It served on the Western Front for most of the war except for a brief period in Italy.

[1] Component units included:[1] The brigade was sent to France in mid-September 1939, initially as an independent formation, where it became part of the British Expeditionary Force.

In April–May 1942 13th Brigade, after leaving the United Kingdom along with the rest of the division, was involved in the landings on Vichy held French Madagascar in 1942.

[3] The brigade, with the rest of 5th Infantry Division, fought in the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Italian Campaign where Sergeant Maurice Albert Windham Rogers of the 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944, the first and only VC to be awarded to the brigade and division during the Second World War.

[2] In 1945 the 5th Infantry Division was transferred to the British Second Army participate in the final stages of the North West Europe Campaign where they invaded Germany.