| 308th Infantry Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | Formed 22 January 1945 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry Brigade |
| Role | Lines of Communication |
308th Infantry Brigade (308 Bde) was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
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 line of communication and occupation duties in North West Europe, thereby releasing trained infantry for frontline service. [2] [3] 308th was the last of seven brigades formed from these new units. [4] [5]
308th Infantry Brigade was formed on 22 January 1945 by conversion of Headquarters 61st Anti-Aircraft Brigade within 4 Anti-Aircraft Group. It was commanded by Brigadier R.R.B. Hilton and comprised the following Territorial Army RA units: [4] [6]
After infantry training, including a short period attached to 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division, 308 Bde came under the orders of 21st Army Group on 27 April 1945 and landed on the Continent two days later. It came under the control of Maasforce (4–22 May) and then I Canadian Corps. [4]
The 301st Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
The 303rd Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
The 305th Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
306th Infantry Brigade 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.
307th Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of the Second World War.
45th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, was a British Territorial Army (TA) unit formed in July 1940. After serving in Anti-Aircraft Command during the Battle of Britain and The Blitz, it went to North Africa as part of Operation Torch] and fought in Tunisia and Italy. It ended World War II as a garrison regiment.
27th Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an Air Defence formation of the British Army in World War II that served in The Blitz and later converted to infantry.
28th Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of the British Territorial Army created in 1925 to command anti-aircraft units in Kent and around the militarily important Medway Towns, which it defended during the Second World War. In 1940 the brigade was responsible for the defences on the south side of the Thames Estuary including the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham and the Port of Dover. The brigade was heavily engaged throughout the Battle of Britain, in the summer of 1940, and The Blitz, from autumn 1940 to spring 1941, operating a total of 70 heavy anti-aircraft (HAA) guns controlled from a gun operations room (GOR) at Chatham. During 1942 many of the brigade's experienced units were transferred to active theatres overseas. Increasingly the brigade included women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS).
The 28th (Essex) Searchlight Regiment was a volunteer air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) from 1935 until 1961, at first as part of the Royal Engineers, later in the Royal Artillery. During the Second World War it defended the approaches to London in The Blitz and Operation Diver before becoming a garrison unit in the liberation of Norway.
The 38th Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army formed just before World War II, which protected London and Southern England during the Blitz and later converted into an infantry formation for the liberation of Europe.
The 30th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army from 1936 until 1955, which defended Tyneside and Sunderland during World War II.
The 31st Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army from 1936 until 1948. During World War II it defended West Yorkshire and later participated in the North West Europe campaign.
The 33rd (Western) Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Anti-Aircraft Command of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, formed shortly before the outbreak of World War II. It defended Merseyside and West Lancashire during The Blitz.
48th (Hampshire) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed just before the outbreak of World War II from existing searchlight companies of the Royal Engineers. It served in Anti-Aircraft Command until 1944, including the Portsmouth Blitz and Operation Diver. At the end of the war it formed an infantry unit for garrison duties in liberated Europe. It continued in the postwar TA until AA Command was disbanded in 1955.
The 51st (Highland) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was a Scottish unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed for air defence just before World War II. It later served as an anti-aircraft (AA) artillery unit in the North West Europe Campaign 1944–45, and continued in the postwar TA into the 1950s.
The 59th (Warwickshire) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was an air defence unit of the Territorial Army (TA), part of the British Army, and was raised in Birmingham in 1938 just before the Second World War. It later served as a light anti-aircraft gun unit and continued in the postwar TA.
The 37th Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed just before the outbreak of World War II. It was engaged in defending the Thames Estuary during the war, and continued to form part of Anti-Aircraft Command in the postwar era.
The 1st Devonshire Artillery Volunteers and its successor units served in the British Army's Reserve Forces from 1859 to 1961. During World War I it carried out garrison duty in British India but went on to see active service in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Converting to an air defence role before World War II its units participated in the Norwegian campaign and the Dunkirk evacuation, the Battle of Britain and then the campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and Burma
73rd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery was a West Midlands-based volunteer air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) raised in 1937. During World War II, it served in the Battle of France, The Blitz, Egypt, Sicily and Italy. Postwar, its successor regiments continued to serve until 1967, and a battery descended from the regiment forms part of today's Army Reserve
68th Searchlight Regiment was a part-time air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army converted from an infantry battalion just before World War II. It served in Anti-Aircraft Command defending the West of England until almost the end of the war, when it was converted back into an infantry battalion for occupation duties in North West Europe. Postwar it served on in the air defence role until the disbandment of AA Command in 1955.