15th The King's Hussars

15th The King's Hussars
Badge of 15th The King's Hussars
Active	1759–1922
Country	Kingdom of Great Britain (1759–1800)  United Kingdom (1801–1922)
Branch	British Army
Type	Line cavalry
Size	Regiment
Motto(s)	Merebimur (We shall be Worthy) (Latin)
Colors	Blue - Yellow - Red and Blue
Anniversaries	Sahagún Day (21 December)
Commanders
Notable commanders	George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield Lieutenant General James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan General Lord Robert Manners
Insignia
Identification symbol	NCOs - Royal Crest

The 15th The King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army. First raised in 1759, it saw service over two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 19th Royal Hussars into the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars in 1922.

The regiment was raised in the London area by George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield as Elliots Light Horse as the first of the new regiments of light dragoons in 1759. It was renamed the 15th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in 1760. The regiment landed in Bremen in June 1760 for service in the Seven Years' War. The regiment were largely responsible for the victory, suffering 125 of the 186 allied casualties at the Battle of Emsdorf in July 1760. Lieutenant Colonel William Erskine, commanding the regiment, presented King George III with 16 colours captured by his regiment after the battle. During the battle the French commander, Major-General Christian-Sigismund von Glaubitz, was taken prisoner. The regiment charged the French rear guard twice at the Battle of Wilhelmsthal in June 1762 and then returned home in July 1763. In 1766 it was renamed for King George III as the 1st (or The King's Royal) Regiment of Light Dragoons, the number being an attempt to create a new numbering system for the light dragoon regiments. However, the old system was quickly re-established, with the regiment returning as the 15th (The King's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in 1769.

The regiment landed at Ostend in May 1793 for service in the Flanders Campaign and fought at the Battle of Famars in May 1793. It formed part of the besieging force at the Siege of Valenciennes in June 1793 and formed part of the covering force at the Siege of Dunkirk in August 1793 and at the Siege of Landrecies in April 1794. It undertook successful charges at the Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies in April 1794 and at the Battle of Willems in May 1794 and was present, but not actively engaged, at the Battle of Tournay later in May 1794. The regiment returned to England in December 1795 and was next in action at the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799 during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland.