1st Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom) explained

Unit Name:1st (Guards) Brigade
1st Brigade
1st Infantry Brigade (Guards)
1st Infantry Brigade
1st Mechanized Brigade
1st Armoured Infantry Brigade
Dates:1899–2022
Country: United Kingdom
Type:Armoured Infantry, Mechanized Infantry, Light Infantry
Size:Brigade
Command Structure:3rd (United Kingdom) Division
Garrison:Delhi Barracks, Tidworth Camp
Battles:First World War
Battle of Mons
First Battle of the Marne
First Battle of the Aisne
First Battle of Ypres
Battle of Aubers Ridge
Battle of Loos
Battle of the Somme (1916)
Battle of Pozières
Third Battle of Ypres
Battle of Épehy
Second World War
Battle of France
Fondouk
El Kourzia
Tunis
Battle of Monte Cassino
Liri Valley
Identification Symbol Label:NATO Map Symbol
1st (Guards) Brigade
Date:1899
Subordinate:3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards
2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards
1st Battalion, Scots Guards
1st (Guards) Brigade
Date:1914
Parent:1st Division
Subordinate:1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards
1st Battalion, Scots Guards
1st Battalion, Black Watch
2nd Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers
1st Brigade
Date:1918
Parent:1st Division
Subordinate:1st Battalion, Black Watch
1st Battalion, Cameron Highlanders
1st Trench Mortar Battery
1st Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
1st (Guards) Brigade
Date:1939
Parent:1st Infantry Division
Subordinate:3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards
2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment
1st Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
1st (Guards) Brigade
Date:1945
Parent:1st Infantry Division
Subordinate:3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards
3rd Battalion, Welsh Guards
1st Battalion, Welch Regiment
1st Armoured Infantry Brigade
Date:2020
Parent:3rd (United Kingdom) Division
Subordinate:Household Cavalry Regiment
Royal Tank Regiment
Royal Lancers
Royal Dragoon Guards
1st Battalion, Mercian Regiment
1st Battalion, Scots Guards
3rd Battalion, The Rifles

The 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army with a long history including service during both the First and the Second World Wars. It was based at Tidworth Camp. Previously, it has been designated 1st (Guards) Brigade, 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Mechanised Brigade (from the 1990s), and under the initial Army 2020 reforms assumed the title of 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade. Under the Future Soldier programme, the brigade merged with the 1st Artillery Brigade to form the 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team.[1]

History

Following the end of the Second Boer War in 1902, the army was restructured and the 1st Guards Brigade was established permanently as part of the 1st Division in the 1st Army Corps, stationed at Aldershot Garrison.[2]

First World War

Initially designated as the 1st (Guards) Brigade, the brigade was part of 1st Division during the First World War. Upon creation of the Guards Division in August 1915, the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards and 1st Battalion, Scots Guards moved to 2nd Guards Brigade, and the brigade was redesignated as the 1st Brigade. It was with the 1st Division on the Western Front throughout the war. It saw action at the Battle of Mons and subsequent Great Retreat, the First Battle of the Marne, the First Battle of the Aisne, the First Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Loos, the Battle of Aubers Ridge, the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Passchendaele, the Battle of Pozières and the Battle of Épehy, part of the final Hundred Days Offensive, which broke the back of the German Army, leading to an Armistice.[3]

Order of battle

The brigade was composed as follows during the war:[4]

Second World War

Remaining active during the interwar period as the 1st (Guards) Brigade, the brigade, still part of the 1st Infantry Division, was sent to France in September 1939 during the Second World War as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and it later took part in the Battle of France in May–June 1940 and the subsequent Battle of Dunkirk and were evacuated to England, spending the next few years on home defence anticipating a German invasion of England.

On 11 April 1942, the brigade was redesignated and reorganised as 1st Independent Brigade Group (Guards), with its own support units, until August when it was transferred to the 78th Infantry Division. In late 1942, it took part in the North African Campaign in Operation Torch: the Allied landings in French North Africa, arriving in Algiers in November 1942.[3]

The brigade participated in the Run for Tunis and was transferred to the 6th Armoured Division in early 1943 and saw action in the Tunisia Campaign at the Battle of Fondouk, Battle of El Kourzia and Battle of Tunis in April and May 1943. Subsequently, the 1st (Guards) Brigade served on the Italian Front for the rest of the war under command of various divisions, seeing action in the Battle of Monte Cassino (where the brigade played a holding "hinge" role during Operation Diadem) and the Battle of Liri Valley in May 1944.[3] The brigade then fought on the Gothic Line and in the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy.

Order of battle

The 1st (Guards) Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:[5]

Between 11 April 1942 and 7 August 1942 the following units formed the 1st Independent Brigade Group (Guards):[5]

Cold War

After the War, the brigade, having lost its 'Guards' title, was transferred to Palestine for internal security duties and then to Egypt for a few months before going back to Palestine in April 1946. Two years later, as the British mandate over Palestine ended, the brigade and division returned to Egypt. In October 1951, British forces pulled out of Egypt outside of the Suez Canal Zone, and later the brigade returned to the United Kingdom, though it was in Cyprus during the EOKA insurgency for a period in 1957–8.[3] In 1968 the dispatch of the entire 3rd Infantry Division began to be planned, as part of the United Kingdom Mobile Force, to reinforce Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland (LANDJUT).[6] By the mid-1980s the British Army force earmarked as part of the UKMF to reinforce LANDJUT had shrunk to the 1st Infantry Brigade, as it had become.

In 1991 just before the end of the Cold War, the brigade's structure was as follows.

1st (United Kingdom Mobile Force) Infantry Brigade, at Jellalabad Barracks, Tidworth Camp[7]

End of the Cold War

After the end of the Cold War, the brigade was reassigned to the new 3rd (UK) Division and subsequently became a Mechanised Brigade. In 1996, it was deployed to the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, with Multi-National Division (South-West); in 2000, it was deployed to Sierra Leone and, in 2002, to Kosovo.[3]

The brigade was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick XVIII.[8] It was deployed again in 2014, commanded by Brigadier Rupert Jones.[9]

Army 2020

Under Army 2020, it was renamed as 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade and remained at Tidworth Camp, forming part of the Reaction Force as part of the 3rd (UK) Division.[10] [11] [12] Under the programme the Brigade consisted of the following units:

Army 2020 Refine

Under the Army 2020 Refine programme, the 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade was due to form up as the first of two Strike Brigades by 2021.[13] [14] [15] The Brigade then consisted of the following units:[16]

Future Soldier

On 1 July under the Future Soldier programme, the brigade merged with 1st Artillery Brigade to form 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team.[1]

Jane's reported that the brigade was disbanded in early July 2022. The Household Cavalry and Royal Lances were transferred to the 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade, and three of the brigade's infantry battalions and the small support subunits were reassigned "to other brigades."[40]

Brigade commanders

The following officers have commanded the brigade:[5] [41] [42]

First World War

Second World War

Post-war

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team. 2022-06-26. www.army.mod.uk. en-GB.
  2. Naval & Military intelligence – The 1st Army Corps. 7 October 1902 . 8 . 36892.
  3. Web site: History of 1st Mechanized Brigade . British Army . 2015 . 26 July 2015.
  4. Web site: The British 1st Division in 1914–1918 . Chris . Baker. 1914-1918.net . 26 July 2015.
  5. Joslen, p. 225
  6. CHIEFS OF STAFF COMMITTEE, UNITED KINGDOM MOBILE FORCE DEPLOYMENT TO NORTHERN EUROPEAN COMMAND (JUTLAND/SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN) PART 1 OF JOINT THEATRE PLAN (JTP) NATO 70 - OPERATION GRACIE, 27 December 1972.
  7. British Army Master Order of Battle, 1991.
  8. Web site: 1 Armoured Infantry Brigade . Ministry of Defence . 26 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170327151841/http://www.army.mod.uk/structure/29028.aspx . 27 March 2017 . dead . dmy-all .
  9. Web site: Commander praises UK troops as final major Afghan deployment begins. BBC. 10 October 2013. 15 August 2015.
  10. Web site: Regular Army Basing Plan . Ministry of Defence . 5 March 2013 . 26 July 2015.
  11. Web site: Army 2020 report . British Army . July 2013 . 26 July 2015.
  12. Web site: Transforming the British Army - An Update . https://web.archive.org/web/20140610215557/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/Army2020_Report.pdf . 2014-06-10 . 2022-08-02 .
  13. Web site: Strike Experimentation Group:Written question - 117878 . British Army . 6 December 2017 . 12 November 2018.
  14. Web site: Hannah . King . 28 July 2020. Plans For Catterick Garrison Redevelopment Ahead Of Arrival Of 3,500 Extra Troops. 2020-07-29. Forces Network. en.
  15. Web site: 10 March 2017. Information on the Army 2020 refine exercise. 29 July 2020. Parliament Publishing Services.
  16. Web site: 10 March 2017. Information on the Army 2020 refine exercise. 29 July 2020. Parliament Publishing Services.
  17. Web site: 1 Armoured Infantry Brigade. 2020-10-25. www.army.mod.uk. en-GB.
  18. Web site: Hannah King . 28 July 2020 . Plans For Catterick Garrison Redevelopment Ahead Of Arrival Of 3,500 Extra Troops . 2020-07-29 . Forces Network . en.
  19. Web site: 21 September 2017 . Presentation by the Master of Signals . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200519111435/https://royalsignals.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/20170921-Master-of-Signals-Presentation.pdf . 19 May 2020 . 8 July 2020 . royalsignals.org.
  20. Web site: Charlotte Cross . 25 November 2015 . How Will The Army's New 'Strike Brigades' Work? . 2020-07-29 . Forces Network . en.
  21. Web site: Charlotte Cross . 23 November 2015 . #SDSR2015: 5,000-Strong 'Strike Brigades' To Be Created By 2025 . 2020-07-29 . Forces Network . en.
  22. Web site: . 14 October 2020 . Strike Experimentation Group . 15 October 2020 . whatdotheyknow.com . whatdotheyknow . I can advise that no units have been or will be assigned to the Strike Experimentation Group.
  23. Web site: . 11 December 2017 . Strike Experimentation Group . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20201019144743/https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2017-12-06/117878 . 19 October 2020 . 19 October 2020 . questions-statements.parliament.uk . UK Hansard . The Strike Experimentation Group (SEG) was established in Warminster in April 2017 and is part of the headquarters of 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade.
  24. Web site: 2019-05-18. Household Cavalry parade marks departure for Bulford. • the Military Times. 21 March 2021. 5 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201205101120/https://www.themilitarytimes.co.uk/news/household-cavalry-parade-marks-departure-for-bulford/. dead.
  25. Web site: Household Cavalry. 2020-10-25. www.army.mod.uk. en-GB.
  26. Web site: Army/Sec/21/04/FOI2017/02130/78471. 21 June 2017. www.gov.uk. UK Army Secretariat.
  27. Web site: Order of Battle is and basing arrangements are for 12th Mechanized Brigade. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211125160616/https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2017-04-24/71816 . 25 November 2021 . 2020-12-24. questions-statements.parliament.uk. en.
  28. Web site: 5 July 2012. 9th/12th Charitable Association Website. dead. https://archive.today/20130505152240/http://delhispearman.org.uk/notice-of-regimental-amalgamation-5thjuly-2012/. 5 May 2013. 2013-03-13. Delhispearman.org.uk.
  29. Web site: 10 March 2017. Information on the Army 2020 refine exercise . live. 29 July 2020. Parliament Publishing Services. https://web.archive.org/web/20180615140804/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/632554/2017-02130.pdf . 15 June 2018 .
  30. Web site: The Royal Lancers have shown their ability to adapt to any task and operate at reach #strikeethos. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201126215932/https://twitter.com/1ArmdInf/status/1332081440138407939 . 26 November 2020 . 2020-12-03. Twitter. en.
  31. Web site: 22 November 2018. Written Question for the Ministry of Defence regarding Army basing and personnel. live. 18 February 2021. UK Parliament. https://web.archive.org/web/20200915161827/https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2018-11-22/194616 . 15 September 2020 .
  32. Web site: Winter 2020. The Garrison: Aldershot Garrison, Home of the British Army . Issue #7: Winter 2020 . 18 March 2021 .
  33. Web site: Fallon. Michael. 15 December 2016. Strategic Defence and Security Review – Army: Written statement – HCWS367. 16 December 2016. Hansard.
  34. Web site: pages 21 22. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160105022811/http://forcespublishing.co.uk/flipbooks/Royal%20Welsh/index.html. 2016-01-05. 2016-02-03.
  35. http://www.theblackwatch.co.uk/index/cms-filesystem-action/rh/trh_35_nov_2012.pdf The Red Hackle November 2012
  36. Hannah King, 4 SCOTS Return to Work in Catterick after Afghanistan Deployment 3 December 2020. Forces News. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  37. 3_rifles . 1362435836755730433 . 18 February 2021 . We've been developing the mounted mindset in B Company this week, training with the MASTIFF vehicle in the rural and urban terrain . 20 February 2021 .
  38. http://www.rgbw-association.org.uk/newsletter2013.pdf The Rifles and The Royal Gloucestershire,Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment Newsletter 2013
  39. Web site: 3 RIFLES. 2020-12-03. www.army.mod.uk. en-GB.
  40. Web site: UK disbands armoured infantry brigade . 2 August 2022 . Tim . Ripley . ar, en, ja . 4 March 2023 . Janes.
  41. Web site: III: Senior Army Appointments: 1860– . Colin . Mackie . 223 . gulabin.com . June 2015 . 26 July 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf . 5 July 2015 .
  42. Book: Becke, Major A. F. . 1935 . Order of Battle of Divisions Part 1. The Regular British Divisions . . London . 1-871167-09-4. 34.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "1st Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.