Forward the 42nd!

[Bigkahuna]

Some history - worth sharing.

A few years ago, the Black Watch was in Basra, in Iraq - and in a very tough situation, shot at by the locals and by the Labour government at home - which decided to amalgamate all the Highland and Lowland regiments into one "super-regiment" the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

When British Army regiments were numbered - 1st Foot, 2nd Foot and so on, the Black Watch was the 42nd - but hadn't used that number since reforms in late 1800s, when all regiments were renamed.

Back at home, The Black Watch as an independent regiment faced a sort of extinction. On the battlefield, in Basra, in an ambush, one unnamed officer took quick action and ordered his troops forward to attack their ambushers. His order? Something that hadn't been heard on a foreign battlefield for well over a century: Forward the 42nd! It inspired the jocks and they swept away their attackers, so I understand.

That was right after he ordered them to "Fix Bayonets"! If I recall correctly.