| 7th Light Mechanised Brigade | |
|---|---|
 Tactical recognition flash (2017) harks back to "Desert Rats" badge of 7th Armoured Brigade | |
| Active | 1815–1945 2014 – |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | 1st (United Kingdom) Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Kendrew Barracks,Cottesmore |
| Engagements | Crimean War Second Boer War First World War Second World War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Walter Kitchener Frederick McCracken George Lindsay William Platt |
The7th Light Mechanised Brigade is a formation in theBritish Army with a direct lineage to7th Armoured Brigade and a history that stretches back to theNapoleonic Wars. It saw active service in theCrimean War, theSecond Boer War and both theFirst and theSecond World Wars. In 2014, the 7th Armoured Brigade was re-designated as 7th Infantry Brigade, thereby ensuring that the famed "Desert Rats" continue in the British Army'sOrder of battle.
WhenWellington organized his troops into numbereddivisions for thePeninsular War, the component brigades were named for the commanding officer.[a] For theHundred Days Campaign, he numbered his British infantry brigades in a single sequence, 1st to 10th. The 7th Brigade formed part of the7th Division under the command ofMajor-general Kenneth MacKenzie. It consisted of:
It was assigned to garrison duty and so played no part in theBattle of Waterloo.[6][7]
The 7th Brigade formed part of the4th Division in theCrimean War. At theBattle of the Alma it was commanded byBrigadier-GeneralArthur Wellesley Torrens and consisted of:[8]
The brigade was present with the 4th Division at theBattle of Balaclava and played a more major role at theBattle of Inkerman.[12]
After theRelief of Ladysmith, part of thegarrison of Ladysmith were reorganized into the 7th Brigade on 10 March 1900. It consisted of
Initially commanded byColonel W.G. KnoxCB, it was taken over byBrigadier-GeneralWalter Kitchener on 26 March. The brigade formed part ofLyttelton's4th Division and took part inSir Redvers Buller's advance north. In August 1900, it took part in theBattle of Bergendal, the lastset-piece battle of the war.[13]
Post-war, the brigade was reformed in January 1906 as part of the 4th Division, before joining the3rd Division inSouthern Command in 1907.[14]
At the outbreak of theFirst World War in August 1914, the 7th Brigade was aregular army formation stationed atTidworth and assigned to the 3rd Division.[15] It mobilized with the division, crossed to France between 11 and 16 August, concentrated aroundAulnoye andAvesnes, and moved forward on 21 August 1914. Other than a brief period when it was reorganized in England in 1918,[16] the brigade served with the 3rd and25th Divisions on theWestern Front throughout the war.[17][18]
With the 3rd Division, the brigade took part in a large number of actions in 1914: theBattle of Mons (23 and 24 August) andsubsequent retreat (24 August – 5 September) including theaction of Solesmes and theBattle of Le Cateau. It then took part in theFirst Battle of the Marne (6 – 9 September) and theRace to the Sea:First Battle of the Aisne (13 – 20 September), and the battles ofLa Bassée (10 October – 2 November),Messines (31 October – 2 November),Armentières (1 and 2 November) culminating in theFirst Battle of Ypres (5 – 21 November), notably theBattle of Nonne Bosschen (11 November). 1915 was relatively quieter, but included theFirst Attack on Bellewaarde (16 June),Hooge (19 July) and theSecond Attack on Bellewaarde (25 September).[17]
While with the 3rd Division, the brigade commanded[19]
On 18 October 1915, 7th Brigade was posted to the 25th Division in exchange for76th Brigade as part of a policy of "stiffening"New Army Divisions with regular units.[20] Once there, it was extensively reorganized on 26 October:[18]
On 12 January 1916, the brigade formed the 7th Machine GunCompany and was joined by the 7thTrench MortarBattery on 18 June 1916.[18]
The brigade saw action in 1916 defending against theGerman attack on the Vimy Ridge (21 May) but particularly in theBattle of the Somme, including the battles ofAlbert (3 – 13 July),Bazentin Ridge (14 – 16 July),Pozières Ridge (18 August – 3 September including the fighting for Mouquet Farm on 3 September) andAncre Heights (1 – 22 October including the capture of the Stuff Redoubt and the Regina Trench). In 1917 it saw action at theBattle of Messines (7 – 14 June) and theThird Battle of Ypres (31 July – 10 August).[21] On 13 October 1917,4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment[b] joined the brigade[28] and on 10 November the 3rd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment transferred to 74th Brigade.[18]
On 1 March, the 7th Machine Gun Company joined the 74th, 75th and (divisional) 195th Machine Gun Companies in the 25th Battalion,Machine Gun Corps.[28] Due to a shortage of manpower, all British[c] divisions on the Western Front were reduced from a 12-battalion to a 9-battalion basis in February 1918. As a consequence, 7th Brigade was reduced from four to three battalions.[18][d] Almost immediately, theGerman Army'sSpring Offensive fell upon the division. The 25th Division was remarkably unlucky; having faced the first German onslaught at theFirst Battles of the Somme (21 – 25 March), it was moved north to refit, where it faced the second offensive in theBattles of the Lys (9 – 29 April). It was once again moved south to a quiet part of the line where it was attacked for the third time in theBattle of the Aisne (27 May – 6 June).[16]
Due to losses sustained, the division was withdrawn from the line and the brigades were reduced tocadre. The divisional and brigadeHQs returned to England with 10th Cheshires and 10 otherTraining Cadre (T.C.) battalions, arriving on 30 June.[16] For the 7th Brigade this meant:[28]
The brigade arrived in England on 30 June and went toMytchett Camp,Aldershot.[16] Soon after, the T.C. battalions left the brigade (10th Cheshires and 8th Leicesters on 7 July, 13th East Surreys on 16 July) forEastern Command where they were reformed.[28]
The brigade HQ returned to France with 25th Division HQ on 15 September, arriving atSaint-Riquier nearAbbeville the next day.[16] Units left behind in France (artillery, engineers, signals,pioneers, machine gunners, etc.) rejoined the division between then and 19 October.[30] The brigade was reformed on 16 September with battalions withdrawn from theItalian Front:[28]
Thereafter the brigade took part in the Final Advance to Victory, notably in theBattles of the Hindenburg Line –Battle of the Beaurevoir Line (4 and 5 October),Battle of Cambrai (8 and 9 October), and Pursuit to the Selle (9 – 11 October) – and theFinal Advance in Picardy –Battle of the Selle (17 – 25 October) andBattle of the Sambre (4 November).[16]
The brigade continued in existence throughout theinterwar period, seeing numerous changes in its composition and eventually, in the late 1930s, leading to it being redesignated7th Infantry Brigade (Guards). At the outbreak of theSecond World War in September 1939, the 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards)[g] was, once again, assigned to the3rd Infantry Division, commanded at the time byMajor-GeneralBernard Montgomery, inSouthern Command. It was stationed atPirbright Camp with the following units under command:
The brigade, commanded byBrigadierJohn Whitaker, moved toFrance with the rest of the 3rd Division on 30 September 1939 as part of theBritish Expeditionary Force (BEF) and remained there, serving alongside theFrench Army, until May 1940. It first saw action against theGerman Army's offensive inBelgium andFrance, notably on theYpres-Comines Canal (26 – 28 May 1940) before beingevacuated from Dunkirk to the United Kingdom by 1 June.[32] On 15 September 1941, it was converted to theGuards Support Group.[33]
The37th Infantry Brigade (originally in12th (Eastern) Infantry Division) joined the 3rd Infantry Division on 27 November 1941 and on 8 December it was redesignated as7th Infantry Brigade. At this time it commanded:[34]
The brigade served with the9th Armoured Division from June 1942 until July 1944, when the division was disbanded, followed by the47th Infantry (Reserve) Division from 10 September 1944 until August 1945. On 30 September 1944, it was reorganised as a reserve brigade whereupon it was redesignated as the7th Infantry (Reserve) Brigade. The brigade remained in the United Kingdom throughout. By the end of the war, the brigade structure was:[34]
Shortly after the end of the Second World War, the 7th Armoured Brigade was disbanded and the22nd Armoured Brigade was re-designated as the 7th Armoured Brigade, based in Germany as part of theBritish Army of the Rhine (BAOR). After the7th Armoured Division was disbanded in 1958, the 7th Armoured Brigade adopted its insignia and nickname, perpetuating the history of the famed division.[35][36]
On 5 March 2013, the BritishSecretary of State for Defence,Philip Hammond, announced that the7th Armoured Brigade would have itsChallenger 2 tanks and heavy armoured battalions removed over the next decade. The Brigade itself was re-designated as the7th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters East, but retain its famed 'Desert Rats' insignia. On 24 February 2015, the brigade formally stepped out of its armour role into that of an infantry brigade and regional point of command.[37] At the same time,49th (East) Brigade merged into 7th Infantry Brigade.[38]
By January 2016 the brigade was moved from Germany to the UK, vacating itsCamp Bergen-Hohne barracks.[39]
Under theFuture Soldier programme, the brigade was redesignated as the7th Light Mechanised Brigade.[40]
Units commanded by the brigade, which is based inCottesmore, include:[41]
The 7th Brigade had the following commanders from January 1906:[42]
| From | Rank | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1906 | Brigadier-General | Hubert I.W. Hamilton | [14] |
| October 1908 | Brigadier-General | Laurence G. Drummond | [14][43] |
| October 1912 | Brigadier-General | Frederick W. N. McCracken | [14][44] |
| 23 November 1914 | Brigadier-General | C.R. Ballard | [44] |
| 23 July 1915 | Brigadier-General | C. Gosling | (wounded 1 May 1916)[44][45] |
| 1 May 1916 | Lieutenant-Colonel | J.D. Crosbie | (acting)[45] |
| 8 May 1916 | Brigadier-General | Charles Edensor Heathcote | [45] |
| 30 August 1916 | Brigadier-General | C.C. Onslow | [45] |
| 9 August 1917 | Lieutenant-Colonel | A.C. Johnston | (acting)[45] |
| 29 August 1917 | Brigadier-General | C.J. Griffin | (wounded 29 May 1918)[45] |
| 29 May 1918 | Brigadier-General | H.R. Headlam | (temporary)[45] |
| 31 May 1918 | Brigadier-General | C.J. Hickie | [45] |
| November 1919 | Brigadier-General | Gwyn V. Hordern | [14] |
| November 1923 | Brigadier | George H.N. Jackson | [14] |
| May 1927 | Brigadier | Robert J. Collins | [14] |
| February 1929 | Brigadier | C. Clement Armitage | [14] |
| July 1932 | Brigadier | George M. Lindsay | [14] |
| October 1934 | Brigadier | William Platt | [14] |
| November 1938 | Brigadier | John A.C. Whitaker | [14][32] |
| 18 August 1940 | Brigadier | Arnold de L. Cazenove | redesignatedGuards Support Group, 15 September 1941[14][32] |
| 11 June 1940 | Brigadier | Richard J.P. Wyatt | redesignated from37th Infantry Brigade, 8 December 1941[14][34] |
| 14 February 1942 | Brigadier | Walter H. Oxley | [14][34] |
| 1 June 1942 | Brigadier | Basil B. Rackham | [14][34] |
| 10 August 1944 | Colonel | D.M.W. Beak | (acting)[34] |
| 10 September 1944 | Brigadier | David H. Haugh | [14][34] |
Since being reformed from7th Armoured Brigade in November 2014 commanders have been:
| From | Rank | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2014 | Brigadier | Jonathan Bourne | [14] |
| September 2016 | Brigadier | Charles Collins | [14] |
| September 2018 | Brigadier | Thomas Bewick | [14] |
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