1715-1969 жылдар аралығындағы британ армиясының 11-ші жеңіл атқыштар полкі (Принц Альбертің өз полкі)

Cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1715 to 1969

The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales' Own) to form the Royal Hussars in 1969.

The regiment was formed at Colchester in July 1715 by Philip Honeywood as Honeywood's Regiment of Dragoons, one of 16 raised in response to the 1715 Jacobite rising. It fought in the Battle of Preston that ended the revolt in England and while many of these formations were disbanded in 1718, Honeywood's remained in being. During the Jacobite rising of 1745, the regiment took part in the December 1745 Clifton Moor Skirmish, allegedly the last military engagement on English soil, as well as Battle of Culloden in April 1746, often cited as the last pitched battle on British soil. After 1751, regiments were numbered, rather than being named after the current Colonel, and it became the 11th Regiment of Dragoons. When the Seven Years' War broke out in 1756, the regiment took part in the 1758 raids on St Malo and Cherbourg. Attempting to divert French forces from Hanover, they failed to achieve this aim and the regiment was shipped to Germany in May 1760 as part of the Marquess of Granby's cavalry corps, winning its first battle honour in July at Warburg. It was also present in the Allied victory at Villinghausen in July 1761, which forced the French onto the defensive and ultimately led to the Treaty of Paris in 1763. In 1755, each dragoon regiment added a reconnaissance or 'light' troop; in February 1779, these were detached, that from the 11th helping form the 19th Light Dragoons, which in 1862 became the 19th Royal Hussars. It was also involved in the Anglo Russian invasion of Holland, including the October 1799 battles of Alkmaar and Castricum.

With the exception of a short spell in Egypt during the victorious campaign of 1801, the regiment did not see active service again until it was sent to Portugal in April 1811, where it joined the Peninsular War campaign. It fought at Badajoz in April 1812 and the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812 before returning to Britain. During the campaign of 1815, it was part of Vandeleur's 4th Cavalry Brigade, fighting at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. Shortly before returning to Britain, the Earl of Cardigan became lieutenant colonel; he embarked on a series of changes, which were intended to increase regimental prestige but resulted in a number of highly publicised disputes, including the so called 'Black Bottle' affair. In 1840, the 11th Light Dragoons served as escort to Prince Albert on his arrival in England to marry Queen Victoria. She appointed Prince Albert colonel of the regiment. By coincidence, the ornate Hussar uniform included crimson or "cherry" coloured trousers, unique among British regiments and worn ever since in most orders of uniform other than combat and working dress. The regiment served in the Crimean War, as part of the Light Brigade commanded by Cardigan, now a Major General and fought at the Battle of Alma in September 1854. It was also involved in the Charge of the Light Brigade in October 1854; due to miscommunication, Cardigan led the brigade against unbroken and more numerous Russian forces and while able to withdraw to its starting position, it suffered heavy losses as a result. The 11th lost three officers and 55 men in the debacle, while Lieutenant Dunn was awarded the Victoria Cross for rescuing two members of his troop. Edward Woodham of the 11th Hussars later acted as chairman of the organising committee for the 21st Anniversary dinner held at Alexandra Palace for survivors of the Charge. The regiment was renamed the 11th (or Prince Albert's Own) Hussars in 1861. In 1911 Prince Albert's great grandson Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia became colonel in chief of the regiment. He was removed in October 1914 following the outbreak of the First World War.

The regiment landed in France as part of the 1st Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front with the British Expeditionary Force. The regiment took part in the Great Retreat and the regiment, working with the 2nd Dragoon Guards, conducted a cavalry charge which led to the capture of eight guns at Néry in September 1914. and, in an ambush east of Bardia, captured General Lastucci, the Engineer in Chief of the Italian Tenth Army. Following the Italian invasion of Egypt in September 1940, the regiment took part in the British counterattack called Operation Compass, launched against Italian forces first in Egypt, then Libya. It was part of an ad hoc combat unit called Combeforce, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Combe, that cut the retreating Tenth Army off and led to their surrender at the Battle of Beda Fomm in February 1941. The regiment fought at the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. The regiment took part in the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943 and, after the Normandy landings in June 1944, took part in the North West Europe Campaign.

The regiment was posted to Wavell Barracks in Berlin in 1945 and, after tours at various locations in Lower Saxony including Jever, Delmenhorst, Osnabrück and Wesendorf, it returned home in March 1953. It deployed to Johor Bahru in Malaya in July 1953 during the Malayan Emergency.