70th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
70th Brigade 70th Infantry Brigade 70th Independent Infantry Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 1914–1919 1939–1944 1950–? |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Brigade |
Nickname(s) | "The Polar Bears" (divisional nickname) |
Engagements | First World War Second World War |
The 70th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw service during both the First and Second World War and postwar.
First World War
The 70th Brigade was first raised in September 1914, shortly after the beginning of the
Order of battle
The 70th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:[1]
- 11th (Service) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters[2] (until September 1918)
- 8th (Service) Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
- 8th (Service) Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
- 9th (Service) Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
- 1/8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (from October 1915 until February 1916)
- 70th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (formed July 1916, moved to 23rd Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 1 April 1918)
- 70th Trench Mortar Battery (formed 18 June 1916)
Second World War
The brigade, disbanded in March 1919, was reformed in 1939 in the
The brigade, serving with the 23rd Division in Northern Command, was, despite being very poorly trained and equipped, ordered to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), then serving on the border between France and Belgium, as lines of communication (LoC) troops under GHQ BEF. The brigade (now with the 1st Battalion, Tyneside Scottish in place of the 12th DLI, which was redesignated on 1 January 1940) arrived in France on 25 April 1940.[4] Together with the rest of the BEF, the brigade was, under a month after its arrival in France, involved in the Battle of France in May 1940 and the retreat to Dunkirk from where it took part in the Dunkirk evacuation.[5]
After escaping from Dunkirk, the brigade, which had sustained some of the highest losses in the BEF (with each battalion totalling roughly 200 men), was serving in
The brigade, now commanded by Brigadier Percy Paulet King,
During
Thereafter it fought south of Tilly-sur-Seulles, before following the 49th Division's initial drive during I Corps' drive to the River Seine in late August. On 19 August, however, the brigade was withdrawn from the front line and the following day all officers and warrant officers in the brigade was informed personally by Major-General "Bubbles" Barker, the division's GOC, that the 70th Brigade was to be disbanded to fill the increasing gap in available infantry replacements. General Sir Bernard Montgomery, commanding the 21st Army Group, arrived the day after, saying much the same.[11] At this stage of the war, the British Army was suffering from a severe lack of available manpower, having used up nearly all of its manpower reserves.[12] Most of the men were posted to battalions of the 50th (Northumbrian) and the 51st (Highland) Infantry Divisions.[12] By 19 October 1944, the brigade officially ceased to exist.[13] Its place in the 49th Division was taken by the 56th Infantry Brigade, previously an independent formation.
Order of battle
The 70th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:[4]
- 10th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
- 11th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
- 12th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (until 31 December 1939)
- 1st Battalion, Tyneside Scottish, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)) (from 1 January 1940)
During the period 27 June to 17 October 1940 the following additional unit was under command:[4]
- 187th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps
Commanders
The following officers commanded the 70th Brigade during the war:[4]
- Brigadier P. Kirkup (until 26 September 1941, again 22 October 1941 until 24 July 1942)
- Acting, from 26 September until 22 October 1941)
- Brigadier P.P. King (from 24 July 1942 until 20 January 1944)
- Brigadier E.C. Cooke-Collis (from 20 January 1944)
Post-War
During the
On independence over the December 1963-January 1964 period the brigade was disestablished by becoming the basis of 1 Brigade, Kenya Army.[16]
References
- ^ "The Long, Long Trail – Researching soldiers of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1919".
- ^ "Chesterfield Sherwoods on the Somme". Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
- ^ "Northern Command on 3 September 1939". Archived from the original on 8 April 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Joslen, p. 301
- ^ "British Expeditionary Force 1940 - 23rd Div". Retrieved 5 March 2003.
- ^ Delaforce, pp. 22––23
- ISBN 0-7509-2895-6.
- ^
Meyer, Hubert (2005). The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division. Stackpole Books. p. 393. ISBN 0-8117-3198-7.
- ^ Baverstock, pp. 47–152
- ^ "Orders of Battle.com - 70th Brigade Honours". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
- ^ Delaforce, pp. 132–133
- ^ a b Baverstock, pp. 162–177
- ^ "Orders of Battle.com - 70th Brigade History". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
- ^ United Kingdom: Kenya Insurgency 1952-1956 Units and Operations Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Paul, James; Spirit, Martin (2008). "British Units in the Kenyan Emergency". Britains-smallwars.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ Jonah Mwangi; Esther Wanjiku; Muthusi Kimwele, eds. (2019). The Soldier's Legacy: The Kenya Army at 55: A Steadfast Shield from 1963 into Posterity. Woodlands Road, Nairobi: Kenya Army. ISBN 978-9966-804-32-7, pp 8-9, reproducing Kenya Military Forces (Naming of Units) Order 1964; Obituary: Maj-Gen Dick Gerrard-Wright The Telegraph, 12 July 2012
Bibliography
- Baverstock, Kevin. Breaking the Panzers: The Bloody Battle for Rauray. Sutton Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0-7509-2895-6
- Delaforce, Patrick. The Polar Bears - Monty's Left Flank: From Normandy to the Relief of Holland with the 49th Division. Sutton Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-7509-3194-9
- Casualties for 49th Division
- Public Record Office, WO 171/653, Headquarters War Diary of 70th Infantry Brigade from January - July 1944
- 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.