Battle Honour HINDENBURG LINE

The Battle Honour HINDENBURG LINE was awarded to our antecedent Regiment, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, for the actions of both the 5th Battalion and the 6th (Service) Battalion during the campaign to break the German defences known as the Hindenburg Line. The distinction is now emblazoned on the King’s Colour of The Royal Irish Regiment.

Following a period of undermanning difficulties, the 50th (Northumbrian) Division and the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division were reconstituted for the operations to break through the Hindenburg Line in July and September 1918, serving in France and Flanders until the Armistice on 11 November 1918.

The 5th Inniskillings joined the 66th Division's 198 Brigade along with the 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The 5th Connaught Rangers were in the Division's 199 Brigade.

The 6th Inniskillings joined the Northumbrian Division’s 151 (Durham Light Infantry) Brigade on 16 July 1918 and remained under its command until Armistice Day. The 2nd Battalion The Royal Dublin Fusiliers, during the same period, was attached to 149 (Northumberland) Brigade, and the 2nd Battalion The Royal Munster Fusiliers to 150 (York and Durham) Brigade.

The Divisions were transferred to Fourth Army and moved to the Reserve Corps’ s (III Corps) area. The attack on the German defensive lines, known collectively by the Allies as the Hindenburg Line, launched on 29 September, had intended to smash right through the lines and beyond the final Beaurevior Line - but it did not succeed. The Northumbrian Divisions' Battles of the Hindenburg Line included the Battle of the Beaurevoir Line (3–5 October 1918) and the Pursuit to the Selle (11–12 October 1918). The 66th Division's battles included the Second Battle of Cambrai, and the Pursuit to the Selle.