The 22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade was a brigade sized 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 ...

, which was founded on 19 September 1939 in British East Africa. The brigade was initially called the 2nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade, but was redesignated on 18 October 1940 as the 22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade. The brigade was composed of units from the

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...

, the

Northern Rhodesia Regiment The Northern Rhodesia Regiment (NRR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia. It was formed in 1933 from elements of the Northern Rhodesia Police, which had been formed during Company ...

and the

Rhodesian African Rifles The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) was a regiment of the Rhodesian Army. The ranks of the RAR were recruited from the black African population, although officers were generally from the white population. The regiment was formed in May 1940 in the ...

. During 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 ...

, the brigade formed part of the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

, the

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first atteste ...

, the 12th (African) Divisions, and the 82nd (West Africa) Division. The division also spent time attached various Indian Army divisions and corps-level formations. The brigade took part in the East African, and the Burma Campaigns. It ended the war based in Burma.

General officers commanding

The brigade had the following commanders, during the Second World War.

Order of battle

2nd (East Africa) Brigade (until 17 October 1940) * 1st Battalion,

(KAR) (from 2 October 1939) * 6th Battalion, KAR (from 6 October 1939) * 5th Battalion, KAR (from 13 October 1939) 22nd (East Africa) Brigade (from 18 October 1940) * 5th Battalion, KAR (until 31 May 1943) * 5th Battalion (Kenya), KAR (from 1 June 1943, until 9 August 1944) * 1/1st Battalion, KAR (until 31 May 1943) * 1st Battalion (Nyasaland), KAR (from 1 June 1943) * 1/6th Battalion, KAR (until 31 May 1943) * 6th Battalion (Tanganyika Territory), KAR (from 1 June 1943 until 20 July 1943) * 3rd Battalion,

(from 21 July 1943) * 1st Battalion,

(from 14 September 1944) From December 1941, the brigade operated as a brigade group and commanded the following units: * 56th (Uganda) Field Battery, East African Artillery (from 27 April 1942 until 26 December 1942) * 9th Field Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(from 9 June 1942 until 14 November 1942) * 60th (East Africa) Field Company, East African Engineers (from 12 May 1942 until 1 July 1943) * 59th (East Africa) Field Company, East African Engineers (from 8 July 1944) * 22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade Group Company, East Africa Army Service Corps * 2nd (Northern Rhodesia) Field Ambulance, Royal Medical Corps (until 17 February 1942) * 5th (Kenya) Field Ambulance, Royal Medical Corps (from 9 March 1942 until 30 April 1944) * 110th Camp Reception Station, Royal Medical Corps (from 10 July 1944 until 12 March 1945) * 6th (East Africa) Infantry Brigade Workshop, East Africa Army Electrical Mechanical Engineers (from 7 December 1944) * 22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade Provost Section

Citations

References

* {{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II 1939 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1939