| 44th Brigade 44th Infantry Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1914-1918 1939-1946 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division |
| Engagements | First World War Second World War |
The 44th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars, and served with the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division.
The brigade was raised, as 44th Brigade, in 1914 as part of Kitchener's New Armies shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. With the 15th (Scottish) Division, the brigade saw active service on the Western Front in Belgium and France.
The brigade command the following units: [1]
In May 1916 the 8th and 10th (Service) battalions of the Gordon Highlanders merged to form the 8th/10th Battalion.
The North Uist-born war poet Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna, a highly important figure in 20th century Scottish Gaelic literature, saw combat with the 7th (Service) Battalion King's Own Cameron Highlanders, 44th Infantry Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division during the trench warfare along the Western Front and vividly described his war experiences in verse. [2]
The brigade was also active during the Second World War as the 44th Infantry Brigade, the formation was organised as a 2nd Line Territorial Army Brigade as a duplicate of the 155th Infantry Brigade, and again formed part of 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, which was itself the duplicate of the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division. [3] Throughout the war the brigade went through many changes and reorganisations.
The brigade had the following composition: [4]
The brigade remained in England at the Dene Park battle school near Tonbridge, for most of the war, before crossing the channel to fight in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord on 13 June 1944, a week after D-Day on 6 June. The brigade was now commanded by Brigadier Harry Cumming-Bruce.
On 7 November 1942, 181st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery ('The Shropshire Gunners') was assigned to the division and began training with 44th Brigade, with whose units it would operate in action: [6] [7]
Operation Epsom was an attack by the British Second Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey, which was intended to outflank and seize Caen in France during the Battle of Normandy. It failed with heavy casualties but forced the Germans to abandon their offensive plans in Normandy and tied most of their armoured units to a defensive role. [8]
A preliminary attack, Operation Martlet, was launched on June 25 by the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division of XXX Corps, to secure ground on the flank of the intended advance. The attack gained some ground but the weather was still foul and the attackers were hampered by muddy ground and lack of air support. Some dominating terrain on the right flank of the intended attack by VIII Corps was still in German hands.
Nevertheless, to be certain of anticipating any German attack the main attack was launched on June 26. Although held up on parts of the front by infantry of 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division and the 31st Armoured Brigade gained four miles on their left flank. Further to their left the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division also gained ground. John Keegan described their advance:
"…The division was attacking two brigades up, which meant that six of its infantry battalions were in the first wave, with the other three waiting in the rear to support the leaders. As each brigade also attacked two up, however, this meant there were in fact only four battalions on the start line, each strung out along a front of about 1,000 yards. And since each battalion, about 750 men strong, likewise kept two of their four companies in reserve, the true number of men who started forward into the cornfields that morning was probably no more than 700. They are best pictured, as they would have looked from the cockpit of any passing spotter aircraft, as 24 groups of 30 riflemen, called platoons, separated by intervals of about 150 yards…Each platoon consisted of three smaller groups, called sections, which were led by a corporal, and were based on the Bren machine gun which gave them their firepower…". [9]
On June 27, after repulsing small armoured counter-attacks, the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division gained more ground and captured a bridge over the River Odon. The 11th Armoured Division passed through to capture Hill 112, a mile to the southeast. This deep penetration alarmed the German command and Hausser was ordered to commit his units to contain and eliminate the Allied salient. The German command was in some disarray, as General Dollmann, commanding the German Seventh Army died of a heart attack immediately after ordering Hausser to mount the counter-attack and Field marshals Rommel and von Rundstedt were en route to a conference with Adolf Hitler and out of touch with their headquarters.
The British forces included the men of the 11th Armoured Division, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division and 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division. Principal among the units fighting on Hill 112, and the tanks of 7th and 9th Royal Tank Regiments, plus numerous other units. Approximately 63,000 men over a period of seven weeks fought on and around Hill 112. [8]
The main attack on Hill 112 was designed to fix the German panzers and gain 'elbow room' in what was still a tight beachhead. The German defenders endured naval bombardment, air attack and artillery fire but held their ground, crucially supported by Tiger II tanks from the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion. These tanks armed with the 88 mm gun had both greater protection and firepower and outclassed the opposing British Churchill and Sherman tanks.
Even though the hill was not captured and remained in no-man's-land between the two armies, important surrounding villages had been taken. Above all, however, the 9th Hohenstaufen SS Panzer Division, which had been in the process of moving out of the line to form an operational reserve, was brought back to contain the British. Therefore, on the strategic level Operation Jupiter was a significant success.[ citation needed ]
It was not until American troops eventually started to break out from the Normandy lodgement, as Operation Cobra developed momentum, in August 1944, that the Germans withdrew from Hill 112 and the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was able to occupy the feature with barely a fight.
Casualties during that period amounted to approximately 25,000 British troops and 500 British tanks.
Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army in the Battle of Normandy, from 30 July 1944 to 7 August 1944. The objectives of the attack were to secure the key road junction of Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon. Strategically, the attack was made to support the American exploitation of their breakout on the western flank of the Normandy beachhead.
Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey, commanding the British Second Army, was switched westward towards Villers-Bocage adjacent to the American army. Originally, Dempsey planned to attack on August 2, but the speed of events on the American front forced him to advance the date.
Initially, only two weak German infantry divisions held the intended attack frontage, south and east of Caumont, although they had laid extensive minefields and constructed substantial defences. They also occupied ideal terrain for defence, the bocage.
Afterwards the brigade and division fought virtually continuously from then on through Caumont, the Seine Crossing, the Gheel Bridgehead, Best, Tilburg, Meijel, Blerwick, the Maas and across the Rhine.
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Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied France commenced on 6 June 1944. Stretching 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, the beach proved to be the easternmost landing site of the invasion after the abortion of an attack on a sixth beach, code-named Band. Taking Sword was to be the responsibility of the British Army with sea transport, mine sweeping and a naval bombardment force provided by the British Royal Navy as well as elements from the Polish, Norwegian and other Allied navies.
Operation Epsom, also known as the First Battle of the Odon, was a British offensive in the Second World War between 26 and 30 June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. The offensive was intended to outflank and seize the German-occupied city of Caen, an important Allied objective, in the early stages of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of north-west Europe.
The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards, Welsh Guards, and the Household Cavalry.
The 49th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the division fought in the Norwegian Campaign and in North-western Europe. After the Second World War, it was disbanded in 1946, then reformed in 1947. It remained with Northern Command until finally disbanded in 1967.
The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served during the Second World War. It was raised on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served in the United Kingdom and later North-West Europe from June 1944 to May 1945.
The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as all units extending westwards from the city of Thunder Bay.
The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infantry Division in 1941 and then converted to armour and redesignated as the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division. Beginning in 1916 the division adopted a distinctive green-coloured formation patch as its insignia. In 2013 it was announced that Land Force Central Area would be redesignated 4th Canadian Division. It is currently responsible for Canadian Army operations in the Canadian province of Ontario and is headquartered at Denison Armoury in Toronto.
The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armoured was responsible for several major victories in the Battle of Normandy from in the summer of 1944, shortly after the Normandy landings, and it participated in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine, the Rhine crossing in March 1945. It was disbanded in January 1946 and reformed towards the end of 1950. In 1956, it was converted into the 4th Infantry Division.
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.
The 9th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army, raised during the Second World War. It never saw active service during the war as a complete division.
Operation Spring was an offensive operation of the Second World War conducted by II Canadian Corps during the Normandy campaign in 1944. The plan was intended to create pressure on the German forces operating on the British and Canadian front simultaneous with Operation Cobra, an American offensive. Operation Spring was intended to capture Verrières Ridge and the villages on the south slope of the ridge. The German defence of the ridge contained the offensive on the first day and inflicted many casualties on the Canadians.
Operation Jupiter was an offensive by VIII Corps of the British Second Army from 10 to 11 July 1944. The operation took place during the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. The objective of the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was to capture the villages of Baron-sur-Odon and Fontaine-Étoupefour and Chateau de Fontaine-Étoupefour, and to recapture Hill 112. An attached brigade of the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division would take Éterville, Maltot and the ground up to the River Orne and then the tanks of the 4th Armoured Brigade, supported by infantry, would advance through the captured ground and secure several villages to the west of the River Orne. It was hoped that the initial objectives could be captured by 9:00 a.m., after which the 4th Armoured Brigade would exploit the success.
The 46th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars with the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division.
227th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army formed for Home Service under various short-lived titles in the First and the Second World Wars. Later it was upgraded to a field formation composed of Scottish troops, and saw heavy fighting in the Normandy and North West Europe Campaign.
The 185th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army raised during the Second World War that participated in the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944, fighting in the Normandy Campaign and the subsequent campaign in North-West Europe with the 3rd British Infantry Division.
Operation Martlet was part of a series of British attacks to capture the French town of Caen and its environs from German forces during the Battle of Normandy of World War II begun by the Allies. It was a preliminary operation undertaken on 25 June 1944 by XXX Corps of the British Second Army, to capture Rauray and the area around Noyers. The attack was to protect the right flank of VIII Corps as it began Operation Epsom, an offensive into the Odon Valley west of Caen, on 26 June. The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and the 49th Infantry Division were to capture Juvigny-sur-Seulles, Vendes and Rauray, to prevent German counter-attacks against VIII Corps from the area of the Rauray Spur and then extend the attack towards Noyers and Aunay-sur-Odon. It was the first time in Normandy that the 49th Division operated as a division.
Operation Windsor(4–5 July 1944), was a Canadian attack of the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War. The attack was undertaken by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division to take Carpiquet and the adjacent airfield from troops of the 12th SS-Panzer Division Hitler Jugend of Panzergruppe West. The attack was originally intended to take place during the later stages of Operation Epsom, to protect the eastern flank of the main assault but was postponed for a week.
The Second Battle of the Odon comprised operations fought by the British Second Army during the Second World War. Attacks took place in mid-July 1944 against Panzergruppe West, as part of the Battle of Normandy. Operations Greenline and Pomegranate were intended to draw German attention away from Operation Goodwood, an attack from the Orne bridgehead on 18 July.
The 148th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps was an armoured regiment of the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps during World War II. It fought in the invasion of Normandy in 1944.
The 207th Independent Infantry Brigade was a Home Defence formation of the British Army during the Second World War.