[9] On 16 October 1908,[10] as part of the Haldane Reforms, the regiment's title was altered to become the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, commonly shortened to the Ox and Bucks.

The 2nd Battalion counter-attacked them at Nonne Bosschen wood, preventing their advance and then routing them;[21] almost one hundred years after the 52nd had defeated Napoleon's Imperial Guard at Waterloo.

The 2nd Ox and Bucks sustained many casualties during the battle of Beaumont Hamel, including Captain Ralph Kite who within the previous 12 months, had been awarded the Military Cross and twice mentioned in despatches.

[35] After the enemy Spring offensive lost its momentum, the Germans launched Operation Georgette in April which the Ox and Bucks defended against in the Battle of the Lys and subsequent actions.

[61] After Dunkirk the 1st Ox and Bucks was brought up to strength with large numbers of conscripts and later transferred to the 148th Independent Brigade Group serving in Northern Ireland.

[65] The role of the 1st Bucks was to organise the units on the landing beaches[66] and was also deployed to defend the beachhead area from German counter-attacks as troops from the 3rd British Infantry Division moved inland.

[65] Sale was awarded the George Medal for his role in limiting the damage caused by a German air attack, on an ammunition dump at La Breche, near Ouistreham, on 8 June.

The Allies launched a counter-attack in early January and the German offensive was defeated later that month, by which time the 53rd (Welsh) Division had been relieved and returned to the Netherlands soon afterwards in preparation for the invasion of Germany.

The battalion crossed the River Rhine in late March and, attached to 7th Armoured Division, continued its eastwards advance, seeing action at among other places, Ibbenburen in April where it saw heavy fighting against determined German Marines; although the British succeeded in capturing the town.

[71] Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Brett, the 2nd Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry returned to England in July 1940, after having served in British India and Burma for the last eighteen years.

The soldiers poured out of their battered gliders, completely surprising the German defenders, and taking the bridges within 10 minutes, losing two men – Lieutenant Den Brotheridge and Lance corporal Fred Greenhalgh – in the process.

In spite of this, the occupants of the glider captured the River Dives bridge, advanced through the German lines towards the village of Ranville where they eventually rejoined the British forces.

Later in the day, at about 13:00hrs, Lord Lovat and elements of the Commandos of his 1st Special Service Brigade arrived to relieve the exhausted defenders, followed by the 3rd British Infantry Division.

Having experienced intense fighting with German troops supported by armour and unable to successfully dig-in and hold the village, the battalion withdrew, moving back to Herouvillette where it took part in its defence.

The bocage country of small fields and orchards surrounded by thick hedges was of greater advantage to the German defenders than to the Allied troops and the battalion sustained many casualties from snipers, mortar and shell fire.

Lieutenant Freddie Scott was awarded a Military Cross for an action which drove the enemy from a position from where his platoon had come under heavy attack by machine-gun fire and grenades.

[65] The 2nd Battalion, Ox and Bucks and the rest of the 6th Airborne Division were rushed back to Belgium, by sea and land, to take part in the defence of the Ardennes, after the German offensive began in December 1944.

On 4 January, C Company, commanded by Major Johnny Granville, was involved in heavy fighting, whilst in support of 13 Parachute Battalion in the village of Bure.

The 2nd Ox and Bucks were based at Fromlennes from 17 to 24 January when the battalion moved 200 miles north to the Netherlands to Grubbenvorst, near Venlo, on the River Maas, to defend the position there, before returning by trucks to Calais[85] and to UK by ship arriving at Bulford Camp, Wiltshire, on 28 February.

The Germans were defending their last great natural barrier in the West and Operation Varsity which began on 24 March 1945 was the last major battle on the Western Front during the Second World War.

The 2nd Ox and Bucks took off from Birch and Gosfield airfields at 06.30hrs on 24 March and the gliders moved southwards over the North Sea, then east over Brussels and landed in Hamminkeln area at about 10.00hrs.

CSM John Stevenson was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for defeating several enemy attacks with a platoon he led on the east bank of the River Issel.

[93] The 2nd Ox and Bucks crossed the River Elbe on 30 April and the advance continued through Nostorf, Schwartow and Lutterstorf to Bad Kleinen, on the banks of the Schweriner See.

[91] At Bad Kleinen the battalion was involved in organising the reception of the many German soldiers, including complete divisions, who had surrendered to the British army there and about 12,000 refugees who had fled to the village from the east.

On 17 May Gunners from the 5th British Infantry Division relieved the battalion which then moved to the former German cavalry barracks at Lüneburg before flying home to the United Kingdom on 18 May 1945[95] and returning to Bulford Camp, Wiltshire.

An advance party of the 2nd Ox and Bucks, led by Lieutenant Peter Gerahty, was in India in August 1945 preparing for an airborne assault on Malaya[63] when the Japanese surrendered.

[104] Reinforced by large numbers of anti-aircraft gunners of the Royal Artillery who now found their original roles redundant, the battalion returned to Italy in July and fought in the severe battles around the Gothic Line near Gemmano, again sustaining heavy losses.

Palestine was in a highly volatile political state and the battalion was extensively deployed on internal security duties and in assisting the civil authorities to keep the peace between the different communities.

[110] At the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry guard of honour was commanded by Captain Tod Sweeney.

[118] The 1st Oxford and Bucks were due to be posted to Hong Kong however events in Egypt led to the regiment being deployed to Cyprus where it took part in operations against EOKA terrorists.