5th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
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The 5th Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade of the British Army that was in existence since before the First World War to disbandment in 1999.
History
The brigade was part of the 2nd Division during the First World War and was one of the first British units to be sent overseas upon the outbreak of war. They became part of the British Expeditionary Force and saw action on the Western Front in the Battle of Mons and the subsequent Great Retreat and at the First Battle of Ypres which saw the old Regular Army virtually destroyed.
During World War II the 5th Brigade was again part of the 2nd Infantry Division and was sent to France in 1939 shortly after the outbreak of war where it joined the British Expeditionary Force. It served on the Franco-Belgian border until May 1940 where it was evacuated at Dunkirk after fighting in the short but fierce battles of France and Belgium where the German Army nearly cut off the entire BEF from the French Army. With the division, the brigade remained in Britain on home defence until 10 April 1942 when it was shipped out to India to fight the Imperial Japanese Army after a series of disasters suffered by the British and Indian troops stationed there. The 5th Brigade served with the 2nd Infantry Division in the Burma Campaign under General Sim's British Fourteenth Army and fought in the Battle of Kohima, that managed to help turn the tide of the campaign in the Far East.
Component Units in World War I
- 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (transferred to 33rd Division on 15 December 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
- 2nd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry
- 2nd Battalion, Connaught Rangers (transferred to 3rd (Lahore) Division on 26 November 1915)
- 17th (Service) Battalion (Empire), Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (December 1915 to February 1918)
- 24th (Service) Battalion (2nd Sportsman's), Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (from December 1915)
The following battalions were part of the brigade in 1915.
- 1/7th Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) (September to November 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (January to July 1915)
- 1/9th Battalion, (Glasgow Highlanders), Highland Light Infantry (November 1914 to January 1916)
- 1st Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (July to December 1915)
Component Units in World War II
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment (until February 1940)
- 2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment
- 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
- 7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (from February 1940)
Commanders
- Brig. G.L. Gartlan
- Brig. C.G. Phillips
- Brig. J.R.T. Aldous
- Brig. R.V.C. Cavendish
- Brig. V.F.S. Hawkins
- Brig. M.M. Alston-Roberts-West
Post 1945
Following the war it was part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, and then the British Army of the Rhine until 1964, when the Brigade Group was released to bolster the strategic reserve. It arrived in Borneo in October 1965 to take control of Mid West Sector, but by 1968 it was back in the United Kingdom as part of the 3rd Infantry Division. It did a tour in Northern Ireland during the early part of the Troubles. In the early 1980s the Field Force concept was dropped in favour of traditional Brigades, 5th Infantry Brigade was reformed at Aldershot in 1981 by the redesignation of 8th Field Force. The Brigade consisted of the former elements of the Parachute Contingency Force (PCF) from 6 Field Force (which became the 1st Infantry Brigade), at the time 2 PARA, together with a second Parachute Battalion from 8 Field Force (3 PARA).
Falklands War
The Brigade was sent to the Falklands in 1982 as the follow-on force to 3rd Commando Brigade. Having had its two Parachute Regiment battalions withdrawn to reinforce 3 Commando Brigade it was hurriedly reconstituted with two Guards battalions pulled from Public duties in London. The final order of battle included:
- 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards
- 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards
- 1st Battalion, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles
- 1 troop of the Blues and Royals
5th Airborne Brigade
Following the Falklands War it was converted into 5th Airborne Brigade, this included the 2 battalions of the Parachute Regiment together with additional parachute support elements and a small parachute deployable Brigade HQ. 7 Para Regiment RHA returned from Germany and was converted to an airborne unit and a Brigade Logistic Battalion was formed. In that form was merged with 24 Airmobile Brigade to produce 16 Air Assault Brigade from 1 September 1999.
5th Airborne Brigade Order of Battle
- HQ 5 Airborne Brigade
- 89 Abn Intelligence Section, Intelligence Corps
- No1 Air Force Liaison Section
- 2x Parachute Battalions
- 1x Infantry Battalion (2nd Bn The Wessex Regiment(V))
- 1x Gurkha Battalion
- 1x Armoured Recce Regiment Life Guards/ The Blues & Royals
- 7 (Para) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
- Royal Pioneer Corps
4th Field Regiment (Royal Artillery 1977 - 1983)
- 36 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers
- 9 Para Squadron RE
- 20 Sqn RE
- 50 Field Construction Sqn RE
- 61 Field Support Sqn RE
- HQ & Signal Sgn Royal Signals
- Det 224 Signal Sqn Royal Signals
- 658 Aviation Sqn Army Air Corps
- 23 Parachute Field Ambulance Royal Army Medical Corps
- 160 Provost Company Royal Military Police
- 63 Sqn RAF Regt. Consisting of 8 Rapier fire units deployed as 2 flights (A & B flights) A1 – A4; B1 – B4. http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafregiment/squadrons/63_sqn_history.cfm
Each fire unit was equipped with Rapier Field Standard A and DN181 ‘Blindfire’ radar. There was also an HQ Flight and an Engineering Flight.
- 613 Tactical Air Control Party RAF
- 614 Tactical Air Control Party RAF
Logistic Battalion
- 63 Abn Squadron Royal Corps of Transport/ Royal Logistic Corps
- 82 Abn Ordnance Company Royal Army Ordnance Corps/ Royal Logistic Corps
- 10 Abn Workshop Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers
Territorial Army Enhancement
- 4 Para (V) - HQ Pudsey
- 10 Para (V) - HQ London
- 15 Para (SV) - HQ Glasgow
- 210(V) Sgn Royal Corps of Transport/Royal Logistics Corps
- 163 Provost Company (V) Royal Military Police
- 144 Para Field Ambulance (V) - HQ London
References
External links
- Gregory Blaxland, The Regiments Depart, 1971
- 5 Infantry Brigade at Orders of Battle.com
- http://orbat.com/site/history/historical/falklands/ - Includes 5 Brigade's order of battle in the Falklands
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