12th Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

12th Mechanized Brigade
Insignia of 12th Mechanized Brigade
Active	1899 – present day
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Mechanized infantry
Part of	3rd (United Kingdom) Division
Garrison/HQ	Bulford Camp
Engagements	First World War Le Cateau Battle of Marne Battle of Aisne First Battle of Ypres (1914) Battle of Messines (1914) Hill 60 Second Battle of Ypres (1915) Battle of Albert Battle of Le Transloy Battle of the Somme First Battle of the Scarpe Third Battle of the Scarpe Battle of Polygon Wood Battle of Broodseinde Battle of Poelcapelle Battle of Passchendaele Battle of Arras (1918) Battle of Hazebroucke Battle of Bethune Advance in Flanders Battle of the Scarpe (1918) Battle of Drocourt-Quéant Battle of the Canal du Nord Battle of the Selle Battle of Valenciennes Second World War
Commanders
Current commander	Brigadier Jo Butterfill OBE MC
Notable commanders	Sir Henry Fuller Maitland Wilson Sir Adrian de Wiart Sir John Hawkesworth Daniel Beak Sir Richard Hull Sir Gordon MacMillan

The 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade, formerly the 12th Mechanized Brigade, is a regular brigade of the British Army which has been in almost continuous existence since 1899 and now forms part of 3rd (United Kingdom) Division.

History

Second Boer War

The brigade was first formed in December 1899 as 12th Infantry Brigade and saw action at the Battle of Rensburg, Battle of Norval's Point, Battle of Biddulph's Berg and Battle of Slabbert's Nek.

First World War

During the First World War, the 12th Brigade, a regular army formation, was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. It was dispatched to France, crossing the English Channel on 22 August 1914, as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and saw action in the First Battle of the Marne beginning in September 1914. It then spent much of the rest of the conflict engaged in trench warfare.

Order of battle

The 12th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:

• 1st Battalion, King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
• 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
• 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (from January 1916 to 10th Brigade February 1918)
• 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment (from March 1915, to 11th Brigade July 1915)
• 1/5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment (from February 1915 until January 1916)
• 1/2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment (until January 1916)

From early November 1915 until February 1916 the 12th Brigade was swapped with the 107th (Ulster) Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division.

Second World War

Men of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers in a trench in front of the Maginot Line, 3 January 1940.

During the Second World War, except for a few brief periods of detachment, the brigade formed part of the 4th Infantry Division, as in the First World War. It was part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and took part in Battle of France and the subsequent Dunkirk evacuation in May–June 1940.

The brigade remained in the United Kingdom for the next two years, preparing and training to repel Operation Sea Lion, the German invasion of England, although that never arrived. It moved to North Africa in February 1943 to take part in the later stages of the Tunisian Campaign and saw action at the Battle of Oved Zara, the Battle of Medjez Plain and the Battle of Tunis. It then took part in the Italian Campaign, moving to Naples in February 1944 and saw further action at the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino. By October 1944 the 4th Division was taking part in the British Eighth Army's battle on the Gothic Line but was withdrawn in November to spend the rest of the war in Greece, part of the Allied force tasked to prevent civil unrest as rival factions attempted to fill the political vacuum when the Germans withdrew from the country.

Order of battle

The 12th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:

• 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
• 1st Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment (until June 1940)
• 1st Battalion, Black Watch (until March 1940)
• 6th Battalion, Black Watch (from March 1940)
• 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment (from September 1940)

Post-1945

The brigade was disbanded in March 1947, but reformed from 91 Lorried Infantry Brigade in April 1956. During the 1970s, it was one of two "square" brigades assigned to 2nd Armoured Division. After being briefly converted to "Task Force Delta" in the late 1970s, the brigade was reinstated in 1981, assigned to 1st Armoured Division and based at Quebec Barracks at Osnabrück. It remained with 1st Armoured Division, apart from a spell under HQ 3rd Armoured Division during Operation Granby, until disbandment under Options for Change. Following the Strategic Defence Review in 1998, the brigade was reformed in mechanized form under 3rd Mechanised Division at Aldershot Garrison: it relocated to Ward Barracks in Bulford Camp in February 2004.

Current Organisation

Army 2020

The brigade headquarters, with two battle groups – the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and the 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards – deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 to form the headquarters and main infantry combat units of Task Force Helmand as a part of the NATO International Security Assistance Force. Under Army 2020, its headquarters remains at Bulford and it forms part of the Reaction Force. It has been renamed 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade and includes the following units:

• The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) (Formation Reconnaissance)
• The King's Royal Hussars (Armoured)
• 1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (Armoured Infantry)
• 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (Armoured Infantry)
• 1st Battalion, Scots Guards (Heavy Protective Mobility) (Note: This Heavy Protected Mobility Infantry Unit rotates amongst the five Foot Guards Battalions)

Army 2020 Refine

The current organisation of the brigade under the Army 2020 Refine is:

• 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade Headquarters, at Bulford Barracks, Bulford Garrison
• Royal Tank Regiment, at Aliwal Barracks, Tidworth Garrison (Armoured (Tanks))
• 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, at Picton Barracks, Bulford Garrison (Armoured Infantry)
• 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, at Lucknow Barracks, Tidworth Garrison (Armoured Infantry)
• 4th Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, Battalion HQ in Wolverhampton, West Midlands (Army Reserve – Armoured Infantry, paired with 1 MERCIAN)
• 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh, Battalion HQ in Cardiff, Wales (Army Reserve – Armoured Infantry, paired with 1 R WELSH)

Although not part of the brigade, the following units support the brigade:

• 15th Signal Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals, at Swinton Barracks, Perham Down (part of 11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands)
• 1st Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, at Assaye Barracks, Tidworth Garrison (part of 1st Artillery Brigade)
• 104th Regiment, Royal Artillery, Regimental HQ in Cardiff (Army Reserve – paired with 1 Regiment RHA, part of 1st Artillery Brigade)
• 22nd Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, at Swinton Barracks, Perham Down (part of 25 (Close Support) Engineer Group)
• 4th Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, at Dalton Barracks, Abingdon (part of 101 Logistic Brigade))
• 10th (Queen's Own Gurkha) Logistic Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, at Gale Barracks, Aldershot Garrison (part of 101 Logistic Brigade)
• 154th (Scottish) Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, HQ in Dunfermline, Fife (Army Reserve – Paired with 10 Regiment RLC, part of 101 Logistic Brigade)
• 4th Armoured Medical Regiment, Royal Army Medical Corps, at Normandy Barracks, Aldershot Garrison (part of 101 Logistic Brigade)
• 4th Close Support Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, at Jellalabad Barracks, Tidworth Garrison (part of 101 Logistic Brigade)
• 103rd Close Support Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, HQ in Northampton (Army Reserve – Paired with 4 Btn REME, part of 101 Logistic Brigade)

Brigade Commanders

Brigade commanders have included:

• Brigadier-General Charles E. Bradley: March 1907 – July 1909
• Brigadier-General Francis S. Inglefield: July 1909 – June 1912
• Brigadier-General Henry F.M. Wilson: June 1912 – October 1914
• Brigadier-General Frederick G. Anley: October 1914 – June 1916
• Brigadier-General James D. Crosbie: June 1916 – January 1917
• Brigadier-General Adrian Carton de Wiart: January–November 1917
• Brigadier-General Edward A. Fagan: November 1917 – October 1918
• Brigadier-General E.B. Macnaghten: October 1918 – 1919
• Brigadier-General Arthur H. Marindin: November 1919 – November 1923
• Brigadier-General Neville J.G. Cameron: November 1923 – October 1925
• Brigadier-General Edward B. Hankey: October 1925 – October 1929
• Brigadier Sir Hereward Wake, Bt.: October 1929 – August 1932
• Brigadier Charles A. Howard: August 1932 – July 1935
• Brigadier Martin Kemp-Welsh: July 1935 – August 1936
• Brigadier the Hon. P. Gerald Scarlett: August 1936 – September 1938
• Brigadier John G.W. Clark: September 1938 – October 1939
• Brigadier John L.I. Hawkesworth: October 1939 – June 1940
• Brigadier Daniel M.W. Beak: June 1940 – December 1941
• Brigadier Robert G.W. Callaghan: December 1941 – April 1943
• Brigadier Richard A. Hull: April–June 1943
• Brigadier Gordon H.A. MacMillan: June 1943
• Brigadier Thomas P.D. Scott: July–November 1943
• Brigadier F.M. Elliott: November 1943 – April 1944
• Brigadier Algernon G.W. Heber-Percy: April 1944–
• Brigadier Cyril E.H. Dolphin: 1949–1950
• Brigadier Frederick Stephens: -December 1950
• Brigadier Victor D.G. Campbell: December 1950 – November 1952
• Brigadier John F.M. Macdonald: November 1952 – 1954
• Brigadier Alfred (John) Tilly: 1954–1955
• Brigadier Ian H. Freeland: April 1956 – November 1957
• Brigadier Patrick H. Man: 1959 – March 1962
• Brigadier Philip T. Tower: March 1962 – 1964
• Brigadier Walter B. Thomas: 1964–1966
• Brigadier H. Mark G. Bond: 1966 – December 1968
• Brigadier W.G. Hugh Beach: December 1968 – September 1970
• Brigadier David T. Young: September 1970 – September 1972
• Brigadier Walter R. Taylor: September 1972 – December 1974
• Brigadier Michael F. Reynolds: December 1974 – December 1976
• Brigadier John C.O.R. Hopkinson: December 1976 – December 1978
• Brigadier Brian L.G. Kenny: December 1978 – December 1980
• Brigadier Charles A. Ramsay: December 1980 – December 1982
• Brigadier Peter R. Davies: December 1982 – November 1984
• Brigadier Jeremy J.G. Mackenzie: November 1984 – 1986
• Brigadier G. Hyde: 1986 – December 1988
• Brigadier Jonathan M.F.C. Hall: December 1988 – November 1990
• Brigadier Timothy J. Granville-Chapman: November 1990 – January 1993
• Brigadier John Cooper: November 1999 – January 2002
• Brigadier the Hon. Jonathan D. Shaw: January 2002 – April 2003
• Brigadier Christopher G.S. Hughes: April 2003 – June 2005
• Brigadier John G. Lorimer: June 2005 – November 2007
• Brigadier David M. Cullen: November 2007 – December 2009
• Brigadier Justin C.W. Maciejewski: December 2009 – September 2011
• Brigadier Douglas M. Chalmers: September 2011 – September 2013
• Brigadier C. Roland V. Walker: October 2013 – July 2015
• Brigadier Robin C.N. Sergeant: July 2015–

Sources

• Watson, Graham (2005). The British Army in Germany: An Organizational History 1947–2004. Tiger Lily. ISBN 978-0972029698. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNm0n9SwRQIC&q=7th+Armoured+Brigade+task+force+alpha&pg=PA76. 

External links

• 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade
• 12 Infantry Brigade at Orders of Battle.com
• British Army 1939