British infantry brigades of the First World War facts for kids

During World War I, the British Army formed many infantry brigades. A brigade is a large group of soldiers, usually made up of several smaller groups called battalions. In total, 259 infantry brigades were created by the British Army, two by the Royal Navy, and one by the Royal Marines. Some of these brigades (53 of them) stayed in reserve or were only used for training. Another nine served only in British India.

Before the war, the regular British Army had only 18 infantry brigades. The reserve force, called the Territorial Force (TF), had another 45. When the war started, the regular army grew a lot. First, many people volunteered to join what became known as Kitchener's Army. At the same time, more volunteers joined the Territorial Force, forming "second line" units.

Most infantry brigades stayed with the same division (a larger military unit) throughout the war. At the beginning of the war, a brigade usually had four infantry battalions and a small headquarters. But by 1918, because so many soldiers had been lost, a brigade was reduced to three battalions. However, the brigades also got more powerful. They were given more machine guns and eventually had their own machine gun company and a mortar battery.

How the Army Grew

When World War I began in August 1914, the British regular army was quite small. It was a professional force with about 247,000 regular soldiers. These soldiers were organized into different groups, including infantry and cavalry regiments, plus artillery and other support units.

The regular army also had support from reservists and the Territorial Force. There were three types of reserves:

• The Army Reserve had retired soldiers, about 145,000 strong.
• The Special Reserve had about 64,000 part-time soldiers.
• The National Reserve had about 215,000 men with past military experience.

On paper, the total force was almost 700,000 men. However, only about 150,000 were ready right away to form the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to fight overseas.

Regular Army Brigades

After 1907, the regular British Army at home was organized into six divisions. Each division had three brigades, numbered 1st to 18th. When the war started, the 19th Brigade was formed from four infantry battalions. These battalions were originally meant to protect supply lines.

Later in 1914, more regular army battalions returned to Europe from different parts of the British Empire. They formed new divisions, like the 7th and 8th Division, with brigades numbered 20th to 25th. As the war continued, three more regular army divisions were created: the 27th, 28th, and 29th. Their brigades were numbered from 80th to 88th.

Territorial Force Brigades

The Territorial Force (TF) was a reserve group. It had fourteen divisions, each with three brigades. Another three brigades were independent, meaning they weren't part of a division. These independent brigades were mainly for defending the coast.

Until August 1915, these brigades weren't numbered. They were named after their region or the regiments that supplied their soldiers. When they were given numbers, they became the 125th to 234th brigades. As a home defense group, TF soldiers couldn't be sent overseas unless they agreed. But once the war started, almost all TF members volunteered to serve abroad.

Because so many volunteered, a "second line" Territorial Force was created. This was almost an exact copy of the first line divisions and brigades. For example, if the first line had the Northumbrian Division with the Northumberland, York and Durham, and Durham Light Infantry Brigades, the second line would have the 2nd Northumbrian Division with the 2nd Northumberland, 2nd York and Durham, and 2nd Durham Light Infantry Brigades. These second-line volunteers also had to agree to serve overseas.

Kitchener's Army Brigades

The British 137th Brigade gathers on September 29, 1918, after breaking through the German Hindenburg Line near the Riqueval Bridge in northern France.

The third main part of the British Army was the New Army, also known as Kitchener's Army. These new recruits were technically part of the regular army. They signed up to serve for three years or until the war ended.

The first New Army formed the 9th to 14th divisions, with brigades numbered 26th to 43rd. The second New Army created the 15th to 20th divisions, with brigades 44th to 61st. The third New Army had the 21st to 26th divisions, with brigades 62nd to 79th. The fourth and fifth New Armies included the famous Pals battalions, forming the 30th to 35th divisions (brigades 89th to 106th) and the 37th to 42nd divisions (brigades 110th to 136th). The last New Army, the sixth, formed the 36th to 41st divisions, with brigades 107th to 124th.

How Infantry Brigades Were Organized

At the start of World War I, most other armies like the French, Russian, and German armies had divisions with two brigades. Each of their brigades had two or three regiments, totaling about 6,000 men. The British Army was different. Its divisions had three brigades. Each British brigade had a bit over 4,000 men, organized into four battalions, plus support troops. These brigades were led by a brigadier general.

In 1914, a British infantry brigade had a small headquarters and four infantry battalions. Each battalion had two heavy machine guns. As the war went on, the way infantry brigades were set up changed. They started getting more of their own direct fire support. By 1916, each brigade had a Vickers machine gun company and a mortar battery with eight Stokes Mortars. Later, the machine gun companies were grouped together into larger divisional machine gun battalions. By 1918, brigades were reduced to three battalions. However, each battalion now had 36 Lewis machine guns, meaning a brigade had a total of 108 machine guns!

Some brigades that fought away from the main battlefields, like the Western Front, had different setups. For example, the 228th Brigade in Greece had extra engineers and medical units. Brigades in the British Salonika Army had their own ammunition supply. Those in the Mesopotamia Campaign had their own supply and transport units. One unique brigade, the 226th Mixed Brigade, even had its own artillery.

In the trench warfare of the Western Front, an infantry brigade's job was to defend a certain part of the front line. For example, on March 21, 1918, the 173rd Brigade was responsible for defending about 5,000 yards (4,572 meters) of the front line. In 1918, the British Army had to defend 126 miles (203 km) of the Western Front. This was split among its different armies.

A common way for a brigade to set up its defenses was to have one battalion right on the front line. The other two battalions would be held in reserve, about 2 to 3 miles (3.2 to 4.8 km) behind. The front-line battalion would have small groups of soldiers in outposts in the front trench. Two companies (smaller units within a battalion) would be in strong points behind them. A third company would be in reserve, ready to counter-attack if needed, and the fourth company would be resting. Usually, two brigades from a division would be forward, with the third brigade in reserve.

List of Brigades

Many brigades were formed during the war. The table below lists some of them, showing which division they belonged to, when they first arrived at the front, where they served, and any special notes. Many of these brigades served on the Western Front, but others fought in places like the Gallipoli campaign, the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, the Macedonian Front, and the Italian Campaign. Some brigades were also kept for "Home Service," meaning they stayed in the UK for training or defense.

See also

• British Army during World War I
• British Army First World War reserve brigades
• British Army uniform and equipment in World War I
• British Expeditionary Force order of battle (1914)
• British Expeditionary Force (World War I)
• List of British divisions in World War I
• List of British brigades of the Second World War
• Recruitment to the British Army during the First World War