131st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

131st (Surrey) Brigade
Active 1908–1945
Country  United Kingdom
Branch Territorial Army
Type Infantry Brigade
Engagements Dunkirk evacuation
Western Desert Campaign
Tunisian Campaign
Italian Campaign
Battle of Normandy
North Germany
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Brigadier L.G. Whistler

The 131st Infantry Brigade was a 1st Line Territorial Army formation of the British Army in World War I and World War II.

World War I

After the creation of the Territorial Force in 1908, four battalions from Surrey regiments were organised into a brigade within the Home Counties Division. On the outbreak of World War I, the men of the division accepted liability for overseas service to go to India to relieve Regular troops for the fighting fronts. However, the brigade staffs and Regular adjutants of the battalions remained behind. The division embarked at Southampton and sailed on 30 October 1914, disembarking at Bombay on 1–3 December.[1]

Composition

On the outbreak of war the Surrey Brigade was composed as follows:[1][2][3]

Commander: Brigadier-General J. Marriott (remained in UK)

Service in India

On arrival, the division's units were distributed to various peacetime stations across India, Aden and Burma to continue their training for war. For a time the two East Surrey battalions were attached to the Allahabad Brigade in 8th (Lucknow) Division, where they were joined by the 4th Queens.[3][4][6] In May 1915, the division was numbered 44th (Home Counties) Division and the brigade formally became 131st (1/1st Surrey) Brigade (though without a commander or staff). The TF battalions had all taken the prefix '1' (1/4th Queen's etc) to distinguish them from their second-line battalions forming in the UK.[1]

During 1915 there was a regular drain on the battalions as they lost their best Non-Commissioned Officers for officer training, sent detachments to various places in India, and provided drafts to replace casualties among units fighting in Mesopotamia. 1/5th Queens was transferred to Mesopotamia at the end of the year, landing at Basra on 10 December and transferring to 15th Indian Division.[1]

By early 1916 it had become obvious that the Territorial Divisions in India were never going to be able to reform and return to Europe to reinforce the Western Front as had been originally intended. They continued training in India for the rest of the war, providing drafts and detachments as required. 1/6th East Surreys served in garrison at Aden from February 1917 to January 1918, and 1/5th East Surreys was transferred to Mesopotamia at the end of 1917, landing at Basra on 27 December and joining 18th Indian Division.[1]

The only battalion of 131st Brigade that had not deployed outside India at any time during the war, 1/4th Queen's, finally saw active service in 1919 during the Third Anglo-Afghan War.[1][8] During 1919 the remaining units were gradually reduced, and 131st Brigade was reformed in the Territorial Army in 1920.[1]

World War II

On mobilisation in September 1939, 131st Brigade HQ became HQ Eastern Sub-Area in the UK and the units of the brigade were temporarily under the command of other formations until the brigade reassembled in 44th (Home Counties) Division on 7 October 1939. Initially, it comprised the three 1st Line Territorial Army battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment.[9]

Order of Battle

During World War II the brigade was constituted as follows:[9]

Service

131st Brigade landed in France with 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division on 3 April 1940 to join the British Expeditionary Force in France. Here the brigade was bolstered by the Regular 2nd Battalion, Buffs. After fighting in the St Omer–La Bassée area, the brigade was evacuated from Dunkirk on 31 May 1940. Back in the UK, 131st Brigade was re-equipped and positioned in South East England to defend what the divisional commander, Major-General Brian Horrocks regarded as 'the No 1 German invasion area, stretching from the Isle of Thanet to Dover and on to Folkestone'.[10]

The brigade, along with the rest of the 44th Infantry Division, was sent to North Africa in 1942 where it fought at the Battle of Alam Halfa and the Second Battle of El Alamein. When the 44th Infantry Division was broken up after Alamein (and disbanded on 31 January 1943) 131st Brigade was converted in October 1942 into a Lorried Infantry Brigade and served with the 7th Armoured Division and the British XXX Corps in the Tunisian Campaign.

131st Brigade served briefly in the Italian Campaign with British X Corps under command of US Fifth Army during the Battle for the Salerno beachhead where the brigade relieved its duplicate 169th (Queen's) Brigade. They fought in North West Europe with 7th Armoured Division from June 7, after D-Day until Victory in Europe Day. In December, due to heavy losses, the 1/6th and 1/7th Queens were swapped for the 2nd Devons and 9th Durham Light Infantry, which were both originally part of the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division that was being sent back to the United Kingdom to serve as a training division. The reorganised 131st Brigade then fought through the battles after the Rhine crossing in March 1945.

Battles

131st Brigade participated in the following actions during WWII:[9]

Commanders

The following officers commanded 131st Brigade during World War II:[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Becke, pp. 49–54.
  2. ↑ http://www.1914-1918.net/44div.htm
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.warpath.orbat.com/divs/44_div.htm
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 http://www.1914-1918.net/queens.htm
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.warpath.orbat.com/regts/queens.htm
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 http://www.1914-1918.net/eastsurreys.htm
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://www.warpath.orbat.com/regts/e_surrey.htm
  8. ↑ Robson, Appendices 1 & 2.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Joslen, pp. 316–7.
  10. ↑ Horrocks, p. 97.

References

External links