45th Brigade (United Kingdom)

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45th Brigade
45th Infantry Brigade
Active1914–1918
1939–1946
Country United Kingdom
BranchKitchener's Army
TypeInfantry
SizeBrigade
Part of15th (Scottish) Infantry Division
EngagementsFirst World War
Insignia
Identification
symbol
Divisional Insignia Scottish Red Lion Rampant , inside a yellow circle

The 45th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars with 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division.

First World War

The brigade was raised, as 45th Brigade, in 1914 as part of Kitchener's New Armies shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. With the 15th (Scottish) Division, the brigade saw active service on the Western Front in Belgium and France.

The brigade command the following units:[1]

  • 13th (Service) Battalion,
    Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment)
  • 7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (until May 1916)
  • 6th/7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (left February 1918)
  • 6th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
  • 11th (Service) Battalion,
    Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders)
    (until June 1918)
  • 45th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed 12 February 1916, moved to 15th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 17 March 1918)
  • 45th Trench Mortar Battery (formed 17 June 1916)
  • 1/8th Battalion, Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) (from June 1918)

The 7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers was an original member of the brigade. It merged with the 6th (Service) Battalion in May 1916 to form the 6th/7th Battalion.

Second World War

The brigade was reformed just before the Second World War, as the 45th Infantry Brigade. The brigade was a 2nd Line Territorial Army formation and was part of the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, which was the duplicate of the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division and served in the Second World War. The brigade was formed as a duplicate of the 156th Infantry Brigade. It remained in the United Kingdom throughout the war and, in early January 1943, left the 15th Division and was replaced by 6th Guards Tank Brigade. The Brigade was then assigned to the 80th Infantry (Reserve) Division for training purposes. Once the 80th was disbanded, the brigade was assigned to the 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division whose control it remained under for the duration of the war.

During the war, the brigade contained the following units:

References

  1. ^ "15th (Scottish) Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)