During the Second World War, many anti-aircraft brigades served both to defend from air attack and as offensive units against armoured vehicles - this was especially true with the effective German artillery.
From 1859 to 1938, "brigade" ("brigade-division" 1885–1903) was also the term used for a battalion-sized unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery.
This was because, unlike infantry battalions and cavalry regiments, which were organic, artillery units consisted of individually numbered batteries which were "brigaded" together.
Artillery divisions are usually tasked with providing concentrated firepower support to higher combined arms formations such as Corps, Combatant Commands or Theaters.
It is a means to concentrate overwhelming firepower in a small geographical area to achieve a strategic breach in the enemy defences.