It later became a cyclist battalion of the Royal Scots, which served in Home Defence and saw action in the North Russia Intervention force during World War I.

[5][7][8] Under the 'Localisation of Forces' scheme introduced in 1872 by the Cardwell Reforms, the 1st Linlithgowshire was grouped with the 1st Regiment of Foot (the Royal Scots), the Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia and a number of RVCs from neighbouring counties into Brigade No 62, which was a purely administrative formation.

[5][7][8][9][10] The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 introduced a Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war.

They were filled with the volunteers who were coming forward in large numbers – 2/10th Royal Scots was recruited in under a week in September – and 3rd Line training units were formed in 1915.

The 1/10th (Cyclist) Bn Royal Scots was joined at Berwick by the 2/10th in January 1915, and both battalions remained there until April and June 1918, when they were transferred to Ireland.

However, the War Office needed troops for a North Russia Intervention force, and after reorganising as an infantry battalion and being brought up to strength with drafts from other units in Ireland, the 2/10th returned to England in July 1918.

The following morning the company reached Kargonin, behind Pless, and the defenders – thinking themselves cut off by a large force – evacuated both villages.

[23] By late September, with a body of US Army troops, the battalion had reached Nijne-Toimski, which proved too strong for the lightly equipped Allied force, who established a defensive line.

[23] The Bolsheviks resumed the offensive early in 1919, and A Company had to be sent to reinforce a heavily pressed force on the Vaga, marching with sledges over 50 miles (80 km) in temperatures 40–60 degrees below freezing.

The first action occurred unexpectedly on 16 October 1939, when enemy aircraft suddenly appeared out of cloud and dived on warships off Rosyth Dockyard, close to the Forth Bridge.

From April 1940 the Luftwaffe turned its attention to the campaigns in Norway and France and the Low Countries[32] By 11 July 1940, at the start of the Battle of Britain, 3 AA Division had some 119 LAA guns (mainly Bofors) defending VPs.

[38][47][49] In November 1941 the British Eighth Army began a new offensive in the Western Desert (Operation Crusader), which succeeded in ending the Siege of Tobruk.

[50][51][52] During the Battle of Gazala, beginning on 26 May, Rommel's Axis forces quickly broke into the British position and began attacking the defensive 'boxes'.

It was collected by 12 AA Bde, which had been defending fighter landing grounds for the Desert Air Force (DAF) and now fought a series of rearguard actions as the Eighth Army retreated in confusion beyond the Egyptian frontier.

The brigade developed a very efficient system of providing rolling support for the DAF's tactical wings as they made long shifts forwards to maintain contact with the advancing army.

They selected new sites for landing strips or renovated old ones, maintaining radio contact through RAF or RA channels with the main body so that movement orders could be passed to the following AA batteries.

Movement was usually by 'leap frogging' from previously occupied landing grounds, though sometimes an AA battery was waiting in a hidden concentration area ready to move forward.

12 AA Brigade had 20–30 separate convoys moving on any given day, and by November it was providing cover for six RAF wings and one US Army Air Force Group.

As the advance progressed the retreating Germans took greater pains to make abandoned landing grounds unusable; at one field near 'Marble Arch', 2000 mines had to be lifted by the RA/RE/RAF teams.

For the Battle of the Mareth Line in late March 1943 12 AA Bde covered nine forward landing grounds for five RAF wings, all within 20 miles (32 km) of enemy positions.

The standard procedure was for both HAA and LAA guns to be sited to engage potential attacks by tanks as well as aircraft, and to be tightly integrated with the ground defence units.

[60][61] 14th LAA Regiment was not involved in Sicily, but instead sailed with 12 AA Bde direct from Tunisia to the landings on mainland Italy at Salerno (Operation Avalanche) starting on 9 September.

The bridgehead was dangerously congested and so the intended AA reinforcements could not be brought in safely; the units already ashore had to meet all demands against multiple air raids delivered simultaneously with little warning.

Its LAA regiments were committed to bridges, defiles, assembly areas and artillery positions, and enemy aircraft were active in low-level strafing and bombing.

As XIII Corps advanced on a narrow front, 12 AA Bde found itself stretched along 80 miles (130 km) of roads protecting the long 'tail'.

After the breakout from the Anzio beachhead and the capture of Rome in early June, 12 AA Bde was deployed in the Tiber plain protecting airfields, river crossings etc.

However, Luftwaffe activity declined towards the end of the year, and the Allied forces in Italy were suffering an acute manpower shortage, so surplus AA gunners were transferred to other roles and several units disbanded.

Although 14th LAA Rgt remained in the order of battle, in common with other units that had been overseas for a long time it returned from Italy to the UK.

However, RHQ and the three batteries were resuscitated on 15 September that year as 46 (Mixed) Heavy AA Regiment at Carter Barracks, Bulford Camp, Wiltshire.

This uniform was replaced in 1903 by a drab service dress with red piping and a Glengarry bonnet with Royal Scots badge, buff belts, and black leggings.