3rd Cavalry Brigade ( United Kingdom ) The 3rd Cavalry Brigade was a brigade of the British Army . The brigade served in the Napoleonic Wars , the Boer War and the First World War where it was assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division . In 1914 , at the start of the First World War , the brigade was a pre - war formation based at The Curragh in Ireland and originally consisted of three cavalry regiments , and a Royal Engineer signal troop . After the declaration of war in August 1914 , the brigade was deployed to the Western Front in France , where an artillery battery joined the brigade the following September and a Machine Gun Squadron in February 1916 . Napoleonic Wars . Battle of Talavera 1809 Battle of Salamanca 1812 Waterloo . The 3rd Cavalry Brigade was formed for the Waterloo Campaign in 1815 and consisted of It was commanded by Major General Sir Wilhelm von Dörnberg . The brigade took part in the Battle of Waterloo . During the battle , the 1st Light Dragoons , KGL suffered 154 casualties ( 33 killed , 111 wounded , 10 missing ) , the 2nd Light Dragoons , KGL 77 ( 20 killed , 55 wounded , 2 missing ) and the 23rd Light Dragoons 74 ( 14 killed , 28 wounded , 32 missing ) . This represented a loss rate of about 22 % . Boer War . During the Battle of Paardeberg , the brigade commanded : World War I . Mobilization . 3rd Cavalry Brigade was a peacetime formation of the British Army , based in Irish Command . At the outbreak of the war , it was headquartered at The Curragh and commanded the 4th ( Queen ’ s Own ) Hussars ( at The Curragh ) , 5th ( Royal Irish ) Lancers ( at Dublin ) , 16th ( Queen ’ s ) Lancers ( The Curragh ) , and 3rd Signal Troop , Royal Engineers ( also at The Curragh ) . A number of units were attached to the brigade : the Newbridge - based III Brigade , RHA ( D and E Batteries ) , 4th Field Troop , Royal Engineers ( The Curragh ) and the South Irish Horse of the Special Reserve ( based in Dublin ) . On mobilization , 3rd Cavalry Brigade Field Ambulance joined and the attached units departed . The brigade joined The Cavalry Division along with 1st , 2nd and 4th Cavalry Brigades and moved to France in August 1914 . Early Actions . With The Cavalry Division , the brigade took part in a number of actions during the early war of movement , notably the Battle of Mons ( 23 – 24 August ) and the Battle of Le Cateau ( 26 August ) . On 6 September , it joined the formerly independent 5th Cavalry Brigade in Gough ' s Command ( under 3rd Cavalry Brigade ' s Br - Gen Hubert Gough ) . As part of Gough ' s Command , it took part in the First Battle of the Aisne ( 12 – 15 September ) . On 13 September , Gough ' s Command was redesignated as 2nd Cavalry Division with the addition of divisional troops ( RHA , RE , etc . ) . It remained with 2nd Cavalry Division on the Western Front until the end of the war . 2nd Cavalry Division . In 1914 , the brigade , with the division , took part in First Battle of Ypres , notably the battle of Gheluvelt ( 29 – 31 October ) . In 1915 , the division was in action at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle ( 10 – 12 March 1915 ) and the Second Battle of Ypres notable the Battle of St Julien ( 26 April – 3 May ) and the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge ( 24 – 25 May ) . On 29 February 1916 , a Machine Gun Squadron was formed from the machine gun sections of the brigade ' s constituent regiments . 1916 saw no notable actions , but in 1917 the division saw action in the Battle of Arras ( First Battle of the Scarpe , 9 – 11 April ) . and the Battle of Cambrai ( the Tank Attack of 20 – 21 November , the Capture of Bourlon Wood of 24 – 28 November and the German Counter - Attack of 30 November – 3 December ) . At other times , the brigade formed a dismounted unit and served in the trenches as a regiment under the command of the brigadier . War of movement . 1918 saw the return of the war of movement and the division took part in the First Battle of the Somme notably the Battle of St Quentin ( 21 – 23 March ) , the Battle of the Lys ( Battle of Hazebrouck of 14 – 15 April ) , the Battle of Amiens ( 8 – 11 August ) and the Second Battle of the Somme ( Battle of Albert of 21 – 23 August and the Second Battle of Bapaume of 31 August – 3 September ) . The division was then split up with the 3rd Cavalry Brigade serving with Third Army . The brigade took part in the battles of the Hindenburg Line , notably the Battle of the Canal du Nord ( 27 September – 1 October ) and the Pursuit to the Selle ( 9 – 12 October , with First Army ) . Its final action was to take part in the Advance in Picardy ( 17 October – 11 November ) still with First Army . Armistice . At the Armistice , the brigade had reached Havré and St . Denis with First Army . On 15 November , the division was re - assembled near Maubeuge and ordered to advance into Germany as an advance screen for Fourth Army and form part of the Occupation Force . The move began on 17 November , Ciney and Rochefort were reached five days later . In late December , the division moved to winter quarters south and south - east of Liège . It remained here until 30 January 1919 when it exchanged regiments with 1st and 3rd Cavalry Divisions then gradually moved back to England . The Division ceased to exist at midnight 31 March / 1 April 1919 . Commanders . The 5th Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders during World War I :