10th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)


The 10th Infantry Brigade was a Regular Army infantry brigade of the British Army. During World War I and World War II this brigade was part of the 4th Division.

History

Formation

The 10th Brigade was first formed in the early 1900s, originally based at Shorncliffe Army Camp and serving with the 5th Division in the 2nd Army Corps until 1907; and 4th Division, Eastern Command from 1907 until 1914; Northern Command-1920; 4th Division, Eastern Command from 1920;

First World War

With the 4th Division, the 10th brigade served with the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front and was one of the first British units to be sent overseas upon the declaration of war. The brigade fought in the Battle of Mons and the subsequent retreat from Mons and many other battles such as that as First Ypres, the Somme and Third Ypres.

Order of battle

The 10th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:

Second World War

The 10th Infantry Brigade, commanded since August 1938 by Brigadier Evelyn Barker, again saw active service as part of the British Expeditionary Force that was sent to France after the outbreak of war in 1939, arriving there on 1 October, less than a month since the outbreak of World War II. The brigade and division were evacuated at Dunkirk after fierce fighting in the battles of France and Belgium.
After being based in the United Kingdom, the brigade spent many years on home defence and training duties, anticipating a German invasion which never arrived. The brigade was later sent to Algeria and Tunisia in 1943.
After this the brigade fought in Italy where it saw extremely hard fighting at Monte Cassino through most of 1944, before being shipped off to Greece to help calm the Civil War as part of Lieutenant General Ronald Scobie's III Corps, where it ended the war.

Order of battle

The 10th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:
The brigade was disbanded in Greece in 1947. However, following the reactivation of the 4th Infantry Division on 1 April 1956, from the 11th Armoured Division of the British Army of the Rhine, the 10th Brigade, formerly the 91st Lorried Infantry Brigade, again became part of the division. The brigade headquarters was at Essex Barracks in Hildesheim until it was finally disbanded in April 1958.

Commanders

The following officers commanded the 10th Infantry Brigade throughout its existence: