32nd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

Last updated
32nd Brigade
32nd Infantry Brigade (Guards)
Active19141919
19411946
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Infantry
Size Brigade
Part of 11th (Northern) Division
Guards Armoured Division
Engagements First World War
Second World War
Commanders
Notable
commanders
John Ormsby Evelyn Vandeleur

The 32nd Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army that saw active service during both the First and the Second World Wars.

Contents

First World War

The Brigade was raised originally as the 32nd Infantry Brigade, part of the 11th (Northern) Division, a New Army formation which served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during the First World War. [1]

Order of battle

Second World War

Infantrymen of the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards, Guards Armoured Division, moving up to the front line, July 1944. The British Army in the Normandy Campaign 1944 B5671.jpg
Infantrymen of the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards, Guards Armoured Division, moving up to the front line, July 1944.

The Brigade was reformed as 32nd Infantry Brigade (Guards) on 1 October 1941, during the Second World War. In 1942, the brigade joined the Guards Armoured Division, and later saw service during Operation Overlord, the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine, including Operation Market Garden, and the Western Allied invasion of Germany.

Order of battle

Commanders

Postwar

The Brigade was reraised in the early 1950s and joined the 3rd Infantry Division. The Brigade was moved from Cyprus to reinforce the British forces in the Canal Zone in February 1952, but was later disbanded by being redesignated 29th Infantry Brigade.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

11th (Northern) Division British Army 11th (Northern) Division in WWI

The 11th (Northern) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, raised from men who had volunteered for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front. The division's insignia was an ankh or ankhus.

6th (United Kingdom) Division

The 6th Division is an infantry division of the British Army. It was first established by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsular War as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army and was active for most of the period since, including the First World War and the Second World War. The modern division was reformed on 1 February 2008, as a deployable two star Headquarters for service in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick. The division was officially reformed with a parade and flag presentation at York on 5 August 2008 and then disbanded in April 2011.

8th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

The 8th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was active in both the First and Second World Wars. The division was first formed in October 1914 during the First World War, initially consisting mainly of soldiers of the Regular Army and served on the Western Front throughout the war, sustaining many casualties, before disbandment in 1919. The division was reactivated in Palestine, under the command of Major-General Bernard Montgomery, in the late 1930s in the years running up to the Second World War before being disbanded in late February 1940. It was briefly reformed in Syria in an administrative role during 1942-3.

160th (Welsh) Brigade

160 (Welsh) Brigade or Brigâd 160 (Cymru), previously 160 Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Wales, is a regional brigade of the British Army that has been in existence since 1908, and saw service during both World War I and World War II, as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division. It is a regional command responsible for all of Wales. The Brigade is also regionally aligned with the Eastern European and Central Asian regions as part of defence engagement. The brigade organises an annual patrolling competition in the Brecon Beacons, known as Exercise Cambrian Patrol.

32nd Division (United Kingdom)

The 32nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was raised in 1914, during the First World War. The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, made up of infantry 'Pals battalions' and artillery brigades raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the War Office in September 1915. It served in France and Belgium in the trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war. It saw action at the Battle of the Somme, the Pursuit to the Hindenburg Line, the Defence of Nieuport, the German spring offensive, and the Allied Hundred Days Offensive beginning at the Battle of Amiens. After the Armistice it marched into Germany as part of the Army of Occupation.

24th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 24th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army from the First World War. It was reraised during the Second World War, as the 24th Infantry Brigade (Guards). During various designations, the brigade was active throughout the Cold War and existed until 1999, when it was merged with the 5th Airborne Brigade to become the 16 Air Assault Brigade.

56th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 56th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars.

36th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 36th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of British Army that fought in the First World War, as part of 12th (Eastern) Division, on the Western Front. The brigade also fought in the Second World War, with the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division, in France, and later with 78th Infantry Division in Tunisia and Italy.

11th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters South East

The 11th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters South East is a regular British Army brigade formation that is part of the Army's 'Adaptable Force' meaning it has operational units under command, as well as regional responsibilities across the South East of England. The Brigade was re-established on 1 August 2014 when 145 (South) Brigade was re-designated as Headquarters 11th Infantry Brigade. In December 2014 the brigade merged with 2 Brigade to form Headquarters 11th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters South East. 11th Infantry Brigade is also regionally aligned with the southern and eastern African region as part of defence engagement.

40th Division (United Kingdom)

The 40th Division was an infantry division of the British Army active during the First World War, where it served on the Western Front. It was a division of Lord Kitchener's New Army volunteers, mostly "bantam" recruits of below regulation height. It was later briefly reformed as a fictional deception formation in the Second World War, and during the early years of the Cold War was recreated a third time to garrison Hong Kong.

12th Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade, formerly the 12th Mechanized Brigade, is a regular brigade of the British Army which has been in almost continuous existence since 1899 and now forms part of 3rd Division.

The 25th Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised as part of Lord Kitchener's Third New Army (K3) in September 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the Great War. It served on the Western Front for most of the war.

146th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 146th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force with the 49th Infantry Division. The brigade saw active service during both the First and the Second World Wars, and during the early part of the Cold War. The brigade was active from 1908 until 1967 when it was finally disbanded. The brigade was reformed in 1983, though with a much smaller and insignificant role before finally disbanding again in 1993.

Yorkshire Hussars

The Yorkshire Hussars was an auxiliary unit of the British Army formed in 1794. The regiment was formed as volunteer cavalry (Yeomanry) in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars and served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. It was converted to an armoured role during the Second World War. In 1956, it merged with two other Yorkshire yeomanry regiments to form the Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry. Its lineage is continued today by the Queen's Own Yeomanry.

158th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 158th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that served in both the First and Second World Wars, before being disbanded in 1968. Throughout its existence the brigade was assigned to the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division and was composed almost entirely of Territorial battalions from the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

During the First World War the British Armed Forces was enlarged to many times its peacetime strength. This was done mainly by adding new battalions to existing regiments. Although sometimes identified by shoulder titles, generally the new battalions could not be identified from appearance. Consequently, the units in this list have been assembled considering only those as having a uniquely different cap badge.

The 21st Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army.

The 113th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army active in both World War I and World War II.

The Yorkshire Mounted Brigade was a formation of Britain's part-time Territorial Force organised in 1908. Mobilised on the outbreak of World War I, its regiments had been posted away by 1915 so it was broken up. It never saw active service.

References

  1. F. G. Spring, 'Appendix III: 11th (Northern) Division', The History of the 6th (Service) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment (Poacher Books, 2008), 108.