List of British mobile brigades during the Second World War information
Main article: British armoured formations of the Second World War
During the Second World War, British brigades were commanded by a brigadier. Here Brigadier A. C. Willison, the commander of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade, instructs tank crews on an upcoming battle plan during the Siege of Tobruk, November 1941.[1][2]
During the Second World War, the British Army maintained and created several mechanised, motorised, and horse-based brigades that were not infantry-based.[a] These mobile forces consisted of battalions and regiments, and were under the command of a brigadier. Brigades could be assigned to a division or operate as an independent formation assigned to a corps headquarters or higher. At the start of the war, in September 1939, the British Army had seven armoured brigades, five tank brigades and one support group (a mixed arms formation assigned to armoured divisions). Numerous armoured and tank brigades were raised, renamed, and disbanded during the war. The army also formed eight support groups, three brigades of cavalry, three brigades equipped with armoured cars and two brigades aimed at grouping divisional cavalry regiments.
The nomenclature of the units assigned to brigades varied at the start of the war. The armoured brigade was the primary force within an armoured division. It was to consist of regiments of fast moving cruiser tanks, prepared to exploit gaps in an opponent's front line and also assigned to engage and destroy opposing armoured forces. These brigades also had an integrated battalion of motorised infantry. Tank brigades, with no integrated infantry support, were to consist of battalions of heavily armoured infantry tanks that would support infantry divisions and for breakthrough operations. However, brigades could be outfitted with whatever was available. In May 1940, nomenclature was standardised in the Royal Armoured Corps and battalion titles were dropped, all units becoming regiments. Starting in 1942, armoured brigades were increasingly equipped with American-supplied medium tanks instead of cruisers. In 1945, all tank brigades were renamed armoured brigades, removing the distinction between titles.
^Joslen 2003, p. 205.
^"The British Army in North Africa 1941". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
^French 2001, p. 38.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
and 24 Related for: List of British mobile brigades during the Second World War information
DuringtheSecondWorldWar, theBritish Army maintained and created several mechanised, motorised, and horse-based brigades that were not infantry-based...
This is a listofwar crimes committed duringWorldWar II. The Axis powers (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan) were some ofthe most systematic...
insertions ListofBritish deception formations in WorldWar II, for brigades that were created as part of deception divisions Listof Indian Army Brigades in...
TheBritish Army duringthe First WorldWar fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, the British...
DuringtheSecondWorldWar, theBritish Army created several field corps; these were formations that controlled multiple divisions in addition to artillery...
The Australian Army was the largest service in the Australian military duringWorldWar I. The First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was the Army's main...
listof German brigades in WorldWar II. Thelist aims to include all brigade-level military formations ofthe German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS during World...
brigades. The territorial brigades were numbered 1 through 41. There were also seven "independent" and eight "mobile" brigades. Themobilebrigades were numbered...
listof regiments within theBritish Army's Royal Armoured Corps duringtheSecondWorldWar. On the creation ofthe corps in 1939, just before the outbreak...
light on the topic ofSecondWorldWar casualties. Research in Russia since the collapse ofthe Soviet Union has caused a revision of estimates of Soviet...
Australia, the outbreak ofWorldWar I was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the nation...
ofthe Middle East and WorldWar I, and the idea of mounted infantry was useful in the times when thewar was more mobile. An example was duringthe First...
DuringtheSecondWorldWar, theBritish Army created several field armies. There were formations that controlled multiple army corps, which in turn controlled...
This is a listof army divisions serving within theBritish Empire duringtheSecondWorldWar. Military formations within theBritish Empire were generally...
The participation of Italy in theSecondWorldWar was characterized by a complex framework of ideology, politics, and diplomacy, while its military actions...
have one infantry brigade removed and for it to be replaced by a brigadeof tanks. To this point in thewar, British tank brigades–containing infantry...
until 1944, when the allied invasion restored the French Government. The following are articles about the topic of 'France duringWorldWar II: Maginot Line...
Africa duringtheSecond Boer War in the years 1900–1902. As Boer farms were destroyed by theBritish under their "scorched earth" policy, many tens of thousands...
Global Information