The 1st (West Africa) Infantry Brigade was an infantry 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 ...

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 opposin ...

. It was formed in 1940 from battalions of the

Royal West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognition ...

and served in the East African campaign against the Italians and against the Japanese in Burma.

History

The 1st (West Africa) Infantry Brigade was originally raised in 1940 as the 3rd (Nigerian) Brigade. In this guise it was involved in the East African Campaign against the forces of the

Italian Empire The Italian colonial empire ( it, Impero coloniale italiano), known as the Italian Empire (''Impero Italiano'') between 1936 and 1943, began in Africa in the 19th century and comprised the colonies, protectorates, concessions and dependencie ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

under the command of Brigadier

Gerald Smallwood Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Gerald Russell Smallwood (18 February 1889 – 3 February 1977) was a senior officer in the British Army who served during both World War I and World War II. Military career Smallwood joined the Ro ...

. Later it was renamed the 23rd (Nigerian) Brigade and was attached to the

1st (African) Division The 1st (African) Division was a British Empire colonial unit during the Second World War. The division was formed on 24 July 1940 in East Africa. On 24 November of that year, the division was re-designated as the British Army's 11th (African) ...

. In February 1941, the 23rd (Nigerian) Brigade took the

Italian Somaliland Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...

capital of

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

. On 10 March 1941, the Brigade quickly advanced to

Degehabur Degehabur ( so, Dhagaxbuur, Amharic: ደገሕ ቡር) is a town in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Degehabur Zone of the Somali Region on the Jerer River, Degahbur is traditionally the seat of the Dalalguuleed by subclan ...

, about south of

Jijiga Jijiga (, am, ጅጅጋ, ''Jijiga'') is the capital city of Somali Region, Ethiopia. It became the capital of the Somali Region in 1995 after it was moved from Gode. Located in the Fafan Zone with 70 km (37 mi) west of the border ...

, and captured the city days later without resistance, before it participated in the reoccupation of

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Soma ...

later in the year. In 1944 the Brigade was attached to the

82nd (West Africa) Division The 82nd (West African) Division was formed under British control during the Second World War. It took part in the later stages of the Burma Campaign and was disbanded in Burma between May and September 1946. History Formation The inspirat ...

and renamed the 1st (West Africa) Infantry Brigade. In this same year it sailed for

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, where the complete division was assembled on 20 July. They then moved to

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and took part in the third Arakan campaign in December 1944. During this campaign, the Brigade first advanced south along the Kalapanzin valley, then crossed a steep and jungle-covered mountain range to converge with the British 81st (West Africa) Division on Myohaung at the mouth of the

Kaladan River The Kaladan River ( my, ကုလားတန်မြစ်, ; also Kysapnadi, Beino, Bawinu and Kolodyne) is a river in eastern Mizoram State of India, and in Chin State and Rakhine State of western Myanmar. The Kaladan River is called the Chh ...

. This move forced the Japanese to evacuate the

Mayu Mayu may refer to: * Mayu (given name), a feminine Japanese given name * Mayu (river), a river of Burma * Mayu Frontier District, a former administrative zone of Burma * Mayu Island (妈屿), Shantou, China * Mayu, Jinzhou, Hebei (马于镇), a tow ...

peninsula which they had held for almost four years, and retreat south along the coast. They continued to advance maintaining pressure on the Japanese, capturing the port of Gwa shortly before the Japanese abandoned Burma..

Formations

The 1st (West Africa) Infantry Brigade was made up of the following units: * 1st Bn., The Nigeria Regiment; * 2nd Bn., The Nigeria Regiment; * 3rd Bn., The Nigeria Regiment; * 52nd (Nigeria) Light Battery West African Artillery; * 51st (Nigeria) Field Company, West African Engineers.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Burma Star.org
{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War 1 West African Military units and formations in Burma in World War II Military units and formations in British Somaliland in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945