The 138th (Lincoln and Leicester) 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 ...

with the

46th (North Midland) Division The 46th (North Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, that saw service in the First World War. At the outbreak of the war, the 46th Division was commanded by Major-General Hon. E.J. Monta ...

. The brigade again saw active service 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with the 46th Infantry Division.

Formation

The brigade was first raised as the Lincoln and Leicester Brigade in 1908 when the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

was created, by the merger of the

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

and the

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

. The brigade was assigned to the North Midland Division (one of fourteen of the peacetime Territorials) and consisted of two Volunteer battalions, the 4th and 5th, of the

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

and two, the 4th and 5th, of the

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

First World War

After the outbreak of the

in August 1914, most of the men volunteered for Imperial Service and, with the rest of the North Midland Division, trained in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

for overseas service. In late February 1915 the division began landing in France and was the first complete Territorial division to arrive on the Western Front to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) (individual units had been sent throughout the winter of 1914 and early spring of 1915). On 12 May 1915 the division was numbered the

the brigade was numbered the 138th (1/1st Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade. The battalions also adopted the '1/' prefix (1/5th Lincolns) to distinguish them from their 2nd Line duplicates training in the United Kingdom as 177th (2/1st Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade, part of 59th (2nd North Midland) Division, which consisted of the men of the brigade and division who had not volunteered for overseas service, together with the many recruits who came flooding in. The brigade saw service with the 46th Division on the Western Front in France and Belgium for the rest of the war, aside from a few weeks in Egypt, fighting at the

Hohenzollern Redoubt The Hohenzollern Redoubt () was a strongpoint of the German 6th Army on the Western Front during the First World War, at Auchy-les-Mines near Loos-en-Gohelle in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Named after the House of Hohenzollern, ...

in October 1915 after the failure of the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

. After this, the division was ordered to Egypt and landed there on 13 January 1916. However, soon after the division was ordered to move back to France. The brigade and division, alongside 56th (1/1st London) Division, later fought at Gommecourt on 1 July 1916, the

first day on the Somme The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the beginning of the Battle of Albert the name given by the British to the first two weeks of the 141 days of the Battle of the Somme () in the First World War. Nine corps of the French Sixth Arm ...

, as a diversion for the

Somme offensive 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 be ...

being launched a few miles south. The attack was a failure and served only to gain the 46th Division a poor reputation until late September 1918 when, during the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

, it re-established its name during the

Battle of St. Quentin Canal The Battle of St. Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces operating as part of the British Fourth Army under the overall command of General Sir He ...

. During the same month

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

John Cridlan Barrett Colonel John Cridlan Barrett VC, TD (10 August 1897 − 7 March 1977) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth ...

of the 1/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. By the time of the

Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

the division was at Sains-du-Nord.

Order of battle

138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade had the following composition during the war: * 1/4th Battalion,

''(left 31 January 1918)'' * 1/5th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment * 1/4th Battalion,

* 1/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment * 138th 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 22 February 1916, moved to 46th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 28 February 1918)'' * 138th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 2 March 1916)''

Between the wars

Disbanded after the war in 1919 the brigade was reformed in the new Territorial Army in the 1920s, as the 138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Infantry Brigade, still with 46th (North Midland) Infantry Division and still composed of two battalions of the Lincolns and two of the Leicesters. In the late 1930s, there was a growing need to increase the anti-aircraft defences of the United Kingdom and a reduced need for so many infantry battalions in the Territorial Army and so many of them were converted into other roles. As a result, in late 1936, the 46th (North Midland) Division (and the brigade) was disbanded and its headquarters renamed the

2nd Anti-Aircraft Division The 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division (2nd AA Division) was an Air Defence formation of the British Army from 1935 to 1942. It controlled anti-aircraft gun and searchlight units of the Territorial Army (TA) defending the East Midlands and East Anglia ...

. The 5th Lincolns was transferred to the

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 ...

and converted into the 46th (The Lincolnshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers and joined 31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group. The 4th Leicesters were also transferred to the Royal Engineers and became 44th (The Leicestershire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers, assigned to 32nd (South Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group of 2nd AA Division. Both were equipped with searchlights and part of the 2nd AA Division. The 4th Lincolns was transferred to 146th (1st West Riding) Infantry Brigade and the 5th Leicesters joined the 148th (3rd West Riding) Infantry Brigade, both part of the

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the divis ...

. After all of its battalions were posted away the 138th Brigade was disbanded.

Second World War

A new 138th Brigade was raised in mid-1939 when the Territorial Army was doubled in size throughout the spring and summer of 1939, due to the possibility of war with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

becoming an increasing likelihood. As a result, the brigade number was activated again when the 146th Infantry Brigade formed a duplicate unit, to be known as the 138th Infantry Brigade. The new brigade was assigned to the 46th Infantry Division, itself formed as a duplicate of

. Like its parent division, the 46th recruited mainly from the

North Midlands The North Midlands is a loosely defined area covering the northern parts of the Midlands in England. It is not one of the ITL regions like the East Midlands or the West Midlands. A statistical definition in 1881 included the counties of Derbys ...

and

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

areas in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, although for some reason the division, unlike the 49th, did not adopt the county subtitles. Due to the worsening situation in Europe, the brigade was mobilised in late August/early September 1939, along with the rest of the Territorial Army. On 1 September the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

invaded Poland and, two days later, on 3 September 1939, Britain declared war on

, officially beginning the

. In April 1940, seven months after the outbreak of the war, the 138th Infantry Brigade, commanded at the time by

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 ...

Edward John Grinling, DSO, MC, TD, a Territorial Army officer, and division, minus the

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and other support units, were sent to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The "division", sent at the same time as the 12th (Eastern) and 23rd (Northumbrian) divisions, was very poorly equipped and trained and was assigned mainly as a labour and training unit, to build defences and construct airfield. As a consequence, the division was battered 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 ...

when fighting the

and, together with the rest of the BEF, was gradually 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 ...

, where they were evacuated to England. After returning to the United Kingdom the brigade and division, due to severe casualties suffered in a futile attempt to stem the German advance, were both reformed with large numbers of

conscripts Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

and was sent to

Scottish Command Scottish Command or Army Headquarters Scotland (from 1972) is a command of the British Army. History Early history Great Britain was divided into military districts on the outbreak of war with France in 1793. The Scottish District was comman ...

. In 1941 it came under command of II Corps and later

XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to: * 12th Army Corps (France) * XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army * XII ...

, commanded at the time by

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...

, alongside the

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete formatio ...

and

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service in ...

and trained into an anti-invasion role to repel a

German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) * G ...

. On 6 January 1943 the 46th Division left the United Kingdom for

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 ...

where they saw active service in the final stages of the campaign there, fighting in the

Tunisia 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 World War II, Second World War, between Axis powers, Axis and Allies of World War II, Allied ...

as part of

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. F ...

which ended in May with the surrender of over 230,000 German and Italian

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

With the rest of the 46th Division, the brigade later fought in the Italian Campaign, suffering heavy casualties in the attritional fighting in Italy during the

Salerno landings Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, b ...

in September 1943 under

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

, and later the fighting at the Monte la Difenso,

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

and the

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 ...

, where, during the

Battle of Gemmano The Battle of Gemmano took place during World War II, between the dates of September 4th, and September 15th of 1944. The battle occurred in the area of the Gothic Line, near the Apennine Mountains in northern Italy, which would soon turn out to ...

, the brigade suffered heavy casualties in what has been labelled the "

Cassino Cassino () is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Southern Italy, at the southern end of the region of Lazio, the last city of the Latin Valley. Cassino is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Gari and Liri rive ...

of the Adriatic". In December 1944, during a heavy counter-attack by the German 90th Panzergrenadier Division on 46th Division's position,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John Brunt, of the

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 ...

, attached to 6th Battalion,

, was posthumously awarded the

. In mid-January 1945, the brigade and the rest of the division (except 139th Brigade) was transferred to Greece to fight in the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

, returning to Italy in April but did not see action in the final offensive. Throughout the campaign in Italy the 46th Division came under command of both U.S. Fifth Army and

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, ...

Order of battle

138th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 6th Battalion,

* 2/4th Battalion,

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

* 6th Battalion,

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

* 138th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 22 July 1940, disbanded 10 July 1941)''

Commanders

The following officers commanded 138th Brigade during the war: *

E.J. Grinling ''(until 8 August 1940)'' * Brigadier G.C. Bucknall ''(from 8 August 1940 until 13 July 1941)'' * Brigadier D.F. Campbell ''(from 13 July 1941 until 17 March 1942)'' * Brigadier A. Low ''(from 17 March until 26 August 1942)'' * Brigadier G.P. Harding ''(from 26 August 1942 until 23 March 1944)'' *

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

D.P. Yates ''(

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 broad r ...

, from 23 March until 29 May 1944)'' * Brigadier G.P. Harding ''(from 29 May until 26 September 1944)'' * Brigadier M.D. Erskine ''(from 26 September until 27 October 1944)'' * Brigadier A.D. McKechnie ''(from 27 October until 19 December 1944)'' * Lieutenant Colonel A.D. Miller ''(Acting, from 19 December 1944 until 11 January 1945)'' * Brigadier A.D. McKechnie ''(from 11 January 1945)''

Post-War

The war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945, with

Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

and the brigade moved to

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 ...

shortly after, spending the rest of its time on occupation duties under British Forces in Austria. The 138th Infantry Brigade Headquarters were disbanded in 1946 and, being a 2nd Line Territorial formation, was not reformed in the 1947 reorganisation of the Territorial Army but its battalions seem to have survived. The 6th Battalion,

Royal Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regimen ...

(the Lincolns became a "Royal" regiment due to distinguished service in the war, with effect from 1946) appears to have existed until 1950 when it amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, of which the 6th was formed as a duplicate in 1939, creating the 4th/6th Battalion. The 6th Battalion,

survived until 1947 when it amalgamated with its parent unit, the

Hallamshire Battalion The Hallamshire Battalion was an infantry battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment, part of the British Army in existence from 1859. History Formation and early history Formed in 1859 as The Hallamshire Volunteer Rifle Corps with its headquart ...

of the same regiment, to create the 4th Battalion, as did the 2/4th

which amalgamated with the 1/4th Battalion, to create the 4th Battalion, KOYLI.

Recipients of the Victoria Cross

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, 1/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment, Great War *

John Brunt, 6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, Second World War

References

Notes

{{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 1908 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946