List of British mobile brigades during the Second World War

During the Second World War, the British Army maintained and created several mechanised, motorised, and horse-based brigades that were not infantry-based.

It was to consist of regiments of fast moving cruiser tanks, prepared to exploit gaps in an opponent's front line and also assigned to engage and destroy opposing armoured forces.

In addition to being used to exploit holes in the enemy line, the doctrine called for the cruiser to engage and destroy opposing armoured forces.

[8][9][10] At the beginning of the Second World War, in 1939, regiments of mechanised cavalry were intended to be assigned to the armoured brigades and equipped with cruisers.

[12][13] In 1941, elements of the 3rd Armoured Brigade were equipped with captured Italian M13/40 medium tanks because of the lack of available British models.

This resulted in the 4th Armoured Brigade being outfitted with the American M3 Stuart light tanks, which were equipped with a machine gun and an anti-tank cannon.

[16] In 1943, United States Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell, head of the Army Service Forces that oversaw the US logistical efforts and lend lease shipments, argued for the United Kingdom to cease domestic tank production and rely solely on American.

[20] Simultaneously, in September and October, the US reduced the number of medium tanks that were to be delivered to the British Army.

As a result of the shift in the American priority to build-up its own forces, this rendered the British order meaningless.

[22][23] In April 1940, the light and heavy distinctions were dropped, and each brigade was to be equipped with three armoured regiments, each consisting of 52 tanks.

The majority of brigades formed after October 1940, however, included the required infantry battalion from the date of their creation.

[29][30] During the Western Desert campaign, the main function of these independent formations was to replace brigades within a division that had suffered heavy losses; to reinforce an armoured division to increase its tank strength temporarily; or to provide tank support to infantry formations by being temporarily assigned to them.

These brigades were to be assigned to corps or army level commands, and then allocated to infantry divisions as needed.

The lack of enforced doctrine allowed these armoured brigades to implement infantry support as they saw fit.

[32] In 1943, the 79th Armoured Division was converted to develop specialised tanks for the particular problems of a amphibious landing on the defended French coast.

These tanks had been modified to tackle various obstacles that British forces would face when conducting the Normandy landings, and later fought in subsequent assault operations.

The divisions of the regular army differed from their TA counterparts, as they each contained a divisional cavalry regiment.

Their intended role was to take over the former horse cavalry position of providing reconnaissance and flank protection to the division, as well as holding captured terrain for short periods of time.

[65][66][67] There was discussion among the BEF staff on how to use these units, and it was intended to remove them from the divisions and assign them as corps-level assets.

[68] The regiments assigned to the 1st Brigade were removed from their divisions and transported to Normandy to conduct training as a cohesive unit.

Those assigned to the 1st Brigade had barely started training as a single formation, and were transported back towards the front to be used as individual reserve units under the direct command of the BEF.

By May 1941, only the 4th Cavalry Brigade had received enough vehicles for this to happen, as the others had been used as a pool from which to draw materiel for other formations based in the Middle East.

[81][82] Two of the brigades, along with the divisional headquarters, were slowly converted into armoured formations as additional equipment arrived in the Middle East.

Tank production during 1939 and the opening of 1940 had been low, with most dispatched to either France or to British forces based in North Africa.

[85] The British Expeditionary Force's divisional cavalry, including the 2nd Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade, could not be re-equipped with tanks.

[93] Ideally, each support group would consist of two motorised infantry battalions, as well as artillery, anti-tank, and light anti-aircraft guns.

They were to be transferred to the division's armoured brigades, and were to be replaced by a single infantry battalion within the support group.

Rather, they were to protect them at leaguer, hold a position occupied by the administrative and supply vehicles, or secure a location that the tanks had captured.

Following the lessons learnt in North Africa, the armoured divisions based within the United Kingdom were also reorganised, but without implementing the use of brigade groups.

[97][98] The tank brigade was an independent formation that would be assigned to a corps level command and be allocated to provide support to an infantry division as the need arose.