4–12 Volunteer and Territorial battalions The Royal Welch Fusiliers (Welsh: Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution.

It retained the archaic spelling of Welch, instead of Welsh, and Fuzileers for Fusiliers; these were engraved on swords carried by regimental officers during the Napoleonic Wars.

[8] It joined Allied forces fighting in the Nine Years War and at Namur in August 1695, took part in the attack on the Terra Nova earthwork that inspired the song 'The British Grenadiers.

'[9] On the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1702, it became the Welch Regiment of Fuzilieers; this denoted units equipped with light-weight muskets or 'fusils' used to protect the artillery, although the distinction later became obsolete.

At Dettingen in June 1743, it rallied after being driven back by the elite French Maison du Roi cavalry; its steadiness was a major contribution to what is considered a fortunate victory.

[10] In the opening battle of the Seven Years' War, it was part of the Minorca garrison that surrendered to the French in June 1756; given free passage to Gibraltar, from 1758 it campaigned in Germany.

[17] The light infantry and grenadier companies took heavy losses at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775;[18] it participated in nearly every campaign up to the Siege of Yorktown in September 1781.

[50][51][52] The 1st and 2nd battalions served on the Western Front from 1914 to 1918 and took part in some of the hardest fighting of the war, including Mametz Wood in 1916 and Passchendaele or Third Ypres in 1917.

[55] A number of writers fought with the regiment in France and recorded their experiences; David Thomas (killed 1916), Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon all served with the 1st Battalion.

John Bernard Pye Adams, a captain with the 1st Battalion, was wounded in 1916, and while on medical leave, wrote Nothing of Importance, his recollections of trench life.

A collection of letters and diary entries from over 50 individuals, it is considered a classic by military historians for its treatment of daily life and death in the trenches.

[53][54][64] Between 1915 and 1918, another ten Royal Welch Kitchener battalions also fought on the Western Front, including the battles of Loos, the Somme and Passchendaele; a number of these were disbanded in early 1918 due to manpower shortages.

The poets David Jones and Hedd Wyn served with The 11th (Service) Battalion landed in Salonika in November 1915, where it remained for the duration of the war.

[53][65] The 5th, 6th, 7th Territorial battalions fought at Gallipoli as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division; by January 1916, it contained 162 officers and 2,428 men, approximately 15% of full strength.

The battalion played a small part in the Allied invasion of Italy during Operation Slapstick, an amphibious landing aimed at capturing the port of Taranto.

[6] Formed in 1940, the 12th battalion became 116th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery in January 1942 and served with 53rd (Welsh) Division until disbanded in December 1944.

[81][82] The 2nd Battalion Royal Welch remained overseas after the Second World War, with a posting to Burma (still a colony until 4 January 1948) and performed internal security duties.

[83][84] The regiment did not take part in the Gulf War, but did perform several tours in Northern Ireland (Operation Banner) before being deployed to the Balkans.

[86][87] The situation caused some political debate as the UN troops had been given orders only to "deter attacks" and did not have a mandate or adequate equipment to fully defend the mainly Muslim town of Goražde, which was initially declared "safe" by the UN, thus rendering them exposed when armed members of the Army of Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Army) ignored the NATO ultimatum and attacked the town without warning.

The regiment managed to hold off the Bosnian Serbs until they were forced to retreat into bunkers – those who did not make it quickly enough were taken hostage – and remained trapped underground while BiH Army reinforcements arrived and fought back.

The commanding officer, Lt Col Jonathon Riley (later promoted to Lieutenant General), broke with protocol and directly reported to then Prime Minister John Major about the situation over the phone while in the bunker.

[89] Although the incident was largely unreported at that time, the regiment was credited in hindsight by observers for saving the town from a possible genocide—after failing to take Goražde, the Bosnian Serbs continued north to Srebrenica, where they would massacre over 8,000 Bosniaks.

In 1808, this practice was discontinued but when the order was issued the RWF were serving in Nova Scotia and had not received the instruction when the regiment departed to join an expedition to the West Indies.

[110] Khaki service dress replaced the scarlet tunic as the principal uniform, and the Army Council attempted to remove the flash during the First World War, citing the grounds that it would help the Germans identify which unit was facing them.

[113] As a fusilier regiment, the RWF wore a hackle, which consisted of a plume of white feathers mounted behind the cap-badge of the modern beret.