The 23rd 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 active 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 ...

, mainly on the Western Front 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 ...

, the brigade saw active service in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign, the

Western Desert Campaign The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...

, and 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 ...

History

First World War

Order of battle

* 2nd Battalion,

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...

* 2nd Battalion,

West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Reg ...

''(left February 1918)'' * 2nd 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 ...

* 1/6th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) ''(from March to June 1915)'' * 1/7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment ''(from March 1915 to February 1916)'' * 23rd Machine Gun Company,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

''(formed 15 January 1916, moved to 8th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 20 January 1918)'' * 23rd Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed January 1916)''

Commanders

The commanders of the 23rd Infantry Brigade during the First World War were:* *Brigadier-General F. A. Adam (24 September 1914) *Brigadier-General R. J. Pinney (28 October 1914) *Brigadier-General T. E. Travers-Clarke (28 July 1915) *Brigadier-General H. D. Tuson (8 September 1915) *Brigadier-General E. A. Fagan (27 August 1916) *Lieutenant-Colonel J. Hamilton-Hall (2 March 1917 - acting) *Brigadier-General G. W. St. G. Grogan (12 March 1917)

Second World War

During the inter-war period, the Canal Brigade had been formed to defend the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

. After the outbreak of the

, the brigade was redesignated as the 23rd Infantry Brigade on 20 September 1939. It was dispersed in the canal area, and became part of HQ Canal sub-Area troops. In May 1941, the brigade was re-formed to take part in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign, during June and July 1941, as part of 6th Infantry Division. In October 1941, the 6th Infantry Division was re-designated as the 70th Infantry Division. The division, including the brigade, was transported to

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

to relieve the 9th Australian Infantry Division. As part of the Tobruk garrison, the brigade helped to fend off Rommel's Axis forces until the siege was relieved at the end of the year during

Operation Crusader Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert campaign during World War II by the British Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) against the Axis forces (German and ...

. In March 1942, the 70th Infantry Division arrived in India. Its brigades, including the 23rd Infantry Brigade, were assigned to the

Chindits The Chindits, officially known as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. Brigadier Orde Wingate formed the ...

. The brigade was retrained as a long range penetration unit. The brigade did not take part in the Second Chindit Expedition. Instead, it was deployed during the

Battle of Kohima The Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Imperial Japan, Japanese Operation U-Go, U-Go offensive into British Raj, India in 1944 during the World War II, Second World War. The battle took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June 19 ...

behind Japanese lines, and interdicted Japanese communication and supplies.

Commanders

* Brigadier W. T. Brooks 1939 - 1940 * Brigadier J. T. Leslie 1940 * Brigadier Alexander Galloway 1941 * Lieutenant-Colonel R. F. Heyworth * Brigadier C. H. V. Cox 1941 - 1943 * Lieutenant-Colonel E. W. Towsey 1943 * Brigadier P. C. Marindin 1943 * Brigadier L. E. C. M. Perowne 1943 - 1945 * Brigadier

R. G. Collingwood Robin George Collingwood (; 22 February 1889 – 9 January 1943) was an English philosopher, historian and archaeologist. He is best known for his philosophical works, including ''The Principles of Art'' (1938) and the posthumously published ' ...

1945

Order of battle

* 1st 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 ...

''(from 3 September 1939 to 14 August 1940)'' * 1st Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

''(from 3 September 1939 to 22 January 1940, rejoined 17 October 1941 to 17 June 1945)'' * 2nd Battalion,

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

''(from 7 January 1940 to 18 January 1941)'' * 1st Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

''(from 31 January to 21 July 1940, rejoined 5 June 1941 to 22 January 1942)'' * 2nd Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) ''(from 5 April to 1 July 1940)'' * 1st Battalion,

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The re ...

''(from 2 June to 14 August 1940)'' * 2nd Battalion,

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

''(from 22 July to 14 August 1940)'' * 1st Battalion,

Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

''(from 16 May to 4 June 1941)'' * 4th 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 ...

''(from 29 May 1941 to 28 October 1944)'' * 11th Czech Battalion ''(from 30 May to 6 October 1941)'' * 23rd Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 23 September 1941, disbanded 16 February 1942)'' * 1st 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 ...

''(from 3 to 24 February 1942)'' * 1st Battalion,

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot a ...

''(from 3 to 14 February 1942)'' * 2nd Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

''(from 19 October 1943 to 28 October 1944)'' * 2nd Battalion,

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

''(from 24 October 1944 to 17 June 1945)'' * 3rd Battalion,

9th Gurkha Rifles The 9th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha infantry regiment of the Indian Army and, previously, the British Army. The regiment was initially formed by the British in 1817, and was one of the Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independ ...

''(from 12 November 1944 to 13 June 1945)'' * 12th Battalion,

Nigeria Regiment The Nigeria Regiment was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit of the Royal West African Frontier Force was formed by the amalgamation of the Northern Nigeria Regiment and the Southern Nigeria Regiment on 1 January 1914. Structure At that ...

''(from 15 November 1944 to 7 March 1945)'' * 3rd Battalion,

6th Gurkha Rifles The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Compa ...

''(from 27 March to 16 June 1945)'' * 3rd Battalion,

4th Gurkha Rifles The 4th Gorkha Rifles or the Fourth Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 4 GR, is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Indian Gorkha or Nepalese nationality, especially Magars and Gurungs hill tribes of Nepal. The Fourth ...

''(from 28 March to 13 June 1945)'' * 2nd Battalion,

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, Royal Highland Fusiliers ...

''(from 18 to 31 August 1945)'' * 2nd Battalion,

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...

''(from 19 to 31 August 1945)''

Chindit units

* 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment:Columns 44, 56 * 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment: Columns 33, 76 * 4th Battalion, Border Regiment:Columns 34, 55 * 60th (North Midland) Field Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

: Columns 60, 68 (fighting as infantry) * 12th Field Company

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

& Medical Detachment: Support

References

{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War 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 in Burma in World War II