Babits, Lawrence Edward; Howard, Joshua B. (2009). Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0807832660. RW Smith (2004). "Modderfontein, 17 September 1901". Military History Journal. 13 (1). Archived from the original on 3 April 2009 . Retrieved 2 August 2009. Babits, Lawrence Edward (2001). A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0807849262. May saw the final action of the North Africa campaign with the capture of the Cap Bon Peninsula. The Germans were trying to delay its capture long enough to allow evacuation of their Army by sea. The Regiment conducted a ‘charge’ along the beach totally out manoeuvring the German defensive positions. Enemy resistance crumbled, thousands of prisoners were taken, and thus ended the campaign. Raugh, Harold E. (2004). The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1576079256.

The 21st was first raised in 1760 and was amalgamated with the 17th in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. It is most famous for the Charge at Omdurman in 1898, after which Queen Victoria awarded the title ‘21st Empress of India’s Lancers’. Featherstone, Donald F. (1978). Weapons and Equipment of the Victorian Soldier. Littlehampton Book Services. ISBN 9780713708479.With the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the deployment of 1st (UK) Armoured Division to the Gulf came the only opportunity for desert warfare since the North Africa campaign of 1943. Although the 17th/21st did not deploy as a Regiment; it did however furnish more than two Squadrons of men and most of its equipment to reinforce the Royal Scots Dragoons Guards and the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars. The 17th/21st Lancers Band were deployed in their wartime role as medics. In 1922, the regiment, as the 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own), was amalgamated with the 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Latest intelligence - The War - Movements of Transport". The Times. No.36087. London. 12 March 1900. p.5. Chant, Christopher (2013). The Handbook of British Regiments. Routledge Revivals. ISBN 978-0415710763. The 17th/21st Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in England by the amalgamation of the 17th Lancers and the 21st Lancers in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it amalgamated with the 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers to form the Queen's Royal Lancers in 1993.

In 1898 the regiment served in Sudan during the Mahdist War, as the only British cavalry unit involved. It was there that the full regiment charged with lances in the classic cavalry style during the Battle of Omdurman in September 1898. Of less than 400 men involved in the charge 70 were killed and wounded [3] and the regiment won three Victoria Crosses. These three were Private Thomas Byrne, [4] Lieutenant Raymond de Montmorency [4] and Captain Paul Kenna. [4] This spectacular encounter earned considerable public attention and praise for the regiment, though it was also criticized as a costly and unnecessary anachronism - since the 2,000 Dervish spearmen dispersed by the 21st Lancers could have been destroyed by rifle fire with few if any British losses. [3] Winston Churchill (then an officer of the 4th Hussars), rode with the unit. [5] The regiment was formed in England during the interwar period by the amalgamation of the 17th Lancers and the 21st Lancers on 27 June 1922. [1] The regiment was deployed to Meerut in India in 1936 and it was mechanised in 1938. [2] Valentine tanks of the 17th/21st Lancers near Brandon in Suffolk, England, 12 September 1941. The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lancers to form the 17th/21st Lancers in 1922. Anglesey, Marquess of (1997). A History of the British Cavalry, 1816–1919, Volume VII, The Curragh Incident and the Western Front 1914. Pen & Sword.Led by Lt Col Samuel Birch, the regiment was sent to North America in 1775, arriving in Boston, then besieged by American rebels in the American Revolutionary War. [8] It fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, a costly British victory, in June 1775. [8] The regiment was withdrawn to Halifax. [9] It fought at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776 [9] at the Battle of White Plains in October 1776 [10] and at the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776. [10] It was in action again at the Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery in October 1777, [11] the Battle of Crooked Billet in May 1778 [12] and the Battle of Barren Hill later that month. [12] The regiment was moved to Dublin in 1899, and served in Ireland for several years. In 1912 it was again posted to India. The 21st Lancers did not see service on the Western Front during the First World War, being the only regular cavalry regiment of the British Army to spend the duration of the war in India. The regiment did however see action on the North-West Frontier during 1915–16, with one trooper, Charles Hull, receiving the Victoria Cross. [7] A single squadron made up of reservists served in France in 1916–17, attached to XIV Corps. [8] Disbandment [ edit ] Military unit Irish Cavalrymen, 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons, in the War of the American Revolution, 1775-1783 Its first overseas service came when a detachment of the unit was sent to Germany during the Seven Years War (1756-63). The regiment, which was based in Sialkot in India at the start of the First World War, landed in France as part of the 2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Indian Cavalry Division [53] in November 1914 for service on the Western Front. [54] The regiment fought in its conventional cavalry role at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. [45] The regiment was transferred to the 7th Cavalry Brigade, part of the 3rd Cavalry Division in February 1918 and was used as mobile infantry, plugging gaps whenever the need arose, both as cavalry and as infantry during the last-gasp German spring offensive. [45]

The regimental collection is held at The Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum which is based at Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire. [9] Victoria Crosses [ edit ] Dutton, Roy (2012). Forgotten Heroes: The Charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman. Infodial. ISBN 978-0-9556554-5-6. Fortescue, Sir John William (1895). A History of the 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own). Macmillan and Co. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lancers to form the 17th/21st Lancers in 1922. [3] Regimental museum [ edit ] Greaves, Adrian (2012). Crossing the Buffalo: The Zulu War of 1879. London: Orion. pp.299–300. ISBN 978-1-4091-2572-3.

Origins

Although the subsequent break-through was achieved, the delay allowed the German forces to retreat unmolested towards Tunis. Regimental losses were eleven killed and thirty-two wounded, with thirty-two tanks put out of action, twenty-seven beyond further use. History [ edit ] Seven Years War [ edit ] Officers of the 17th Lancers in 1825 John Hale by Joshua Reynolds In 1806, it was sent to assist an attempt to capture the Spanish colony of Buenos Aires, which proved unsuccessful. After moving to garrison Cape Colony, it then sailed to India in 1808. During its time there, it fought in the Third Maratha War (1817-18).

The regiment saw service in Germany in 1761 [5] and was renumbered the 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in April 1763 [3] In 1764 the regiment went to Ireland. [6] In May 1766 it was renumbered again, this time as the 3rd Regiment of Light Dragoons. [3] It regained the 17th numeral in 1769 as the 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons. [3] American Revolution [ edit ] Birch leading the 17th Dragoons in the Old South Meeting House, Boston (1775) [7] 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (17th Lancers) (1784–1810) The advance north of Rome proved itself even harder than in the south. There were only three routes capable of supporting armoured formations with the Germans covering all of them with direct and indirect fire. The delaying action the Germans fought was so effective it took the Allies four months to reach the Gothic Line. The winter of 1944/1945 saw the 17th/21st taking their turn as infantry on the Gothic Line in The Apennine Mountains, not only manning trenches but machine guns and mortars. For the Regiment the battle of The Po Valley proved to be the final action of the war. By VE Day the 17th/21st Lancers had lost 21 officers and 135 other ranks killed. Greece, Egypt, Palestine 1945-1948

Cannon, Richard (1841). Historical Record of the Seventeenth Regiment of Light Dragoons, Lancers: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1759 and of Its Subsequent Services to 1841. John W. Parker. The main operational commitment post war for the Regiment was in Northern Ireland. Since 1969 and the beginning of the ‘troubles’, the 17th/21st were regularly deployed to the Province in both mounted and dismounted roles. The Regiment was employed in Saladin, Saracen and Ferret armoured cars during the first two and bloodiest years of the troubles. The Regiment also conducted dismounted four-month emergency tours. The Gulf War 1991