The 21st (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 31 August 1939 in British East Africa. The brigade was initially called the 1st (East Africa) Infantry Brigade, but was redesignated on 18 October 1940 as the 21st (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 withi ...

and 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 ...

. 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 ...

, the brigade formed part of the 1st, 11th, and the

2nd (African) Division The 2nd (African) Division was a British Empire colonial unit that fought during the Second World War. On 19 July 1940, the 2nd (African) Division was formed in Kenya, British East Africa. On 24 November of that year, the division was redesignat ...

. The division also spent time attached to the 1st South African and the 34th Indian Infantry Divisions. The brigade took part in the East African, and the Burma Campaigns. It ended the war based inside British India.

General officers commanding

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

Order of battle

1st (East Africa) Brigade (until 18 October 1940) * 3rd Battalion,

(KAR) (until 17 December 1939) * 4th Battalion, KAR (until 2 May 1940) * 5th Battalion, KAR (until 11 October 1939) * 2nd Battalion, KAR (from 28 October 1939, until 29 June 1940) * 1st Battalion, Northern Rhodesia Regiment (from 9 February 1940, until 9 May 1940) * 2/4th Battalion, KAR (from 26 June 1940, until 30 September 1940) * 1/4th Battalion, KAR (from 24 July 1940) * 4th Battalion (Uganda), KAR (from 24 July 1940) * 2/6th Battalion, KAR (from 17 August 1940, until 1 October 1940) * 1/2nd Battalion, KAR (from 9 October 1940) 21st (East Africa) Brigade (from 18 October 1940) * 1/4th Battalion, KAR * 1st Battalion, Northern Rhodesia Regiment (from 21 November 1940) * 1/4th Battalion, KAR (until 31 May 1943) * 4th Battalion (Uganda), KAR * 1/2nd Battalion, KAR (until 31 May 1943) * 2nd Battalion (Tanganyika), KAR (from 1 June 1943) Between January 1942 and July 1943, the brigade operated as a brigade group and commanded the following units: * 54th (East Africa) Field Battery, East African Artillery (until 30 April 1942 until 30 April 1942) * 53rd (East Africa) Field Battery, East African Artillery (from 9 March 1942 until 30 April 1942) * 162nd (East Africa) Field Regiment, East African Artillery (from 1 May 1942) * 303rd (East Africa) Field Regiment, East African Artillery (from 1 May 1942) * 58th (East Africa) Field Company, East African Engineers (from 9 March 1942) * 21st (East Africa) Infantry Brigade Group Company, East Africa Army Service Corps * 2nd (Zanzibar) Field Ambulance, Royal Medical Corps

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