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British Army unit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade is a brigade of the British Army which is intended to train and assist foreign forces. In 2021, under the Future Army changes, the brigade was redesignated, formerly being the 11th Infantry Brigade & HQ South East. Prior to the Army 2020 changes in 2013, the brigade was temporarily activated for deployment to Afghanistan. Originally formed in the Second Boer War, the brigade was engaged during both World Wars.
| 11th (Lancashire) Brigade 11th Light Brigade 11th Infantry Brigade 11th Infantry Brigade & HQ South East 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade | |
|---|---|
The brigade's TRF. | |
| Active | 1899–1900, 1902–1919, 1938–1946 1950–1966, 2009–2010 2014–present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Role | Security force assistance |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | Field Army Troops |
| Brigade HQ | Aldershot Garrison |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Brigadier Benjamin J. Cattermole[1] |
| Notable commanders | Kenneth Anderson Brian Horrocks |
British Army brigades had traditionally been ad hoc formations known by the name of their commander or numbered as part of a division. However, units involved in the Second Boer War in 1899–1900 were organised into sequentially numbered brigades that were frequently reassigned between divisions. The Army Corps sent from Britain in 1899 comprised six brigades in three divisions while the troops already in South Africa were intended to constitute a fourth division. The rapid deterioration of the situation led the War Office to announce on 11 November 1899 that a 5th Division was to be formed and sent out. This consisted of the new 10th and 11th (Lancashire) Brigades and concentrated at Estcourt on 8 January 1900 for the campaign for the Relief of Ladysmith.[2][3][4]
The 11th (Lancashire) Brigade was constituted as follows:[5]
As well as Spion Kop and Tugela Heights, the brigade served at Trichard's Drift, Tabanyama, Vaal Krantz, Wessel's Nek, Waschbank, Botha's Pass, Alleman's Nek, Volkrust, Wakkerstroom, and the advance on Standerton. However, after the defeat of the main Boer field armies and the development of guerrilla warfare, all the divisions and brigades were broken up to form ad hoc 'columns' and garrisons.[10]
After the Boer War, 11th Brigade became a permanent formation in 1902, stationed at Portsmouth.[11] By 1907 it was part of 6th Division in Eastern Command.[12] In the Expeditionary Force established by the Haldane reforms, 11th Brigade at Colchester became part of 4th Division, and remained so until the outbreak of World War I.[13]
When war broke out in August 1914 the 11th Infantry Brigade mobilised as part of the 4th Division.[14][15][16] It was one of the British units sent overseas to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force and fought on the Western Front for the next four years.[16]
During World War I the brigade had the following composition:[14][15]
During the war the brigade participated in the following actions:[15]
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
During World War I the brigade was commanded by the following officers:[14][15]
The 11th Infantry Brigade was originally part of the 4th Infantry Division as it was during the First World War, serving with it during the Battle of France and was evacuated from Dunkirk in late May 1940. It remained with the division in the United Kingdom up until 6 June 1942 when it was reassigned to join 78th Infantry Division (commanded by Vyvyan Evelegh, a previous commander of the brigade) which was being newly formed to take part in Operation Torch, the Allied landings in French North Africa, as part of the British First Army (commanded by Kenneth Anderson, also a previous commander of the brigade).[17] The brigade landed in North Africa at Algiers in November 1942 and fought with 78th Division throughout the Tunisian campaign which ended with the Axis surrender in May 1943.[18] It then served with 78th Division throughout the campaigns in Sicily and Italy.[19]
During World War II the brigade comprised the following units:[20]
During World War II the brigade was commanded by the following officers:[20][26]
In January 1946, following the end of the campaign in Europe, the brigade was dissolved and its units dispersed to other brigades and commands. In 1950, the brigade was reformed in West Germany.
The organisation of the brigade during the 1950s was as follows:[27]
On 1 April 1956, the 4th Infantry Division was reformed in the BAOR, and its brigades: 10th, 11th, and 12th was reformed by conversion of the old 61st Lorried Infantry Brigade based in Minden. In 1958, following the 1957 Defence White Paper, the brigade was redesignated as 11th Infantry Brigade Group. As a brigade group, it picked up not just infantry but supporting elements such as artillery. It was shifted to the 2nd Division. And in 1964, the brigade was transferred to the 1st Division, sitting alongside the 7th Armoured Brigade Group. In February 1961, the brigade groups were reorganised again, to comprise a signal squadron, armoured regiment, three infantry battalions, field artillery regiment, engineer squadron, and one AAC reconnaissance flight.[33]
The brigade's structure following its conversion to a brigade group was as follows:[34]
In November 1965, the brigade groups became 'brigades' once again, dropping their support units. In October 1966, just after the publication of the 1966 Defence White Paper, the 7th Armoured and 11th Infantry brigades experimented with a new brigade organisation with two armoured regiments and two 'mechanised' battalions equipped with the new FV432 armoured personnel carrier. With the increasing availability of the new vehicle, all of the infantry battalions within the BAOR were to become mechanised.[33]
The brigade's structure just before conversion was as follows:[41]
As a result of the above defence white paper and experimentations, the BAOR was completely reorganised with the 11th Infantry Brigade becoming an armoured formation in the end of 1970. The new formation, 11th Armoured Brigade, was reformed, thus ending the infantry lineage.[33][41]
On 15 October 2007, Helmand Task Force 11 formed its planning cell at Aldershot Garrison, expanding into 11th Light Brigade in November 2007 for deployment to Afghanistan (Operation Herrick). The brigade was stood up alongside 52nd Infantry Brigade thus providing the Army with two infantry brigades available for deployment to either Afghanistan (Operation Herrick) or Iraq (Operation Telic).[46][47][48]
On 10 October 2009, the brigade deployed to Helmand Province, replacing 19th Light Brigade and would remain until April 2010.[46][49] The brigade's order of battle on deployment to Afghanistan was as follows alongside the formation they had been part of:[46][49][50]
On the brigade's return in April 2010, a total of 650 soldiers from the 12 regiments of the brigade marched through Winchester in Hampshire accompanied by three bands to celebrate their return.[51] Later in June, around 120 soldiers then marched past the Palace of Westminster (Parliament of the United Kingdom).[52][46]
Just a few months after the brigade's return in 2010, the brigade was disbanded and its units returned to their peacetime headquarters.[46]
In 2012, following the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, the Army 2020 programme was announced. As part of the mergers, the 2nd (South East) Infantry Brigade, which had regional responsibility for the south east counties (Kent, Surrey, and Sussex), and 145th (South) Brigade, which had regional responsibility for the south-central region (Thames Valley (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire), Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight) were merged to form the new 11th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters South East.[53][54][55]
The brigade's organisation was as follows by 2015:[53][54][55]
In 2017, a supplement to the Army 2020 programme was announced entitled the Army 2020 Refine which reversed many of the unit-level changes. In addition to the unit level changes, several of the regional brigades formed under the initial Army 2020 programme were disbanded or reduced to Colonel-level commands. In 2019, a Field Army reorganisation saw these brigades lose their units permanently with the following changes occurring to the former units: Grenadier Guards and Welsh Guards transferred to London District (on rotation) and replaced by the Coldstream Guards and Irish Guards respectively, Royal Gurkha Rifles moved to 16th Air Assault Brigade, The London Regiment transferred to London District, and the 3rd Royal Welsh moved to the 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade.[56][57]
Under the changes, the Coldstream and Irish Guards moved from London District, the 3rd Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment moved from 7th Infantry Brigade, and the 1st and 2nd Battalions, Royal Irish Regiment moved from 160th (Welsh) Brigade.[58]
In 2019 with the brigade completely reorganised, its structure was now as follows by the end of 2021:[56][57][58]
On 30 November 2021, the Future Soldier changes were announced, and the brigade will transition from an infantry brigade into a security force assistance formation. In late 2021, the brigade was renamed as 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade, dropping its regional commitments, and will reorganise by 2022. The brigade's mission was described as follows:[60]
The 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade draws on personnel and expertise from across the Army, to build the capacity of allied and partner nations. Routinely deployed around the world, Security Force Assistance units contribute to conflict prevention and resilience at an early stage. This activity is underpinned by the Defence's global foundation.
The brigade headquarters will remain in Aldershot, drop its regional commitments, and unit moves will be as follows: Coldstream Guards move to 4th Light Brigade Combat Team (BCT) – formerly 4th Infantry Brigade & HQ North East; 2nd Royal Irish Regiment move to 19th Reserve Brigade – a new formation; 3rd Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment moved to 20th Armoured BCT as mechanised infantry; 1st Royal Irish Regiment moves to 16th Air Assault Brigade as 'light strike reconnaissance infantry'; and the Irish Guards will remain part of the brigade. The following units will join the brigade in 2022: The Black Watch (3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) from 51st Infantry Brigade; 1st Royal Anglian Regiment from British Forces Cyprus (will join on return from Cyprus in 2023); 3rd The Rifles joins in 2024 from 51st Infantry Brigade; 4th Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment joins from 7th Infantry Brigade; and finally the Outreach and Cultural Support Group will join from 77th Brigade.[61]
The brigade's structure by 2025 will therefore be as follows:[61]
The brigade led a programme to train members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War as part of Operation Orbital (2015–2022) and Operation Interflex (2022).[65]
By November 2024, the brigade had been resurbordinated from the 1st (UK) Division to Field Army Troops.[66]
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