233rd Brigade was an infantry 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 ...

in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and the

Second World Wars 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 opposing ...

First World War

233rd Brigade was formed at Zeitun, near

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

, on 25 May 1917, as part of 75th Division, which was being organised by the British

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning ...

(EEF) from

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 ...

battalions arriving as reinforcements from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

ordered that

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

battalions should also be included in order to speed up the formation of the Division, and 233rd Brigade was formed on this basis.Becke pp. 123–30.

Order of Battle

The following units served in 233rd Brigade: * 1/5th Battalion,

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

(had gone to India with

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 forma ...

in October 1914; joined 25 May 1917) * 2/4th Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

(had gone to India with 45th (2nd Wessex) Infantry Division in December 1914; joined 25 May 1917; left for Western Front 2 May 1918 and joined

62nd (2nd West Riding) Division The 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw active service on the Western Front during the First World War. History During the First World War the division fought on the Western Front at Bulle ...

) * 2nd Battalion,

3rd Gurkha Rifles The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It was originally a Gurkha regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1815. This regiment recruit mainly Magars and Khas/Chhetri tribes. Th ...

(joined 24 June 1917 from 29th Indian Brigade) * 3rd Battalion, 3rd Gurkha Rifles (joined 30 June 1917 from 29th Indian Brigade) * 230th Machine Gun Company (joined 15 July 1917; transferred to 75th Battalion

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 tanks ...

3 May 1918) * 233rd Trench Mortar Battery (joined 1 September 1917; disbanded 27 November 1918) * 1/4th Battalion,

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. The ...

(had gone to India with

in October 1914; joined 15 October 1917; transferred to 232nd Brigade 3 May 1918) * 2/4th Battalion,

Dorsetshire Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 1 ...

(had gone to India with 45th (2nd Wessex) Division in December 1914; transferred from 234th Brigade 25 April 1918; disbanded by 10 August 1918) *

29th Punjabis The 29th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 21st Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 29th Punjabis in 1903 and became 10th (Training) Battalion of 15th Punjab Regiment in ...

(joined from India 28 April 1918) * 2nd Battalion,

154th Infantry The 154th Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia in May 1918, saw service in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and was disbanded in May 1921. History Background Heavy losses ...

(a new battalion formed at

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

with one company each from: ** 102nd King Edward's Own Grenadiers **

108th Infantry The 108th Infantry were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traces their origins to 1768, when they were raised as the 1st Battalion, Bombay Sepoys. The regiments first action was during the Mysore Campaign in the Thi ...

** 119th Infantry (The Mooltan Regiment) ** 122nd Rajputana Infantry : and joined from

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

25 July 1918)

Commanders

The following officers commanded 233rd Brigade during this period: * Brig-Gen The Hon Edward Colston * Brig-Gen E.H. Wildblood (from 16 October 1919)

Service

233rd Brigade took over the Rafa defences in

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

in June 1917, and only joined 75th Division on 18 August that year. It took part in the EEF's invasion of Palestine beginning with the

Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the ...

on 27 October 1917, culminating in the Capture of Gaza (6–7 November) and Junction Station (13–14 November), and the

Battle of Nebi Samwil The Battle of Nebi Samwil, (17–24 November 1917), was fought during the decisive British Empire victory at the Battle of Jerusalem between the forces of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and the Ottoman Empire's Yildirim Army Group during the S ...

(20–24 November). In the Spring of 1918, 233rd Brigade was involved in the actions at Tell 'Asur (11–12 March) and Berukin (9–11 April). During General Allenby's final offensive (the Battles of Megiddo, 233rd Brigade took part in the

Battle of Sharon The Battle of Sharon fought between 19 and 25 September 1918, began the set piece Battle of Megiddo (1918), Battle of Megiddo half a day before the Battle of Nablus (1918), Battle of Nablus, in which large formations engaged and responded to mov ...

(19 September). At the end of the fighting on 19 September, 75 Division went into reserve until the Armistice with the Turks was signed on 31 October. Demobilisation began early in 1919, but the 75th Division was selected for the Army of Occupation of Palestine. The reduced division formed one composite brigade under the command of Brig-Gen Colston of 233rd Brigade. In March 1919 it returned to garrison duty in Egypt, and other units were attached for this work. Finally, 233rd Brigade was disbanded on 16 March 1920.

Second World War

On 27 July 1941, Malta Command created Central Infantry Brigade from among reinforcements that had reached the island from Egypt during the ongoing

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

; brigade HQ was provided by HQ 'D' Infantry Brigade, which had come out from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Central Infantry Brigade was commanded by Brigadier Ivan de la Bere, and was renamed 3rd (Malta) Infantry Brigade on 14 July 1942. It was renamed again as 233rd Infantry Brigade on 1 April 1943.Joslen, p. 395.

Order of Battle

The following units served in 3rd (Malta)/233 Brigade: * 11th Battalion,

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

(until 20 May 1944) * 1st Battalion,

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. ...

(machine gun battalion) (until 22 January 1943) * 2nd 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' ...

(until 10 April 1943) * 4th 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 ...

(11 April – 5 September 1943) * 1st Battalion,

King's Own Malta Regiment The King's Own Malta Regiment was a territorial infantry regiment on the British Army colonial list prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1801 as the "Regiment of Maltese Militia", existing only until the following year. It was reformed ...

(from 11 June 1943) * 10th (Territorial) Battalion, King's Own Malta Regiment (4 May 1942 – 5 October 1943) * 8th Battalion,

King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the r ...

(11 October – 3 November 1943) * 2nd Battalion, King's Own Malta Regiment (from 10 October 1943) * 3rd Battalion, King's Own Malta Regiment (from 10 October 1943) * 30th Battalion,

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...

(from 14 May 1944)

Notes

References

* A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: the 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * * Chris Kempton, ''British Empire & Commonwealth Museum Research Paper No 1: A Register of the Titles of the Unites of the H.E.I.C. & Indian Armies 1666–1947, Bristol: British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, 1997, .
Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth

The Long, Long Trail
{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1917 Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II