14th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

14th Infantry Brigade
Active	World War I: 1914–1918 World War II: 1939–1945
Country	Great Britain
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry Airlanding
Role	Chindit
Engagements	Battle of Crete and Siege of Tobruk

The British 14th Infantry Brigade was a British Army formation during both the First World War and the Second World War.

History

World War I

In 1914 this brigade was part of the 5th Division and moved over to France. In 1915 the brigade was transferred to the British 32nd Division.

Component units World War I

• 1st Bn, The Devonshire Regiment
• 2nd Bn, The Suffolk Regiment - left September 1914
• 1st Bn, The East Surrey Regiment
• 1st Bn, The DCLI
• 2nd Bn, The Manchesters
• 1/5th Bn, The Cheshires - joined February 1915, left November 1915
• 1/9th (Highlanders) Bn, The Royal Scots - joined November 1915
• 2nd Bn, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers - joined November 1915

World War II

At the start of the war this unit was made up of regular army battalions based in the Middle East garrisons, nominally part of the 8th Infantry Division. It was present at the Battle of Crete, holding Heraklion airfield and causing many casualties among the German Parachute troops. Evacuated to North Africa where it became part of the British 70th Infantry Division in the break out from Tobruk. The British 70th Infantry Division was transferred to India and then Burma. Here the division, including the 14th Infantry Brigade, was split up and reformed as Chindits, fighting in the Second Chindit Expedition of 1944 (codenamed Operation Thursday). The Brigade suffered 489 casualties during the Chindit operation. On 1 November 1944 the brigade was redesignated as the British 14th Airlanding Brigade.

Component units World War II

• 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Regiment
• 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
• 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, Black Watch
• 7th Battalion, The Royal Leicestershire Regiment

Commanders

• Brig. G. Dawes (3 September 1939 – 26 July 1940)
• Brig. O.H. Tidbury (30 October 1940 – 27 April 1941)
• Brig. B.H. Chappel (27 April 1941 – 2 May 1942)
• Brig. A. Gilroy (2 May 1942 – 6 November 1943)
• Brig. Thomas Brodie (6 November 1943 – 31 October 1944)

See also

• British Divisions in World War II
• British Army Order of Battle - September 1939
• British 6th Infantry Division
• British 70th Infantry Division
• Chindits
• Siege of Tobruk
• Battle of Crete

References

• Great Campaigns of World War II. Great Britain: Phoebus Publishing. 1980. ISBN 0-86288-340-7. 
• Antony Beevor (1991). Crete, The Battle and the Resistance. Great Britain: John Murray (Publishers). ISBN 0-7195-6831-5. 
• 14 Infantry Brigade at Orders of Battle.com