230th Brigade (United Kingdom)

Last updated

3rd Dismounted Brigade
230th Brigade
74th (Yeomanry) Division (230th Brigade) formation sign.svg
ActiveFebruary 1916–July 1919
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
TypeDismounted Yeomanry
Size Brigade
Part of 74th (Yeomanry) Division
Engagements First World War

The 3rd Dismounted Brigade was a formation of the British Army in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 by absorbing the Eastern Mounted Brigade and the South Eastern Mounted Brigade. The brigade served as part of the Western Frontier Force and the Suez Canal Defences.

Contents

In January 1917, the brigade was reorganized and redesignated as the 230th Brigade and joined the 74th (Yeomanry) Division in March. It served with the division in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and on the Western Front.

3rd Dismounted Brigade

The 3rd Dismounted Brigade, commanded by Henry Hodgson, was formed in Egypt on 22 February 1916 by absorbing the Eastern Mounted Brigade and the South Eastern Mounted Brigade. [1]

The Eastern Mounted Brigade had served dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign from 8 October to 19 December 1915 attached to the 54th (East Anglian) Division. [2] Similarly, the South Eastern Mounted Brigade served in Gallipoli from 8 October to 30 December 1915 attached to the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. [3] Both brigades were withdrawn to Egypt in December 1915 and formed part of the Suez Canal Defences. The 2nd Dismounted Brigade was formed with the following composition: [4]

The brigade served as part of the Suez Canal Defences from 14 March to 26 July attached to 42nd (East Lancashire) Division; [4] it then joined the Western Frontier Force. [1] By the end of the year, it was back on the Suez. [5]

230th Brigade

The brigade was with the Suez Canal Defences when, on 14 January 1917, Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) Order No. 26 instructed that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Dismounted Brigades be reorganized as the 229th, 230th and 231st Brigades. [5] Consequently, the 3rd Dismounted Brigade was redesignated 230th Brigade on 14 January. [6] The brigade units were reorganized in January and February 1917: [6]

The remaining yeomanry regiment, 1/1st Welsh Horse, was amalgamated with 1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry of 4th Dismounted Brigade at Helmie on 4 March 1917 and redesignated 25th (Montgomery and Welsh Horse Yeomanry) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers. It joined 231st Brigade on 5 April. [6]

On 23 February, the GOC EEF (Lt-Gen Sir A.J. Murray) sought permission from the War Office to form the 229th, 230th and 231st Brigades into a new division. The War Office granted permission and the new 74th (Yeomanry) Division started to form. The 230th Brigade joined the division at Deir el Balah between 9 and 13 April. [5] 230th Brigade remained with 74th (Yeomanry) Division for the rest of the war. [7]

Palestine 1917–18

With the 74th Division, the brigade took part in the invasion of Palestine in 1917 and 1918. It fought in the Second and Third Battles of Gaza (including the capture of Beersheba and the Sheria Position). At the end of 1917, it took part in the capture and defence of Jerusalem and in March 1918 in the Battle of Tell 'Asur. On 3 April 1918, the Division was warned that it would move to France and by 30 April 1918 had completed embarkation at Alexandria. [5]

Before departure for France, the 209th Machine Gun Company joined 4th (of 229th Brigade), 210th (of 231st Brigade) and 261st MG Companies to form 74th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps. It concentrated at Alexandria between 17 and 30 April and departed for France with the division on the latter date. [6]

France and Flanders 1918

In May 1918, the brigade landed at Marseille, France with 74th (Yeomanry) Division. It served in France and Flanders with the division for the rest of the war. By 18 May, the division had concentrated around Rue in the Abbeville area. Here the dismounted Yeomanry underwent training for service on the Western Front, particularly gas defence. [7]

Due to a lack of replacements, British [lower-alpha 8] infantry divisions on the Western Front had been reduced from 12 to 9 battalions in January and February 1918. [8] To conform with this new structure, on 21 June, 12th Royal Scots Fusiliers (of 229th Brigade), 12th Norfolk Regiment and 24th Royal Welsh Fusiliers (of 231st Brigade) left 74th (Yeomanry) Division. [6] They were used to reconstitute 94th Brigade of 31st Division which was renamed 94th (Yeomanry) Brigade on that date. [9]

On 14 July 1918 the Yeomanry Division went into the line for the first time, near Merville on the right of XI Corps. From September 1918, as part of III Corps of Fourth Army, it took part in the Hundred Days Offensive including the Second Battle of the Somme (Second Battle of Bapaume) and the Battles of the Hindenburg Line (Battle of Épehy). In October and November 1918 it took part in the Final Advance in Artois and Flanders. By the Armistice it was near Tournai, Belgium, still with 74th (Yeomanry) Division. [7]

With the end of the war, the troops of 74th Division were engaged in railway repair work and education was undertaken while demobilisation began. The division and its subformations were disbanded on 10 July 1919. [7]

Commanders

The 3rd Dismounted Brigade [4] / 230th Brigade had the following commanders during its existence: [10]

FromRankName
22 February 1916 Brigadier-General H. W. Hodgson
18 February 1917 Brigadier-General A. J. McNeill (sick, 12 December 1917)
12 December 1917 Lieutenant-Colonel F. W. Jarvis (acting)
21 December 1917Brigadier-GeneralH. B. Orpen-Palmer
12 February 1918Brigadier-GeneralW. J. Bowker
1 July 1918Brigadier-General A. A. Kennedy

Colonel H.W. Hodgson (promoted to Brigadier-General on 5 August 1914) was the commander of the Eastern Mounted Brigade from 1 April 1912. He took command of 3rd Dismounted Brigade on formation. [11]

See also

Notes

  1. 1/1st Royal East Kent Yeomanry and 1/1st West Kent Yeomanry were amalgamated on 1 February 1917 and redesignated 10th Buffs.
  2. 1/1st Norfolk Yeomanry was reorganized on 7 February and redesignated 12th Norfolk Regiment on 11 February.
  3. 1/1st Suffolk Yeomanry was reorganized on 5 January and redesignated 15th Suffolk Regiment on 19 February.
  4. 1/1st Sussex Yeomanry was reorganized on 3 January and redesignated 16th Royal Sussex Regiment on 28 February.
  5. 3rd Dismounted Brigade Machine Gun Company redesignated on 14 January.
  6. Formed in the brigade on 27 May 1917.
  7. 1/Eastern and 1/South Eastern Mounted Brigade Field Ambulances were amalgamated as 230th Field Ambulance on 14 January 1917.
  8. As distinct from the Australian, Canadian and the New Zealand divisions which remained on a 12-battalion basis.

Related Research Articles

The 2nd Mounted Division was a yeomanry division that served in the First World War. At the outbreak of war it was assigned to defence of the Norfolk coast. In March 1915 it formed a 2nd Line duplicate of itself, the 2/2nd Mounted Division. Leaving the 2/2nd on coastal defence, it then fought at Gallipoli from April to December 1915, under the command of Major General William Peyton, before being disbanded in January 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">74th (Yeomanry) Division</span> Military unit

The 74th (Yeomanry) Division was a Territorial Force infantry division formed in Palestine in early 1917 from three dismounted yeomanry brigades. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, mostly as part of XX Corps. In May 1918 it was sent to the Western Front where it remained until the end of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheshire Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Cheshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment that can trace its history back to 1797 when Sir John Leicester of Tabley raised a county regiment of light cavalry in response to the growing fears of invasion from Napoleonic France. Its lineage is maintained by C Squadron, the Queen's Own Yeomanry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shropshire Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Shropshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1795, which served as a cavalry and dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and as a cavalry and an artillery regiment in the Second World War. It was then amalgamated with the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery.

The Royal East Kent Yeomanry was a British Army regiment formed in 1794. It saw action in the Second Boer War and the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry was a British Army regiment formed in 1794. It served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. It amalgamated with the Royal East Kent Yeomanry to form the Kent Yeomanry in 1920.

The Welsh Horse Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army that served in the First World War. The regiment was raised shortly after the outbreak of the war. Initially it served in East Anglia on anti-invasion duties, before being dismounted in 1915 and sent to take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. After withdrawal to Egypt, it was amalgamated with the 1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry as the 25th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers and served as such throughout the rest of the war. It took part in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in 1917 and 1918, before being transferred to the Western Front where it remained until the end of the war. The regiment formed 2nd and 3rd Lines in 1914, but these never left the United Kingdom before being disbanded in 1916 and early 1917, respectively. The 1st Line was disbanded in 1919.

The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1798, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal Devon Yeomanry.

The London Mounted Brigade was a yeomanry brigade of the British Army, formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">231st Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 231st Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars. In each case it was formed by redesignation of existing formations. In the First World War, it fought in Palestine and on the Western Front, while during the Second World War it served in the Allied invasion of Sicily, Italy and the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">229th Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 2nd Dismounted Brigade was a formation of the British Army in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 by absorbing the Highland Mounted Brigade and the 2nd South Western Mounted Brigade. In October it absorbed the remnants of the 1st Dismounted Brigade. The brigade served as part of the Western Frontier Force and the Suez Canal Defences.

The Eastern Mounted Brigade was a formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army, organised in 1908. After serving dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign, it was absorbed into the 3rd Dismounted Brigade in Egypt in February 1916.

The South Eastern Mounted Brigade was a formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army, organised in 1908. After service in the Gallipoli Campaign, it was absorbed into the 3rd Dismounted Brigade in Egypt in February 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British yeomanry during the First World War</span> Part of the British Army reserve Territorial Force

The British yeomanry during the First World War were part of the British Army reserve Territorial Force. Initially, in 1914, there were fifty-seven regiments and fourteen mounted brigades. Soon after the declaration of war, second and third line regiments were formed. However, the third line regiments were soon absorbed into the Cavalry Reserve Regiments, to supply replacements for the cavalry and yeomanry. Other horsed regiments in the British Army, during the war, were the regular cavalry regiments and the three regiments belonging to the special reserve: the North Irish Horse, the South Irish Horse and the King Edward's Horse. The senior yeomanry regiments could trace their origins back over 100 years; the oldest regiment, the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, had been formed in 1794. The most junior regiment, the Welsh Horse, had only been formed on 18 August 1914, after the start of the war.

The Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1794, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal North Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal Devon Yeomanry.

The 1st Dismounted Brigade was a formation of the British Army in World War I. It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 by absorbing the Lowland and Scottish Horse Mounted Brigades. The brigade was on Suez Canal defences attached to the 52nd (Lowland) Division and was broken up in October 1916.

The 1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry was an active service unit formed by the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry during World War I. It was sent to garrison Egypt and then amalgamated with another dismounted cavalry unit to form an infantry battalion, the 25th Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Serving in the 74th (Yeomanry) Division it participated in the Sinai and Palestine campaign, including the capture of Beersheba and Jerusalem. Moving with the division to the Western Front it fought in the final campaign, including the desperate Battle of Épehy, until the Armistice. The regiment won two Victoria Crosses during its service. It was disbanded after the war.

The 1/1st Pembroke Yeomanry was an active service unit formed by the Pembroke Yeomanry during World War I. It was sent to garrison Egypt and then amalgamated with another dismounted cavalry unit to form an infantry battalion, the 24th Battalion of the Welsh Regiment. Serving in the 74th (Yeomanry) Division it participated in the Sinai and Palestine campaign, including the capture of Beersheba and Jerusalem. Moving with the division to the Western Front it fought in the final campaign, including the desperate Battle of Épehy, until the Armistice. It was disbanded after the war.

The 1/1st Denbighshire Hussars was an active service unit formed by the Denbighshire Hussars during World War I. It was sent to garrison Egypt and then formed an infantry battalion, the 24th Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Serving in the 74th (Yeomanry) Division it participated in the Sinai and Palestine campaign, including the capture of Beersheba and Jerusalem. Moving to the Western Front it fought with the 31st Divisionin the final advance in Flanders until the Armistice. It was disbanded after the war.

The Structure of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force over the course of the First World War is shown below.

References

  1. 1 2 Chappell, PB. "3rd Dismounted Brigade". The Regimental Warpath 1914-18. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  2. Westlake 1996 , pp. 271, 277, 278, 282
  3. Westlake 1996 , pp. 260, 261, 279
  4. 1 2 3 Becke 1936 , p. 37
  5. 1 2 3 4 Becke 1937 , p. 121
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Becke 1937 , p. 119
  7. 1 2 3 4 Becke 1937 , p. 122
  8. Haythornthwaite 1996 , p. 217
  9. Becke 1945 , p. 16
  10. Becke 1937 , p. 117
  11. Becke 1936 , p. 2

Bibliography