The 21st (East Africa) Infantry Brigade was a brigade sized formation of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, which was founded on 31 August 1939 in British East Africa. The brigade was initially called the 1st (East Africa) Infantry Brigade, but was redesignated on 18 October 1940 as the 21st (East Africa) Infantry Brigade. The brigade was composed of units from the

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces regiment raised from Britain's East African colonies in 1902. It primarily carried out internal security duties within these colonies along with military service elsewher ...

and the

Northern Rhodesia Regiment The Northern Rhodesia Regiment (NRR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces regiment raised from the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the brigade formed part of the

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, 11th, and the 2nd (African) Division. The division also spent time attached to the 1st South African and the 34th Indian Infantry Divisions. The brigade took part in the East African, and the

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

s. It ended the war based inside British India.

General officers commanding

The brigade had the following commanders, during the Second World War.

Order of battle

1st (East Africa) Brigade (until 18 October 1940) * 3rd Battalion,

(KAR) (until 17 December 1939) * 4th Battalion, KAR (until 2 May 1940) * 5th Battalion, KAR (until 11 October 1939) * 2nd Battalion, KAR (from 28 October 1939, until 29 June 1940) * 1st Battalion, Northern Rhodesia Regiment (from 9 February 1940, until 9 May 1940) * 2/4th Battalion, KAR (from 26 June 1940, until 30 September 1940) * 1/4th Battalion, KAR (from 24 July 1940) * 4th Battalion (Uganda), KAR (from 24 July 1940) * 2/6th Battalion, KAR (from 17 August 1940, until 1 October 1940) * 1/2nd Battalion, KAR (from 9 October 1940) 21st (East Africa) Brigade (from 18 October 1940) * 1/4th Battalion, KAR * 1st Battalion, Northern Rhodesia Regiment (from 21 November 1940) * 1/4th Battalion, KAR (until 31 May 1943) * 4th Battalion (Uganda), KAR * 1/2nd Battalion, KAR (until 31 May 1943) * 2nd Battalion (Tanganyika), KAR (from 1 June 1943) Between January 1942 and July 1943, the brigade operated as a brigade group and commanded the following units: * 54th (East Africa) Field Battery, East African Artillery (until 30 April 1942 until 30 April 1942) * 53rd (East Africa) Field Battery, East African Artillery (from 9 March 1942 until 30 April 1942) * 162nd (East Africa) Field Regiment, East African Artillery (from 1 May 1942) * 303rd (East Africa) Field Regiment, East African Artillery (from 1 May 1942) * 58th (East Africa) Field Company, East African Engineers (from 9 March 1942) * 21st (East Africa) Infantry Brigade Group Company, East Africa Army Service Corps * 2nd (Zanzibar) Field Ambulance, Royal Medical Corps

Citations

References

* {{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II 1939 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1939