SUMMARY

At the end of the day it is the individual fighting soldier who carries the battle to the enemy. Sir Andrew Agnew commanding Campbell’s Regiment (Royal Scots Fusiliers), giving orders to his infantrymen before the Battle of Dettingen in 1743 shouted; "Do you see yon loons on yon grey hill? Well, if ye dinna kill them, they’ll kill you!"

The British Infantry is based on the well tried and tested Regimental System, which has proved to be successful repeatedly on operations over the years.

It is based on Regiments, most of which have one or more regular Battalion and all have associated TA Battalions. The esprit de corps of the Regimental system is maintained in the names and titles of British Infantry Regiments handed down through history, with a tradition of courage in battle.

The repeated changing size of the British Army, dictated by history and politics, is reflected in the fact that many of the most illustrious Regiments still have a number of Regular and Territorial Reserve Battalions. For manning purposes, in a number of cases Infantry Regiments are grouped within administrative 'Divisions'. These ’Divisions’ are no longer field formations but represent original historical groupings based on recruiting geography.

The 'Division' of Infantry is an organisation that is responsible for all aspects of military administration, from recruiting, manning and promotions for individuals in the Regiments under its wing, to the longer term planning required to ensure continuity and cohesion. Divisions of Infantry have no operational command over their regiments, and should not be confused with the remaining operational divisions, such as 1(UK) Armoured Division and 3 (UK) Division.

Under the terms of the December 2004 Future Army Structure (FAS) the infantry has been restructured as follows:

a. The number of Regular Line Infantry Battalions is reducing by four (from 40 to 36 by April 2008), with the manpower and structure of one of the four being used as the core of a new ‘special reconnaissance’ battalion.

b. A new Regimental system and structure will be adopted over the coming years. This will be based on large, Multi Battalion Regiments.

c. Arms Plotting will cease, limited relocations will occur for Battalions in particular roles/ locations.

d. There will be an increase from 19 (48%) to 23 (64%) of Infantry battalions in All Arms Brigades.

e. The 9th platoon in Armoured Infantry Battalions will be decaderised.

f. Enhancements will be made to reconnaissance platoons.

g. Fire Support platoons will be established with a mix of AGL and GPMG.

Infantry Structure in Late 2007

By late 2007 we expect the Administrative 'Divisions' of Infantry to be structured as follows:

The Administrative 'Divisions' of Infantry are as follows:

Not administered by 'Divisions' of Infantry but operating under their own similar administrative arrangements are the following:

Note: 1st Bn The Parachute Regiment form the core element of the Special Forces Support Group and are not counted in the infantry battalion total.

TA Battalions are under the administrative command of the following:

In total the British Army has 36 regular battalions available for service and this total combined with the 14 TA battalions (excluding The Royal Gibraltar Regiment) could give a mobilisation strength of 50 infantry battalions.

Outside the above listed regiments are three companies of guardsmen each of 110 men, who are provided to supplement the Household Division Regiments while on public duties in London, to allow them to continue to carry out normal training on roulement from guard duties. 

Gibraltar has its own single battalion of The Gibraltar Regiment comprising one Regular and two Volunteer companies

At the beginning of 2008 we believe that the infantry will be located as follows: