Northumberland Brigade 149th (Northumberland) Brigade 149th Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 1908–1938 |
Country | ![]() |
Allegiance | British Crown |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Brigade |
Part of | Northumbrian Division 50th (Northumbrian) Division |
HQ (peacetime) | Newcastle upon Tyne |
Engagements | Western Front (World War I) |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Sir Geoffrey Feilding |
The Northumberland Brigade was formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force of the British Army with four battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers. The brigade was numbered as 149th (Northumberland) Brigade in 1915 and served with the 50th (Northumbrian) Division on the Western Front throughout World War I. Due to losses suffered in the Ludendorf Offensive in 1918, it had to be comprehensively reorganized. Reformed as the Northumberland Brigade post-war, it was broken up before the outbreak of World War II.
Under the terms of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 ( 7 Edw. 7, c.9), the Northumberland Brigade was formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF). It was Headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne and consisted of four infantry battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers and a Transport and Supply Company:
It was assigned to the Northumbrian Division. [1]
The brigade was mobilized on the outbreak of the war and posted to the Tyne Defences. The battalions were given fractional designations (e.g. 1/4th Battalion) with the formation of the 2nd Line battalions in 1914. [lower-alpha 1] In April 1915, the brigade was posted to France and on 14 May was redesignated as 149th (Northumberland) Brigade (the division became 50th (Northumbrian) Division). [3]
The brigade served with the 50th Division on the Western Front for the rest of the war. In 1915, it took part in the Second Battle of Ypres and the Battle of the Somme in 1916. [4] In 1917, it took part in the Battle of Arras and the Third Battle of Ypres. As a result of the losses suffered in the Ludendorf Offensive (First Battle of the Somme and Battle of the Lys), the brigade had to be comprehensively reorganized. [5] On 15 July 1918, the Northumberland Fusiliers battalions were reduced to cadre and transferred to Lines of Communication duties; [6] they were replaced by two battalions from Salonika (3rd Royal Fusiliers ex 85th Brigade, 28th Division and 13th Black Watch ex 81st Brigade, 27th Division) and another (2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers) that had been in France since August 1914. [7] Thereafter, it took part in the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Picardy. [5]
The brigade commanded the following units during the war: [8]
The 50th Division had crossed the Sambre and reached Solre-le-Château on 10 November 1918 when it was relieved. Demobilization started in December and by 19 March 1919 the division had ceased to exist in France. [5]
The Northumbrian Division was reformed again in England on 1 April 1920 [5] with the same composition as pre-war. [10] The four original battalions were reformed in the Territorial Army on 7 February 1920. [11] [12] [13] [14]
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was reorganized as a Motor Division [15] which saw a reduction from three to two brigades. [16]
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, and the First and Second World Wars. It had many different titles throughout its 280 years of existence.
The Northumbrian Division was an infantry division of the British Army, formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force with units drawn from the north-east of England, notably Northumberland, Durham and the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire. The division was numbered as 50th (Northumbrian) Division in 1915 and served on the Western Front throughout the First World War. Due to losses suffered in the Ludendorf Offensive in March 1918 it had to be comprehensively reorganized. It was once again reformed in the Territorial Army as the Northumbrian Division in 1920.
The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex.
The 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team is a formation in the British Army with a direct lineage to 7th Armoured Brigade and a history that stretches back to the Napoleonic Wars. It saw active service in the Crimean War, the Second Boer War and both the First and the Second World Wars. In 2014, the 7th Armoured Brigade was re-designated as 7th Infantry Brigade, thereby ensuring that the famed "Desert Rats" continue in the British Army's Order of battle.
The 25th Infantry Brigade was a war-formed infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service during both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 28th Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised for service in World War I.
The Northumberland Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, transferred to the Royal Artillery for the duration of the Second World War. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial Army was greatly reduced. The regiment's name lives on in the title of the command and support squadron of the Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY), a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment based in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Durham Light Infantry Brigade was formed in 1902 to command the part-time Volunteer battalions of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI). Previously these had been in a combined Tyne and Tees Brigade with battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers. It consisted of the 1st–4th Volunteer Battalions of the DLI, which were renumbered as the 5th–8th Battalions when the Volunteers were subsumed into the Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908. Consisting of 6th–9th Battalions, it became part of the TF's Northumbrian Division. During World War I it was numbered as the 151st Brigade on 14 May 1915, when the division became the 50th (Northumbrian) Division. The TF also raised 2nd Line units and formations, and the 190th Brigade was formed in 63rd Division. The 1st Line battalions adopted the prefix '1/'
The 188th Brigade was formed in 1915 as a 2nd Line infantry brigade of the British Army's Territorial Force. It commanded four battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers in the Home Defence role. It was broken up in November 1916 as its battalions were posted away.
The 206th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as a 2nd-Line duplicate of the Essex Brigade of the Territorial Force and formed part of the 69th Division. It served as a training formation in the United Kingdom without going overseas.
217th Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army during the First and the Second World Wars.
170th Brigade was a 2nd-Line infantry formation of the British Territorial Force raised during the First World War that served on the Western Front. The brigade's number was also used for deception purposes during the Second World War.
The 134th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army. It was formed in the First World War as a duplicate of the Hampshire Brigade and was originally formed as the 2nd/1st Hampshire Brigade in 1914–1915 before later being renamed as the 134th Brigade. It was sent overseas to India in December 1914 to relieve Regular Army units for service in France. The brigade remained there for the rest of the war, supplying drafts of replacements to the British units fighting in the Middle East and later complete battalions. By September 1917 the last of its battalions had departed.
The 222nd Infantry Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army that existed under various short-lived titles in both the First and Second World Wars
The 1st Newcastle Engineer Volunteers, later Northumbrian Divisional Engineers, was a Royal Engineer (RE) unit of Britain's Volunteer Force and Territorial Army founded in 1860. Its companies saw action in both World Wars, particularly at the Battle of Rosières and the assault crossing of the River Selle in 1918, and on D-Day in 1944. Its successors continue to serve in today's Army Reserve.
50 (Northumbrian) Signal Regiment was a Territorial Army (TA) unit of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals. It had its origins in a signal company and a cyclist battalion formed in 1908 and it provided the divisional signals for the 50th (Northumbrian) Division and its duplicates during World War II. Its successors continued in the postwar TA until 2009.
The 2nd Northumberland Rifle Volunteer Corps, also referred to as the Tynemouth Rifles, was an infantry unit of Britain's part-time force, the Territorial Army. The corps was raised during the expansion of the Volunteer movement in the 1850s and then served with the Territorial Force during the First World War. It converted to an anti-aircraft role just prior to Second World War, and continued to serve until it was amalgamated in 1950.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)