The 36th 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 m ...

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. ...

formation of

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 Gur ...

that fought 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 fig ...

, as part of

12th (Eastern) Division The 12th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division raised by the British Army during the First World War from men volunteering for Kitchener's New Armies. The division saw service in the trenches of the Western Front from June 1915 to the ...

, 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 ...

. The brigade also fought in 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, with the

12th (Eastern) Infantry Division The 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which fought briefly in the Battle of France during the Second World War. In March 1939, after the re-emergence of Germany as a European power and its occupat ...

, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, and later with 78th Infantry Division in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

First World War

The 36th Brigade fought throughout the First World War with the

on the

. During the First World War the brigade was part of the ''New Army'', also known as '' Kitchener's New Armies'', and disbanded after the war ended.

Order of battle

* 8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) ''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 9th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) * 7th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot ...

* 11th (Service) Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) ''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 36th 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 ...

''(formed 1 February 1916, moved to 12th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 1 March 1918)'' * 36th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 15 June 1916)'' * 5th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) ''(from February 1918)''

Second World War

Reformed during the

as the 36th Infantry Brigade on 7 October 1939, this time as part of the Territorial Army, and attached to the

, duplicate of the

44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. ...

. The brigade was formed as a 2nd Line duplicate of the 132nd (Kent) Infantry Brigade. It fought in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

in May 1940 where it was overrun by the German Army and dispersed and suffered very heavy casualties, due mainly to the division having none of its support units and the infantrymen having had little training. Reformed in the United Kingdom, it was redesignated 36th Independent Infantry Brigade from 22 June 1940, when the 12th Division was disbanded, until 22 June 1942 when it was assigned to the 78th ''Battleaxe'' Infantry Division and served in the North African Campaign, in

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

and the Italian Campaign, in particular the Battle of Monte Cassino and later

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

, followed by the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy.

Order of battle

The 36th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 2/6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment ''(left 26 October 1939)'' * 6th Battalion,

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen ...

* 7th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment ''(until 20 August 1942)'' * 5th Battalion,

Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

''(from 26 October 1939)'' * 36th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 18 August 1940, disbanded 20 June 1941)'' * 8th Battalion,

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

''(from 21 August 1942)'' * 181st Field Ambulance,

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps ...

''(from 10 December 1941 until 22 June 1942)''

Commanders

The following officers commanded the brigade during the war:Joslen, p. 284. *

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 ...

G.R.P. Roupell ''(until 20 May 1940, MIA)'' * Brigadier A.L. Kent-Lemon ''(from 1 July 1940 until 17 December 1942)'' * Brigadier B. Howlett ''(from 17 December 1942, KIA 29 November 1943)'' * Lieutenant Colonel P.E.O. Bryan ''(

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a bro ...

, from 30 November to 3 December 1943)'' * Brigadier J.L. Spencer ''(from 3 December 1943 until 2 May 1944)'' * Brigadier J.G. James ''(from 2 May 1944, KIA 16 June 1944)'' * Brigadier C.D. Packard ''(from 27 June until 20 December 1944)'' * Brigadier G.R.D. Musson ''(from 20 December 1944 until 7 June 1945)'' * Lieutenant Colonel A.J. Odling-Smee ''(Acting, from 7 June until 11 July 1945)'' * Brigadier G.R.D. Musson ''(from 11 July 1945)''

Recipients of the Victoria Cross

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

George Jarratt Corporal George Jarratt VC (20 July 1891 − 3 May 1917) was a British Army soldier and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...

, 8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, Great War * Lieutenant Colonel

Neville Elliott-Cooper Lieutenant Colonel Neville Bowes Elliott-Cooper, (22 January 1889 – 11 February 1918) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to Br ...

, 8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, Great War

References

Bibliography

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II