15th (Scottish) Infantry Division

The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served with distinction in both the First and Second World Wars. In the First, the 15th (Scottish) Division was formed from men volunteering for Kitchener's Army and served from 1915 to 1918 on the Western Front. The division was later disbanded, after the war, in 1919. In the Second World War, it was reformed as the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served in the United Kingdom and later North-West Europe from June 1944 to May 1945.

15th (Scottish) Division
15th (Scottish) Infantry Division
15th (Scottish) Division insignia, First World War
Active1914–1919
1939–1946
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsFirst World War
Second World War
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Sir Frederick McCracken
Hamilton Reed
Sir Oliver Leese
Sir Philip Christison
Sir Gordon MacMillan
Sir Colin Barber
Insignia
Identification
symbol
Divisional insignia during the Second World War

First World War

The division was a New Army unit formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division moved to France in July 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front. The division fought in the Battle of Loos in which it seizing the village of Loos and Hill 70, the deepest penetration of the German positions by the six British divisions involved in the initial day. It later fought in the Battle of the Somme (1916) which included the battles of Pozières and Flers–Courcelette, the Battle of Arras 1917 and the Third Battle of Ypres.[1]

Outpost manned by men of the 11th (Service) Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders on a road beside the Lys Canal near Saint-Floris, 9 May 1918.

General Officer Commanding

Order of battle

The division comprised the following units during the course of the war:[2][3]

44th Brigade

  • 9th (Service) Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) (left February 1918)
  • 8th (Service) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's)
  • 9th (Service) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders (left January 1915)
  • 10th (Service) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders (merged with 8th Battalion May 1916)
  • 7th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (joined January 1915 leftJune 1918)
  • 1/4th (City of Dundee) Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) (joined November 1915 left January 1916)
  • 8th (Service) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders (joined May 1916, merging with 10th Battalion, renamed as 8th/10th Battalion, left June 1918)
  • 4th/5th Territorial Force (T.F.) Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) (joined June 1918)
  • 1/5th (T.F.) (Buchan and Formartine) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders (joined June 1918)
  • 44th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (M.G.C.) (joined 12 January 1916, left to move into 15th MG Battalion 17 March 1918)
  • 44th Trench Mortar Battery (joined 25 June 1916)

45th Brigade

  • 13th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment)
  • 7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (merged with 6th Battalion in May 1916, renamed as 6th/7th Battalion left February 1918)
  • 6th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
  • 11th (Service) Battalion, Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) (left June 1918)
  • 1/8th (T.F.) (The Argyllshire) Battalion, Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) (joined June 1918)
  • 45th Machine Gun Company, M.G.C. (joined 12 February 1916, left to move into 15th MG Battalion 17 March 1918)
  • 45th Trench Mortar Battery (joined June 1918)

46th Brigade

  • 10th (Service) Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
  • 12th (Service) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (left February 1918)
  • 7th (Service) Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers (merged with the 8th Battalion in May 1916, renamed the 7th/8th Battalion, left May 1916)
  • 8th (Service) Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers (merged with the 7th Battalion in May 1916)
  • 1/4th (T.F.) (Ross Highland) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) (joined November 1915 left January 1916)
  • 1/4th (T.F.) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (joined November 1915 left February 1916)
  • 9th (Service) Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) (joined February 1918 left May 1918)
  • 1/9th (T.F.) (Highlanders) Battalion, Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) (joined June 1918)
  • 10th/11th (Service) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (joined May 1916 leftFebruary 1918)
  • 46th Machine Gun Company, M.G.C. (joined 11 February 1916, left to move into 15th MG Battalion 17 March 1918)
  • 46th Trench Mortar Battery (joined 20 June 1916)

Divisional Troops

  • 7th (Service) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (left February 1915)
  • 7th (Service) Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (left April 1915)
  • 9th (Service) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders (joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion January 1915)
  • 11th Motor Machine Gun Battery (joined 23 June 1915, left 22 July 1916)
  • 225th Machine Gun Company (joined 19 July 1917, left to move into 15th MG Battalion 17 March 1918)
  • 15th Battalion M.G.C. (formed 17 March 1918)
  • Divisional Mounted Troops
  • 15th Divisional Train Army Service Corps
    • 138th, 139th, 140th and 141st Companies
  • 27th Mobile Veterinary Section Army Veterinary Corps
  • 216th Divisional Employment Company (joined 22 May 1917)

Royal Artillery

  • LXX Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (R.F.A.)
  • LXXI Brigade, R.F.A.
  • LXXII Brigade, R.F.A. (left 20 January 1917)
  • LXXIII (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. (broken up 1–3 December 1916)
  • 15th Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A.
  • 15th Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery (R.G.A. (raised with the Division but moved independently to Gallipoli and was attached to 10th (Irish) Division in 1915)
  • V.15 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery R.F.A. (joined November 1916, left 9 February 1918)
  • X.15, Y.15 and Z.15 Medium Mortar Batteries R.F.A. (formed by June 1916; on 9 February 1918, Z broken up and distributed among X and Y batteries)

Royal Engineers

  • 73rd Field Company
  • 74th Field Company
  • 91st Field Company (joined January 1915)
  • 15th Divisional Signals Company

Royal Army Medical Corps

  • 45th Field Ambulance
  • 46th Field Ambulance
  • 47th Field Ambulance
  • 32nd Sanitary Section (left 29 March 1917)

Second World War
Men of the 8th Battalion, Royal Scots move forward past a Humber Scout Car of 31st Tank Brigade during Operation Epsom, 28 June 1944.

In late March 1939 the Territorial Army (TA), the British Army's part-time reserve, was ordered to be doubled in size as a result of another European conflict with Germany being deemed by many in Britain and France as inevitable. The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division subsequently came into being as an exact mirror duplicate of the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division. The division, under the command of Major General Roland Le Fannu, was again composed of the 44th, 45th and 46th Infantry Brigades, together with supporting artillery, engineer and signals units.[4]

As a result of the German Army's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, the 15th (Scottish) Division was mobilised between late August and early September 1939. The Second World War began two days later and the division was mobilised for full-time war service. The division was serving in Scottish Command, alongside its parent 52nd (Lowland) Division. The division remained in the United Kingdom for most of the war and saw numerous changes in its composition, with the first being in November 1941 when, due to shortages of equipment, the division was, alongside several others, reduced to a Lower Establishment.[5] However, it was raised back to Higher Establishment in March 1943 and was reorganised as a 'Mixed Division', consisting of a single armoured brigade (the 6th Guards replacing the 45th Infantry) and two infantry brigades (the 44th and 46th). This experiment was abandoned in September 1943 and the division, now commanded by Major General Gordon MacMillan, reverted to that of an ordinary infantry division, with the 6th Guards Tank Brigade being replaced by the 227th (Highland) Infantry Brigade, consisting of three Highland battalions.[6]

Operation Epsom

After spending many years training in the United Kingdom, the 15th (Scottish) Division landed in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, soon after the initial D-Day landings, in mid June 1944 and almost immediately took part in Operation Epsom. Epsom was an attack by most of Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey's British Second Army that was intended to outflank and seize the city of Caen, which was to be taken on D-Day and had, over the last few weeks, bore witness to much bitter fighting in what is known as the Battle for Caen. Epsom did not achieve its overall objective but forced the Wehrmacht to abandon their offensive plans and tied most of their armoured units to a defensive role.[7]

Men of the 10th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry advance during Operation 'Epsom', 26 June 1944.

To be certain of anticipating any German attack, Epsom was launched on 26 June. Although held up on parts of the front by infantry of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, the 15th (Scottish) Division, serving under command of Lieutenant General Richard O'Connor's VIII Corps, and the 31st Tank Brigade gained four miles on their left flank. Further to their left the 43rd (Wessex) Division also gained ground.[8]

On 27 June, after repulsing small armoured counter-attacks, the 15th (Scottish) Division gained more ground and captured a bridge over the River Odon. The 11th Armoured Division passed through to capture Hill 112, a mile to the southeast. This deep penetration alarmed the German command and General Hausser was ordered to commit his units to contain and eliminate the Allied salient. German armoured counter-attacks from 27 June – 1 July were repulsed and the foothold over the Odon was consolidated. German losses, particularly of armoured vehicles meant that the possibility of a German counter-offensive was eliminated and held the bulk of the remaining German armour in Normandy in the east around Caen, while American troops further west captured Cherbourg.[9]

During the operation, the 15th (Scottish) Division had suffered heavy losses (which, at this stage of the war, the British Army could ill afford to lose) of over 2,300 casualties, nearly a third of the total infantry strength of the entire division. "The example of one battalion is typical: on 26 June the 2nd Battalion, The Glasgow Highlanders lost 12 officers and sustained nearly 200 casualties, mainly around the hotly contested village of Cheux. Total strength of this battalion was approximately 35 officers and 786 other ranks; thus one day's losses amounted to 34% of their officers and nearly 25% of the entire rifle battalion."[10]

Hill 112, Operation Jupiter

The British forces included the men of the 15th (Scottish) Division, 11th Armoured Division, 43rd (Wessex) Division and 53rd (Welsh) Division. The plan was for the 46th (Highland) Brigade of the 15th (Scottish) Division and a squadron of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment to clear the ground between the Odon, the Orne and the western suburbs of Caen.[11]

The first battle for Hill 112 was fought by 43rd (Wessex) Division at the end of Operation Epsom, when the tanks of 11th Armoured Division broke out from a bridgehead established by the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, of 227th Brigade, at Tourmauville. Hill 112 was only an intermediate objective on the way to the Orne River crossings but such was the German reaction that the 23rd Hussars were only able to capture and hold the hill with difficulty.[12]

The main attack on Hill 112 was strategically designed to fix the German panzers and tactically to gain 'elbow room' in what was still a tight beachhead. The German defenders survived naval bombardment, air attack and artillery fire but held their ground, crucially supported by Tiger tanks from the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion. These mighty tanks armed with the 88 mm gun had both greater protection and firepower and outclassed the opposing British Churchill tank and Sherman tank.[13]

Even though the hill was not captured and was left as a no-man's-land between the two armies, important surrounding villages had been taken. Above all, however, the 9th Hohenstaufen SS Panzer Division, which had been in the process of moving out of the line to form an operational reserve, was brought back to contain the British. Therefore, on the strategic level Operation Jupiter was a significant success.[14]

It was not until American troops eventually started to break out from the Normandy lodgement, as Operation Cobra developed momentum, in August 1944, that the Germans withdrew from Hill 112 and the 53rd (Welsh) Division occupied the feature, with barely a fight.[15]

Operations Bluecoat and Enterprise

Operation Bluecoat was an attack by most of the British Second Army from 30 July 1944 to 7 August 1944. The objectives of the attack were to secure the key road junction of Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon. Strategically, the attack was made to support the American exploitation of their breakout on the western flank of the Normandy beachhead, codenamed Operation Cobra. The British Second Army was switched westward towards Villers-Bocage, adjacent to the U.S. First Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges. Originally, Lieutenant General Dempsey, the Second Army commander, planned to attack on 2 August, but the speed of events on the American front forced him to advance the date.[16]

Men of the 7th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders advance up to the front line, 4 August 1944.

Initially, only two weak German infantry divisions held the intended attack frontage, south and east of Caumont, although they had laid extensive minefields and constructed substantial defences. They also occupied ideal terrain for defence, the bocage.[17]

Churchill tanks supporting infantry of the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during Operation 'Veritable', 8 February 1945.

After the Battle of the Falaise Gap, which saw most of the German Army in Normandy virtually destroyed (although the division took no part in it), the 15th (Scottish) Division, commanded by Major General Colin Barber, previously the 46th Brigade commander, after Major General MacMillan was wounded in early August, fought virtually continuously from then on through Caumont, the Seine Crossing, the Gheel Bridgehead, Best, Tilburg (Operation Pheasant), Meijel, Blerwick, Broekhuizen, the Maas, Operation Veritable and across the Rhine, entering Germany, in Operation Plunder in late March 1945, then taking part in the Western Allied invasion of Germany.[18]

Universal Carriers and infantry of the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders move up to cross the Elbe, 29 April 1945.

The particular distinction for the 15th Scottish was to be selected to lead the last set piece river crossing of the war, the assault across the River Elbe (Operation Enterprise) on 29 April 1945 spearheaded by the 1st Commando Brigade (commanded by Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts), after which they fought on to the Baltic occupying both Lübeck and Kiel. The 15th (Scottish) was the only division of the British Army during the Second World War to be involved in three of the six major European river assault crossings; the Seine, the Rhine and the Elbe. The end of World War II in Europe arrived soon afterwards, followed by the surrender of Japan in September, bringing an end to just under six years of war.[19]

On 10 April 1946 the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was finally disbanded. Its battle casualties– killed, wounded and missing – in nearly eleven months of fighting were 11,772 with well over 1,500 men killed. According to military historian Carlo D'Este, the "15th (Scottish) Division was considered to be the most effective and best led infantry division in 21st Army Group."[20]

Order of battle

The 15th Infantry Division was constituted as follows during the war:[21]

44th (Lowland) Infantry Brigade[22]

45th Infantry Brigade (left 5 January 1943)[23]

  • 6th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (detached 12 December 1939, rejoined 3 July 1940, left again 27 December 1942)
  • 9th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (left 27 December 1942)
  • 10th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
  • 45th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (formed 1 September, disbanded 14 December 1940)
  • 10th Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) (from 27 December 1942)
  • 11th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (from 28 December 1942)

46th (Highland) Infantry Brigade[24]

  • 10th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (left 1 November 1941)
  • 11th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (left 19 November 1941)
  • 2nd Battalion, Glasgow Highlanders
  • 46th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (formed 1 September 1940, disbanded 1 January 1941)
  • 7th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (from 15 November 1941)
  • 7th Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (from 18 November 1941, left 23 March 1942, became 5th Battalion, Parachute Regiment)
  • 4th Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (from 24 March, left 16 November 1942)
  • 10th Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) (from 19 November, left 27 December 1942)
  • 9th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (from 28 December 1942)

6th Guards Tank Brigade (from 15 January, left 9 September 1943)[25]

227th (Highland) Infantry Brigade(from 11 September 1943)[26]

  • 10th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry
  • 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
  • 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Divisional Troops

  • 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (from 1 October 1943, joined as Support Battalion, became Machine Gun Battalion 18 March 1944)
  • 15th Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps (formed 2 January 1941, became 15th Independent Company 4 December 1941, 15th Independent Squadron 6 June 1942, 15th Regiment 15 February 1943, finally 15th Reconnaissance Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps 1 January 1944)
  • 129th (Lowland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (left 9 May 1942)
  • 130th (Lowland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (left 4 January 1942)
  • 131st (Lowland – City of Glasgow) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • 181st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (from 7 November 1942)[27]
  • 190th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (from 29 March 1943)
  • 64th (Queen's Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery (left 30 March 1942)
  • 97th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery (from 15 August 1942, left 5 December 1944)
  • 102nd (Northumberland Hussars) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery (from 5 December 1944)
  • 119th (Queen's Own) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (from 18 May 1943)
  • 278th Field Company, Royal Engineers
  • 279th Field Company, Royal Engineers (left 9 February, rejoined 12 July 1940)
  • 280th Field Company, Royal Engineers (left 15 December 1942)
  • 20th Field Company, Royal Engineers (from 26 March 1943)
  • 281st Field Park Company, Royal Engineers (left 12 January 1943)
  • 624th Field Park Company, Royal Engineers (from 14 January 1943)
  • 26th Bridging Platoon, Royal Engineers (formed 1 October 1943)
  • 15th (Scottish) Divisional Signals Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals
  • 1st Commando Brigade (attached from 19 April 1945 to end of the war)

General Officer Commanding
War memorial with statue of General C.M. Barber in The Netherlands

The following officers commanded the 15th Infantry Division during the war:[28]

  • Major General R. Le Fanu (from 28 August 1939 until 19 August 1940
  • Brigadier J.A. Campbell (acting, from 19 to 23 August 1940)
  • Major General R.C. Money (from 23 August 1940 until 27 January 1941)
  • Brigadier J.A. Campbell (acting, from 27 to 30 January 1941)
  • 30.01.1941 Major General Sir Oliver W.H. Leese (from 30 January 1941 until 17 June 1941)
  • Major General A.F.P. Christison (from 17 June 1941 until 14 May 1942)
  • Major General D.C. Bullen-Smith (from 14 May 1942 until 14 August 1943)
  • Brigadier H.D.K. Money (acting, from 14 to 27 August 1943)
  • Major General G.H.A. MacMillan (from 27 August 1943 until 5 August 1944)
  • Major General C.M. Barber (from 5 August 1944)

See also

Footnotes
  1. Stewart and Buchan, pp301- 305.
  2. Stewart and Buchan, pp 285–288
  3. Baker, Chris. "15th (Scottish) Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  4. Royle, Trevor (2011). A Time of Tyrants: Scotland and the Second World War. Birlinn. ISBN 978-1843410553.
  5. "15th (Scottish) Infantry Division" (PDF). British Military History. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  6. Joslen, p. 58.
  7. Daglish 2007, p. 218-219.
  8. McLeod, Toby. "Operation Epsom, Baron-sur-Odon and the Battle for Hill 112". WR2000: The Battle for Normandy 1944. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  9. Ellis et al. 1962, p. 277–297.
  10. D'Este, p. 244–245.
  11. Saunders 2001, pp. 49–50.
  12. Jackson 2006, pp. 39-40.
  13. "Amazing Footage of The Heavy German Tiger Tank – Feared on the Battlefields of WW2". War History online. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  14. Buckley 2014, p. 92.
  15. Saunders 2001, pp. 172–176.
  16. Ellis et al. 1962, p. 386.
  17. Daglish 2009, pp. 19–21.
  18. "Soldiers of the 15th (Scottish) Division capture Celle, Germany". Imperial War Museum. 12 April 1945. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  19. "Japanese Instruments of Surrender". Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  20. D'Este, p. 239.
  21. Joslen, pp. 58–9.
  22. Joslen, p. 289.
  23. Joslen, p. 290.
  24. Joslen, p. 291.
  25. Joslen, p. 197.
  26. Joslen, p. 390.
  27. Neal.
  28. Joslen, p. 58

References
  • Buckley, J. (2014) [2013]. Monty's Men: The British Army and the Liberation of Europe (2014 ed.). London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-20534-3.
  • Daglish, I. (2007). Operation Epsom. Over the Battlefield. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-84415-562-0.
  • Daglish, I. (2009). Operation Bluecoat. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-0-85052-912-8.
  • D'Este, C. (2004) [1983]. Decision in Normandy: The Real Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign. london: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-101761-9.
  • Ellis, Major L.F.; with Allen R.N., Captain G.R.G. Allen; Warhurst, Lieutenant-Colonel A.E. & Robb, Air Chief-Marshal Sir James (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO, 1962]. Butler, J.R.M (ed.). Victory in the West, Volume I: The Battle of Normandy. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval & Military Press Ltd. ISBN 1-84574-058-0. OCLC 276814706.
  • Goss, J. (1920) [1920]. A Border Battalion 7/8th King's Own Scottish Borderers. Edinburgh: T.N.Foulis.
  • Jackson, G. S. (2006) [1945]. Operations of Eighth Corps: Account of Operations from Normandy to the River Rhine. Staff, 8 Corps (MLRS ed.). London: St. Clements Press. ISBN 978-1-905696-25-3.
  • Joslen, Lt-Col H.F., Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945, London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-84342-474-6.
  • Neal, Don Guns and Bugles: The Story of the 6th Bn KSLI – 181st Field Regiment RA 1940–1946, Studley: Brewin, 2001, ISBN 1-85858-192-3.
  • Saunders, T. (2006) [2001]. Hill 112: Battles of the Odon 1944. Battleground Europe: Normandy (Pen & Sword ed.). Leo Cooper. ISBN 978-0-85052-737-7.
  • Stewart, J.; Buchan, J. (2003) [1926]. The Fifteenth (Scottish) Division 1914–1919 (repr. The Naval & Military Press, Uckfield ed.). Edinburgh: Blackwood. ISBN 978-1-84342-639-4.
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