The 267th Indian Tank Brigade was a short lived

armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

of the

Indian Army during the Second World War The Indian Army during World War II, a British force also referred to as the British Indian Army, began the war, in 1939, numbering just under 200,000 men.Sumner, p.25 By the end of the war, it had become the largest volunteer army in history, ...

. It was reconstituted as

72nd Indian Infantry Brigade The 72nd Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade, of both the British and Indian Armies, formed in the United Kingdom in January 1941 during the Second World War. On 1 June 1943 it was re-designated as the British 72nd Infantry Brigade. ...

History

The brigade was formed on 3 July 1942 at Sialkot with three

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

. These were

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s 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 ...

that were converted to an

role: * 116th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps formed on 24 July 1942 from 9th Battalion,

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

160th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps 160th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (160 RAC) was a short-lived armoured regiment of the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps serving in India during World War II. Origin 160 RAC was formed on 15 July 1942 by the conversion to the armoured role of ...

formed on 15 July 1942 from 9th Battalion,

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foo ...

in the United Kingdom * 163rd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps formed on 30 July 1942 from 13th Battalion,

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

It moved to

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

in October under the command of the 43rd Indian Armoured Division and then to

Poona Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. The brigade was intended for service in 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 ...

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 ...

but in the event it never left India. On 1 April 1943, it was reconstituted as the

Units

The brigade commanded the following units: * 116th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps ''(joined on 27 July 1942; left on 31 October 1942 for 255th Indian Armoured Brigade)'' * 163rd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps ''(joined on 30 July 1942; left on 31 March 1943 when it reverted to 13th Sherwood Foresters in 67th Indian Training Brigade)'' * 160th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps ''(joined on 22 December 1942; left on 1 April 1943 when it reverted to 9th Royal Sussex Regiment in 72nd Indian Infantry Brigade)'' * 267th Armoured Brigade Signals Squadron ''(1942 to 1943; became 72nd Indian Infantry Brigade Signals Section)'' * 111th Field Post Office ''(July 1942 to April 1943)''

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links