The 75th Brigade was a 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 ...
raised as part of the New Army also known as
Kitchener's Army and served on the
Western Front during 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 ...
.
Formation
75th Brigade was raised in 1914 as part of
25th Division in the Third New Army ('K3') of 'Kitchener's Army'. 75th Brigade originally comprised volunteer battalions from North West England and fought on the
Western Front for two years until it was virtually destroyed during the
German spring offensive
The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...
of 1918.
[Becke, pp. 135–142.]
Order of battle
75th Brigade was originally constituted as follows:
[
*10th (Service) Battalion, ]Cheshire Regiment
The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence ...
(transferred to 7th Bde, 25th Division, 26 October 1915)[
*8th (Service) Battalion, ]Border Regiment
The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot.
After service in ...
(disbanded 7 July 1918)
*8th (Service) Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment (disbanded 6 February 1918)[
* 1/6th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (Territorial battalion joined 28 May 1918 and absorbed 11th Battalion)][
*75th Brigade Machine Gun Company (joined from UK 15 March 1916; transferred to 25th Battalion Machine Gun Corps 1 March 1918)
*75th Trench Mortar Battery (75/1 joined 23 March 1916, 75/2 joined 29 April 1916, became 75th TM Battery by 16 June 1916; broken up 18 June 1918)
]
Destroyed
After 25th Division was virtually destroyed at the Third Battle of the Aisne
The Third Battle of the Aisne () was part of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in French Third Republic, France. It w ...
(27 May–6 June 1918), 75th Brigade's battalions were transferred to other divisions or reduced to training cadres. The divisional and brigade headquarters were ordered back to the UK to rebuild the division. 75th Brigade HQ embarked at Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
on 30 June and was joined on board by the training cadres of four battalions also returning to the UK to reform:[
* 17th (Service) Battalion (1st City), King's (Liverpool) Regiment (previously with 30th Division; reduced to training cadre 14 May 1918)]Green Howards
The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under variou ...
(previously with 11th (Northern) Division; reduced to training cadre 14 May 1918; absorbed newly formed 19th Battalion Green Howards during August)[
* 11th (Service) Battalion (1st South Down), ]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 ...
(previously with 39th Division; reduced to training cadre 23 May 1918; absorbed newly formed 13th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment during July)
Reformed
In September 1918, the brigade was renumbered the 236th Brigade and sent to serve in North Russia. A new 75th Brigade was organised in France with the following Territorial battalions returned from 48th (South Midland) Division
The 48th (South Midland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. Part of the Territorial Force (TF) and raised in 1908, the division was originally called the South Midland Division, and was redesignated as th ...
on the Italian Front:[
*1/8th Battalion, ]Royal Warwickshire Regiment
The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...
* 1/5th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
*1/8th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment[
]
Commanders
The following officers commanded 75th Brigade:[
* Brigadier-General J.A.H. Woodward (from 19 September 1914)
* Brigadier-General H.F. Jenkins (from 8 February 1916)
* Brigadier-General E.St G. Pratt (from 10 July 1916)
* Brigadier-General H.B.D. Baird (from 27 November 1916)
* Brigadier-General H.T. Dobbin (from 8 February 1918)
* Brigadier-General C.C. Hannay (from 9 April 1918)
* Brigadier-General A.A. Kennedy (from 27 May 1918)
* Brigadier-General A.G. Pritchard (from 5 July 1918)
* Brigadier-General M.N. Turner (from 31 August 1918 - to 236th Bde 9 September 1918)
Reformed brigade:
* Brigadier-General M.E. Richardson (from 17 September 1918)
* Brigadier-General C.W. Frizell (from 1 October 1918)
]
Notes
References
* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3a: New Army Divisions (9–26)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1938/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, {{ISBN, 1-847347-41-X.
External sources
The Regimental Warpath 1914–1918
The Long, Long Trail
Military units and formations established in 1914
Infantry brigades of the British Army
Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I