The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders: The Royal Regiment of Scotland

FROM LEFT: LEFT TWO: A regiment in their own right, the cap badge and shoulder patch of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as worn in May 2004 in Iraq during the bayonet charge in Basra. MIDDLE: When attached to the 16th Air Assault Brigade, they would wear the Royal Regiment of Scotland patch on the right arm and the 16th Air Assault patch and Union Jack on the left arm. RIGHT TWO: Cap badge and shoulder patch of the Royal Regiment of Scotland as worn by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in Iraq after December 2004

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders are an infantry regiment of the British Army with a rich history.  It is one of Scotland’s oldest fighting forces.  It is best known for forming the legendry “thin red line” at the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War against Russia in 1854.  It later fought with distinction in World War I and World War II, including intense jungle warfare in Malaya.  After Iraq, it served in Afghanistan before returning home in 2008.

All Scottish units were amalgamated into one unit in December 2004 but each unit retained their old regiment name, i.e. the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders became the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and were part of the 16th Air Assault Brigade.

Country: United Kingdom
Branch: Army, 16th Air Assault Brigade
Type: One of six Scottish line infantry regiments
Role: Air assault-Light role
Motto: Nemo Me Impune Lacessit (No One Assails Me With Impunity)