43rd Brigade 43rd Infantry Brigade 43 (Wessex) Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 21 August 1914–24 March 1919 16 August 1943–30 June 1944 1985–2014 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Size | Brigade |
Part of | 14th (Light) Division Allied Force Headquarters Support Command |
Garrison/HQ | Jellalabad Barracks, Tidworth Camp |
Engagements | Battle of the Somme Battle of Arras Third Battle of Ypres German spring offensive Hundred Days Offensive |
43rd Brigade (43rd Bde) was an infantry formation of the British Army during both World Wars. It was formed in August 1914 as part of Kitchener's Army and was assigned to the 14th (Light) Division, serving on the Western Front. It was reformed in 1943 as an internal security formation for North Africa and was later employed for deception purposes in Sicily. As 43 (Wessex) Brigade it was a regional headquarters in the UK from 1985 to 2014.
On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army. The newly-appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. Men flooded into the recruiting offices and the 'first hundred thousand' were enlisted within days. [1] [2] Army Order No 324 of 21 August authorised six new infantry divisions to be formed from these recruits, which became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'. The senior of these division was to be 8th (Light) Division composed of battalions drawn from light infantry and rifle regiments of the British Army, with three brigades numbered 23rd, 24th and 25th. This formation began assembling at Aldershot. However, it soon emerged that sufficient Regular Army battalions would be brought back from overseas garrisons to form an additional division: this became 8th Division, and the Kitchener division was renumbered on 14 September as the 14th (Light) Division, its brigades becoming 41st, 42nd and 43rd. [3] [4]
The brigade was composed as follows: [3] [4]
Following massive casualties during the German spring offensive all infantry battalions of 14th (L) Division were reduced to training cadres (TCs) in April. Various other units were attached to the division during May to work on the Lillers–Steenbecque–Morbecque defence line. The division then proceeded to Brookwood in England on 17 June to be reconstituted at Pirbright Camp with troops of medical category B. 43rd Brigade was then composed as follows: [3] [4]
14th (Light) Division crossed to France in May 1915 and completed its concentration around Watten, north-west of Saint-Omer, by 25 May. Thereafter it served on the Western Front in the following operations: [3] [4]
1915
1916
1917
1918
Following casualties in the German spring offensive, 14th (L) Division was withdrawn to England to be reconstituted (see above). It returned to the Western Front in July and participated in the following actions:
Following the Armistice with Germany demobilisation of 14th (L) Division began in December 1918 and the division and is formations ceased to exist on 24 March 1919. [3]
The following officers commanded the brigade: [3]
The formation sign of 14th (L) Division was a light infantry green rectangle crossed by two white lines, one horizontal the other diagonal. [8] Within the division the units wore a variety of identifying signs; for 43rd Bde these were: [9]
The brigade was reformed in Britain on 16 August 1943, for Lines of Communication and security force duties in North Africa. Landing in North Africa on 23 September 1943, it moved to Sicily on 5 November 1943 where it was redesignated on 9 November as the '40th Infantry Division' for deception purposes. Its battalions were similarly redesignated as 'brigades'. [10] '... every effort was made to appear to be a division. This included the adoption of a divisional sign featuring the diamond and acorn [based on] the Great War 40th Division; these were made up locally and worn on uniform by the personnel of the "division" – in reality, three battalions of low medical category men armed with personal weapons only and with a skeleton complement of transport.' [11] The deception titles lapsed on 17 June 1944 and the headquarters was disbanded on 30 June. [10]
The brigade's commander was Brigadier G.H.P. Whitfield, appointed 19 August 1943. He was given the local rank of Major-General while the brigade purported to be '40th Division'. [10]
In 1985 the 43rd (Wessex) Brigade was formed as one of the new one-star Headquarters, principally as a National Defence Brigade commanding the Territorial Army in the south west of England, part of South West District. Its number perpetuated the memory of the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division.
The Brigade assisted with recruiting and public relations in its area, which encompassed Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, the Channel Islands and Isles of Scilly. [12] Its responsibilities included the annual Ten Tors walking challenge on Dartmoor. [12]
In 1995 the restructuring programme within the British Army saw an increase in the brigade's responsibility to include regional and budgetary aspects working to a new superior headquarters: 3rd Division. The Strategic Defence Review of 1998 further increased the brigade's responsibility and as from 1 April 1999 it came under the command of Headquarters 4th Division, and moved from Exeter to Bulford Camp in September 1999 to establish the new Headquarters 43rd (Wessex) Brigade.
The 43 (Wessex) Brigade was transferred to 4th Division on 1 April 2007, and then came under Support Command in late 2011. [19]
The brigade was disbanded at Jellalabad Barracks, Tidworth, in December 2014 under the Army 2020 plan. Units and personnel from the brigade merged with Royal Artillery regiments to form 1st Artillery Brigade and Headquarters South West. [20] [21]
The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast marching rifle or light infantry regiments, hence the title "Light". It fought on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War.
The division was disbanded by March 1919, and was not reformed in the Second World War.
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The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete formation. It was reformed in the TA in 1920, and then served in the campaign in North West Europe from June 1944 until May 1945, during the Second World War. The division suffered heavy casualties and gained an excellent reputation. After the Second World War, the division formed part of the postwar TA, and became the 43rd (Wessex) Division/District in 1961. It was finally disbanded in 1967.
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