33rd Regiment of Foot
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The 33rd Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army.
Originally formed in 1702 as the Earl of Huntingdon's Regiment of Foot, (during that period of history regiment's were known by the names of the Colonel of the regiment). It fought in a number of campaigns across Europe, winning its first battle honour at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, which was the last time a British King would lead his men into battle. Regiments were officially numbered in 1751 and the 33rd Regiment of Foot became the official title. On the 1st of July 1881 it was amalgamated with the 76th Regiment of Foot to form a two battalion regiment with various changes to titles and today it is currently known as 'The Duke Of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding).
The 33rd itself had a good reputation for its professionalism and capability, which was seemingly unequalled by any other regiment of the British Army for some time. Indeed, because of their professionalism in the field during the American War of Independence, the Regiment was given the nickname 'The Pattern', this then became the standard of soldiering which all other regiments should attain.
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The American Revolution
The 33rd saw much action during the American War of Independence, with its first engagement at Charleston in early 1776, when that town was besieged by British forces. In August of that year, the 33rd were involved in the Battle of Long Island. After heavy fighting, lasting a number of days, the Americans evacuated their remaining forces to Manhattan. The British were victorious. The British forces suffered about 400 casualties, and the Americans over 2,000. Long Island would remain in British control until 1784.
The Regiment's next action came a month later, in September at a place known as Harlem Heights. It was a small skirmish, indeed the only other British regiment (there were some German forces) involved, was the 42nd Regiment of Foot, now the famous Black Watch, an equally fearsome and professional regiment. The British force, initially not comprising the 33rd, encountered the New England Rangers, a scouting force sent by George Washington. The American force encountered the British, a small skirmish ensued, with the Americans subsequently retreating. Washington then sent another force to lure the British further up the northern plateau, which he held, along with a second force to move around the flank of the British. The British took the bait and advanced further up the plateau. The American flanking force was encountered by the British, which showed them the imminent danger they faced. After some further fighting, the British retreated to a field, where they were joined by the 33rd and a number of Hessian battalions, after further fighting the Americans retreated.
The Regiment was also involved in the Battle of Fort Washington, with the 33rd seemingly always involved in the most challenging of assignments. After that, the 33rd were not involved in a major battle until September 1777, when they took part in the Battle of Brandywine Creek, where the British suffered 550 casualties, and the Americans about 1,000. The Regiment took part in further action that year, at the Battle of Germantown and at Whitemarsh, where they fought the Americans who had retreated from the fighting at Germantown.
The following year was just as active, with the 33rd seeing action at the Battle of Monmouth, an engagement that became the largest one-day battle of the war. The 33rd was also part of the defence of Newport and Quaker Hill, as well as the Battle of Old Tappan, which occurred in the closing months of the year.
Two years later, in 1780, the 33rd Regiment was besieging Charleston. By the 11th of May, the American General, Benjamin Lincoln, began to negotiate terms of surrender. The following day, Lincoln, along with over 7,000 American soldiers, surrendered to the British forces under the command of Lieutenant-General Henry Clinton. In August that year, the 33rd were involved at the Battle of Camden. It was a victory for the British. Approximately 324 British were killed or wounded and about 1,000 Americans were killed or wounded, with another 1,000 being taken prisoner.
The year 1781 proved to be the deadliest, but most successful for the 33rd. The Regiment took part in the Battle of Wetzell's Mill, but the more famous action took place that same month at the Battle of Guildford Courthouse. During that battle the 33rd, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel James Webster, performed their duty exceptionally, although the Regiment's commanding officer was killed. The British suffered heavy casualties but they defeated the American force which was twice their size. The 33rd also fought at the Battle of Green Spring in July of that year. Their last engagement of the war was at the Battle of Yorktown, when they were part of the outnumbered British forces. The British surrendered on the 19th October, due to having little ammunition, food and supplies left, there was also no sign of Henry Clinton's relieving force, which arrived in the Chesapeake on the 24th October, far to late to affect the outcome.
India
The 33rd, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel (promoted to full Colonel in 1797) Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, had taken part in the disastrous Battle of Flanders and the retreat from Germany, before their deployment to India. In 1799, the Regiment, still under the command of the future Duke, and attached to Nizam's Auxiliary Corps, took part in the Battle of Seringapatam. The Regiment was involved in bitter fighting with the Tippoo Sultan's fearsome warriors. At one point they were repulsed with heavy losses when they attacked a wood, which was strongly defended by the Sultan's forces. The 33rd fought further actions throughout the battle, with the British being victorious, and the Tippoo Sultan being killed. The regiment won a further Battle Honour for its involvement in the action.
In 1857, the 33rd took part in operations against the Indian Mutiny, being involved in a number of actions there, notably at Dwarka, which ultimately led to the restoration of stability.
Waterloo
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In 1815 the Regiment was again under the command of the Duke of Wellington, this time at the Battle of Waterloo. They had taken part in the action of the previous day, at the Battle of Quatre Bras. Having taken up positions at Waterloo, the 33rd was part of the 5th Brigade, under the command of Major General Sir Colin Halkett, which comprised, in additon the 2nd Bn 30th Foot, and 2nd Bn 69th Foot. The Brigade, was part of the 3rd Division, under the command of General Count Sir Charles Alten, which was in turn part of I Corps, under the command of the Prince of Orange. He made several mistakes, which led to the needless deaths of many British soldiers, probably because of the Princes lack of experience, rather than him simply being a poor soldier.
The 33rd was involved in heavy fighting and at the end of the battle the Regiment's casualties numbered 11 officers and 128 men killed or wounded. The British and their Allies were victorious, but at a price, suffering about 15,000 casualties, additionally the Prussians suffered 7,000. The French suffered 32,000 dead or wounded, as well as around 8,000 taken prisoner.
Crimea
The 33rd, now the 33rd (The Duke of Wellington's) Regiment, Its title being granted on 18th June, 1853, by Her Majesty Queen Victoria in honour of the iconic 1st Duke of Wellington, who had died on 14th September the previous year, was to be involved in the Crimean War.
At the Battle of Alma bitter fighting took place, with the 33rd being in the thick of it, as part of the Light Division, under the command of Sir George Brown. The British advanced up the slope, towards the Russian positions, the British formations becoming intermingled, turning into a mass of soldiers, rather than the professional, neat formations used on parade. As they charged, a large number of Russians troops came down the slope to meet them. The British halted, fired with deadly precision, causing so many casualties the Russians were forced to retreat. The British line was now relatively reorganised and moved inexorably up the slope towards the Great Redoubt, with the 33rd being the first to smash their way through the defence works. As they did so, the 33rd suffered heavy casualties in ferocious hand-to-hand fighting.
The British forces prevailed in taking the objective, much to the relief of the soldiers taking part. However, Russian forces were now advancing on the Great Redoubt to counter-attack. An officer shouted to the British soldiers not to fire, claiming them to be French, despite the fact they weren't. Other British officers soon contradicted him, ordering the men to fire at the massed ranks of soldiers advancing on their position. It made the situation very confused and the British officers soon decided the prudent option would be to get back down the hill to safety. The Russians failed to pursue, in large part due to some French artillery pieces firing a few shells in the direction of the Russian forces. The Guards Division, comprising the most elite infantry regiments of the British Army, were now advancing, having finally crossed the river. However, the Scots Guards were shattered, when retreating soldiers from the Royal Welch Fusiliers, who had been attacked by a mass of Russian soldiers crashed into the Scots Guards, causing chaos amongst the formation. The Russians seized the moment launching a mass bayonet charge resulting in heavy hand-to-hand fighting that saw the Scots Guards suffer 200 casualties, forcing them to beat a hasty retreat.
Bizarrely, as had happened before, an unknown officer ordered the Grenadier Guards, who were preparing to meet the advancing Russian forces, to withdraw. Luckily the officer commanding a company of the Grenadiers ordered them to reform to meet the advancing Russians. They poured an horrendous amount of fire into the Russian troops causing many casualties. The British then began to advance and the Russians retreated. The Great Redoubt was once again in British control. On the right flank the Highland Brigade, just two lines deep, advanced whilst firing, an astonishing manoeuvre, at least in those days. The Russians soon fled and victory was assured. The British forces suffered 2,000 casualties, and the French 1,000 with the Russians taking 6,000. The 33rd gained a further Battle Honour for their actions during that battle.
At the Battle of Inkerman the 33rd were again involved in some bitter fighting, in which the British infantry stoutly advanced despite heavy losses and a strong defence by the Russians. The fighting was fierce, at times some soldiers resorting to attacking their enemy with the butts of their guns using them as clubs. The British suffered some 2,357 killed or wounded, the French lost about 939 soldiers. Russian casualties were immense with some 11,800 killed or wounded.
The 33rd was involved in the Siege of Sevastopol, which lasted for 11 long and deadly months. By 1856 the war was over but at a truly horrific price. The British had lost approximately 22,182 dead and 18,280 wounded, out of a total force of over 97,000. The majority were lost not because of fighting with the Russians, but to disease. In total, the Allies lost over 160,000 dead and the Russians lost over 450,000.
Abyssinia
The 33rd were part of the main task force sent to the East African nation after a number of European citizens had been taken hostage by Tewodros II. They had been seized when a letter he had sent to Queen Victoria, requesting munitions and military experts from the British, was seemingly ignored, no response having been received. The rescue Force landed in 1868 at Annesley Bay and consolidated their bridgehead. A number of regiments guarded the bay while the 4th (The King's Own Royal), 33rd (Duke of Wellington's) and 45th (Sherwood Forresters) Regiments of Foot comprised the rescue force, along with a number of Indian units complete with mules and elephants. It took two months to reach their objective, the fortress of Magdala, crossing difficult and arduous terrain in their journey.
Before the forces could actually attack Magdala, they had to get past the plateau of Arogi, the only route to Magdala. It certainly looked formidable to attack. So the British did not expect that the King would leave the defences of Arogi to attack the them and so paid little regard to their defensive positions. But the King did attack, with many thousands of warriors. The 4th of Foot quickly redeployed to meet the charging Abyssinians, and poured a devastating fire into the masses of the warriors and when they were joined by two Indian regiments, the onslaught became even more devastating. Despite this, the Abyssinian warriors came on losing over 500 instantly in the fusilade, with thousands more being wounded during he ninety minutes of fighting. During the chaotic battle elements of the 33rd managed to overpower some artillerymen and captured their artillery pieces.
The British now prepared to assault the fortress of Magdala, even though King Tewodros had released all the hostages unharmed. The bombardment began with mortars and artillery. Infantry units then opened fire covering the Engineers sent to the gates of Magdala in an attempt to blow them up. Fire from the fortress defenders was aimed at the Engineers. One Engineer party forgot the most essential item in such an operation, the powder kegs. Thankfully a number of officers and men of the 33rd, along with an officer from the Royal Engineers, parted from the main force and reached the Abyssian defences. They climbed a cliff face, forcing their way over a wall and through a thorny hedge. This group surprised and overpowered the defenders opposing the British Engineers at the gates. The remaining defenders then surrendered due to this action. Private James Bergin and Drummer Michael Magner, both of the 33rd, were awarded VC's for their part in the action. King Tewodros II was later found dead, having shot himself with a pistol that had, ironically, been a gift from Queen Victoria.
The 33rd was linked in 1881 with the 76th Regiment of Foot due to the Childers Reforms (a continuation of the Cardwell's Reforms of the armed forces) to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Duke of Wellington's Regiment.