14th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
| 14th Infantry Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1914–1918 1939–1945 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry Airlanding |
| Role | Airborne |
| Engagements | First World War Second World War |
The 14th Infantry Brigade was a British Army formation during both the First World War and the Second World War.
History[]
First World War[]
In 1914 this brigade was part of the 5th Division and moved over to France.[1] On 30 December 1915 the brigade was transferred to the 32nd Division.[2]
Order of battle[]
Subordinate units included:[1]
- 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment - (left January 1916 transferred to 95th Brigade)
- 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment - (left September 1914)
- 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment - (left January 1916 transferred to 95th Brigade)
- 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry - (left January 1916 transferred to 95th Brigade)
- 2nd Battalion, Manchester Regiment - (joined December 1915, left February 1918 transferred to 96th Brigade)
- 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment (joined 7 January 1916)
- 1/5th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment - (joined February 1915, left November 1915)
- 1/9th (Highlanders) Battalion, Royal Scots - (joined November 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers - (joined November 1915)
- 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Scots – (joined July 1916)
- 15th (Service) Battalion (2nd Birmingham) Birmingham Pals - (joined December 1915 transferred from 95th Brigade, left January 1916 transferred to 13th Brigade)
- 19th (Service) Battalion (3rd Salford), Lancashire Fusiliers (joined January 1916 transferred from 96th Brigade, left July 1916)
- 15th (Service) Battalion (1st Glasgow), Highland Light Infantry (joined January 1916 transferred from 97th Brigade)
- 4th Machine Gun Company (joined February 1916, moved to 32nd Battalion Machine Gun Corps (M.G.C.) 21 February 1918)
- 14th Trench Mortar Battery (joined March 1916)
Second World War[]
At the start of the war this formation was made up of regular army battalions based in the Middle East garrisons, nominally part of the 8th Infantry Division. It was present at the Battle of Crete, holding Heraklion airfield and causing many casualties among the German Parachute troops. Evacuated to North Africa where it became part of the 70th Infantry Division in the break out from Tobruk. The 70th Infantry Division was transferred to India and then Burma. Here the division, including the 14th Infantry Brigade, was split up and reformed as Chindits, fighting in the Second Chindit Expedition of 1944 (codenamed Operation Thursday). The brigade suffered 489 casualties during the Chindit operation.[3] On 1 November 1944 the brigade was redesignated as the 14th British Airlanding Brigade.[4]
Order of battle[]
The following infantry battalions were assigned to the 14th Infantry Brigade for various periods in the Second World War.[5]
- 2nd Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
- 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
- 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)
- 1st Battalion, Welch Regiment
- 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
- 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)
- 2/4th Australian Infantry Battalion
- 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment
- 7th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment
Commanders[]
Commanders included:[6]
- Maj.-Gen. J. F. C. Fuller (? – 14 December 1930)[7]
- Maj.-Gen. H. J. Huddleston (14 December 1930 – 1 July 1933)[8][9]
- Brig. H. C. Maitland-Makgill-Crichton (11 July 1933 – 29 June 1937)[10][11]
- Brig. H. C. Harrison (29 June 1937 – 27 January 1939)[12][13]
- Brig. A. R. Godwin-Austen (31 December 1938 – 23 August 1939)[14][15]
- Brig. G. Dawes (3 September 1939 – 26 July 1940)
- Brig. O. H. Tidbury (30 October 1940 – 27 April 1941)
- Brig. (27 April 1941 – 2 May 1942)
- Brig. (2 May 1942 – 6 November 1943)
- Brig. Thomas Brodie (6 November 1943 – 31 October 1944)
See also[]
- British Divisions in World War II
- British Army Order of Battle - September 1939
- 6th Infantry Division
- Siege of Tobruk
Bigadier-General C.Compton, C.C., C.M.G. 28 June 1915 - [16]
References[]
- ^ a b "The 5th Division in 1914–1918". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ "The 32nd Division in 1914–1918". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ Young, Frank. "Chindits, Special Force Burma 1942-1944". Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ^ "14th Indian Airlanding Brigade". Paradata. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Subordinates". Orders of Battle. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Appointments". Orders of Battle. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ London Gazette, 16 December 1930 (issue 33670), p. 8078
- ^ London Gazette, 23 December 1930 (issue 33672), p. 8256
- ^ London Gazette, 30 June 1933 (issue 33955), p. 4382
- ^ London Gazette, 11 July 1933 (issue 33959), p. 4653
- ^ London Gazette, 29 June 1937 (issue 34413), p. 4176
- ^ London Gazette, 6 July 1937 (issue 34415), p. 434
- ^ London Gazette, 14 February 1939 (issue 34598), p. 1068
- ^ London Gazette, 10 January 1939 (issue 34588), p. 215
- ^ London Gazette, 25 August 1939 (issue 34658), p. 5842
- ^ "5th Division of The Great War"
Further reading[]
- Great Campaigns of World War II. Great Britain: Phoebus Publishing. 1980. ISBN 0-86288-340-7.
- Antony Beevor (1991). Crete, The Battle and the Resistance. Great Britain: John Murray (Publishers). ISBN 0-7195-6831-5.
- Infantry brigades of the British Army
- Military units and formations established in 1914
- Military units and formations disestablished in 1944
- 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom
- Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I
- Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II
- Military units and formations in Burma in World War II