The 152nd Infantry Brigade (part of the

51st (Highland) Infantry Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

) 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 fought during both 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 ...

Formation

The brigade was raised in 1908, as the Seaforth and Cameron Highlanders Brigade, upon the creation of 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 ...

(TF), the British Army's part-time reserve force, and was assigned to the Highland Division. The brigade was composed of the 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...

and the 4th Battalion,

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Al ...

. It was formed as a result of the

Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 ('' 7 Edw. 7, c.9'') was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer and Yeomanry units into a new Territori ...

First World War

The division was mobilised for service in early August 1914 and most of the men volunteered for overseas service. In mid-May 1915 the brigade was numbered as the 152nd (1st Highland) Brigade and the division became the

51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

and the infantry battalions received the '1/' prefix, 1/5th Seaforths for example, to distinguish them from their 2nd Line duplicates training as 191st (2/1st Seaforth and Cameron Highlanders), of

64th (2nd Highland) Division The 64th (2nd Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised during the Great War. The division was formed in late 1914 as a second-line Territorial Force formation which served on home defence duties throughout the war. ...

. In early May 1915 the division was sent to the Western Front.

Order of battle

The order of battle was: * 1/4th Battalion,

''(left November 1914)'' * 1/5th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders * 1/6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders * 1/4th Battalion,

''(left February 1915)'' * 1/6th 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 April to June 1915)'' * 1/8th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ''(from April 1915, left February 1918)'' * 1/6th Battalion,

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

''(from June 1916, later became 6th/7th Battalion after merging with 1/7th Battalion)'' * 152nd 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 16 January 1916, moved to 51st Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 19 February 1918)'' * 152nd Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed July 1916)''

Second World War

Men of the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders embarking onto landing craft at Sousse, Tunisia, en route for Sicily, 5 July 1943

The original 152nd Brigade, formed along with the division in 1908, was effectively destroyed when the 51st (Highland) Division surrendered during 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 ...

at St Valery-en-Caux on 12 June 1940. It was reformed in August 1940 from the 26th Infantry Brigade of the

9th (Highland) Infantry Division The 9th (Highland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, formed just prior to the start of the Second World War. In March 1939, after the re-emergence of Germany as a significant military power and its occupation of C ...

, formed as the 2nd Line duplicate of the 51st, which was renumbered as the 51st Division.

1939–1940

* 4th Battalion,

''(destroyed 12 June 1940)'' * 6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders ''(until 30 March 1940)'' * 4th Battalion,

''(destroyed 12 June 1940)'' * 152nd Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 28 January 1940, destroyed 12 June 1940)'' * 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders ''(from 30 March 1940, destroyed 12 June 1940)''

1940–1945

* 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders * 5th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders * 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders

Campaign honours

– 1939-1940 (destroyed) *

Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 July 1942 * Secon ...

– 1942 * Operation Supercharge – 1942 *

Operation Pugilist The Battle of the Mareth Line or the Battle of Mareth was an attack in the Second World War by the British Eighth Army (General Bernard Montgomery) in Tunisia, against the Mareth Line held by the Italo-German 1st Army (General Giovanni Messe). I ...

– 1943 *

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-Man ...

– 1943 *

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

– 1944 *

Operation Astonia Operation Astonia was the codename for an Allies of World War II, Allied attack on the German-held English Channel, Channel port of Le Havre in France, during the Second World War. The city had been declared a ''German World War II strongholds, Fe ...

– 1944 *

Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Allies ...

– 1944 *

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

– 1944/45 *

Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Li ...

– 1945

Commanders

Brig. 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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thou ...

H. W. V. Stewart * Brig. I. K. Thompson * Brig. D. N. Wimberley * Brig. G. Murray * Lt.-Col. J. Sorel-Cameron * Brig. G. H. A. MacMillan * Brig. J. A. Oliver * Brig. A. J. H. Cassels * Lt.-Col. D. B. Lang * Brig. J. A. Grant-Peterkin

References

Sources

* {{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Infantry brigades of the British Army Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Western Desert campaign Operation Overlord Military units and formations established in 1939 Army Reserve (United Kingdom) Military units and formations established in 1908 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1939 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations of Scotland