List of British brigades of the Second World War

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This is a list of British Brigades in the Second World War. It is intended as a central place to access resources about formations of brigade size that served in the British Army during the Second World War.

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The 1st Army Tank Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the Second World War. A Tank Brigade was intended to support the Infantry and was mostly equipped with slow moving Infantry tanks, unlike an Armoured Brigade, which was equipped with faster cruiser tanks and later its own motorised infantry. Initially using infantry nomenclature for its smaller units, company and section and having 175 light and infantry tanks, it later adopted cavalry nomenclature of squadron and troop and later in the War grew to 240 tanks.

3rd (United Kingdom) Division Regular army division of the British Army

The 3rd Division is a regular army division of the British Army. It was created in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War, and was known as the Fighting 3rd under Sir Thomas Picton during the Napoleonic Wars. The division fought at the Battle of Waterloo, as well as during the Crimean War and the Second Boer War. As a result of bitter fighting in 1916, during the First World War, the division became referred to as the 3rd (Iron) Division, or the Iron Division or Ironsides. During the Second World War, the division fought in the Battle of France including a rearguard action during the Dunkirk Evacuation, and played a prominent role in the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944. The division was to have been part of a proposed Commonwealth Corps, formed for a planned invasion of Japan in 1945–46, and later served in the British Mandate of Palestine. During the Second World War, the insignia became the "pattern of three" — a black triangle trisected by an inverted red triangle, created by Bernard Montgomery to instil pride in his troops.

21st Army Tank Brigade (United Kingdom) Armoured brigade formation of the British Army

The 21st Army Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army active during the Second World War. The brigade served with the British First Army and the British Eighth Army during the fighting in Tunisia and Italy.

23rd Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) Military unit

The 23rd Armoured Brigade, originally formed as the 23rd Army Tank Brigade, was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw service during the Second World War. The brigade was a 2nd Line Territorial Army (TA) formation. It was reorganised and renamed the 23rd Armoured Brigade, when it was assigned to the 8th Armoured Division, although it never operated under command of the division.

The 26th Armoured Brigade was part of the British Army during the Second World War.

The 5th Guards Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army, a component unit of the Guards Armoured Division, that served in the Second World War in North-west Europe from June 1944 until May 1945.

29th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) Military unit

The 29th Armoured Brigade was a Second World War British Army brigade equipped with tanks that formed the armoured component of the 11th Armoured Division.

The 11th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army raised during the Second World War. The brigade was a 1st Line Territorial Army formation, consisting of three infantry battalions converted into armoured regiments.

4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East Brigade formation of the British Army

4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East, previously known as 4th Mechanized Brigade and before that 4th Armoured Brigade is a brigade formation of the British Army, currently based in Catterick, North Yorkshire as part of 1st Division. The brigade, now known as the 'Black Rats', was formed in 1939 and fought in the Second World War in the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa. The Black Rats were subsequently involved in the invasion of Sicily and fighting in Italy before taking part in the Battle of Normandy and the advance through Belgium, Holland and into Germany.

42nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom) Military unit

The 42nd Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army raised during the Second World War.

The 137th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw active service during the Second World War.

2nd Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) Military unit

The 2nd Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army, part of the pre-war Regular Army, during the Second World War, originally titled 2nd Light Armoured Brigade.

6th Guards Tank Brigade (United Kingdom) Military unit

The 6th Guards Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army during the Second World War formed from the Foot Guards in 1941 as the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade when the United Kingdom was under the threat of invasion and more armoured formations were required.

32nd Army Tank Brigade Military unit

The 32nd Army Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army created during the Second World War. It was formed, under the command of Brigadier Arthur Cecil Willison, in Egypt on 15 September 1941. The brigade HQ was sent to Tobruk to take command of all Royal Armoured Corps units stationed there, and was attached to the British 70th Infantry Division for Operation Crusader, where Captain Philip J. Gardner of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross. In June 1942, during the Battle of Gazala, a composite brigade was formed in Tobruk with surviving elements of the 1st Army Tank Brigade, which surrendered on 22 June after the fall of Tobruk. The brigade was not reformed.

The 33rd Army Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army raised during the Second World War.

The 36th Tank Brigade was a short-lived armoured brigade of the British Army raised during the Second World War. The brigade remained in the United Kingdom for its service and did not serve overseas, being disbanded in mid 1943.

The 35th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army, formed during the Second World War. The brigade was never deployed in combat, remaining in the UK to act as a home defence and training unit, and provided replacements for other formations.