The Coldstream Guards | Orgins |

The Coldstream Guards is the oldest serving regular regiment in the British Army infamous for their actions at the First Battle of Ypres & The Defense of Chateau Hougoumont during in 1815 Campaign. As part of the Household Division, One of its principal roles is the protection of the British Monarch. Due to this, it often participates in state ceremonial occasions. The Regiment has consistently provided formations on deployments around the world and has fought in the majority of the major conflicts in which the British Army has been engaged.

the Coldstream Guards was formed in 1650 and was known as the 'Monck's Regiment of Foot' and was then renamed 'The Lord General's Regiment of Foot Guards' after the restoration in 1660. After Monck died in 1670, it was again renamed 'The Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards' after the location from which it marched to help restore the monarchy in 1660. Its name was again changed to 'The Coldstream Guards' in 1855 and this is still its present title.

English Civil War

The Origin of The Coldstream Guards depends on the English Civil War when Oliver Cromwell permitted Colonel George Monck to form his regiment as part of the New Model Army. Monck took men from the regiments of Sir George Fenwick and Sir Arthur Haselrig, each having five companies of soldiers, And on August 13, 1650, they formed Monck's Regiment of Foot. And less than two weeks later, the force took part in the Battle of Dunbar, at which the Roundheads defeated the forces of Charles Stuart. After Richard Cromwell's abdication, Monck gave his support to the Stuarts, and on January 1, 1660, he crossed the River Tweed into England at the village of Coldstream, from where he made a five-week march towards London. He arrived in London on February 2 and began assisting in restoring the monarchy. For his help, Monck was given the Order of the Garter and his regiment was assigned to keep order in London. The Parliament was forced to rely on the help of the regiment against the rebellion by the Fifth Monarchists led by Sir Thomas Venner on January 6, 1661. The regiment defeated the rebels and on February 14 the regiment symbolically laid down their arms as part of the New Model Army and was immediately ordered to take them up again as a royal regiment of The Lord General's Regiment of Foot Guard, a part of the Household Troops.

The Forgotten Duties

The Coldstream Guards saw active action at Flanders and the Monmouth Rebellion, including the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685. The Coldstream Guards also fought in the Battle of Walcourt in 1689, the Battle of Landen, and the Siege of Namur. In 1760, the 2nd Battalion was sent to Germany to campaign under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick and fought in the Battle of Wilhelmstal and at the Castle of Amöneburg. Three Guards companies of 307 men under Coldstream under command by Colonel Edward Mathew fought in the American Revolutionary War.

The Coldstream Regiment saw distinctive action in the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby, They defeated French troops in Egypt. And in 1807, it took part in the investment of Copenhagen. And In January 1809, it sailed to Portugal to join the forces under Sir Arthur Wellesley. In 1814, it took part in the Battle of Bayonne, in France, where a cemetery keeps its memory. The 2nd Battalion joined the Walcheren Expedition. Later, it served as part of the 2nd Guards Brigade in the Chateau Hougoumont where they resisted French assaults all day during the Battle of Waterloo. This defense is considered one of the greatest achievements of the regiment and an annual ceremony of "Hanging the Brick" is performed each year in the Sergeants' Mess to celebrate the efforts of Corporal James Graham and Lieutenant-Colonel James Macdonnell, who shut the North Gate after the French attack.
The Duke of Wellington himself declared after the battle that

"The success of the battle turned upon closing the gates at Hougoumont" -Duke Of Wellington

During the Crimean War, the Coldstream Regiment fought in the Infamous Battles of Alma, Inkerman, and Sevastopol. For their Service, four men of the regiment were awarded the newly instituted Victoria Cross.
The regiment received its current name,  The Coldstream Guards, in 1855. In 1882, it was sent to Egypt against the rebels of Ahmed 'Urabi, and in 1885 in the Suakin Campaign. In 1897, the Coldstream Guards were reinforced with the addition of a 3rd battalion. The 1st and 2nd battalions were dispatched to South Africa at the outbreak of the Second Boer War.

At the outbreak of the First World War, the Coldstream Guards were among the first British regiments to arrive in France after Britain declared war on Germany. In the following battles, it suffered heavy losses, in two cases losing all of its officers at the First Battle of Ypres. The regiment fought at Mons, Loos, the Somme, Ginchy, and in the 3rd Battle of Ypres. The regiment also formed the 4th (Pioneer) Battalion, which was disbanded after the war, in 1919. The 5th Reserve battalion never left Britain before they were disbanded.

When World War 2 began, the 1st and 2nd battalions of The Coldstream Guards were part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France; while the 3rd Battalion was on overseas service in the Middle East. And Additional 4th and 5th battalions were also formed for the duration of the war. They fought vastly, as part of the Guards Armoured Division, in North Africa and Europe as dismounted infantry. The 4th battalion first became a motorized battalion in 1940 and then an armored battalion in 1943. Coldstreamers gave up their tanks at the end of the war, the new battalions were disbanded, and the troops were distributed to the 1st and 2nd Guard Training Battalions.

Today, the Regiment consists of Regimental Headquarters, a single battalion (the 1st Battalion), an independent incremental company (Number 7 Company, maintaining the customs and traditions, as well as carrying the Colours of 2nd Battalion), a Regimental Band, and elements at training establishments as well as officers and other ranks on extra regimental employment. Queen Elizabeth II is the Colonel-in-Chief, and Lieutenant-General Sir James Bucknall KCB (Knight Commander) CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) is the Colonel of the Regiment.

(I won't do the modern warfare because it's too long)

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nice

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