Up to the year 1741 or thereabouts battalions do not appear to have been permanently formed and all the companies of the Regiment were in turn formed into battalions as required, and took their share of duty at home and abroad.
1665 | Dutch War - Part of the Regiment was on board the fleet and was present at the engagement off Lowestoft where the Dutch lost 22 ships and 10,000 men. |
1666 | It was present at the indecisive battle which lasted for three days off Dunkirk and at the great victory over the Dutch off the North Foreland. |
1672 | Second Dutch War - Five companies and drafts of 220 men fought on board the fleet when the Duke of York defeated De Ruyter at the battle of Solebay. |
Two companies were sent to France where they served for two years in a royal regiment which Charles II lent to Louis XIV to fight against the emperor. |
|
1676 | Two companies were sent to Virginia to put down an insurrection. |
1678 | Charles made an alliance with the Dutch against the French and 14 companies were sent to Flanders where they remained for a year. |
1680 | Two companies were sent to Tangier, and took part in the defence of that town against the Moors, where they remained until it was abandoned in 1684. |
1685 | Twelve companies were sent by James II to resist the invasion of the Duke of Monmouth and were present at the battle of Sedgemoor. |
1688 | James II abdicated and the 1st Foot Guards took service under William of Orange. |
1689 | War of the League of Augsburg - William III declared war against France and a battalion of eight companies were sent to Flanders. |
1692 | Another battalion was sent to Flanders and the Regiment was present at the battles of Steenkirk and Landen, under the orders of the King. |
1695 | The Regiment was present at the celebrated siege of Namur and remained in Flanders until the peace of Ryswick in 1697. |
1701-13 | War of the Spanish Succession - During all the campaigns of Marlborough, in the reign of Queen Anne, the 1st Foot Guards bore a part. |
1702 | A detachment of the Regiment took part in the capture of Spanish galleons in Vigo Bay and in 1704 they took part in the defence of Gibraltar. |
1702-3 | The Regiment was present at a number of sieges in the Low Countries. |
1704 | It took a distinguished part in the attack on the Heights of Schellenberg and was the only regiment of Guards present at the battle of Blenheim. |
1706 | The 1st Foot Guards were present at the battle of Ramillies and at many sieges. In 1708 they were at Oudenarde and in 1709 they were at Malplaquet. |
1713 | The Regiment returned to England and in 1714 the whole 28 companies of the Regiment were quartered in London for the first time. |
1719 | A battalion of seven companies joined the expedition of Lord Cobham to Vigo. |
1727 | A battalion of ten companies was sent to Gibraltar where it remained for a year. |
1739 | Six regiments of marines were raised and 120 corporals and privates of the 1st Foot Guards were drafted to them as sergeants. |
1742 | War of the Austrian Succession - The 1st Battalion sailed for Holland. |
1743 | It was present at Dettingen where George II completely defeated the French. |
1744 | The 3rd Battalion was sent to Chatham in anticipation of a French invasion. |
1745 | The 1st Battalion, under the Duke of Cumberland, was present at the battle of Fontenoy, soon after which it was brought home owing to the Jacobite rising in the Highlands. |
1746 | The 3rd Battalion embarked on an expedition to the Bay of Biscay but returned without landing. |
1747 | The 2nd Battalion embarked for Holland and was present at the battle of Val. On the signing of the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle the battalion returned to England. |
1758 | The Seven Year's War against France - The 1st Battalion embarked with an expedition which landed near and took Cherbourg. It re-embarked and landed near St Cas where the army met with a reverse and re-embarked with difficulty. |
1760 | The 2nd Battalion took part in the campaigns in Germany, under the Marquis of Granby, where they remained until the end of the war. They were present at the battles of Zeirenberg, Campden, Kirchdecken and Wilhelmstahl. |
1775 | The American War of Independence - A provisional battalion from the three regiments of Guards was sent across the Atlantic. They took part in the battles of Fort Washington, Brandywine and Freehold Courthouse, and remained in America till the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781 when the war came to an end. |
1793 | Wars of the French Revolution - In February 1793 the French invaded the Netherlands and an English army, under the Duke of York, joined the Austrians and Prussians. The 1st Battalion of the Regiment accompanied this force and took part in the battle of Lincelles, where the Brigade of Guards greatly distinguished themselves. |
1794 | The First Guards were present at the battle of Troixville and several other successful actions. During the winter, however, the army retired to Bremen and embarked for England. |
1799 | The 3rd Battalion embarked for Holland and were present at the battles of Bergen and Egmont-op-Zee, and returned to England the same year. |
1806 | The 1st and 3rd Battalions formed part of an expedition to Sicily. |
1808 | The Peninsular War - The 1st and 3rd Battalions joined Sir John Moore in Spain and in 1809 were present at the battle of Corunna. |
1809 | The 1st Battalion formed part of the ill-fated expedition to Walcheren and the bombardment of Fort Batz. |
1810 | The 2nd Battalion were sent to Cadiz where it assisted in the successful defence of the town and highly distinguished itself at the battle of Barossa in 1811. |
1811 | The 3rd Battalion relieved the 2nd at Cadiz and, after the raising of the siege, marched through the south of Spain, were present at the capture of Seville and joined Wellington near Toledo. |
1812 | The 1st Battalion disembarked at Corunna and joined the 3rd Battalion on the retreat from Burgos. Both battalions went into winter quarters near Viseu having marched many hundreds of miles. |
1813 | The 1st and 3rd battalions moved to Oporto where they lost a great number of men from fever. In June they commenced their march towards the French frontier and joined the rest of the army before San Sebastian in August. Both battalions took part in the storming of San Sebastian, at the passage of the Bidassoa, in the battles of the Nive and Nivelle and the investment of Bayonne. They returned home in August 1814. |
1815 | The 2nd and 3rd Battalions proceeded to the Low Countries and were severely engaged at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. They were present at the capitulation of Paris and formed part of the army of occupation until 1818. |
1826 | The 1st Battalion formed part of an expedition to Portugal returning in 1828. |
1838 | The 2nd Battalion were sent to Canada to suppress the insurrection where they remained until 1842. |
1854 | The 3rd Battalion formed part of the Brigade of Guards which was sent to the Crimea. They were present at the battles of the Alma, Inkerman and Balaclava and the capture of Sevastopol. They returned to England in 1856. |
1861 | The 1st Battalion took part in an expedition to Canada where they remained until 1864. |
1882 | The 2nd Battalion formed part of the expedition to Egypt and was present at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir. |
1884 | One company from each battalion formed part of the Camel Corps in the Nile Expedition. |
1885 | The 3rd Battalion went to Suakin and took part in the action at Hasheen. The Battalion went to Cyprus and then home. |
1898 | The 1st Battalion from Gibraltar took part in the Sudan Expedition under Major General Sir Horatio Herbert Kitchener and were present at the battle of Khartoum. |
1899 | The 2nd Boer War - South Africa - The 3rd Battalion embarked at Gibraltar in October for Capetown, proceeded to the Orange River and joined Lord Methuen's column. It was present at Belmont, Modder River and Magersfontein and all the actions in the advance on Kimberley. The Battalion then took part in the operations which resulted in the capture of Bloemfontein and was the first battalion to enter Pretoria. They then took part in the actions at Diamond Hill and Belfast before occupying a line of blockhouses in Cape Colony until the peace declaration in 1902. |
1900 | The 2nd Battalion sailed from Southampton in March and disembarked at Port Elizabeth. They were then engaged near Dewetsdorp and subsequently took part in the battle of Biddulphsberg and the operation in the Wittebergen which culminated in the capture of General Prinsloo and 4,000 Boers. The Battalion then engaged in various operations until December 1901 when it occupied a line of blockhouses in the Bethlehem District of the Orange River Colony until the peace declaration. |
1902 | Both battalions returned home. |