170th (2/1st North Lancashire) Brigade

Last updated

170th (2/1st North Lancashire) Brigade
ActiveNovember 1914–July 1919
November 1943–April 1944
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Branch Flag of the British Army.svg British Army
TypeInfantry Brigade
RoleInfantry and deception
Part of 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division

170th (2/1st North Lancashire) 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.

Contents

Origin

On 31 August 1914, the War Office authorised the formation of a reserve or 2nd-Line unit for each Territorial Force (TF) unit that was proceeding on overseas service. The 2nd/1st North Lancashire Brigade came into existence in November 1914, composed of 2nd-Line duplicates of the battalions of the peacetime North Lancashire Brigade that were due to be sent overseas. The brigade was part of 2nd West Lancashire Division. In August 1915 these formations were assigned numbers, becoming 170th (2nd/1st North Lancashire) Brigade and 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division respectively. [1] [2]

Order of battle

The following units served in the brigade during the war: [1] [2] [3]

Commanders

The following officers commanded the brigade during the war: [1]

History

The formations and units of 57th Division concentrated around Canterbury in early 1915 as part of Second Army, Central Force. Training was hampered by lack of equipment: the infantry trained on obsolete .256-inch Japanese rifles until .303-inch service rifles (many in poor condition) arrived in November 1915. In July 1916, 57th Division was transferred to the Emergency Reserves in the Aldershot area where it continued training. [1] [2] 170 Brigade moved to Blackdown Camp in October. [6]

On 5 January 1917 the division was ready for overseas service, and between 7 and 22 February its units and formations crossed to France and disembarked at Le Havre. On 25 February it took over a section of the Front Line under the command of II ANZAC Corps. 170 Brigade served on the Western Front for the rest of the war, taking part in the following operations: [1]

On 1 November 1918 170 Bde went into billets at Lille, and was still resting when the Armistice with Germany was signed. For the rest of 1918 its units were involved in clearing and evacuating stores from the Arras area. Demobilisation began in January 1919 and units were steadily reduced to cadres. The last cadres of 57th Division left France in July 1919, completing the disbandment of 170 Bde. [1]

Second World War

170 Brigade was never reformed, but the number was used for deception purposes during the Second World War. 30th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, a line of communication unit serving in 42nd Brigade in North Africa and composed mainly of men below Medical Category 'A', was redesignated '170th Infantry Brigade' and acted as if it were a full brigade from November 1943 until April 1944. [8]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Becke, pp. 1–7.
  2. 1 2 3 57th Division at Long, Long Trail
  3. 1 2 "170 Bde at Regimental Warpath". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  4. 1 2 King's Own at Regimental Warpath Archived February 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Training Force battalions at Regimental Warpath Archived November 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 3 4 Loyals at Long, Long Trail
  7. 1 2 3 "Loyals at Regimental Warpath". Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Joslen, pp. 287, 354.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancashire Fusiliers</span> Line infantry regiment of the British Army 1688–1968

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 280 years of existence. In 1968 the regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Fusilier Brigade – the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and the Royal Fusiliers – to form the current Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool Rifles</span> Military unit

The Liverpool Rifles was a unit of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, formed in Lancashire as a 'Rifle Volunteer Corps' (RVC) in 1859, becoming a battalion of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) in 1881. It saw action on the Western Front in the First World War and later became a searchlight unit of the Royal Artillery in the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)</span> Military unit

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 Regiment to form the Queen's Lancashire Regiment which was, in 2006, amalgamated with the King's Own Royal Border Regiment and the King's Regiment (Liverpool and Manchester) to form the Duke of Lancaster Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division</span> Military unit

The 57th Division was an infantry formation of the Territorial Force created in 1914 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It served on the Western Front during 1917 and 1918. The divisional number was reactivated for deception purposes during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">58th (2/1st London) Division</span> Military unit

The 58th Division was an infantry division created in 1915 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It was a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 56th Division. After training in Britain, the division joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front in 1917. It saw action at the battles of Arras and Passchedaele in 1917 and the German spring offensive in 1918. It then took part in the Battle of Amiens and the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive of the war. The division was recreated during the Second World War, as an imaginary deception formation.

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/'

<span class="mw-page-title-main">59th (2nd North Midland) Division</span> Former British Army infantry division

The 59th Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in late 1914/early 1915 as a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 46th Division. After training in the United Kingdom and saw service in the Easter Rising in April 1916, the division joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front in early 1917. It saw action at Ypres and Cambrai, and was almost destroyed during the German Army's Spring Offensive in March 1918. The reconstituted division took part in the final advances of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">140th (4th London) Brigade</span> Military unit

The 140th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) that had its origins in a South London Brigade of the former Volunteer Force. It served on the Western Front in the First World War and was recreated during the Second World War where it served only in the United Kingdom as a training formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">141st (5th London) Brigade</span> Military unit

The 141st Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, that served in the First World War and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the Second World War.

The 142nd Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, that served in the First and the Second World Wars, and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the latter.

The 214th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as a second line brigade of the Territorial Force and initially assigned to the 71st Division for coast defence. Later it was reorganised as an all-arms brigade group for service in North Russia, but this was cancelled and it was reassigned to the 67th Division, a training and home defence formation, until the end of the war.

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.

171st 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.

172nd 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 226th Infantry Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army that existed under various short-lived titles in both World War I and World War II.

71st Division was a short-lived infantry division of the British Army during the First World War. It served in the Home Defence forces and never went overseas.

73rd Division was a short-lived infantry division of the British Army during World War I. It served in Home Forces and never went overseas.

The Preston Rifles, later the 4th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, was a volunteer unit of the British Army from 1859 until the 1950s. It served as infantry on the Western Front and in Ireland during the First World War, and as an air defence unit during The Blitz and the campaign in North West Europe during the Second World War.

The Bolton Rifles, later the 5th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, was a volunteer unit of the British Army from 1859 until 1967. It served on the Western Front during the First World War, and in the Far East during the Second World War, when one battalion was captured at the Fall of Singapore.

The 6th Battalion, Royal Scots, was a unit of Britain's part-time Territorial Force. Beginning as a Volunteer unit formed from teetotallers in the city of Edinburgh in 1867, it later became affiliated to the Royal Scots. During World War I it served in the Senussi Campaign and on the Western Front. Postwar it was converted into a medium artillery battery.

References

External sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.