306th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

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306th Infantry Brigade
ActiveFormed 22 January 1945
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Branch Flag of the British Army.svg British Army
TypeInfantry Brigade
RoleLines of Communication
Part of 21st Army Group

306th Infantry Brigade (306 Bde) was a British Army formation organised towards the end of the Second World War from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel who had been retrained as infantry.

Contents

Origin

By the end of 1944, 21st Army Group was suffering a severe manpower shortage, particularly among the infantry. [1] In January 1945, the War Office began to reorganise surplus anti-aircraft and coastal artillery regiments in the UK into infantry battalions, primarily for lines of communication and occupation duties in North West Europe, thereby releasing trained infantry for frontline service. [2] [3] 306th was one of seven brigades formed from these new units. [4] [5]

Composition

306th Infantry Brigade was formed on 22 January 1945 by the conversion of Headquarters 55th Light AA Bde, which was part of 2 Anti-Aircraft Group. It was commanded by Brigadier W.R. Harvey and comprised the following Territorial Army RA units: [4] [5] [6]

Service

After infantry training, including a short period attached to Southern Command, 306 Bde came under the orders of 21st Army Group on 4 May 1945, and landed on the Continent three days later. [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ellis, pp. 141–2.
  2. ↑ Ellis, pp. 369, 380.
  3. ↑ "RA 1939–45 Infantry Regts Index".
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Joslen, pp. 402–3.
  5. 1 2 "RA 1939-45 45 306 Infantry Brigade".
  6. ↑ Ellis, Appendix IV, p. 369.
  7. ↑ "RA 1939-1945 623 Infantry Regt".
  8. ↑ "RA 1939-45 128 LAA".
  9. ↑ "RA 1939-45 628 Infantry Rgt".
  10. ↑ "RA 1939-45 82 LAA".
  11. ↑ "RA 1939-45 87 SL Rgt".
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Joslen, p. 463.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Ellis, Appendix IV, p. 380.
  14. ↑ "RA 1939-45 636 Infantry Rgt".
  15. ↑ "RA 1939-45 48 SL Rgt".
  16. ↑ "5 Anti-Aircraft Division" (PDF). britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  17. ↑ Litchfield, p. 97.
  18. ↑ "RA 1939-1945 626 Infantry Regt".
  19. ↑ "97 Light AA Regiment RA(TA)".
  20. ↑ "601 Infantry Regiment RA(TA)". The Royal Artillery: 1939-1945.
  21. ↑ "RA 1939-45 49 Garrison Rgt".
  22. ↑ "RA 1939-45 49 SL Rgt".
  23. ↑ "6th Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment". 2006-01-05. Archived from the original on 2006-01-05. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
  24. ↑ "RA 1939-45 608 Infantry Rgt".
  25. ↑ "RA 1939-45 67 Garrison Rgt".
  26. ↑ "RA 1939-45 67 SL Rgt".
  27. ↑ "6th (Glamorgan) Battalion, The Welch Regiment". 2006-01-17. Archived from the original on 2006-01-17. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
  28. ↑ "RA 1939-45 612 Infantry Rgt".
  29. ↑ "RA 1939-45 61 Garrison Rgt".
  30. ↑ "RA 1939-45 61 SL Rgt".
  31. ↑ Mullaly, p. 376.

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References

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