The 27th (N Rhodesia) 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 18 September 1940 in Northern Rhodesia. The brigade was initially called the 7th (N Rhodesia) Infantry Brigade, but was redesignated on 3 October 1940 as the 27th (N Rhodesia) Infantry Brigade. In April 1945, the brigade was redesignated to the 27th (East Africa) Infantry Brigade. The brigade was composed of units, initially, from 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 ...

. The brigade later included 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 ...

and the Mauritius Regiment. 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 various corps-sized commands, and was deployed to East Africa and the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...

in a non-combat role. The brigade also took part in the

Battle of Madagascar The Battle of Madagascar (5 May – 6 November 1942) was a British campaign to capture the Vichy French-controlled island Madagascar during World War II. The seizure of the island by the British was to deny Madagascar's ports to the Imperial ...

General officers commanding

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

Order of battle

The brigade was composed of the following units: * 2nd Battalion,

(NRR) * 3rd Battalion, NRR (until 20 July 1943) * 4th Battalion, NRR (from 26 November 1940 until 26 February 1943) * 2/3rd Battalion,

(KAR; from 26 February 1943 until 31 May 1943) * 3rd Battalion (Kenya), KAR (from 1 June 1945) * 6th Battalion (Tanganyika Territory), KAR (from 21 July 1943) * 1st Battalion, Mauritius Regiment (from 20 December 1943 until 28 June 1944) * 21st Battalion (Nyasaland), KAR (from 1 December 1944) * 27th (Northern Rhodesia) Infantry Brigade Group Company, East Africa Army Service Corps (remained with the brigade after it ceased being a brigade group) * 4th Infantry Brigade Workshop, East Africa Army Electrical Mechanical Engineers (remained with the brigade after it ceased being a brigade group) Between April 1942 and April 1945, the brigade operated as a brigade group and commanded the following units: * 4th East Africa Armoured Car Regiment (from 15 November 1944) * 55th (Tanganyika) Light Battery, East African Artillery (until 23 November 1942) * 57th (East Africa) Field Battery, East African Artillery (from 19 December 1942, until 26 December 1942) * 59th (East Africa) Field Company, East African Engineers (until 7 June 1943) * 31st (Nyasaland) Independent Machine Gun Company, KAR (from 24 July 1944 until 31 October 1944) * 31st Battalion (Nyasaland), KAR (from 20 November 1944) * 41st Battalion (Nyasaland), KAR (from 20 November 1944) * 27th (Northern Rhodesia) Infantry Brigade Group Company, East Africa Army Service Corps (until 23 July 1944) * 7th (Northern Rhodesia) Field Ambulance, Royal Medical Corps * 4th Infantry Brigade Workshop, East Africa Army Electrical Mechanical Engineers (from 16 September 1944)

Notes

Footnotes Citations

References

* {{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations of Northern Rhodesia in World War II 1940s establishments in Northern Rhodesia Military units and formations established in 1940