The 113th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army active in both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 113th Brigade was originally raised in the First World War from men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, and was assigned to the 38th (Welsh) Division. The brigade, composed entirely of four battalions of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, served in the trenches of the Western Front throughout the war.
The 113th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: [1]
The brigade and division were both disbanded after the war, but were reformed in the Territorial Army (TA), the British Army's part-time reserve force, in the latter half of 1939 as war with Nazi Germany seemed increasingly likely. As a consequence of this, the Territorial Army was ordered to be doubled in size, with each unit forming a 2nd Line duplicate. The 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division was reconstituted as was the brigade, now the 113th Infantry Brigade. The 113th Brigade, under the command of Brigadier Llewellyn Alston, was formed as a duplicate of the 160th Infantry Brigade and initially consisted of two TA battalions, the 15th and 2/5th, of the Welch Regiment and one, the 4th, of the Monmouthshire Regiment. However, the brigade never saw active service outside the United Kingdom during the Second World War and was reduced to a Lower Establishment and eventually became a training brigade.
The 113th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: [2]
From 26 September 1944: [3]
The following officers commanded the 113th Infantry Brigade during the war: [2]
From 26 September 1944: [3]
The Royal Welch Fusiliers (Welsh: Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and became the Welch Regiment of Fusiliers; the prefix "Royal" was added in 1713, then confirmed in 1714 when George I named it the Prince of Wales's Own Royal Regiment of Welsh Fusiliers. In 1751, after reforms that standardised the naming and numbering of regiments, it became the 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fuzileers). In 1881, the final title of the regiment was adopted.
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 First World War, being designated 53rd (Welsh) Division in mid-1915, and fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and in the Middle East. Remaining active in the Territorial Army (TA) during the interwar period as a peacetime formation, the division again saw action in Second World War, fighting in North-western Europe from June 1944 until May 1945.
160th (Welsh) Brigade or Brigâd 160 (Cymru), is a regional brigade of the British Army that has been in existence since 1908, and saw service during both the First and the Second World Wars, as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division. It is a regional command responsible for all of Wales. The Brigade is also regionally aligned with the Eastern European and Central Asian regions as part of defence engagement.
The Welch Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot and 69th Regiment of Foot to form the Welsh Regiment, by which it was known until 1920 when it was renamed the Welch Regiment. In 1969 the regiment was amalgamated with the South Wales Borderers to form the Royal Regiment of Wales.
The 38th (Irish) Brigade, is a brigade formation of the British Army that served in the Second World War. It was composed of North Irish line infantry regiments 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.
The 36th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of British Army that fought in the First World War, as part of 12th (Eastern) Division, on the Western Front. The brigade also fought in the Second World War, with the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division, in France, and later with 78th Infantry Division in Tunisia and Italy.
The 13th Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service during both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 3rd Infantry Brigade was a Regular Army infantry brigade of the British Army, part of the 1st Infantry Division. Originally formed in 1809, during the Peninsular War, the brigade had a long history, seeing action in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, and during both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 159th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army. Part of the Territorial Army (TA), the brigade was assigned to the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division and served with the division in the early stages of the Second World War until May 1942 when it was transferred to be the motorised infantry element of the 11th Armoured Division. The brigade would serve with the 11th Armoured in North-west Europe from June 1944 to May 1945.
The 158th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that served in both the First and Second World Wars, before being disbanded in 1968. Throughout its existence the brigade was assigned to the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division and was composed almost entirely of Territorial battalions from the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
The 155th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars. Assigned to the 52nd (Lowland) Division, the brigade saw active service in the Middle East and on the Western Front during the First World War. During the Second World War, now the 155th Infantry Brigade, it continued to serve with the 52nd Division in Operation Dynamo, and later in North-western Europe from late 1944 until May 1945.
The 72nd Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army in the First World War and the Second World War.
220th Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army during the First and Second World Wars.
The 114th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army during the First World War. It was raised as part of the new army also known as Kitchener's Army and assigned to the 38th (Welsh) Division.
The 115th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army raised during both the First and Second World War.
The 119th Brigade, originally the Welsh Bantam Brigade, was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army during World War I. Part of Lord Kitchener's 'New Armies', it served in the 40th Division on the Western Front. The brigade number was reactivated for deception purposes during World War II.
The 211th Infantry Brigade was a Home Defence formation of the British Army during the Second World War.
The 224th Brigade was a Home Defence formation of the British Army in World War I and World War II. It existed under several variations of the 224th Brigade title.
The Monmouthshire Regiment was a Territorial infantry regiment of the British Army. Originating in units of rifle volunteers formed in Monmouthshire in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and both World War I and World War II before losing its separate identity in 1967.