Pte Melvin’s Company had advanced to within fifty yards of the front line trench of a redoubt, where, owing to the intensity of the enemy’s fire, the men were obliged to lie down and wait for reinforcements. A shako worn by officers in the 73rd Regiment from 1844 until 1855. During WWI the 25 battalions of Black Watch fought mainly in France and Flanders, except for 2nd Battalion which fought in (The land between the Tigris and Euphrates; site of several ancient civilizations; part of what is now known as Iraq) Mesopotamia and (A British mandate on the east coast of the Mediterranean; divided between Jordan and Israel in 1948) Palestine, and the 10th Battalion which was in the (The major mountain r… The 1st Battalion joined the 2nd on active service in December 1901 and they had an historic meeting at Harrismith. In the centre is the Royal Crest over a scroll bearing the words For Valour. In all these operations the Regiment was undertaking a role very similar to that for which it was originally raised over 250 years ago – to police the Highlands of Scotland. All the claims by the Bush and Blair governments that they were bringing freedom, democracy and peace to Iraq have been exposed as lies. At his home in Glenrothes, he told reporters: “If Tony Blair had the balls to walk down my street, I’d run out with my little brother Stuart and we would knock him out. There it was specially trained for participation in the Second Chindit Expedition. The scalding ‘Black Watch’ returns, bringing the Iraq war to harrowing life. All the lads want to do is just finish the job and get home now.” Recently one soldier reported that they had no time to grieve for fallen comrades because they had too much work to do. This figure did not include deaths in Fallujah, and was released before the US assault on the city. They are playing their part in attempting to control public opinion, but this is bound to fail as more and more of the truth emerges. The armed resistance is growing larger and is increasingly difficult to control. On the outbreak of war there were seven Black Watch battalions – for in addition to the Regular 1st and 2nd Battalions and 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion there were a further four Territorial ones which had become part of the Regiment in 1908. You are getting some of the Black Watch home for Christmas, tragically injured, maimed and others in body bags.”, Several family members were outraged. The Black Watch unit came under mortar fire. The resilience of the Myanmar masses in the face of a bloody clampdown, Britain: monarchy in crisis – abolish this rotten and racist relic, On the 10th anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution, it is time to recover and start preparing, Prefacio de Esteban Volkov a «Mi vida» de León Trotsky, Interview with Iraqi revolutionary activist, Iraqi Kurdistan: "don’t privatise the hospitals, we will run them! The discipline of the troops aboard, allowing the women and children to escape, has become a legend. While a strong machine gun emplacement was causing casualties and the troops were working round the flank, Lt Col Evans rushed at it himself and by firing his revolver through the loophole, forced the garrison to capitulate. In addition to overseas duties, the Regiment kept the peace at home by putting down riots in the manufacturing towns of Yorkshire in 1826. He was desperate to show that the decision had nothing to do with the US elections and was strictly a military and tactical decision. Nov 04 - Dec 04: Iraq: Baghdad: US command. Peacekeeping in Northern Ireland, a mobile patrol is briefed on its task to prevent the movement of terrorist weapons. These include (but are not limited to) promoting socialist policies. Five months later the Battalion was moved to the besieged fortress of Tobruk and in November was to suffer very heavy losses in the attempted breakout to link up with the 8th Army. “If I see that man in the street I will kill him,” he said. The Black Watch Regiment-Iraq and Afghanistan Wars- Casualties. Black Watch was the play that took the Edinburgh festival by storm. Survivors of the 2nd Battalion’s break out from Tobruk in November 1941 hold captured trenches. “How”, he asked in his diary, “have our rations been invented to subsist a soldier on the frontier of South Africa, in wartime, when I have been marching for sixteen and eighteen hours out of twenty-four?” The Regimental History states that “Men and officers were exposed to wet and sultry weather and performed many long and harassing marches.” A new low occurred in 1852 when the Birkenhead, carrying troops to the Frontier Wars, sank, resulting in the deaths of 438 soldiers, including 56 from the 73rd Regiment. 10 minutes ago. Then on the 23rd March 1945 the Regiment played a key role in the Crossing of the Rhine under a massive smoke screen and overcoming the final, albeit crumbling, German resistance. This year also saw the 10th Battalion taking part in operations in the Balkans. For more information on how we use your personal information in relation to Google Analytics, please view our. Lt Col Evans took his battalion in perfect order through a terrific enemy barrage, personally formed up all units, and led them to the assault. The Black Watch became the new regiment's 3rd Battalion. (10) Audit and/or administer our accounts. The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland is currently deployed in Cyprus on Operation TOSCA 22; the second largest deployment of British Army personnel overseas. The soldiers are tired. Five years later it was to be involved in a similar role in Cyprus against EOKA Terrorists and was to be on the island again in 1966 as United Nations troops. Let’s fight Blair.”, In a demonstration of his anger and frustration he then screamed that he wanted to murder Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon for lying about the redeployment of troops to Fallujah. For details of current operations, please see The Black Watch Today.