115th Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 115th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army raised during the Great War. It was raised as part of the new army also known as Kitchener's Army and assigned to the 38th (Welsh) Division. With the division, the brigade saw service on the Western Front.
Disbanded after the war the brigade was reformed in the Territorial Army as the 115th Infantry Brigade shortly before the Second World War. It spent most of the war in the United Kingdom as part of the 38th (Welsh) Division. From 2 August 1944, it formed Force 135 which was planning the reoccupation of the Channel Islands. In the event, the plan did not go ahead and the brigade left Force 135 on 30 January 1945. On 12 February, it moved to North West Europe where it remained until the end of the war serving variously under the direct command of VIII, XII and I Corps.[1]
First World War formation
The infantry battalions did not all serve at once, but all were assigned to the brigade during the war.
- 16th (Service) Battalion (Cardiff City), Welsh Regiment
- 10th (Service) Battalion (1st Gwent), South Wales Borderers
- 11th (Service) Battalion (2nd Gwent), South Wales Borderers
- 17th (Service) Battalion (2nd North Wales), Royal Welsh Fusiliers
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
- 115th Machine Gun Company
- 115th Mortar Battery[2]
Second World War formation
- 8th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers (to 4 July 1944)
- 9th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers (to 11 October 1943)
- 10th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers (to 25 July 1942, became 6th Battalion, Parachute Regiment)
- 115th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (formed 1 January 1940, disbanded 12 January 1943)
- 13th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers (from 7 November 1942 to 4 July 1944)
- 9th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry (from 24 October 1943 to 4 July 1944)
- 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (from 28 August 1944 to 3 April 1945)
- 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment (from 28 August 1944)
- 30th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment (from 27 August 1944 to 15 March 1945)
- 5th (Hackney) Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment (from 1 April 1945)
- 3rd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment (from 8 April 1945)[3]
References
- ↑ Joslen 2003, p. 307
- ↑ "38th Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ↑ http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/939BXIE.pdf
Bibliography
- Joslen, Lt-Col H.F. (1990) [1st. Pub. HMSO:1960]. Orders of Battle, Second World War, 1939–1945. London: London Stamp Exchange. ISBN 0-948130-03-2.