The brigade was intended to act as a reserve for the 1st Line units serving overseas, to send drafts of replacements for battle casualties.

[3] On 11 February 1917 the 197th Brigade, together with the rest of the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division, received orders to prepare for a move overseas to France and left two weeks later, arriving by 16 March.

[5] In March 1918, together with the rest of 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division, the brigade suffered extremely high casualties during Operation Michael, the opening phase of the German Army's Spring Offensive.

In June 1942 the brigade, along with the rest of the 59th Division, was transferred to Northern Ireland, where they came under command of British Troops Northern Ireland and began training alongside the troops of the United States Army (who had entered the war in December 1941) stationed there in numerous large-scale military exercises.

After spending many years training in the United Kingdom the 197th Brigade, together with the rest of the 59th Division, landed in France on 29 June 1944, D-Day + 23.

With the arrival of the 59th Division General Bernard Montgomery, commanding the Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group, decided to renew the offensive to capture the city of Caen, which was originally a D-Day objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division which ultimately failed, due mainly to heavier resistance than expected.