During the Second World War, a British infantry brigade consisted of multiple battalions and was commanded by a brigadier. Generally, three infantry brigades would form an infantry division, although brigades could be used as independent formations in which case, they were usually assigned to a corps-level command to be utilised. Brigades were flexible formations and rarely maintained the same battalions. Likewise, brigades could be moved from division to division or higher-level commands, as the tactical or strategic need arose. Their role could also vary dramatically, from being a combat formation to becoming a training organisation. Over the course of the war, the British Army had 216 uniquely numbered or named brigade formations. However, not all existed at the same time, and several were formed by renaming or renumbering existing formations. This article focuses on all brigades numbered between 1 and 100. Those numbered above 100 or named, are located within their own list.
During the Second World War, the British Army was split between two branches: the regular army, made up of full-time professionals; and the Territorial Army (TA), which comprised part-time reservists. The TA was seen as the primary way to expand the size of the British military during a war. To do so, the existing TA formations, which were referred to as the first-line, would create a new formation based around a cadre of soldiers. The new formation, referred to as the second-line, would then be expanded until it reached full strength. The regular army also created new brigades when existing infantry battalions were grouped together. The expansion of British African regiments also saw the creation of many additional infantry brigades.
Background
During the Second World War, the infantry was the backbone of the British Army. Within the British Army, the infantry was organised into regiments, however, these were administrative structures and not operational units. The fighting unit of an infantry regiment was the battalion, and a regiment could field numerous battalions. A brigade generally consisted of three infantry battalions commanded by a brigadier, and were around 2,500-men strong.
Brigades were not set formations, and their composition and role could change because of tactical or strategic demands. For example, the 9th Infantry Brigade contained the same three battalions throughout the course of the war. In contrast, the 16th Infantry Brigade had 17 different battalions under its command during the war. It was unusual for a brigade to consist solely of battalions from one regiment. From the list below, excluding the brigades raised in Africa, only the 35th (Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)), the 53rd (Royal Norfolk Regiment), and the 61st Infantry Brigades (Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)) contained more than one battalion from the same regiment. Of these, only the 35th maintained the battalions from one regiment throughout the course of the brigade's existence. A brigade could be an independent formation, answerable only to a high-level command, or one assigned to a division. Those assigned to divisions could be switched between formations depending on the strategic need. For example, the 9th and the 10th Infantry Brigades never left their respective divisions throughout the entire course of the war, whereas the 16th Infantry Brigade was assigned to seven different divisions, six corps-level commands, and three strategic commands. In combat, brigades were provided support from artillery, engineers, and other supporting arms as needed. Generally, these assets belonged to the higher formations that the brigade belonged to.