Independent Belgian Brigade

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The Independent Belgian Brigade was a

At the end of July 1940 there were 462 men in the Belgian Forces in exile; the arrival of many Belgians allowed the creation of several military units. The troops were trained in Great Britain and Canada and in 1942, Major Jean-Baptiste Piron arrived in Scotland, where he quickly joined the army staff, with the responsibility of improving the training of Belgian troops. In an artillery competition, the Belgian battery came first. The Belgian Forces in Britain were officially made available to the Allies on 4 June 1942. By the end of the year the army had been restructured, including the creation of the 1st Belgian Brigade, under the command of Major Piron, with a mix of infantry, artillery and reconnaissance units. Troop training continued through 1943 and landing exercises were conducted in early 1944. A Luxembourgish unit was assigned to Brigade Piron in March, forming an artillery troop. In total about 116 luxembourgers served in the unit.^[1] Because the Belgians had arrived from around the world, thirty-three languages were spoken in the brigade in 1944.^{[citation needed]}

Normandy invasion

The

The Belgian armoured vehicles were reunited with the rest of the brigade on 26 August at Foulbec. On 28 August 1944, the brigade was placed under the British 49th Infantry Division in order to mop up the Seine estuary and help in the siege of Le Havre.^[2] On 29 August, the brigade crossed the Seine to support Operation Astonia, the attack on Le Havre on the following day. At the last moment the brigade was withdrawn from the front and transferred to the Second Army for operations in Belgium. The efforts of Brigade Piron on Normandy's Côte Fleurie are commemorated by memorials, road names and war graves.

Belgium and the Netherlands

On 2 September, the brigade and the Dutch

On 11 September 1944, the brigade participated in a battle at the Albert Canal bridgehead and helped to capture Leopoldsburg liberating 900 political prisoners.^[2]

During Operation Market Garden the brigade was assigned to guard the right flank of the British 30th corps.

On 25 September 1944 the brigade reached the Wessem canal with fighting reaching its peak on 11 November 1944. Six days later the brigade was withdrawn and reorganized into a proper brigade for the first time at Leuven.^[2]

During their advance through Belgium, the Belgian troops were sometimes mistaken for

Brigade Piron returned to the Netherlands between 11 April 1945 and June 1945. The last casualty of the brigade occurred on 27 April 1945. The next day, the brigade was thrown into battle once again around Nijmegen.^[2] On that day also, an armistice was implemented in the Netherlands.^[2] The brigade entered Germany in May before being disbanded in December. Its tradition was however preserved in the Bevrijding (Liberation) battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Line.^[2]

Occupation of Germany

Brigade Piron occupied part of the British zone of occupation until 15 December 1945.

• Brigade Piron Pictures
• 
  Memorial in Thorn (Limburg), The Netherlands.
• 
  Plaque on « Liberation bridge» in

  Ottignies Belgium

  .
• 
  Captain, chaplain and WO of the 1st Infantry Brigade.

Post-war

Brigade Piron formed the basis of the new

In August 1944, the 1st Belgian Brigade consisted of:[6]

• Staff
• British Liaison
• 1st, 2nd and 3rd Motorised companies – each with rifle platoons reinforced by mortar, machine gun, anti-tank and anti-aircraft platoons.
• Armoured Car Squadron – 4 squadrons equipped with a mixture of Daimler Armoured Cars, Staghound armoured cars (some armed with anti-aircraft weapons) and Daimler "Dingo" Scout Cars and a supply and recovery squadron
• Artillery Battery – 12
  25 pounder
  gun-howitzers, organised into 3 troops, one of which was Luxembourgish.
• Engineers Company
• Transport Company
• Repair Detachment
• Medical Unit

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Roland Breyne, La Brigade Piron, Louvain-la-Neuve, Université Catholique de Louvain, Séminaires d'histoire contemporaine consacrés à la vie quotidienne pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale en Brabant wallon, Hainaut et Namurois, 1985, 78 pages.
• (in Dutch) Inge Huygebaert, Jean-Baptiste Piron, de man achter de Brigade, Koninklijke Militaire School Brussel. Alle Wapens Afdeling, 2004, 123 feuilles.
• Michael Demarets, (dessins), Carnet de Campagne. La Brigade Piron en Normandie, Ostende, Editions Erel, 1946, 56 pages.
• Pierre Musschoot, l’unité de ravitaillement de la « Brigade Piron. Un essai historique, Hamois-en-Condroz, Editions Vezham, 1999, 35 pages.
• Guy Weber, Maurice Poncelet (1904–1985), le cerveau de la Brigade Piron, S.N.S.1., date inconnue, 97 feuilles.
• (in Dutch) Louis Wuyts, De ontscheping in Normandië. Een hel van tachtig eindeloze dagen. Frans Jacobs uit Peutie bevocht de Duitsers als soldaat van Brigade Piron, Zondagnieuws, 11 juin 1984.
• (in French) André Charlier, Brigade Piron : 1944 d'un jour à l'autre, Edité à compte d'auteur, Relate la campagne de la brigade en Normandie au jour le jour.

Press

• Anonyme, Vers l'Avenir – I. L'entraînement en Angleterre et la campagne de Normandie. – II. La campagne de Belgique, 10–11 juin 1976.
• A., H., La Dernière Heure, Ce que nous dit le général de Brigade sir Alexander B.G. Stanier (Trente ans après. "Ca m'est arrivé à la libération..."), 3 septembre 1974
• Henri Demaret, La brigade Piron, 39–45 Magazine, N° 71, 1992, p. 38–46
• Yves Aublet, La Brigade Piron, l'Athéna sur la Toucques, numéro spécial Juin/septembre 1994, numéro 120/121, Association des amis du musée de Trouville et du Passé Régional. Occupation et Libération de Trouville-Deauville et alentours. P. 100-105.

Video

• La Brigade Piron, Bruxelles, SID, DEFENS (Bibliothèque Défense), 40 minutes.
• Actualité, Bruxelles, Televox, 1994, DEFENS (Bibliothèque Défense), 40 minutes, DEFENS: XXVI.1495 [100003713]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade.

• Photo essay, Brigade Piron
• History of the Piron Brigade 1940–1945
• Documents pertaining to Brigade Prion