The 27th Infantry Brigade was an

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 ...

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

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 saw service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 ...

, and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. In Korea, the brigade was known as 27th British Commonwealth Brigade due to the addition of Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Indian units.

Unit history

First World War

It was originally formed in August 1914 as the 27th Brigade and was part of the

9th (Scottish) Division The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War. A ...

, the first of the

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the F ...

divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War. It was originally composed of the 11th and 12th (Service) Battalions of the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

, 6th (Service) Battalion

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

and the 10th (Service) Battalion

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) is a light infantry company (military unit), company (designated as Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) and was a line infantry regiment of the British Army tha ...

(Princess Louise's).p.70 Rikhye, Ravi ''Order of Battle of the British Army 1914'' Richard A Rinaldi 15 Jul 2008

Second World War

In 1939 this brigade was reformed, as the 27th Infantry Brigade, in the Territorial Army as part of the

9th (Highland) Infantry Division The 9th (Highland) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army, formed just prior to the start of the Second World War. In March 1939, after the re-emergence of Nazi Germany, Germany as a significant mil ...

, a 2nd Line duplicate of the

51st (Highland) Infantry Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

. When the 51st (Highland) Division surrendered during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

in June 1940 the 9th (Highland) Infantry Division was redesignated as the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division to make up its loss. Due to this, the 27th Infantry Brigade became the 153rd Infantry Brigade and served with the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and

North-West Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The term is used in geographic, history, and military contexts. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northwestern ...

from 1942 to 1945.

Post Second World War

The brigade was re-formed in 1948 and sent out to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, but was then sent on to Korea at the outbreak of the

, where

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Kenneth Muir of the Argylls was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

in September 1950. 27th Infantry Brigade arrived in

Pusan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southe ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

on 28 August 1950. Soon after arriving, the brigade was in action, being involved in the defence of the Pusan Perimeter, on 29 August 1950, and the UN offensive to link with the Inchon landings. The brigade was joined in September 1950 by an Australian contingent, 3rd Battalion,

Royal Australian Regiment The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the parent administrative regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. It was originally formed in 1948 as a t ...

(3 RAR), and in December 1950 by the 2nd Battalion,

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricias) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

. At this time the brigade had few of the support units that were a normal feature of other Commonwealth units in Korea, and were always at a disadvantage in this respect, being reliant on US support units. After further action during the retreat from the Yalu River, the Chinese Winter Offensive (including

Third Battle of Seoul The Third Battle of Seoul was a battle of the Korean War, which took place from December 31, 1950, to January 7, 1951, around the South Korean capital of Seoul. It is also known as the Chinese New Year's Offensive, the January–Fourth Retreat ( ...

in January 1951) and the UN counter-offensive, the brigade was joined by the specially raised 16 Field Regiment

Royal New Zealand Artillery The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery is the artillery regiment of the New Zealand Army. It is effectively a military administrative corps, and can comprise multiple component regiments. This nomenclature stems from its heritage as an of ...

in January 1951, and then a Canadian infantry battalion in February. The brigade's final action was the

Battle of Kapyong The Battle of Kapyong (; 22–27 April 1951), also known as the Battle of Jiaping (), was fought during the Korean War between United Nations Command (UN) forces—primarily Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand—and the 118th and 60th Divisio ...

in April 1951, a famous last-stand victory. Both the Argylls and Middlesex Regiment were relieved and the brigade was disbanded, to be replaced by the fully constituted 28th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade, part of 1st Commonwealth Division.

Component units

1914–1918

* 11th Battalion,

* 12th Battalion, Royal Scots * 6th Battalion,

* 10th Battalion,

1939–1940

* 5th Battalion,

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

* 7th 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 ...

* 9th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders * 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders

1948 onwards

* 1st Battalion,

Royal Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both ...

* 1st Battalion,

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

(to April 1951) * 1st Battalion,

(to April 1951) * 2nd Battalion,

* 3rd Battalion,

* 16th Field Regiment,

* 60th Indian Field Ambulance

Commanders

* 27 August 1914: Brigadier-General William Scott-Moncrieff * 7 January 1915: Brigadier-General Clarence Dalrymple Bruce * 26 September 1915: Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Ernest Walshe (''acting'') * 14 October 1915: Brigadier-General Henry Ernest Walshe * 17 March 1916: Brigadier-General Gerald Frederic Trotter * 2 May 1916: Lieutenant-Colonel W. J. B. Tweedie (''acting'') * 6 May 1916: Brigadier-General Spencer William Scrase-Dickens * 21 October 1916: Brigadier-General Francis Aylmer Maxwell * 21 September 1917: Lieutenant-Colonel H. D. N. Maclean (''acting'') * 23 September 1917: Brigadier-General William Denman Croft *

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

G.T. Gurney * Brigadier William Fraser * Brigadier D.A.H. Graham

Korean War

* Brigadier Basil Aubrey Coad

References

Bibliography

*Gregory Blaxland, The Regiments Depart: A History of the British Army 1945–70, William Kimber, London, 1971. *Brian Catchpole: ''The Korean War'' {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Infantry brigades of the British Army Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Korean War Military units and formations disestablished in 1951 British Commonwealth units and formations Brigades of the Korean War