The 38th (Irish) Brigade, is a

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 ...

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 ...

that served in the Second World War. It was composed of

North Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Monte ...

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 and served with distinction in the Tunisian and Italian Campaigns. Following the end of the war, the brigade was disbanded, but was reformed in sixty years later in 2007 and remains the regional formation for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Second World War

The 38th Infantry Brigade came into existence on 13 January 1942 by the re-designation of the

210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) The 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army organised during the Second World War to command a group of newly raised Home Defence battalions. It was later converted to a frontline brigade that ...

, a Home Defence formation organised in October 1940. The 210th Brigade had been serving in the

Dorset County Division The Dorset County Division was formed on 24 February 1941. However it did not take over operational commitments from Southern Area until March 10 and it did not finally assume command of its allocated infantry brigades until 24 April. It only h ...

. When that division was disbanded on 24 November 1941, 210 Brigade transferred to the 1st Infantry Division. By then, all of 210 Brigade's English home defence battalions had been posted away and were replaced by the 1st Battalion,

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

, the 6th Battalion,

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

and the 2nd Battalion,

London Irish Rifles The London Irish Rifles (LIR) was a reserve infantry regiment and then company of the British Army. The unit's final incarnation was as D (London Irish Rifles) Company, the London Regiment. On 1 April 2022 soldiers in the company transferred to ...

. Of the three battalions, only the 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers had seen active service, fighting 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 ...

where they were forced to

retreat to Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on the ...

and were subsequently evacuated to England. The British Army in Sicily 1943 NA5399

In June 1942, the brigade was transferred from the 1st Infantry Division to the 6th Armoured Division and it landed in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

with the division on 22 November 1942, as part of the

British First Army The First Army was a formation of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. The First Army included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American and French units during the Second World War. Fi ...

. In March 1943, it exchanged with the 1st Guards Brigade and joined the 78th ''Battleaxe'' Infantry Division and fought with distinction throughout the rest of the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The ...

. In late April, the 38th (Irish) Brigade played a lead role in the capture of the German defensive positions in the mountains north of Medjez-el-Bab and the campaign ended in mid-May, with almost 250,000

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...

soldiers surrendering. The brigade were the first marching troops to enter Tunis on 8 May 1943. The British Army in Italy 1944 NA15654

After a short rest, the brigade again saw action in the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

(in particular the capture of Centuripe), and in the Italian Campaign, spearheading the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces, ...

's advance to the

Volturno Line The Volturno Line (also known as the Viktor Line; , ) was a German defensive position in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The line ran from Termoli in the east, along the Biferno River through the Apennine Mountains to the ...

, and later at the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

and at Lake Trasimene. Shortly afterwards, the brigade was sent to rest in Egypt. While there, the 6th Inniskillings was disbanded and the men transferred to the 2nd Battalion, another Regular Army unit, which had arrived from 13th Brigade of the 5th Division, and the surplus men were transferred to fill gaps in the other battalions of the brigade. The rest was short-lived, however, and the brigade soon returned to Italy where it was involved in fighting north of Florence, followed later by

Operation Grapeshot The spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final Allied attack during the Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. The attack into the Lombard Plain by the 15th Allied Army Group started on ...

. During May 1945, it was (briefly) detached to both 46th Infantry and 6th Armoured Divisions and the brigade then was allotted occupation duties in

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

in southern

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, before being formally disbanded in April 1947.Joslen, p. 373.

Order of battle

The 38th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 1st Battalion,

* 2nd Battalion,

* 6th Battalion,

(''disbanded 5 August 1944'') * 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (''from 26 July 1944'')

Commanders

The following officers commanded the 38th Brigade during the war: *

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 ...

Morgan O'Donovan (12 January 1942 – 1 July 1942) * Brigadier

Nelson Russell Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier Nelson Russell, (b. 7 July 1897 − 20 October 1971) was a British Army officer who served in both world wars. Russell represented Ireland at both Ireland cricket team, cricket and Ireland men's national fiel ...

(1 July 1942 – 20 February 1944) * Brigadier Thomas (Pat) Scott (from 20 February 1944)

Formations served under

Formations that the brigade served under included: * 1st Infantry Division ''25 November 1941 – 7 June 1942'' * 6th Armoured Division ''9 June 1942 – 16 February 1943'' * 'Y" Division ''16 Feb 43 – 15 March 1943'' * 78th Infantry Division ''15 March 1943 – 28 March 1943'' * 46th Infantry Division ''29 March 1943 – 6 April 1943'' * 78th Infantry Division ''7 April 1943 – 10 May 1945'' * 6th Armoured Division ''10 May 1945 – 13 May 1945'' * 46th Infantry Division ''13 May 1945 – 18 May 1945'' * 78th Infantry Division ''18 May 1945 – 31 August 1945''

Twenty-first century

38th (Irish) Brigade reformed on 1 August 2007, as part of a new combined divisional / brigade structure called

HQ Northern Ireland HQ Northern Ireland was the formation responsible for the British Army in and around Northern Ireland. It was established in 1922 and disbanded, replaced by a brigade-level Army Reserve formation, 38 (Irish) Brigade, in 2009. History Ireland was ...

and 38th (Irish) Brigade after the disbandment of HQ Northern Ireland and has its headquarters at

Thiepval Barracks Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, County Antrim, is the headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland and its 38th (Irish) Brigade. History The barracks were built in 1940. They are named after the village of Thiepval in Northern France, an im ...

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

. The 38th Brigade subsequently came under command of the 2nd Division, the regional division for Scotland, the North of England and Northern Ireland, on 1 January 2009. it was now the regional brigade responsible for administering 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 ...

within

. This was the culmination of a drawdown of military headquarters in Northern Ireland, which had seen the disbandment of 3rd Infantry Brigade, 8th Infantry Brigade, 39th Infantry Brigade and

107th (Ulster) Brigade The 107th Brigade, later 107th (Ulster) Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army which saw service in the First World War. The brigade was later reformed during the Cold War and finally disbanded in 2006, following the drawdown of ...

. Today the Army Reserve soldiers from the brigade have served on operations supporting the Regular Army in the Balkans, on

Operation TOSCA British Forces Cyprus (BFC) is the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus and at a number of related 'retained sites' in the Republic of Cyprus. The United K ...

in Cyprus, on

Operation HERRICK Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assis ...

in Afghanistan and

Operation TELIC Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

in Iraq. At home the Brigade has the key role of providing the Civil Contingency Reaction Force for Northern Ireland. The Brigade Headquarters is also regionally aligned with the Republic of Ireland as part of defence engagement.

Current organisation

Under the

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

programme, 38th (Irish) Brigade moved from 2nd Division to

1st (United Kingdom) Division The 1st (United Kingdom) Division, formerly known as the 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division and the 1st Division, is a division of the British Army. Divisional history (1809–1959) The 1st Division was formed following the disbandment of ...

and was reorganised into an infantry brigade with three units: Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, and 7th Battalion, The Rifles all in the light infantry role. However, under the

Army 2020 Refine Army 2020 Refine was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. Army 2020 Refine The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announced that the structure of the Reac ...

, the brigade was completely reorganised. The following changes occurred: Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland moved to the Specialised Infantry Group; 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment joined from 7th Infantry Brigade as Light Mechanised Infantry; 7th Battalion, The Rifles joined 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade; and the 8th Battalion, The Rifles was formed and joined the brigade in 2018 as light infantry. Under the 2019 Field Army reorganisations, the brigade dropped its infantry commitments with the units moving to other commands: 2nd and 8th Battalions, The Rifles joining 51st Infantry Brigade, and 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment re-joining 7th Infantry Brigade. * 38th (Irish) Brigade, at

Queen's University Officers' Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

(Army Reserve), at Tyrone House,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF mak ...

*** 38th (Irish) Brigade Cadet Training Team, at

Palace Barracks Palace Barracks, Holywood is a British Army installation in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. History Palace Barracks occupies the site of a palatial house known as "Ardtullagh", the home of the Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore until i ...

Holywood Holy Wood or Holywood may refer to: Places * Holywood, County Down, a town and townland in Northern Ireland ** Holywood, County Down (civil parish), a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland ** Holywood railway station (Northern Ireland) * ...

*** 1st Northern Ireland Battalion, Army Cadet Force, in Belfast *** 2nd Northern Ireland Battalion, Army Cadet Force, in Belfast

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

38 (Irish) Brigade

The Long, Long Trail

Irish Brigade The Story of the 38th (Irish) Brigade during the Second World
A website containing information and eyewitness accounts. The site also ha

the story of the Irish Brigade written by TPD Scott, who commanded the brigade from February 1944 until the end of the war. {{DEFAULTSORT:38th Infantry Brigade Infantry brigades of the British Army Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations established in 2007 British Army Regional Points of Command