The 33rd 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

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 ...

that saw active service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and home service 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 ...

First World War

The 33rd Brigade was formed in the Great War in August 1914 as part of

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

, initially made up of volunteer service battalions from a variety of different infantry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

s. For the duration of the war, the brigade was in the

11th (Northern) Division The 11th (Northern) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, raised from men who had volunteered for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Fron ...

. Between February and September 1917 it was under the command of Brigadier-General Arthur Daly.Becke, pp. 19–25.11th (N) Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> From September 1917 to the end of the war it was commanded by Brigadier-General Frederick Spring. The brigade served in the Gallipoli Campaign, in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, and comprised the following units:

Order of battle

The brigade was composed as follows: * 6th (Service) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment * 6th (Service) Battalion, Border Regiment ''(disbanded 9 February 1918)'' * 7th (Service) Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment * 9th (Service) Battalion,

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

* 33rd Machine Gun Company,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tank ...

''(formed March 1916, moved into 11th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 28 February 1918)'' * 33rd Trench Mortar Battery ''(joined July 1917)''

Actions

The brigade took part in the following actions: Gallipoli campaign
1915 *Battle of Suvla **

Landing at Suvla Bay The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the August Offensive, the final British attempt to break the deadlock of the Battle of Gallipol ...

, 6–15 August ** Battle of Scimitar Hill, 21 August ** Attack on 'W' Hills, 21 August ** Evacuation of Suvla, night 19/20 December

1916 *

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

** Battle of Flers–Courcelette, 15–22 September **

Battle of Thiepval Ridge The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive of the Reserve Army (Lieutenant General Hubert Gough), during the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was intended to benefit from the Four ...

, 26–28 September 1917 * Operations on the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Battle of Messines Battle of Messines may refer to: *Battle of Messines (1914) *Battle of Messines (1917) The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front, near the village of ...

, 9–14 June *

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

** Battle of Langemarck, 16–18 August ** Fighting around St Julien, 19, 22 & 27 August ** Battle of Polygon Wood, 26 September–3 October ** Battle of Broodseinde, 4 October **

Battle of Poelcappelle The Battle of Poelcappelle was fought in Flanders, Belgium, on 9 October 1917 by the British Second Army and Fifth Army against the German 4th Army, during the First World War. The battle marked the end of the string of highly successful Briti ...

, 9 October 1918 *

Second Battle of Arras The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British Empire, British offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German Empi ...

** Battle of the Scarpe, 30 August ** Battle of the Drocourt-Quéant Line, 2–3 September * Battles of the Hindenburg Line **

Battle of the Canal du Nord The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War by the Allies against German positions on the Western Front. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of ...

, 27 September–1 October ** Battle of Cambrai, 8–9 September ** Pursuit to the

Selle Selle may refer to: * Selle (Scheldt tributary), the name of a river in Nord, France * Selle (Somme tributary), the name of a river in Picardy, France * Pic la Selle, a mountain in Haiti * La Selle-Guerchaise, a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine depa ...

, 9–12 October * The Final Advance in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

** Battle of the Sambre, 4 November ** Passage of the Grande Honnelle, 5–7 November

Second World War

The brigade was reformed on 24 October 1941 during the Second World War as 33rd Infantry Brigade. On 10 November 1942 it was redesignated the 33rd Independent Infantry Brigade (Guards), as an all-arms brigade group under the command of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

J. Jefferson. It was part of

London District London District (LONDIST) is the name given by the British Army to the area of operations encompassing the Greater London area. It was established in 1870 as ''Home District''. History In January 1876 a ‘Mobilization Scheme for the forces in ...

. The brigade was intended for home defence in the event of a German invasion and never left the United Kingdom. It was disbanded on 6 October 1943.Joslen, p. 281.11th Worcesters at Worcestershire Regiment online.
/ref>

Order of battle

The following units constituted the brigade: * 6th Battalion, Coldstream Guards ''(from 30 October 1941 to 30 September 1943)'' * 3rd Battalion, Irish Guards ''(from 30 October to 4 September 1943)'' * 3rd Battalion,

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...

''(from 30 October 1941 to 4 February 1942)'' * 11th Battalion,

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regimen ...

''(from 5 to 31 December 1942; redesignated 1st Bn to replace battalion captured at the

Fall of Tobruk The Axis capture of Tobruk, also known as the Fall of Tobruk and the Second Battle of Tobruk (17–21 June 1942) was part of the Western Desert campaign in Libya during the Second World War. The battle was fought by the ( in Italian), a German ...

)'' * 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment ''(from 1 January to 4 October 1943)'' * 9th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment ''(from 1 January to 4 October 1943)'' * 177th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery ''(from 10 November 1942 to 4 October 1943)'' * 220th Anti-Tank Battery, Royal Artillery ''(from 10 November 1942 to 30 September 1943)'' * 80th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery ''(from 7 December 1942 to 12 September 1943)'' * 26th Field Company,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

''(from 10 November 1942 to 27 September 1943)'' * 24th Independent Reconnaissance Squadron, Reconnaissance Corps ''(from 10 November 1942 to 9 February 1943)'' * 33rd Independent Bde Gp (Gds) Company,

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

: ** 339 Company RASC ''(from 10 November 1942 to 24 April 1943)'' ** 538 Company RASC ''(from 12 June to 4 October 1943)'' * 33rd Independent Bde Gp (Gds) Workshop,

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

''(from 25 January to 30 September 1943)'' * 33rd Independent Bde Gp (Gds) Provost Section Corps of Military Police ''(from 7 December 1942 to 4 October 1943)''

Notes

References

* A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3a: New Army Divisions (9–26)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1938/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-41-X. * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-007-3. * * F. G. Spring, ''The History of the 6th (Service) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment'', Poacher Books, 2008. * A. Turner, ''Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare'', Osprey Publishing, 2010.

External sources

Chris Baker, ''The Long, Long Trail''

Imperial War Museum, '33rd Independent Infantry Brigade (Guards)'

11th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment - 1940-1942 (The Worcestershire Regiment online)
{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943