advance to the River Seine|breakout from the beachhead]]. The battalion, along the rest of 6th Airborne, was withdrawn to England in early September where they received new replacements, equipment and continued training. In December 1944 they fought briefly in the [[Battle of the Bulge]] but the outcome was already decided before the division arrived. The battalion crossed the River Rhine in [[Operation Varsity]] in March 1945 alongside the [[17th Airborne Division (United States)|U.S. 17th Airborne Division]]. The battalion ended the war by the [[Elbe|River Elbe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+twelfth+and+fiftieth+battalions|title=The 12th and 50th Battalions The Devonshire Regiment in World War Two|publisher=The Keep Military Museum|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-date=17 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117082051/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/second+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+twelfth+and+fiftieth+battalions|url-status=dead}}</ref> Throughout its time in 6th Airlanding Brigade, the battalion was allegedly nicknamed the ''Swedebashers'' by the men in the other battalions (1st [[Royal Ulster Rifles|RUR]] and 2nd [[Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry|OBLI]]), due to the battalion being commanded by a regular army officer but nearly all the officers and men of the 12th Devons had enlisted for hostilities-only.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/94/a2304794.shtml|title=D-Day Memories: 12th Devons|publisher=BBC|access-date=27 December 2015}}</ref>

===Post-war and amalgamation===
The 2nd Battalion was disbanded at [[Wyvern Barracks|Topsham Barracks]] in [[Exeter]] in 1948. The remaining battalion was in Malaya from 1948 to 1951 at the time of the [[Malayan Emergency]] and in Kenya from 1953 to 1955, during the [[Mau Mau Uprising]].<ref >{{cite web
  |url=http://www.devonheritage.org/Nonplace/DevonReg/MemorialtotheDevonshireRegimentmenwhodiedintheKenyanandMalayanemergencies.htm
  |title=Memorial to the Devonshire Regiment men who died in the Kenyan and Malayan emergencies
  |website=Devon Heritage
  |access-date=27 December 2015
}}</ref> In 1958, the regiment was amalgamated with the [[Dorset Regiment]] to form the [[Devonshire and Dorset Regiment]].<ref >{{Cite news
  |title=Merged regiments and new brigading — many famous units to lose separate identity
  |newspaper=[[The Times]]
  |date=25 July 1957
}}</ref>

==Regimental museum==
The regimental collection is displayed in the [[The Keep, Dorchester|Keep Military Museum]] in [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/thekeep.php?&dx=1&ob=3|title=The Keep Today|publisher=The Keep Military Museum|access-date=26 May 2014|archive-date=28 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528010926/http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/thekeep.php?&dx=1&ob=3|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Battle honours==
The regiment was awarded the following [[Battle honours of the British and Imperial Armies|battle honours]]:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.devonheritage.org/Nonplace/DevonReg/Battle_Honours.htm|title=Battle Honours awarded to the Devonshire Regiment after the Great War|publisher=Devon Heritage|access-date=27 December 2015}}</ref>

*Dettingen, Salamanca, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Afghanistan 1879–80, Tirah, Defence of Ladysmith, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902
*''The Great War (25 battalions)'':  Aisne 1914 '18, La Bassée 1914, Armentières 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Hill 60, Ypres 1915 '17, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Aubers, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Arras 1917 '18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917, Bullecourt, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Rosières, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Bois des Buttes, Marne 1918, Tardenois, Bapaume 1918, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, Épéhy, Canal du Nord, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914–18, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917–18, Doiran 1917 '18, Macedonia 1915–18, Egypt 1916–17, Gaza, Nebi Samwil, Jerusalem, Tel Asur, Palestine 1917–18, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Mesopotamia 1916-18
*''The Second World War'':  Normandy Landing, Port en Bessin, Tilly sur Seulles, Caen, St. Pierre la Vielle, Nederrijn, Roer, Rhine, Ibbenburen, North-West Europe 1944–45, Landing in Sicily, Regalbuto, Sicily 1943, Landing at Porto San Venere, Italy 1943, Malta 1940–42, Imphal, Shenam Pass, Tamu Road, Ukhrul, Myinmu Bridgehead, Kyaukse 1945, Burma 1943-45
*''4th, 5th, 6th Bns'':  South Africa 1900-01

==Colonels==
Colonels of the Regiment were:<ref name=regiments/>

*1667: [[Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester]]
*''disbanded''
*1673: Col [[Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort]]
*''disbanded''
*1685: Col [[Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort]]
*1685–1687: Col [[Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester]]
*1687–1688: Lt-Gen [[William Herbert, 2nd Marquess of Powis]]
*1688–1702: Maj-Gen [[Sir John Hanmer, 3rd Baronet]]
*1702–1705: Gen [[James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope]]
*1705–1715: Maj-Gen [[John Hill (courtier)|John Hill]]
*1715–1738: Brig-Gen [[Edward Montagu (died 1738)|Edward Montagu]]
*1738–1743: Maj-Gen [[Stephen Cornwallis]]
*1743–1746: Col Robinson Sowle
*1746–1747: Brig-Gen [[William Graham (British Army officer)|William Graham]]
*1747–1765: Lt-Gen [[Maurice Bocland (British Army officer)|Maurice Bocland]]

===The 11th Regiment of Foot===
*1765–1781: Gen [[William A'Court Ashe]]
*1781–1791: Lt-Gen [[Francis Smith (British Army officer)|Francis Smith]]

===The 11th (North Devonshire) Regiment===
*1791–1806: Gen [[James Grant (British Army officer, born 1720)|James Grant]]
*1806–1807: Gen Hon [[Richard FitzPatrick]]
*1807–1823: Gen [[Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet]] GCH
*1823–1837: Gen Sir [[Henry Montresor|Henry Tucker Montresor]] KCB GCH
*1837–1841: Gen Sir [[Rufane Shaw Donkin]] KCB GCH
*1841–1856: Gen Sir [[John Wilson (governor)|John Wilson]] KCB
*1856–1857: Lt-Gen William George Cochrane
*1857–1862: Lt-Gen Sir [[Richard Doherty (colonialist)|Richard Doherty]]
*1862–1874: Gen Sir [[John Le Marchant (British Army officer, born 1803)|John Gaspard Le Marchant]] GCMG KCB

===Devonshire Regiment===
*1874–1890: Gen [[Sir Francis Seymour, 1st Baronet]]  GCB
*1890–1897: Gen [[George Willis (British Army officer)|Sir George Harry Smith Willis]] GCB
*1897–1902: Lt-Gen [[Edward Newdegate|Sir Edward Newdigate Newdegate]] KCB
*1902–1903: Maj-Gen Hon. Charles John Addington<ref>{{London Gazette|issue= 27474|date=16 September 1902 |page=5959}}</ref>
*1903–1910: Maj-Gen Hon. Sir Savage Lloyd Mostyn KCB (also Royal Welch Fusiliers)
*1910–1921: Lt-Gen [[George Bullock (British Army officer)|Sir George Mackworth Bullock]] KCB
*1921–1930: Lt-Gen [[Louis Bols|Sir Louis Jean Bols]] KCB KCMG DSO
*1930–1943: Maj-Gen [[Charles Maynard (British Army officer)|Sir Charles Clarkson Martin Maynard]] KCB CMG DSO
*1943–1948: Col Harold Street DSO
*1948–1958: Col Lionel Henry Mountifort Westropp

==Victoria Crosses==
The following members of the regiment were awarded the [[Victoria Cross]]:
* [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]] (later Major) [[James Edward Ignatius Masterson]], [[Second Boer War]]
* [[Private (rank)|Private]] (later [[Corporal]]) [[Theodore Veale]], [[World War I|Great War]]
* [[Lance corporal|Lance-Corporal]] (later [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]]) [[George Onions]], Great War

<gallery>
File:DEVONSHIRE CEMETERY.JPG|The Devonshire cemetery at Mansell Copse, [[Mametz, Somme|Mametz]], Northern [[France]], location of the famous sign left after the battle: '' 'The Devonshires held this trench; the Devonshires hold it still' ''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greatwar.co.uk/somme/cemetery-devonshire.htm|title=Devonshire Cemetery, Somme Battlefields, France|publisher=Great War|access-date=27 December 2015}}</ref>
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Notelist-lr}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite web|last=Cannon|first=Richard|title=Historical Record of the Eleventh Regiment, Or the North Devon Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1685, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1845|publisher=Parker, Furnivall and Parker|year=1845|url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_48489}}*

==Further reading==
* [[C.T. Atkinson]], ''The Devonshire Regiment, 1914-1918'' (Exeter: Eland Brothers; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, 1926).

==External links==
{{commons category|Devonshire Regiment}}
* [http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/ Regimental museum]
* [http://www.1914-1918.net/devons.htm 1914-1918.net]
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15972 The Record of a Regiment of the Line] Being a regimental history of the 1st Battalion Devonshire Regiment during the [[Second Boer War|Boer War 1899-1902]], by M. Jacson, from [[Project Gutenberg]]. Deals extensively with the [[siege of Ladysmith]].
{{The Rifles}}
{{Regiments of Foot}}
{{British Infantry Regiments World War I}}

[[Category:Devonshire Regiment| ]]
[[Category:Military units and formations in Devon]]
[[Category:Military units and formations in Exeter]]
[[Category:Regiments of the British Army in World War I]]
[[Category:Regiments of the British Army in World War II]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Devonshire Regiment]]
[[Category:1667 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Military units and formations in Burma in World War II|R]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1685]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1958]]