List Of British Brigades Of The Second World War
This is a list of British Brigades in the Second World War. It is intended as a central place to access resources about formations of brigade size that served in the British Army during the Second World War. * List of British airborne brigades of the Second World War (includes airlanding and parachute brigades) * List of British anti-aircraft brigades of the Second World War * List of British infantry brigades of the Second World War (1–100) * List of British infantry brigades of the Second World War (101–308 and named) * List of British mobile brigades during the Second World War (includes armoured, cavalry, armoured reconnaissance, motor machine gun, support groups, and tank brigades) * List of British special service brigades of the Second World War See also * British Army during the Second World War At the start of 1939, the British Army was, as it traditionally always had been, a small volunteer professional army. At the beginning of the Second World War on 1 Sep ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Brigades formed into divisions are usually infantry or armored (sometimes referred to as combined arms brigades). In addition to combat units, they may include combat support units or sub-units, such as artillery and engineers, and logistic units. Historically, such brigades have sometimes been called brigade-groups. On operations, a brigade may comprise both organic elements and attached elements, including some temporarily attached for a specific task. Brigades may also be specialized and comprise battalions of a single branch, for example cavalry, mechanized, armored, artillery, air defence, aviation, engineers, signals or logistic. Some brigades are classified as independent or separate and operate independently from the traditional divi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas, and 28,330 volunteer reserve personnel. The modern British Army traces back to 1707, with antecedents in the English Army and Scots Army that were created during the Restoration in 1660. The term ''British Army'' was adopted in 1707 after the Acts of Union between England and Scotland. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief, but the Bill of Rights of 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Therefore, Parliament approves the army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. The Brit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of British Airborne Brigades Of The Second World War
Impressed by the German airborne force during the 1940 Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, ordered the creation of a paratrooper force of 5,000 men. The success of Operation Colossus, a small scale commando raid, prompted further expansion of this force, and resulted in an additional requirement for a glider force of 10,000 men to be created. The recruitment for the size of this force took through to 1943, by which time two divisions had been formed. The airborne division was to comprise three brigades: two parachute brigades, each with three battalions from the Parachute Regiment, and an airlanding brigade with three infantry battalions. The first parachute battalions were formed from volunteers from across the British military. As the airborne force grew, infantry battalions were selected to be converted into parachute battalions. The men were invited to volunteer for parachute service, or assigned to a new unit. The new battalions were then broug ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of British Anti-aircraft Brigades Of The Second World War
This is a list of British anti-aircraft brigades that existed during the Second World War. Anti-aircraft brigades See also * British Army during the Second World War At the start of 1939, the British Army was, as it traditionally always had been, a small volunteer professional army. At the beginning of the World War II, Second World War on 1 September 1939, the British Army was small in comparison with tho ... Notes References * * N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, . {{British military formations during the Second World War British anti-aircraft brigades Anti-aircraft brigades Anti-aircraft brigades Anti-aircraft brigades ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of British Infantry Brigades Of The Second World War (1–100)
During the Second World War, a British infantry brigade consisted of multiple battalions and was commanded by a brigadier. Generally, three infantry brigades would form an infantry division, although brigades could be used as independent formations in which case, they were usually assigned to a corps-level command to be utilised. Brigades were flexible formations and rarely maintained the same battalions. Likewise, brigades could be moved from division to division or higher-level commands, as the tactical or strategic need arose. Their role could also vary dramatically, from being a combat formation to becoming a training organisation. Over the course of the war, the British Army had 216 uniquely numbered or named brigade formations. However, not all existed at the same time, and several were formed by renaming or renumbering existing formations. This article focuses on all brigades numbered between 1 and 100. Those numbered above 100 or named, are located within their own list ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of British Infantry Brigades Of The Second World War (101–308 And Named)
During the Second World War, a British infantry brigade consisted of multiple battalions and was commanded by a brigadier. Generally, three infantry brigades would form an infantry division, although brigades could be used as independent formations in which case, they were usually assigned to a corps-level command to be utilised. Brigades were flexible formations and rarely maintained the same battalions. Likewise, brigades could be moved from division to division or higher-level commands, as the tactical or strategic need arose. Their role could also vary dramatically, from being a combat formation to becoming a training organisation. Over the course of the war, the British Army had 216 uniquely numbered or named brigade formations. However, not all existed at the same time, and several were formed by renaming or renumbering existing formations. This article focuses on all brigades numbered above 100 and those that were named. Those numbered 100 and below are located within th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of British Mobile Brigades During The Second World War
During the Second World War, the British Army maintained and created several mechanised, motorised, and horse-based brigades that were not infantry-based. These mobile forces consisted of battalions and regiments, and were under the command of a brigadier. Brigades could be assigned to a division or operate as an independent formation assigned to a corps headquarters or higher. At the start of the war, in September 1939, the British Army had seven armoured brigades, five tank brigades and one support group (a mixed arms formation assigned to armoured divisions). Numerous armoured and tank brigades were raised, renamed, and disbanded during the war. The army also formed eight support groups, three brigades of cavalry, three brigades equipped with armoured cars and two brigades aimed at grouping divisional cavalry regiments. The nomenclature of the units assigned to brigades varied at the start of the war. The armoured brigade was the primary force within an armoured division. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of British Special Service Brigades Of The Second World War
In mid-1940, after the defeat of the World War II Allies in the Battle of France, the British Army began raising a raiding force. The army intended that these units would conduct hit and run attacks on German-occupied Europe, showcasing the British Army's still-vibrant offensive capability. At that time, most of the army was engaged in defensive duties protecting the UK; its raid ability was thought to boost public morale. These raiding forces were called "commandos." Toward the end of 1940, the commando force had grown to a brigade-level command size and was re-organised to coordinate its structure and management. As the war progressed, more commando units were formed; eventually their role transformed from raiding into acting as assault troops and light infantry, resulting in a need to reorganise the force, expanding the single brigade to four. The four commando brigades would spearhead British Army attacks in Northwest Europe, Italy, and Burma. The expansion also led to the c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Army During The Second World War
At the start of 1939, the British Army was, as it traditionally always had been, a small volunteer professional army. At the beginning of the World War II, Second World War on 1 September 1939, the British Army was small in comparison with those of its enemies, as it had been at the beginning of the World War I, First World War in 1914. It also quickly became evident that the initial structure and manpower of the British Army was woefully unprepared and ill-equipped for a war with multiple enemies on multiple fronts. During the early war years, mainly from 1940 to 1942, the British Army suffered defeat in almost every Theater (warfare), theatre of war in which it was deployed. But, from late 1942 onwards, starting with the Second Battle of El Alamein, the British Army's fortunes changed and it rarely suffered another defeat. While there are a number of reasons for this shift, not least the entrance of both the Soviet Union and the United States in 1941, as well as the Cryptanal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Deception Formations In World War II
During the Second World War, the British Army made extensive use of fictional formations as part of various military deception efforts to inflate their order of battle. The use of such formations was pioneered by Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley Clarke, based within the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre, and later joined by colleagues located in the UK. The initial efforts were small and created a fictional brigade with no long-term goal. As the war progressed, the deception efforts escalated into elaborate plans that included entire notional armies. In total, 36 notional divisions were created although they were not all employed at the same time. Some of these were based on real units that had previously been disbanded. Clarke's initial order-of-battle deception created the 1st Special Air Service Brigade. This notional formation was aimed to take advantage of Axis fears of British paratrooper forces being based in Egypt, from where they could potentially land behind the front l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Infantry Brigades Of The First World War
During the First World War, 259 infantry brigades were raised by the British Army, two by the Royal Navy, and one from the Royal Marines. Of these brigades, fifty-three were held in reserve or only used for training, while another nine only served in British India. The pre war regular army only had eighteen infantry brigades, with another forty-five serving with the reserve Territorial Force (TF). Once war was declared, the regular army was expanded first by volunteers and then conscripts for what became known as Kitchener's Army. At the same time, volunteers for the TF formed second line formations. Three infantry brigades served with a division, mostly the same one throughout the war, but some did serve for short periods with another division. At the start of the war, four infantry battalions along with a small headquarters formed a brigade; but, by 1918, with the number of casualties mounting, the brigade was reduced to three battalions. During the same time, the firepower of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |