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Regiments / ♞ 8th King's Royal Hussars [EU] - Cavalry League Champions
« on: January 24, 2017, 06:41:06 pm »History of the 8th King's Royal Hussars
Ireland had always been a great producer of horsemen and the Irish provided a disproportionate amount of cavalry regiments as compared to Scotland and Wales. The 8th Hussars were such a regiment; the Celtic legacy lives on, through the Angel harp and the crest of Armagh which surmounts the cap badge, in the Pipe band which flourishes, and most importantly in our retaining Northern Ireland, our oldest recruiting ground, for The Queen's Royal Hussars. The distinction of being a Royal Regiment comes originally from the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars. They were formed in 1693 after James II had been pushed out of Ireland by the men of Ulster who had supported William of Orange against the Jacobite cause. The Commission for raising them was given to Colonel Henry Conyngham, thus their first title was Conyghams Dragoons. They soldiered at home for their first decade until the War of Spanish succession took them to Spain in 1704. The War became a series of skirmishes, one of the most unfortunate being Tanarite where, despite inflicting three times their own casualties, Conyngham himself was killed. Colonel Robert Killigrew took over and it was he who led the regiment at the battle of Almanza in 1707 alongside the 3rd and 4th Dragoons. It was a heavy defeat and Killigrews Dragoons lost more than half their numbers killed or captured as well as their Colonel again. Therefore, it was Pepper's Dragoons who reconstituted for the next two years and faced the enemy at Almenara in 1710, routing the Spanish cavalry and taking their crossbelts which they then used as a distinguishing mark; they became known as the "Crossbelt Dragoons". The campaign lingered on until 1713 but the 8th had already been captured en masse when Brihuega was captured in 1710. In 1794 the 8th moved to the low countries for eighteen months of conflict. The first battle they fought on the continent in may surpassed even "The Charge of the Light Brigade" for bravery and devotion to duty. Two squadrons of the 8th charged a body of French infantry supported by four guns well positioned in a churchyard in the village of Bousbecque. The 8th Light Dragoons routed the infantry, jumped the churchyard walls and captured the guns. The casualties were staggering, of the 200 men who engaged the French, 186 were killed, wounded or captured. Lesser skirmishes followed for a year as the allies were pushed back into Germany and then left for England in November 1795. Just before their departure the regiment was heartened by a directive from George III that they should resume wearing buff accoutrements as a special mark of Royal favour. | The charge of the Light Brigade, October 1854; The 8th Hussars were in the third line of cavalry. |
Captain Edward Seager who served the regiment during the Crimean War. | In 1854 the 8th Hussars embarked for the Crimea. The involved machinations of European politics which brought England and France together after two centuries of mortal conflict to fight against Russia, the quarrel over guardianship of the Holy places in Palestine and the Russian threat to the Mediterranean would have meant nothing to the 8th Hussars. They had already lost ninety-five men dead or seriously ill in the siege at Silestria before they arrived in the Crimea. The first battle was near the river Alma in September 1854 and the 8th Hussars were awarded the battle honour for a convincing defeat of the enemy. In October Balaklava and the immortal "Charge of the Light Brigade" took place. It was started when 25,000 Russians tried to capture Balaklava, the British Army's only port, defended by the 93rd Highlanders, some Turks and the Cavalry Division. Each detachment played an admirable part, the 93rd holding of six squadrons of enemy cavalry, the heavy Brigades success over far superior numbers of enemy Cavalry and finally the Charge of the Light Brigade. The journey back through the same crossfire was far worse. One of the gallant remnants was Jemmy, a rough coated terrier, who survived and served with the regiment for another four years. The 8th Hussars lost sixty-six killed or missing of the 104 who charged. They spent a year in England but were called to India to help suppress the mutiny and were ready for war in February 1858. The most celebrated action of the war came three months later at Gwalior when a squadron of the 8th, under Captain Heneage trounced but found themselves embroiled with much larger enemy force trying to escape from Gwalior who they also charged and put into confusion, winning the battle in "One of the finest exploits of the war". General Sir Hugh Rose awarded the squadron four Victoria Crosses, one for the officers, one for the NCO's and two for the Corporals and troopers, all to be elected by their comrades. Captain Heneage, Sergeant Ward, Farrier Hollis and Private Pearson were chosen. The remaining year of the mutiny consisted of the pursuit of the rebel forces, and another Victoria Cross was awarded to Troop Sergeant Major Champion at Beejapore for taking over when all officers in his troop had been wounded, although he was seriously wounded himself, leading the charge and continuing to fight the enemy. The remainder of their time in India was peaceful and the regiment arrived back in York in 1864. The 8th entered the trenches on the western front for the first time on the 9th December 1914, not having arrived home in time to take any part in the retreat from mons. They spent the whole War in the Ambala Brigade or first cavalry brigade next to native Indian mounted regiments, seeing their first action in December 1914 at Givenchy. The majority of their time was spent sending large parties forward to dig trenches and this continued for the whole span of the war. In the second battle for Ypres in may 1915 gas was first used by the Germans who expected a breakthrough which the 8th were sent forward to contain and this they did. Between 1952 and 1958 the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars soldiered in Luneburg enjoying an extended period of peace. This existence was ended by the news of the amalgamation with the 4th Queen's Own Hussars to form the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, a sad end to one of the most battle hardened Cavalry Regiments who had given so much honour on so many continents to the British Crown. |
Introduction to the 8th King's Royal Hussars
The 8th King's Royal Hussars is an international M&B Warband: Napoleonic Wars cavalry regiment formed in January 2017, from a small yet strong circle of new and veteran players. Since then, we have grown under the desire to promote respect, teamwork and a friendly atmosphere within M&B, but also any other games we play together. We are an international community; therefore we have a limitless amount of interesting cultures and people. Focused on enjoying laid back yet competitive 1v1s and cavalry battles, we are a mix of veterans and new players, always willing to teach and to improve. In the 8th, a new player can easily improve with our friendly officers and members, teaching and guiding them throughout their time and more experienced players can join knowing they’ll be in competitive 1v1s with a huge variety of cavalry regiments and thriving under the helpful yet nonrestrictive leadership. Aside from 1v1s and cavalry battles, we regularly host in game tournaments of a wide variety to provide a well-rounded experience to any player and also tournaments or multi-player experiences in other games. Respect and maturity are highly valued in this regiment as it ensures good relations and cohesion within our regiment, which is crucial in getting the win and enjoying ourselves. Any aspiring cadets must have a basic understanding of English and should focus on improving their individual ability and teamwork ability, conducting themselves with dignity and sophistication. We encourage members to communicate and play together as much as they can, not only on M&B, but on a wide variety of other games. | Taken at the one-year anniversary event 18/01/2018. |