The 234th 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 mar ...

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. B ...

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 ...

, raised during 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 was later reformed 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 opposi ...

First World War

The 234th Brigade was assigned to the 75th Division and served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. * 2nd Battalion,

Loyal North Lancashire Regiment The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire Reg ...

* 1/4th Battalion,

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light ...

* 123rd Outram's Rifles * 58th Vaughan's Rifles (Frontier Force) * 2/4th Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment * 2/4th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment * 1st Battalion, 152nd Punjabis * 231st 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 tanks ...

* 234th Trench Mortar Battery

Second World War

The brigade was re-formed as the 234th Infantry Brigade during the

on 1 April 1943 from the redesignation of the 4th (Malta) Infantry Brigade, which before that was known as the Western Infantry Brigade, which had garrisoned the island during its siege by air and sea by the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

from June 1940 until November 1942. The unit was formed as the main British military force for the Dodecanese Campaign to capture the

Dodecanese Islands The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...

in late 1943 and consisted mainly of

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

units of the British Army that had served on the island during the siege. The brigade, under

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

F. G. R. Brittorous, later replaced 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. I ...

Robert Tilney Brigadier Robert Adolphus George Tilney, (2 November 1903 – May 1981) was a British Army officer who served during the Second World War. Military career Robert Tilney was a Territorial Army officer, formerly of the Leicestershire Yeomanry. He ...

, was landed on the island of

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flig ...

towards the end of September 1943. The 234th Brigade, together with other British, Italian and Allied forces, attempted to hold the Dodecanese islands against successive German air attacks and the landings of amphibious German forces, but without success. In the

Battle of Kos The Battle of Kos ( el, Μάχη της Κω) was a brief battle in World War II between British/Italian and German forces for control of the Greek island of Kos, in the then Italian-held Dodecanese Islands of the Aegean Sea. The battle was pr ...

and the

Battle of Leros The Battle of Leros was the central event of the Dodecanese campaign of the Second World War, and is widely used as an alternate name for the whole campaign. After the Armistice of Cassibile the Italian garrison on the Greek island Leros was str ...

, German air superiority and tactical ability resulted in British defeats, and their garrisons were forced to surrender after a few days' resistance. The few men of the brigade who had escaped returned to the Middle East, where it was disbanded on 16 January 1944.

Order of battle

The brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 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 ...

(''from 13 May 1942 until 10 April 1943, rejoined 26 October 1943, captured 16 November 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 ...

(''from 13 May 1942 until 7 January 1943'') * 1st Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

(''from 14 May 1942 until 9 September 1943'') * 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. ...

(''from 23 January 1943 until 5 April 1943'') * 1st Battalion, The King's Own Malta Regiment (''from 29 March 1943 until 10 October June 1943'') * 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers (''6 April 1943, captured 16 November 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' ...

(''from 11 April 1943, captured 16 November 1943'') * 1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) (''from 24 October 1943, captured 16 November 1943'')

Commanders

The following officers commanded the brigade during the war:Joslen, p. 396 *

F.G.R. Brittorous (''from 13 May 1942 until 5 November 1943'') * Brigadier R. Tilney (''from 5 November 1943'')

References

External links

Orders of Battle.com
* Joslen, Lt-Col H.F. (2003)

960 Year 960 ( CMLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Siege of Chandax: A Byzantine fleet with an expeditionary force (co ...

Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield: Naval and Military Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:234th Infantry Brigade 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 the 1910s