The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces regiment raised from Britain's East African colonies in 1902. It primarily carried out internal security duties within these colonies along with military service elsewhere during the world wars and other conflicts, such as the Malayan Emergency and the Mau Mau uprising. The regiment's enlisted soldiers were drawn from the native Africans, while most officers were seconded from the British Army. During the 1960s, as part of the decolonisation of Africa, more African officers were commissioned into the regiment before it was gradually disbanded. KAR battalions would go on to form the core of newly established armed forces throughout East Africa.
The 4th Infantry Division was a regular infantry division of the British Army with a very long history, seeing active service in the Peninsular War and Waterloo Campaign, the Crimean and Boer Wars and both World Wars. It was disbanded after the Second World War and reformed in the 1950s as an armoured formation before being disbanded and reformed again and finally disbanded on 1 January 2012.
The 1st (African) Division was a British Empire colonial unit during the Second World War. The division was formed on 24 July 1940 in East Africa. On 24 November of that year, the division was re-designated as the British Army's 11th (African) Division. The division were composed primarily of West African and East African troops. It was disbanded on 23 November 1941 and its component units reassigned.
The 6th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army, created in September 1940 during the Second World War and re-formed in May 1951 in the UK.
The 29th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade unit of the British Army. It was originally raised in 1914 and saw service during the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War.
The Order of battle of the East African campaign shows the ground forces of both sides in East Africa on the date that the Italians declared war on Britain and France, 10 June 1940 and for the British and Commonwealth forces involved in the 1941 offensive.
In September 1939, the British Army was in process of expanding their anti-aircraft and mobile assets. Among these new changes was the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command which was formed on 1 April 1939, and the 1st Armoured Division formed in 1937. The list below will include the British Army units, colonial units, and those units which were in the process of formation.
The 31st Infantry Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army, which participated in both the First and the Second World Wars. The brigade was later reformed after the end of the war serving in the British Army of the Rhine until the end of National Service in 1956, which saw the reorganisation of the brigade as the 11th Infantry Brigade.
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
This page details the South African Army order of battle in 1940, before and after the formation of expeditionary forces.
The Order of battle, Keren 1941 shows Italian army forces that participated in the Battle of Keren from February to March 1941 and British troops in Sudan on 20 January 1941, which participated in military operations against Eritrea during the East African Campaign 1940–1941.
The 21st Infantry Brigade was a brigade sized formation of the British Army, which was founded on 31 August 1939 in British East Africa. The brigade was initially called the 1st Infantry Brigade, but was redesignated on 18 October 1940 as the 21st Infantry Brigade. The brigade was composed of units from the King's African Rifles and the Northern Rhodesia Regiment.
The 22nd Infantry Brigade was a brigade sized formation of the British Army, which was founded on 19 September 1939 at Colito Barracks in Dar es Salaam in British East Africa. The brigade was initially called the 2nd Infantry Brigade, but was redesignated on 18 October 1940 as the 22nd Infantry Brigade. The brigade was composed of units from the King's African Rifles, the Northern Rhodesia Regiment and the Rhodesian African Rifles.
The 27th Infantry Brigade was a brigade sized formation of the British Army, which was founded on 18 September 1940 in Northern Rhodesia. The brigade was initially called the 7th Infantry Brigade, but was redesignated on 3 October 1940 as the 27th Infantry Brigade. In April 1945, the brigade was redesignated to the 27th Infantry Brigade.
