The 2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade was a

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 ...

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 ...

. It was formed from battalions of the

Royal West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the British West Africa, West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Sierra Leone ...

in 1940. In the early part of the war, the Brigade served in the East African campaign before seeing action against the Japanese in Burma in 1944–45.

History

The brigade was originally formed as 4th ( Gold Coast) Infantry Brigade but was re-designated 24th (Gold Coast) Infantry Brigade in October 1940. It was involved in the East African Campaign against the forces of the Italian Colonial Empire in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

under the command of Brigadier Collen Edward Melville Richards and was attached to the 2nd (African) Division. During the East African Campaign, the brigade was part of

Alan Cunningham Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham, (1 May 1887 – 30 January 1983), was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army noted for his victories over Italian forces in the East African Campaign (World War II), East African Campaign duri ...

's force which attacked from

into

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

and then advanced into

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. After the campaign, the brigade returned to West Africa in December 1941 and was reorganized as an independent brigade group (with attached engineer and artillery units). They were then designated as the 2nd (West African) Infantry Brigade. In October 1942 command of the brigade passed to Brigadier Ernest Western who was to remain in this role until March 1945. In 1944, reorganized once more as an infantry brigade, the 2nd (West African) was attached to the

82nd (West Africa) Division The 82nd (West African) Division was formed under British control during the Second World War. It took part in the later stages of the Burma Campaign and was disbanded in Burma between May and September 1946. History Formation The inspirati ...

and sailed for

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, where the complete division was assembled on July 20. They then moved to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and took part in the third Arakan Campaign in December 1944 as part of

Philip Christison General Sir Alexander Frank Philip Christison, 4th Baronet, (17 November 1893 – 21 December 1993) was a British Army officer who served with distinction during the world wars. After service as a junior officer on the Western Front in the Fir ...

's XV Corps. It first advanced south along the Kalapanzin valley, then crossed a steep and jungle-covered mountain range to converge with the British 81st (West Africa) Division on Myohaung at the mouth of the

Kaladan River The Kaladan (, ) or Kissapanadi River (, ), also known as the Beino, Bawinu and Kolodyne, is a river in the eastern Mizoram, Mizoram State of India, and in Chin State and Rakhine State of western Myanmar. The Kaladan River is called the Chhimtuip ...

. This move forced the Japanese to evacuate the Mayu peninsula which they had held for almost four years, and retreat south along the coast. They continued to advance maintaining pressure, on the Japanese capturing the port of Gwa shortly before the Japanese abandoned Burma. Western was wounded in March 1945 and command of the brigade was given to Brigadier Adam Wilson-Brand.

Formation

The 2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade was made up of the following units: *1st Bn., The

Gold Coast Regiment The Ghana Regiment is an infantry regiment that forms the main fighting element of the Ghanaian Army (GA). History The regiment was formed in 1879 as the Gold Coast Constabulary, from personnel of the Hausa Constabulary of Southern Nigeria, to p ...

; *2nd Bn., The Gold Coast Regiment; *3rd Bn., The Gold Coast Regiment.Allen 1984, p. 656.

Notes

References

* Allen, Louis. (1984). ''Burma: The Longest War 1941–45''. Reprinted 2002. Phoenix Press. . * Jackson, Ashley. (2006). ''The British Empire and the Second World War''. Continuum International Publishing Group. . * Moreman, T.R. (2005). ''The Jungle, the Japanese and the British Commonwealth Armies at War, 1941-45''. Routledge. .

External links

Burma Star.org
{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations in Burma in World War II Military units and formations in British Somaliland in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945