The 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade (later numbered as the 5th Mounted Brigade) was a

yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

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 ...

, formed as part of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

in 1908. It served dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign before being remounted to serve in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign 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 ...

. In April 1918, it was merged with elements of the 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade to form 13th Cavalry Brigade. It remained in Palestine after the end of the war on occupation duties.

Formation

Under the terms of the

Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 ( 7 Edw. 7. c. 9) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer and Yeomanry units into a new Territor ...

(7 Edw.7, c.9), the brigade was formed in 1908 as part of the

. It consisted of three

regiments, a

horse artillery Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing field artillery that consisted of light cannons or howitzers attached to light but sturdy two-wheeled carriages called caissons or limbers, with the individual crewmen riding on h ...

battery and ammunition column, a transport and supply column and a

field ambulance A field ambulance (FA) is the name used by the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth nations to describe a mobile medical unit that treats wounded soldiers very close to the combat zone. In the British military medical system that deve ...

. As the name suggests, the units were drawn from the southern part of the

English Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshi ...

, predominantly

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

and

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

First World War

1st South Midland Mounted Brigade

The brigade was embodied on 4 August 1914 upon the outbreak of the

. It moved to

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

and joined the 1st Mounted Division. On 2 September it was transferred to the 2nd Mounted Division and in mid November 1914 it moved with its division to

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

on coastal defence duties.

Egypt

In April 1915, the 2nd Mounted Division moved to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, the brigade arriving at

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

on 24 April. In May 1915 the brigade was designated 1st (1st South Midland) Mounted Brigade. It was dismounted in August 1915 and took part in the Gallipoli Campaign. Each regiment left a squadron

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

and two

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

s (about 100 officers and men) in Egypt to look after the horses.

Gallipoli

The brigade landed at "A" Beach,

Suvla Bay View of Suvla from Battleship Hill Suvla () is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros. On 6 August 1915, it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as ...

on the night of 17 August and moved into reserve positions at Lala Baba on the night of 20 August. On 21 August it advanced to Chocolate Hill under heavy fire and took part in the attack on Hill 112. Due to losses during the Battle of Scimitar Hill and wastage during August 1915, the 2nd Mounted Division had to be reorganised. On 4 September 1915, the 1st Composite Mounted Brigade was formed from the 1st (1st South Midland), 2nd (2nd South Midland) and 5th (Yeomanry) Mounted Brigades. The brigade formed a battalion sized unit 1st South Midland Regiment. The brigade embarked for

Mudros Moudros () is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eastern peninsula o ...

on 31 October and returned to Egypt in December 1915 where it was reformed and remounted.

5th Mounted Brigade

The brigade left the 2nd Mounted Division on 3 and 4 January 1916 for Es Salhia. The brigade served as Corps Troops in Egypt from 21 January 1916. On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were numbered in a single sequence. As a consequence, the 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade was redesignated as 5th Mounted Brigade on 20 April. Lady Butlers Charge at Huj

The 16th Machine Gun Squadron was formed as the Cavalry MG Squadron and joined the brigade in January 1917 and in the same month, the brigade joined the newly formed Imperial Mounted Division. With the division, it took part in the First and

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

Battles of Gaza. The brigade remained with the Imperial Mounted Division when it was renamed

Australian Mounted Division The Australian Mounted Division originally formed as the Imperial Mounted Division in January 1917, was a mounted infantry, light horse and yeomanry division. The division was formed in Egypt, and along with the Anzac Mounted Division formed p ...

on 30 June 1917. With the division, it took part in the Third Battle of Gaza including the Capture of Beersheba and the Battle of Mughar Ridge. It also resisted the Turkish counter-attacks in the Turkish Defence of Jerusalem. Three of the brigade's squadrons took part in the charge at Huj, the last British cavalry charge against enemy guns.

13th Cavalry Brigade

In March 1918, the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was broken up in France. The Canadian ( Canadian Cavalry Brigade) and British units (notably 7th Dragoon Guards, 8th Hussars and N and X Batteries RHA) remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt. By an

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a military formation of the British Empire, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–1915), at the ...

GHQ Order of 12 April 1918, the mounted troops of the EEF were reorganised when the Indian Army units arrived in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. On 24 April 1918, the 2nd Mounted Division was formed on the Indian Establishment and the 5th Mounted Brigade was assigned to it. On 24 April 1918, the 5th Mounted Brigade was merged with elements of the 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade: *the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars remained with the brigade *the Warwickshire Yeomanry left the brigade and was merged with the South Nottinghamshire Hussars (of 7th Mounted Brigade) to form B Battalion, Machine Gun Corps. It was posted to France, arriving in June *the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars left the brigade on 5 May and became the XX Corps Cavalry Regiment * 9th Hodson's Horse joined from 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade * 18th King George's Own Lancers joined from 3rd (Ambala) Cavalry Brigade *16th Machine Gun Squadron remained with the brigade (but appears to have been renumbered) *5th Mounted Brigade Signal Troop remained with the brigade *in April, 5th Mounted Brigade Field Ambulance merged with Ambala Cavalry Field Ambulance to form 5th Combined Cavalry Field Ambulance *in April, 5th Mounted Brigade Mobile Veterinary Section merged with Ambala Mobile Veterinary Section to form 5th Cavalry Mobile Veterinary Section On 22 July 1918, the 2nd Mounted Division was renumbered as the 5th Cavalry Division and the brigade as 13th Cavalry Brigade. The sub units (Signal Troop, Combined Cavalry Field Ambulance and Mobile Veterinary Section) were renumbered on the same date. The brigade remained with 5th Cavalry Division for the rest of the war, taking part in the Affair of Abu Tellul, Battle of Megiddo, Capture of Damascus, and Occupation of Aleppo. After the Armistice of Mudros, the brigade remained with 5th Cavalry Division in Palestine as part of the occupation forces. However, demobilization began immediately: the 14th Cavalry Brigade was broken up in September 1919, the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade in January 1920, and the rest of the division (and the brigade) in April 1920.

Commanders

The 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade / 5th Mounted Brigade / 13th Cavalry Brigade had the following commanders:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{cite book , last = Westlake , first = Ray , year = 1996 , title = British Regiments at Gallipoli , publisher = Leo Cooper , location = Barnsley , isbn = 0-85052-511-X CB13 Cavalry brigades of the British Indian Army Military units and formations established in 1908 Military units and formations disestablished in 1920 1908 establishments in the British Empire