125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade
Lancashire Fusiliers Brigade 125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade 125th Infantry Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 1908–1919 1920–1941 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Territorial Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Brigade |
Part of | 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division |
Anniversaries | Gallipoli: 25 April |
Engagements | First World War
|
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Leonard Green The O'Donovan Philip Bowden-Smith |
Insignia | |
Identification symbol | 42nd Division insignia, Second World War |
The 125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade was an
Throughout its existence the brigade was composed almost entirely of battalions of the Lancashire Fusiliers, except for a few brief months in the early half of the Second World War.
Formation
Upon the creation of the
First World War
On the outbreak of the
Order of battle
The 125th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:[1][2][5]
Brigadier-General C.H. Frith
Brigadier-General H. Fargus from 23 June 1917
- 1/5th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (from Bury)
- 1/6th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (from Rochdale) (left 19 February 1918)
- Salford)
- 1/8th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (from Salford)
- 125th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed 4 March 1916, moved to 42nd Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 25 February 1918)
- 125th Trench Mortar Battery (joined 26 March 1917)
When British infantry brigades on the Western Front were reduced to three battalions in February 1918, 1/6th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers left and joined 197th (2/1st Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade of the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division, where it merged with the 2/6th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers and became the 6th Battalion once again.
Gallipoli
In early May 1915, the 42nd Division embarked from
Recuperation
The 42nd Division returned to Egypt in January 1916 with less than half the strength with which it had set out. It was stationed in Egypt for the next year, defending the Suez Canal and taking part in the Battle of Romani (4–5 August).[1]
Western Front
In February and March 1917, the whole of 42nd Division moved from Egypt to France to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front, where it remained for the rest of the war.[1] After re-equipping and training for trench warfare in a "quiet sector" with Fourth Army, 42nd Division relieved 15th (Scottish) Division in Fifth Army in the Ypres Sector at the end of August. On 6 September 125th Brigade carried out an unsuccessful attack on strongly-held German pillboxes around Iberian, Borry, and Beck House Farms. The small amount of ground they took was given up the next day.[5]
The 42nd Division was then returned to holding quiet sectors, at
Third Army's advance in Picardy culminated in the Battle of the Selle from 17 to 23 October.[1] On 23 October 42nd Division was given the task of taking three successive objectives before the New Zealand Division passed through to continue the attack. 125th Brigade led the attack with two battalions in front, but in spite of a defensive smoke barrage they suffered considerably from enemy shelling during assembly. The defenders of Beaurain "made a stout resistance and there was hard fighting in the early stages of the attack, men on both sides being killed by the bayonet".[10] The left of 125th Brigade reached its objective by 04.45, but the rest of the line did not do so until 08.00. The New Zealanders passed through and successfully reached their objectives.[10]
The division was then withdrawn into reserve and halted around Beauvois-en-Cambrésis from 24 October until the advance was resumed on 3 November. On 7 November the 42nd Division was tasked to take the high ground west of Hautmont and if possible to capture the town. The division was held up by enfilade fire from the right, and 126th Brigade did no more than occupy some of the high ground. 125th Brigade was therefore ordered to pass through it the next morning and advance to the objective. But the 126th, 'in an endeavour to atone for its slowness on the 7th', pushed on and reached Hautmont before 125th could catch up.[11] The 125th was unable to cross the Sambre because the pontoons had not arrived, so it retraced its steps to its overnight billets near Pont sur Sambre and crossed there. The brigade then forced back the enemy rearguards, and after dark its patrols went forward and cleared them off the high ground near Fort d'Hautmont, one of the outer forts of the Fortress of Maubeuge.[12] On 9 November the brigade encountered no resistance in reaching its assigned objective,[13] and by 10 November the most forward troops were on the Maubeuge–Avesnes-sur-Helpe road. This was the end of the fighting, because the Armistice with Germany came into the effect the following day. In December the division moved into quarters in the Charleroi area and by mid-March 1919 most of its troops had gone home for demobilisation.[1]
Interwar years
The Territorial Force was disbanded after the Great War and so both the brigade and division were also disbanded. However, the division reformed in 1920 in the Territorial Army, which was formed on a similar basis as the Territorial Force. The brigade was also reformed, now as the 125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Infantry Brigade, again with all four Territorial battalions of the Lancashire Fusiliers.[14]
Unlike the other infantry brigades in the division, the 125th Brigade's organisation remained much the same. However, in the late 1930s the Territorial Army's infantry was reorganised and, with a reduced need for so many infantry units, many of them were converted into other roles, mainly anti-aircraft or searchlight units, of either the
Second World War
The brigade and division, and the rest of the Territorial Army, were mobilised on 1 September 1939, the day the
France and Dunkirk
The 125th Brigade, commanded at the time by Brigadier George Sutton a Territorial officer, landed in France on 15 April 1940 with the rest of the 42nd Division and became part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The division came under command of III Corps, under Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald Adam, which also included the Regular 5th Infantry Division and Territorial 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division. Both the 42nd and 44th Divisions had, before deployment to France, been held back from reinforcing the BEF in order to participate in potential operations in Northern Europe, although this had never came to fruition.[17] In early May the 1/8th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers was exchanged with the 1st Battalion, Border Regiment from 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, another Regular formation. This was part of the BEF's official policy of mixing the Regular and Territorial Armies and was intended to, in theory, strengthen the TA divisions.[18][19]
After the defeat at the hands of the
Conversion
On 1 November 1941, 42nd Division was converted to
Like all infantry units transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps, they still maintained their infantry cap badges on the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps.When the 10th Armoured Brigade was scheduled for disbandment in late 1943,
Order of battle
The 125th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:[23]
- 1/5th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
- 1/6th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
- 1/8th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (left 4 May 1940, to 4th Brigade)[24]
- 125th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company (formed 31 December 1939, disbanded 25 January 1941)
- 1st Battalion,
- 9th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (newly raised; joined 1 December 1940)
Commanders
The following officers commanded 125th Infantry Brigade during the war:[23]
- Brigadier G.W. Sutton (until 10 October 1940)
- Brigadier The O'Donovan (from 10 October 1940 until 16 August 1941)
- Acting, from 17 August until 6 September 1941)
- Brigadier P.E. Bowden-Smith (from 6 September 1941)
Recipients of the Victoria Cross
- Lance Sergeant Edward Smith - 1/5th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, First World War
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Becke, Pt2a, pp. 36–41.
- ^ a b "Lancashire Fusilers". Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "The Long, Long Trail – Researching soldiers of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1919".
- ^ Becke, Pt2b, pp. 68–74.
- ^ a b c "The Long, Long Trail – Researching soldiers of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1919".
- ^ a b c North, p. 144
- ^ Edmonds, p. 44.
- ^ Edmonds, p. 47.
- ^ Edmonds, p. 48.
- ^ a b Edmonds, p. 365.
- ^ Edmonds, p. 510.
- ^ Edmonds, p. 523.
- ^ Edmonds, p. 530.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "The Lancashire Fusiliers [UK]". www.regiments.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Fraser, p. 30.
- ^ Fraser, p. 28.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Joslen, p. 164.
- ^ 10th Armoured Brigade War Diary, August & November 1943, The National Archives, Kew file WO 166/10742
- ^ "5th Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers [UK]". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 27 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ a b Joslen, p. 310.
- ^ a b Joslen, p. 234.
- ^ Joslen, p.279.
References
- A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: the Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56), London: HM Stationery Office, 1935/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-84734-739-8.
- A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: the 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-84734-739-8.
- James Edmonds, History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1918, Vol V, 26th September–11th November, The Advance to Victory, London: HM Stationery Office, 1947/Imperial War Museum and Battery Press, 1993, ISBN 1-870423-06-2.
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- John North, Gallipoli: The Fading Vision, London: Faber & Faber, 1936.
- ISBN 978-0-304-35233-3