In November 1942, together with the rest of the division, the brigade was warned to prepare for overseas service in the Tunisia Campaign as the Allies invaded North Africa as part of Operation Torch.

During the Battle for Caen the brigade took part in Operations Epsom, Goodwood, Bluecoat and the actions around the Falaise Pocket.

[8] In August the brigade, commanded now by Brigadier John B. Churcher, together with the rest of the 11th Armoured, advanced into France, participating in the "swan" to Amiens; the fastest and deepest penetration into enemy territory ever made until the Gulf War in the early 1990s.

[9] The 159th Brigade had a fairly minor role in Operation Market Garden in September 1944 and later went on to participate in the Ardennes offensive, the Battle of the Bulge, in December 1944.

In March 1945, it crossed the Rhine River and by the end of the war had advanced to the northeast and captured the German city of Lübeck on 2 May 1945.

When the 159th Brigade entered the camp, they found more than 60,000 emaciated and ill prisoners in desperate need of medical attention.

Elements of the 11th Armoured Division and its higher formations were detached to oversee the work needed in the camp.