69th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
| 69th Brigade 69th Infantry Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1914–1919 1939–1946 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | 23rd Division 23rd (Northumbrian) Division 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division |
| Engagements | Battle of France(1940) Battle of Gazala Second Battle of El Alamein El Agheila Mareth Line Wadi Akarit Enfidaville D Day Operation Perch Operation Market Garden |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Archibald Bentley Beauman |
The69th Infantry Brigadewas aninfantrybrigadeof theBritish Armyin theSecond World War.It was a second-lineTerritorial Armyformation, and fought in theBattle of Francewith the23rd (Northumbrian) Division.The brigade was later part of the50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division.[1]It went on to fight in theNorth African campaign,theAllied invasion of Sicily,theNormandy landingsand theNorth West Europe campaign.
Order of Battle[edit]
First World War[edit]
- 11th Battalion,Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)
- 8th Battalion,Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment)
- 9th Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment)
- 11th Battalion,Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
- 69th Machine Gun Company,Machine Gun Corps(formed 4 March 1916, moved to 23rd Battalion, Machine Gun Corps 1 April 1918)
- 69th Trench Mortar Battery(formed 13 June 1916)
Second World War[edit]
69th Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:
- 5th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment
- 6th Battalion,Green Howards
- 7th Battalion, Green Howards
- 69th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company(formed 1 September 1940, disbanded 1 January 1941)
- 69th Infantry Brigade Support Company(from 16 May 1943, left 31 December 1943)
Commanders[edit]
The following officers commanded 69th Infantry Brigade during the war:
- BrigadierViscount Downe
- BrigadierJ.A. Barstow
- BrigadierG.W.E.J. Erskine(later C.O.British 7th Armoured Division)
- Brigadier L.L. Hassall
- BrigadierEdward Cunliffe Cooke-Collis
- BrigadierA.G.B. Stanier
North Africa[edit]
In April 1941 the 69th Brigade, as part of 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division, was dispatched to theMiddle Eastfirst via Cyprus, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and then into Libya as part ofXIII Corpsin theBritish Eighth Armywhich was one of the best-known formations in the Second World War.[1]
Battle of Gazala[edit]
The "Gazala Line" was a series of occupied "boxes" each of brigade strength set out across the desert with minefields and wire watched by regular patrols between the boxes. The Free French were to the south at theBir Hakeimbox. The line was not equally staffed with a greater number of troops covering the coast leaving the south less protected.
By late MayRommelwas ready. Facing him on the Gazala defences were1st South African Division,nearest the coast,50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division(on their left) and1st Free French Brigadefurthest left at Bir Hakeim. The British1stand7th ArmouredDivisions waited behind the main line as a mobile counter-attacking force while2nd South African Divisionformed a garrison at Tobruk and5th Indian Infantry Division(which had arrived in April to relieve4th Indian Infantry Division) were held in reserve.
The69th Brigadeposition at the start of the battle can be seen in the map (right), it was during this battle that their sister brigade the150th Infantry Brigadewas destroyed in its isolated brigade box by theAfrika Corpsand never reformed. The69th Brigadeand the remaining units of50th Northumbrian Divisionhad to escape by attacking west through the enemy lines then sweeping back east to the south of the enemy forces, eventually they reached theEl Alameinline by 1 July.[2]
El Alamein[edit]
The Battle of El Alamein is usually divided into five phases, consisting of the break-in (23–24 October), the crumbling (24–25 October), the counter (26–28 October), Operation Supercharge (1–2 November) and the breakout (3–7 November). No name is given to the period from 29 to 30 October when the battle was at a standstill.
In the2nd Battle of El Alamein,69th Infantry Brigade and 50th (Northumbrian) Division were initially deployed in the south (see map), where it was to attack the Italian185th Parachute Division Folgore,supported by elements of the British7th Armoured Division.Since the division was understrength, owing to the loss of the 150th infantry Brigade, the1st Free French Brigadeand 1stGreek Brigadewere attached to it for the battle. It was then transferred north to take part inOperation Supercharge.
Tunisia[edit]
Mareth Line[edit]
The division fought inTunisia,whereMontgomerylaunched his major attack,Operation Pugilist,against theMareth Linein the night of 19 March 1943 – 20 March 1943. The69th Infantry Brigadepart of50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division,with difficulty, penetrated the Italian held line nearZarat.The terrain and heavy rain, however, prevented deployment of tanks and anti-tank guns and the15th Panzer Division'scounter-attack on 22 March recaptured much of the bridgehead.
Lieutenant Colonel Derek Anthony Seagrim, VC 20/21 March 1943[edit]
On 20/21 March 1943 at the Mareth Line, Tunisia,Lieutenant-ColonelSeagrim's courage and leadership led directly to the capture of an important objective. When it appeared that the attack on the position would fail owing to the intensity of the enemy fire, he placed himself at the head of his battalion and led them forward. He personally helped to place a scaling ladder over an anti-tank ditch and was the first across. Leading an attack on two machine-gun posts, he accounted for twenty of the enemy and when a counter-attack was launched next day he moved from post to post quite unperturbed, until it was defeated.
Lieutenant-Colonel Seagrim was killed in action shortly afterwards, on 6 April 1943.
Soon after,XXX Corpsprepared a new attack towards Tallouf. The 4th Indian Infantry Division was detailed to make a night attack on 23 March around the left-hand end of the Line. This would coincide with the wide "left hook" manoeuver Montgomery was planning.Operation Supercharge II,"left hook" outflanking maneuver via theTebaga Gap.Montgomery reinforced the flanking attack, which on 26 March forced an Axis retreat that was completed by 31 March with the Eighth Army in pursuit.
Gabes[edit]
Both the Eighth Army and theU.S. II Corpscontinued their attacks over the next week, and eventually the Eighth Army broke the lines and the DAK was forced to abandon Gabes and retreat to join the other Axis forces far to the north. On the night of 5 April,Wadi Akarit,was attacked and the "Tobruk" Battalion of the ItalianSan Marco Marines,was destroyed, although casualties among the 6th Green Howards had been severe; two senior officers, six senior NCO's and junior officers and one hundred and eighteen other ranks killed.[3]
"When we were about ten yards away we had reached the top of the slit trench and we killed any of the survivors," recalled British infantryman Bill Cheall of the 6th Green Howards, who had just seen his section leader shot down by a San Marco Marine. "It was no time for pussy footing, we were intoxicated with rage and had to kill them to pay for our fallen pal."[4]
German General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim later said of the San Marco Marines fighting abilities in Tunisia in 1943, that they were "the best soldiers I ever commanded".[5]
The Eighth Army's attack along the eastern coast of Tunisia, lead eventually to the surrender of Axis forces in Africa. 250,000 men were taken prisoner, a number equal to that atStalingrad.
Operation Husky, Sicily Invasion[edit]
AfterTunisiathe brigade was still part of 50th Northumbrian Infantry Division and was involved in theSicily landingsof July 1943. After Sicily the brigade and the division were recalled from theEighth Armyin Italy to prepare for the invasion of North-West Europe.
Gold Beach[edit]
Gold was theAlliedcodenamefor the centre invasion beach during theSecond World WarAlliedInvasion of Normandy,6 June 1944. It lay betweenOmahaandJuno,was 8 km wide and divided into four sectors. From West to East they wereHow, Item, Jig, and King.
The 69th Brigade assaulted the east side of Gold, with attached armour support from the4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards.Company Sergeant-MajorStanley Hollisof the brigade's Green Howard battalion single handededly captured a pill box. Later in the day, he led an assault to destroy German gun positions. For his action he was awarded theVictoria Cross.He was the only soldier to earn that medal on D-Day.
Operation Market Garden[edit]
Operation Market Garden(17 September 1944 – 25 September 1944) was anAlliedmilitary operation in the Second World War in the Netherlands and Germany. The land portion of the operation was Garden, for which the brigade was assigned to in reserve. On 22 September, the 69th Brigade was split in two, when German forces cut the axis of the advance. The next day, the brigade neared Nijmegen and came under German artillery fire.[1]On 26 September, the brigade attempted an aborted assault onHaalderen,and the fighting ran through 27 September. On 30 September, the brigade along with the entire division, were tasked with defending the area north of Nijmegen andwere assaultedby 70 tanks and the equivalent of an infantry division. In defense of the brigade's front, 12,500 25-pound shells were fired and B Company, 2ndCheshire Regimentfired 95,000 machine-gun rounds.[1]
References[edit]
- ^abcd"route to victory".Archived fromthe originalon 5 August 2016.
- ^"general ramsden".Archived fromthe originalon 17 May 2007.
- ^"bill cheal".Archived fromthe originalon 11 October 2007.
- ^"bill cheal".Archived fromthe originalon 12 June 2008.
- ^"italy marines".