The division was raised in England, sailed to southern Africa, and then fought in most of the major battles to lift the Siege of Kimberley.

The division saw more success in 1900 but was ultimately disbanded as the British Army reacted to the end of conventional warfare and moved to combat the guerrilla tactics adopted by the Boers.

When needed, larger forces were assembled on an ad hoc basis; these included multiple brigades that were grouped into "lines" or "columns".

[6] In early 1812, the division took part in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and then on 22 July fought in the Battle of Salamanca, where it formed the left wing of the army and defended the village of Arapiles.

The invasion of France followed; the division saw action at the Battle of the Bidassoa in October; it forded the Bidasoa River, pushed back the French defenders, and seized the village of Béhobie with around 160 casualties.

[13] At the end of the fighting, British and Hanoverian troops moved into the Southern Netherlands—previously Austrian Netherlands—as part of an Anglo-Dutch effort to secure the territory while they awaited a political outcome to the war at the Congress of Vienna.

On 11 April 1815, after the outbreak of the War of the Seventh Coalition upon Napoleon's return to power and the arrival of Allied reinforcements, the force in the Southern Netherlands was reorganised into divisions.

Arriving on the right flank at around 18:30 on 16 June 1815, by which point fighting had been ongoing for several hours, the division launched a counterattack to recapture Bossu Wood that had just been taken.

Their light infantry companies—alongside Hanoverian and Nassau troops—took up an advanced position at Hougomont, a walled farm complex within a wooded area that lay in front of the occupied ridge.

In the following melee, the gates were closed despite the efforts of additional French troops to enter, trapping those within—all of whom were eventually killed in hand-to-hand fighting or were shot by defenders within the buildings.

Following the defeat of the French units, the Allied army conducted a general advance and poured into the Hougomont area to reinforce and clear the position.

[22] Maitland's brigade, while based on the crest of the ridge, spent the entire day under heavy French cannon fire, and repulsed several attacks by cavalry and infantry.

The 3rd and 4th Régiment de Chasseurs led under heavy cannon fire that diminished as they closed on the ridge, due to dwindling ammunition stocks.

[32] Major-General Charles Staveley took command of a 1st Division, which was around 10,000 men strong and was formed in September 1871 solely for training manoeuvres in England.

Anglo-French forces landed at Gallipoli to be in a position to defend Constantinople if needed, and then moved to Varna on the Black Sea coast of Ottoman Bulgaria, where they were reorganised into divisions.

Delays in the arrival of additional infantry and a changing tactical situation resulted in the division not engaging Russian forces, and the Charge of the Light Brigade was ordered.

During the assault on Sevastopol in June, the 1st Division was tasked in a supporting role, and it was held in reserve in September during the Battle of the Great Redan.

[52][53] The division made a slow advance into Zululand along the coastal plain, established forts and improved infrastructure as it moved, and was not engaged in combat.

[57] According to Craig Stockings, Lieutenant-General Garnet Wolseley, who had arrived to oversee the final stage of the campaign, considered the division to have been "entirely irrelevant".

[55] The Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899 after tensions arose between the British Empire, the South African Republic, and the Orange Free State.

During the Battle of Belmont, which was fought on 23 November, the division assaulted and captured these positions just after daybreak, although the majority of the Boers withdrew in good order.

Frederick Maurice, author of the British official history of the war, lauded the small-unit tactics used by the division but said Methuen failed to convert the "successful engagement into a decisive victory".

General Redvers Buller, commander of the First Army Corps who was also under considerable political pressure due to Black Week, defended Methuen.

From the "Modder position", the division conducted reconnaissance and raids into Orange Free State that destroyed farms, burnt crops, and seized livestock; a precursor to the large-scale adoption of similar methods later in the war.

Rumours of Methuen having scapegoated the brigade, in addition to heavy casualties that included the loss of their commanding officer, resulted in increasing animosity among the soldiers.

While additional settlements were seized and patrols that took prisoners were maintained, the advance towards Mafeking ended and the town was relieved by forces that were closer.

[80][d] In June, the division attempted to trap the elusive Boer leader Christiaan de Wet and relieve besieged Imperial Yeomanry.

Methuen's command, now a division in name only, became a flying column of five battalions with a force of 3,600 men supported by some artillery pieces and machine guns.

[84][85] By the end of 1900, the field divisions had ceased to exist; additional garrisons and mobile columns were formed as British strategy was further refined to counter the Boers.

[96][e] When the Cold War ended, the British government restructured the army as part of its Options for Change programme, which saw the 1st Division again disbanded on 31 December 1992.