| Lincoln and Leicester Brigade 138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade 138th Infantry Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1908–1919 1920–1936 1939–1946 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | 46th (North Midland) Division 46th Infantry Division |
| Engagements | First World War Second World War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Gerard Bucknall |
The138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade was aninfantrybrigade of theBritish Army that saw active service in theFirst World War with the46th (North Midland) Division. The brigade again saw active service in theSecond World War, with the46th Infantry Division.
The brigade was first raised as theLincoln and Leicester Brigade in 1908 when theTerritorial Force was created, by the merger of theYeomanry and theVolunteer Force. The brigade was assigned to the North Midland Division (one of fourteen of the peacetime Territorials) and consisted of two Volunteer battalions, the 4th and 5th, of theLincolnshire Regiment and two, the 4th and 5th, of theLeicestershire Regiment.
After the outbreak of theFirst World War in August 1914, most of the men volunteered forImperial Service and, with the rest of the North Midland Division, trained inLuton for overseas service. In late February 1915 the division began landing in France and was the first complete Territorial division to arrive on theWestern Front to reinforce theBritish Expeditionary Force (BEF) (individual units had been sent throughout the winter of 1914 and early spring of 1915).
On 12 May 1915 the division was numbered the46th (North Midland) Division the brigade was numbered the138th (1/1st Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade.[1] The battalions also adopted the '1/' prefix (1/5th Lincolns) to distinguish them from their 2nd Line duplicates training in the United Kingdom as177th (2/1st Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade, part of59th (2nd North Midland) Division, which consisted of the men of the brigade and division who had not volunteered for overseas service, together with the many recruits who came flooding in.
The brigade saw service with the 46th Division on theWestern Front in France and Belgium for the rest of the war, aside from a few weeks in Egypt, fighting at theHohenzollern Redoubt in October 1915 after the failure of theBattle of Loos. After this, the division was ordered to Egypt and landed there on 13 January 1916. However, soon after the division was ordered to move back to France.
The brigade and division, alongside56th (1/1st London) Division, later fought atGommecourt on 1 July 1916, thefirst day on the Somme, as a diversion for theSomme offensive being launched a few miles south. The attack was a failure and served only to gain the 46th Division a poor reputation until late September 1918 when, during theHundred Days Offensive, it re-established its name during theBattle of St. Quentin Canal. During the same monthLieutenantJohn Cridlan Barrett of the 1/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment was awarded theVictoria Cross.[2] By the time of theArmistice with Germany the division was at Sains-du-Nord.[3]
138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade had the following composition during the war:[4]
Disbanded after the war in 1919 the brigade was reformed in the newTerritorial Army in the 1920s, as the138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Infantry Brigade, still with 46th (North Midland) Infantry Division and still composed of two battalions of the Lincolns and two of the Leicesters.
In the late 1930s, there was a growing need to increase the anti-aircraft defences of the United Kingdom and a reduced need for so many infantry battalions in the Territorial Army and so many of them were converted into other roles. As a result, in late 1936, the 46th (North Midland) Division (and the brigade) was disbanded and its headquarters renamed the2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. The 5th Lincolns was transferred to theRoyal Engineers and converted into the46th (The Lincolnshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers and joined31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group.[5] The 4th Leicesters were also transferred to the Royal Engineers and became44th (The Leicestershire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers, assigned to32nd (South Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group of 2nd AA Division.[6] Both were equipped with searchlights and part of the 2nd AA Division. The 4th Lincolns was transferred to146th (1st West Riding) Infantry Brigade and the 5th Leicesters joined the148th (3rd West Riding) Infantry Brigade, both part of the49th (West Riding) Infantry Division. After all of its battalions were posted away the 138th Brigade was disbanded.
A new 138th Brigade was raised in mid-1939 when the Territorial Army was doubled in size throughout the spring and summer of 1939, due to the possibility of war withNazi Germany becoming an increasing likelihood. As a result, the brigade number was activated again when the146th Infantry Brigade formed a duplicate unit, to be known as the138th Infantry Brigade. The new brigade was assigned to the46th Infantry Division, itself formed as a duplicate of49th (West Riding) Infantry Division. Like its parent division, the 46th recruited mainly from theNorth Midlands andWest Riding areas inEngland, although for some reason the division, unlike the 49th, did not adopt the county subtitles.[7]
Due to the worsening situation in Europe, the brigade was mobilised in late August/early September 1939, along with the rest of the Territorial Army. On 1 September theGerman Armyinvaded Poland and, two days later, on 3 September 1939, Britain declared war onNazi Germany, officially beginning theSecond World War.
In April 1940, seven months after the outbreak of the war, the 138th Infantry Brigade, commanded at the time byBrigadierEdward John Grinling,DSO,MC,TD, a Territorial Army officer, and division, minus theartillery,engineers and other support units, were sent to France to join theBritish Expeditionary Force (BEF). The "division", sent at the same time as the12th (Eastern) and23rd (Northumbrian) divisions, was very poorly equipped and trained and was assigned mainly as a labour and training unit, to build defences and construct airfield. As a consequence, the division was battered in theBattle of France when fighting theGerman Army and, together with the rest of the BEF, was gradually forced toretreat to Dunkirk, where they wereevacuated to England.[8]
After returning to the United Kingdom the brigade and division, due to severe casualties suffered in a futile attempt to stem the German advance, were both reformed with large numbers ofconscripts and was sent toScottish Command. In 1941 it came under command ofII Corps and laterXII Corps, commanded at the time byLieutenant-GeneralBernard Montgomery, alongside the43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division and53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division and trained into an anti-invasion role to repel aGerman invasion.
On 6 January 1943 the 46th Division left the United Kingdom forNorth Africa where they saw active service in the final stages of thecampaign there, fighting in theTunisia Campaign as part ofBritish First Army which ended in May with the surrender of over 230,000 German and Italianprisoners of war.
With the rest of the 46th Division, the brigade later fought in theItalian Campaign, suffering heavy casualties in the attritional fighting in Italy during theSalerno landings in September 1943 underX Corps, and later the fighting at theMonte la Difenso,Monte Cassino and theGothic Line, where, during theBattle of Gemmano, the brigade suffered heavy casualties in what has been labelled the "Cassino of the Adriatic". In December 1944, during a heavy counter-attack by theGerman 90th Panzergrenadier Division on 46th Division's position,CaptainJohn Brunt, of theSherwood Foresters, attached to 6th Battalion,Lincolnshire Regiment, was posthumously awarded theVictoria Cross.
In mid-January 1945, the brigade and the rest of the division (except139th Brigade) was transferred to Greece to fight in theGreek Civil War, returning to Italy in April but did not see action in thefinal offensive.[9] Throughout the campaign in Italy the 46th Division came under command of bothU.S. Fifth Army andBritish Eighth Army.
138th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:[10]
The following officers commanded 138th Brigade during the war:[10]
The war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945, withVictory in Europe Day and the brigade moved toAustria shortly after, spending the rest of its time onoccupation duties under British Forces in Austria. The 138th Infantry Brigade Headquarters were disbanded in 1946 and, being a 2nd Line Territorial formation, was not reformed in the 1947 reorganisation of the Territorial Army but its battalions seem to have survived. The 6th Battalion,Royal Lincolnshire Regiment (the Lincolns became a "Royal" regiment due to distinguished service in the war, with effect from 1946) appears to have existed until 1950 when it amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, of which the 6th was formed as a duplicate in 1939, creating the 4th/6th Battalion.[12] The 6th Battalion,York and Lancaster Regiment survived until 1947 when it amalgamated with its parent unit, theHallamshire Battalion of the same regiment, to create the 4th Battalion,[13] as did the 2/4thKing's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry which amalgamated with the 1/4th Battalion, to create the 4th Battalion, KOYLI.[14]
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