The 2nd South African Infantry Brigade was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

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. Br ...

of the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

of 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, Trans ...

during

World War II 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 ...

. The Brigade formed part of the 1st South African Infantry Division and was formed on 13 August 1940. It served in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and the Western Desert and was disbanded on 1 January 1943. In September 1939 Niehorster lists the brigade as being part of

Eastern Province Command Eastern Province Command was a command of the South African Army. History Origin Under the Union Defence Force In 1939, South Africa was originally divided under the Union Defence Force into 9 military districts. At the time, the command was h ...

. In the East African Campaign, the Brigade was led by Brigadier F.L.A. Buchanan and consisted of: * 1st

Natal Mounted Rifles NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

* 1st Field Force Battalion * 2nd Field Force Battalion * No. 2 S.A. Armoured Car Company * 12th Field Company, SA Corps of Engineers * 12th Field Ambulance, SA Medical Corps * No. 2 Mobile General Workshops, SA Technical Services Corps * 3 Brigade Signals Company, SA Corps of Signals During the Western Desert Campaign (at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein), the Officer Commanding was Brig. W.H.E. Poole and the brigade comprised the following units: * 1st

Cape Town Highlanders The Cape Town Highlanders is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origins Descendants of Scottish immigrants to South Africa raised the Cape Town Highlanders in 1885. On 24 April of the same year, their se ...

SA Infantry Corps * 1st

SA Infantry Corps * 1st Field Force Battalion SA Infantry Corps * 2nd Field Force Battalion SA Infantry Corps * B Company (Machine Gun), Die Middelandse Regiment SA Infantry Corps * 4th Company (Machine Gun), Regiment President Steyn SA Infantry Corps * 1st and 2nd Anti-Tank Batteries SA Artillery Corps * 3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Battery (less two Troops) SA Artillery Corps * 1st, 3rd and 14th Field Batteries of 1st Field Regt SA Artillery Corps

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Infantry brigades of South Africa in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 Military units and formations established in 1940 {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub