12th Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
| 12th Mechanized Brigade | |
|---|---|
|
Insignia of 12th Mechanized Brigade | |
| Active | 1899 – present day |
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Branch |
 British Army |
| Type | Mechanized infantry |
| Part of | 3rd (United Kingdom) Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Bulford Camp |
| Engagements |
World War I Le Cateau Battle of Marne Battle of Aisne First Battle of Ypres (1914) Battle of Messines (1914) Hill 60 Second Battle of Ypres (1915) Battle of Albert Battle of Le Transloy Battle of the Somme First Battle of the Scarpe Third Battle of the Scarpe Battle of Polygon Wood Battle of Broodseinde Battle of Poelcapelle Battle of Passchendaele Battle of Arras (1918) Battle of Hazebroucke Battle of Bethune Advance in Flanders Battle of the Scarpe (1918) Battle of Drocourt-Quéant Battle of the Canal du Nord Battle of the Selle Battle of Valenciennes World War II |
The 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade, formerly the 12th Mechanized Brigade, is a regular British Army brigade which has been in existence since 1899 and now forms part of 3rd Mechanised Division.
History
Second Boer War
The brigade was first formed in December 1899 as 12th Infantry Brigade and saw action at the Battle of Rensburg, Battle of Norval's Point, Battle of Biddulph's Berg and Battle of Slabbert's Nek.[1]
First World War
During the First World War, the 12th Infantry Brigade, a regular army formation, was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. It was dispatched to France, crossing the English Channel on 22 August 1914, as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and saw action in the First Battle of the Marne beginning in September 1914. It then spent much of the rest of the conflict engaged in trench warfare.[1]
Brigade units during the First World War included:
- 1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
- 2nd Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers
- 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (from January 1916 to 10th Bde. February 1918)
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment (from March 1915, to 11th Bde. July 1915)
- 1/5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment (from February 1915 until January 1916)
- 1/2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment (until January 1916)
From early November 1915 until February 1916 the 12th Brigade was swapped with the 107th Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division.
Second World War
During the Second World War, except for a few brief periods of detachment, the brigade formed part of 4th Infantry Division. It was part of the British Expeditionary Force and took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940. It moved to North Africa in February 1943 to take part in the later stages of the Tunisia Campaign and saw action at the Battle of Oved Zara, the Battle of Medjez Plain and the Battle of Tunis. It then took part in the Italian Campaign, moving to Naples in February 1944 and saw further action at the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino. By October 1944 the Division was taking part in Eighth Army's battle on the Gothic Line but was withdrawn in November to spend the rest of the war in Greece, part of the Allied force tasked to prevent civil unrest as rival factions attempted to fill the political vacuum when the Germans withdrew from the country.[1]
Brigade units during the Second World War included:
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers
- 1st Battalion, the South Lancashire Regiment (until June 1940)
- 1st Battalion, the Black Watch (until March 1940)
- 6th Battalion, the Black Watch (from March 1940)
- 1st Battalion, the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment (from September 1940)
Commanders during the Second World War included:
- 3 September 1939 Brigadier John Clark
- 20 October 1939 Brig. John Hawkesworth
- 18 June 1940 Brig. Daniel Beak
- 10 December 1941 Brig. R. G. W. Callaghan
- 14 April 1943 Lieutenant Colonel J. M. Haycroft (Acting)
- 17 April 1943 Brig. Richard Hull
- 17 June 1943 Brig. Gordon MacMillan
- 22 June 1943 Lt-Col. B. J. G Madden (Acting)
- 29 June 1943 Lt-Col. J. M. Haycroft (Acting)
- 7 July 1943 Lt Col. T. P. D. Scott
- 12 November 1943 Brig. F. M. Elliott
- 26 April 1944 Brig. A. G. W. Heber-Percy
Post-1945
The Brigade was disbanded in March 1947, but reformed from 91 Lorried Infantry Brigade in April 1956.[1] During the 1970s, it was one of two "square" brigades assigned to 2nd Armoured Division.[2] After being briefly converted to "Task Force Delta" in the late 1970s, the brigade was reinstated in 1981,[3] assigned to 1st Armoured Division[4] and based at Quebec Barracks at Osnabrück.[5] It remained with 1st Armoured Division, apart from a spell under HQ 3rd Armoured Division during Operation Granby, until disbandment under Options for Change.[1] Following the Strategic Defence Review in 1998, the brigade was reformed in mechanized form under 3rd Mechanised Division at Aldershot Garrison: it relocated to Ward Barracks in Bulford Camp in February 2004.[1]
Current formation
The brigade headquarters, with two battle groups – the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and the 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards – deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 to form the headquarters and main infantry combat units of Task Force Helmand as a part of the NATO International Security Assistance Force.[6] Under Army 2020, its headquarters remains at Bulford and it forms part of the Reaction Force. It has been renamed 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade and includes the following units:[7][8][9][10]
- The Royal Lancers (Formation Reconnaissance)
- The King's Royal Hussars (Armoured)
- 1st Battalion, Scots Guards (Heavy Protective Mobility) (Note: This Heavy Protected Mobility Infantry Unit rotates amongst the five Guards Division Battalions)[11]
- 1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (Armoured Infantry)
- 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (Armoured Infantry)
Brigade Commanders
Recent commanders have included:[12]
- 1956–1957 Brigadier I. H. Freeland
- 1970–1972 Brigadier D. T. Young
- 1972–1974 Brigadier W. R. Taylor
- 1984–1986 Brigadier J. J. Mackenzie
- 1989–1990 Brigadier J. M. F. C. Hall
- 1999–2002 Brigadier J. Cooper
- 2002–2003 Brigadier J. D. Shaw
- 2005–2007 Brigadier J. G. Lorimer
- 2007–2009 Brigadier D. M. Cullen
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "History of 12 Mech Bde HQ and Sig Sqn (228)" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-08-07.
- ↑ Watson, Graham (2005). "The British Army in Germany: An Organisational History 1947-2004". Tiger Lily. p. 95.
- ↑ Watson, p. 76
- ↑ Black, Harvey. "The Cold War Years. A Hot War in reality. Part 6.".
- ↑ "Quebec Barracks". BAOR Locations. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- ↑ Task Force Helmand Transfer of Authority Ceremony NATO
- ↑ "Regular Army Basing Plan" (PDF). Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ↑ "Army 2020 Brochure" (PDF). Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ↑ "Regular Army Basing Announcement" (PDF). AFF. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
- ↑ "page 7. This rotation occurs until 2016." (PDF). Retrieved 2013-08-07.
- ↑ Regular Army Basing Announcement footnote 10
- ↑ "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-08-07.
Sources
- Watson, Graham (2005). The British Army in Germany: An Organizational History 1947–2004. Tiger Lily. ISBN 978-0972029698.
External links
- 12 Mechanized Brigade – on British Army official website
- 12 Infantry Brigade at Orders of Battle.com
- British Army 1939