The 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team is a formation in the British Army with a direct lineage to 7th Armoured Brigade and a history that stretches back to the Napoleonic Wars. It saw active service in the Crimean War, the Second Boer War and both the First and the Second World Wars. In 2014, the 7th Armoured Brigade was re-designated as 7th Infantry Brigade, thereby ensuring that the famed "Desert Rats" continue in the British Army's Order of battle.
History
Waterloo Campaign
When Wellington organized his troops into numbered divisions for the Peninsular War, the component brigades were named for the commanding officer.[a] For the Hundred Days Campaign, he numbered his British infantry brigades in a single sequence, 1st to 10th. The 7th Brigade formed part of the 7th Division under the command of Major-general Kenneth MacKenzie. It consisted of:
Post-war, the brigade was reformed in January 1906 as part of the 4th Division, before joining the 3rd Division in Southern Command in 1907.[14]
First World War
At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the 7th Brigade was a regular army formation stationed at Tidworth and assigned to the 3rd Division.[15] It mobilized with the division, crossed to France between 11 and 16 August, concentrated around Aulnoye and Avesnes, and moved forward on 21 August 1914. Other than a brief period when it was reorganized in England in 1918,[16] the brigade served with the 3rd and 25th Divisions on the Western Front throughout the war.[17][18]
1/4th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment (T.F.) – joined on 24 February 1915 and became divisional pioneer battalion on 12 October 1915
25th Division
On 18 October 1915, 7th Brigade was posted to the 25th Division in exchange for 76th Brigade as part of a policy of "stiffening" New Army Divisions with regular units.[20] Once there, it was extensively reorganized on 26 October:[18]
On 1 March, the 7th Machine Gun Company joined the 74th, 75th and (divisional) 195th Machine Gun Companies in the 25th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps.[28] Due to a shortage of manpower, all British[c] divisions on the Western Front were reduced from a 12-battalion to a 9-battalion basis in February 1918. As a consequence, 7th Brigade was reduced from four to three battalions.[18][d] Almost immediately, the German Army's Spring Offensive fell upon the division. The 25th Division was remarkably unlucky; having faced the first German onslaught at the First Battles of the Somme (21 – 25 March), it was moved north to refit, where it faced the second offensive in the Battles of the Lys (9 – 29 April). It was once again moved south to a quite part of the line where it was attacked for the third time in the Battle of the Aisne (27 May – 6 June).[16]
Due to losses sustained, the division was withdrawn from the line and the brigades were reduced to cadre. The divisional and brigade HQs returned to England with 10th Cheshires and 10 other Training Cadre (T.C.) battalions, arriving on 30 June.[16] For the 7th Brigade this meant:[28]
10th (Service) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment was reduced to Training Cadre on 21 June[e] and went to England with the brigade
4th (E.R.) Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment joined No. 1 Battalion, Composite Brigade on 21 June and transferred with it to 50th (Northumbrian) Division the next day[f]
1st Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment transferred to 110th Brigade, 21st Division on 20 June
7th Trench Mortar Battery was broken up on 18 June and the personnel helped to form a Light T.M. Battery for the Composite Brigade
8th (Service) Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment joined as a T.C. from 110th Brigade, 21st Division at Boulogne on 30 June and went to England with the brigade
The brigade arrived in England on 30 June and went to Mytchett Camp, Aldershot.[16] Soon after, the T.C. battalions left the brigade (10th Cheshires and 8th Leicesters on 7 July, 13th East Surreys on 16 July) for Eastern Command where they were reformed.[28]
The brigade HQ returned to France with 25th Division HQ on 15 September, arriving at Saint-Riquier near Abbeville the next day.[16] Units left behind in France (artillery, engineers, signals, pioneers, machine gunners, etc.) rejoined the division between then and 19 October.[30] The brigade was reformed on 16 September with battalions withdrawn from the Italian Front:[28]
The brigade continued in existence throughout the interwar period, seeing numerous changes in its composition and eventually, in the late 1930s, leading to it being redesignated 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards). At the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards)[g] was, once again, assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division, commanded at the time by Major-GeneralBernard Montgomery, in Southern Command. It was stationed at Pirbright Camp with the following units under command:
The 37th Infantry Brigade (originally in 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division) joined the 3rd Infantry Division on 27 November 1941 and on 8 December it was redesignated as 7th Infantry Brigade. At this time it commanded:[34]
The brigade served with the 9th Armoured Division from June 1942 until July 1944, when the division was disbanded, followed by the 47th Infantry (Reserve) Division from 10 September 1944 until August 1945. On 30 September 1944, it was reorganised as a reserve brigade whereupon it was redesignated as the 7th Infantry (Reserve) Brigade. The brigade remained in the United Kingdom throughout. By the end of the war, the brigade structure was:[34]
On 5 March 2013, the British Secretary of State for Defence, Philip Hammond, announced that the 7th Armoured Brigade would have its Challenger 2 tanks and heavy armoured battalions removed over the next decade. The Brigade itself will be re-designated as the 7th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters East, but retain its famed 'Desert Rats' insignia. On 24 February 2015, the brigade formally stepped out of its armour role into that of an infantry brigade and regional point of command.[35] At the same time, 49th (East) Brigade merged into 7th Infantry Brigade.[36]
Under the Future Soldier programme, the brigade was redesignated as the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team.[37]
Structure
7th Infantry Brigade
Units commanded by the brigade, which is based in Cottesmore, include:
^This could be a source of confusion as brigades acquired new commanders, or they moved between brigades, or indeed if two officers with the same surname commanded brigades simultaneously, for example Campbell's Brigade of 1st Division[1] and Campbell's Brigade of 4th Division[2] on 18 June 1809.
^25th Division formed a Composite Brigade on 21 and 22 June 1918 with 4th South Staffs and 11th Lancashire Fusiliers (as No. 1 Battalion), 8th Border Regiment and 9th Loyals (as No. 2 Battalion) and 6th Cheshires (as No 3 Battalion).[29]
^The "Guards" subtitle was applied as all three constituent battalions were drawn from the Guards regiments.
References
^Reid 2004, p. 35
^Reid 2004, p. 52
^"The King's Own Scottish Borderers by T.F. Mills at regiments.org". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^"37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot by T.F. Mills at regiments.org". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^"78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot (or The Ross-shire Buffs) by T.F. Mills at regiments.org". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
^"The Anglo-Allied Army at napoleonic-literature.com". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
^"Wellington's Army in 1815". Retrieved 25 August 2014.
^"The Crimean War - The Battle of The Alma". britishbattles.com. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
^"The Lancashire Fusiliers by T.F. Mills at regiments.org". Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved 2006-01-03.
^"The Royal Scots Fusiliers by T.F. Mills at regiments.org". Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
^"68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) by T.F. Mills at regiments.org". Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
^"Jacson: Chapter III - Events Following The Siege Of Ladysmith, And The Advance North Under Sir Redvers Buller 1900". AngloBoerWar.com. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r sMackie, Colin (August 2014). "Senior Army Appointments" (PDF). p. 191. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
^Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914". Retrieved 25 August 2014.
^ a b c d e fBecke 1938, p. 142
^ a bBecke 1935, p. 54
^ a b c d e fBecke 1938, p. 139
^Becke 1935, p. 52
^Becke 1935, p. 53
^Becke 1938, p. 141
^Frederick 1984, p. 309
^Baker, Chris. "The South Staffordshire Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
^James 1978, p. 49
^James 1978, p. 51
^James 1978, p. 59
^James 1978, p. 98
^ a b c d e fBecke 1938, p. 140
^Becke 1938, p. 137
^Becke 1938, p. 138
^"British Southern Command on 3 September 1939". The Patriot Files. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
^ a b cJoslen 2003, p. 243
^Joslen 2003, p. 214
^ a b c d e f gJoslen 2003, p. 286
^"The Desert Rats begin the next chapter". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). 24 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
^"49 (East) Brigade Officially Disbanded". Forces TV. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
Becke, Major A.F. (1935). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 1. The Regular British Divisions. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-09-4.
Becke, Major A.F. (1938). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 3A. New Army Divisions (9–26). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-08-6.
Frederick, J.B.M. (1984). Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978. Wakefield, Yorkshire: Microform Academic Publishers. ISBN 1-85117-009-X.
James, Brigadier E.A. (1978). British Regiments 1914–18. London: Samson Books Limited. ISBN 0-906304-03-2.
Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
Reid, Stuart (2004). Wellington's Army in the Peninsula 1809–14. Vol. 2 of Battle Orders Series. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-517-1.
External links
Official website
Baker, Chris. "3rd Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
Chappell, PB. "3rd Division". The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
Baker, Chris. "25th Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
Chappell, PB. "25th Division". The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
Niehorster, Leo. "Infantry Divisions on 03.09.1939". orbat.com. Retrieved 28 August 2014.