The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as the Royal Fusiliers or, simply, the Fusiliers) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an armoured infantry battalion based in Tidworth, Wiltshire, and the 5th Battalion, part of the Army Reserve, recruits in the traditional fusilier recruiting areas across England. The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was largely unaffected by the infantry reforms that were announced in December 2004, but under the Army 2020 reduction in the size of the Army, the 2nd Battalion was merged into the first in 2014.
History
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was formed on 23 April 1968 as part of the reforms of the British Army that saw the creation of 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English Fusilier regiments:
Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers
Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Lancashire Fusiliers
The 3rd Battalion of the regiment saw active service in Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991. All battalions were also deployed to Northern Ireland on Operation Banner multiple times.
In 2003, the 1 Fusiliers battlegroup was at the forefront of the coalition invasion of Iraq, ultimately occupying the city of Basra. Over the next decade, the regiment carried out multiple operational tours of Iraq.
In 2006, elements of the 2nd Battalion were deployed to Afghanistan to support the International Security Assistance Force. Deployed to the town of Now Zad in Helmand Province, they rapidly found themselves fighting off a sustained Taliban attack that lasted for 107 days - the longest siege of British troops since World War II. Over the following years, elements of the regiment deployed on several occasions to Afghanistan and saw heavy fighting. Most recently, the entire 1st Battalion deployed to Nahri Saraj District in Helmand in 2013, where they took part in mounted and dismounted infantry operations.
The regiment received a reserve battalion, the 5th battalion, through the redesignation of the Tyne-Tees Regiment, on 1 April 2006.
In September 2014, the 2nd Battalion was amalgamated with the 1st Battalion under Army 2020, forming just one regular battalion - an armoured infantry battalion under 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade.
Structure
Cold War
During the Cold War, the regiment saw a massive expansion, expanding from three regular battalions to six battalions in just a few years. Below is a list of those units raised within the regiment during the era:
Regulars
Regimental Headquarters, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, at the Tower of London
1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Regular) 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Regular) 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Regular) – disbanded following Options for Change in 1992 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Regular) – disbanded one year after formation, in 1969
TAVR (all disbanded in 1967)
4th/5th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
4th/5th/6th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, disbanded in 1971
7th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers
The City of London Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
5th (Bury) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
Volunteers (from 1967)
The Fusilier Volunteers, redesignated as 5th (V) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 1968, redesignated again in 1992 following Options for Change as 5th (Warwickshire) Battalion, disbanded in 1999 6th (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, redesignated in 1992 following Options for Change as 6th (Northumberland) Battalion 8th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Fusiliers (City of London), formed in 1988 as joint TA unit with Queen's Regiment, headquarters at the TA Centre at St. John's Hill, Clapham Junction. On Transition To War, would have provided guards & security for 50 Missile Regiment Royal Artillery, equipped with the nuclear-tipped Lance. Redesignated as The London Regiment in 1993 following Options for Change.
Bands (with battalion assignment after, if needed)
