228th Brigade (228 Bde) was a formation of the
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 Gurk ...
in both the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
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and
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 opposi ...
s.
First World War
228th Brigade was created on 26 February 1917 as a formation of Army Troops within the
British Salonika Army
The British Salonika Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I. After the armistice in November 1918, it was disbanded, but component units became the newly formed Army of the Black Sea, and General Milne remained in command.
Fi ...
under Brigadier General W. C. Ross
Order of battle
The following units served in the brigade:
[
* 2nd Garrison Battalion ]The King's (Liverpool Regiment)
The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...
(from 28 August 1917)
* 2/5th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...
(from 1 March 1917)
* 1st Garrison Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (from 1 March 1917)
* 2nd Garrison Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers (March–August 1917)
* 22nd (Wessex and Welsh) Battalion Rifle Brigade[''The Rifle Brigade Chronicle'', 1929, p. 179.]
Service
Although an independent formation, 228 Bde was always associated with 28th Division.[ It was formed of garrison battalions, which were not normally expected to serve in the front line due to the men's age or low medical category. One staff officer wrote: 'Physically the brigade was in a terrible state. They were splendid crocks ... Some were almost blind, some almost deaf, and the 22nd Rifle Brigade ... had more than sixty men over sixty years old'. Because of its slow rate of marching, the 228th became known as the 'Too Too Late Brigade'.][Wakefield & Moody, pp. 136–7.]
On 30 September 1918, during the final Allied offensive on the Salonika front
The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...
, 228 Bde came under the command of the Greek Crete Division
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
. 228 Bde was broken up on 4 October 1918.[
]
Second World War
The 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 opposi ...
brigade was formed (as 228th Independent Infantry Brigade) in the Shetland Islands on 12 February 1942, by the redesignation of Headquarters Shetland Defences. Its commander was Brigadier the Hon William Fraser.[Joslen, p. 391]
Composition
The following units served in the brigade:[
* 2nd Battalion, ]Royal Scots
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...
(until 17 November 1942)
* 7th Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...
(until 14 July 1943)
* 10th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry
The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fus ...
(until 2 December 1942)
* 4th Battalion, Cameron Highlanders (18 November – 19 December 1942)
* 7th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment
The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalio ...
(3 December 1942 – 28 July 1943)
* 2nd Battalion, Cameron Highlanders (20 December 1943 – 15 September 1943)
Service
228 Bde served under OSDEF (Orkney & Shetland Defences) until 16 September 1943, when the brigade was disbanded.[
]
Notes
References
* Cyril Falls & Archibald Frank Becke, ''Military Operations: Macedonia'', Volume 2, London: HM Stationery Office,
*
* Graham Nicol, ''Uncle George: Field Marshal Lord Milne of Salonika and Rubislaw'', Reedminster, 1976, .
* Alan Wakefield & Simon Moody, ''Under the Devil's Eye: Britain's Forgotten Army at Salonika 1915–1918,'' Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2004, .
The Long, Long Trail
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Military units and formations established in 1917
Military units and formations disestablished in 1918
Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I
Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1942
Military units and formations disestablished in 1943