72-784: The 143rd Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars . In the First World War the brigade served on both Western Front and later the Italian Front . During the Second World War the brigade fought in Belgium and France before being evacuated to England where it remained for the rest of the war and
144-744: A sidearm or ancillary weapons . Infantry with ranged or polearms often carried a sword or dagger for possible hand-to-hand combat. The pilum was a javelin the Roman legionaries threw just before drawing their primary weapon, the gladius (short sword), and closing with the enemy line. Modern infantrymen now treat the bayonet as a backup weapon, but may also have handguns as sidearms . They may also deploy anti-personnel mines, booby traps, incendiary, or explosive devices defensively before combat. Infantry have employed many different methods of protection from enemy attacks, including various kinds of armour and other gear, and tactical procedures. The most basic
216-610: A few exceptions like the Mongol Empire , infantry has been the largest component of most armies in history. In the Western world , from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages ( c. 8th century BC to 15th century AD), infantry are categorised as either heavy infantry or light infantry . Heavy infantry, such as Greek hoplites , Macedonian phalangites , and Roman legionaries , specialised in dense, solid formations driving into
288-512: A full suit of attack-proof armour would be too heavy to wear in combat. As firearms improved, armour for ranged defence had to be made thicker and heavier, which hindered mobility. With the introduction of the heavy arquebus designed to pierce standard steel armour, it was proven easier to make heavier firearms than heavier armour; armour transitioned to be only for close combat purposes. Pikemen armour tended to be just steel helmets and breastplates, and gunners had very little or no armour at all. By
360-417: A hundred meters wide and a dozen rows deep. Maintaining the advantages of heavy infantry meant maintaining formation; this became even more important when two forces with heavy infantry met in battle; the solidity of the formation became the deciding factor. Intense discipline and training became paramount. Empires formed around their military. The organization of military forces into regular military units
432-399: A problem. This can be avoided by having shield-armed soldiers stand close together, side-by-side, each protecting both themselves and their immediate comrades, presenting a solid shield wall to the enemy. The opponents for these first formations, the close-combat infantry of more tribal societies , or any military without regular infantry (so called " barbarians ") used arms that focused on
504-466: A reserve training formation in the United Kingdom and the brigade was redesignated 143rd Infantry (Reserve) Brigade . The brigade remained in this role for the rest of the war, supplying drafts of replacements for the divisions fighting overseas. The brigade and division were both disbanded after the war in 1946 when it was finally disbanded. The 143rd Infantry Brigade was constituted as follows during
576-440: A return to body armour for infantry, though the extra weight is a notable burden. In modern times, infantrymen must also often carry protective measures against chemical and biological attack, including military gas masks , counter-agents, and protective suits. All of these protective measures add to the weight an infantryman must carry, and may decrease combat efficiency. Early crew-served weapons were siege weapons , like
648-463: Is personal armour . This includes shields , helmets and many types of armour – padded linen , leather, lamellar , mail , plate , and kevlar . Initially, armour was used to defend both from ranged and close combat; even a fairly light shield could help defend against most slings and javelins, though high-strength bows and crossbows might penetrate common armour at very close range. Infantry armour had to compromise between protection and coverage, as
720-735: Is first noted in Egyptian records of the Battle of Kadesh ( c. 1274 BC ). Soldiers were grouped into units of 50, which were in turn grouped into larger units of 250, then 1,000, and finally into units of up to 5,000 – the largest independent command. Several of these Egyptian "divisions" made up an army, but operated independently, both on the march and tactically, demonstrating sufficient military command and control organisation for basic battlefield manoeuvres. Similar hierarchical organizations have been noted in other ancient armies, typically with approximately 10 to 100 to 1,000 ratios (even where base 10
792-605: The 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment , originally from the 162nd (East Midland) Infantry Brigade , 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division . This battalion was previously the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion of the Army Cyclist Corps . In 1938 all infantry brigades of the British Army were reduced from four battalions to three and so the 6th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment
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#1732855164846864-550: The Battle of France , was promoted to brigadier to command 32 AA Bde. During his command he worked closely with Group Captain Basil Embry commanding RAF Wittering Sector to defend the industrial Midlands, but died on 7 August 1943, which Embry attributed to overwork. Newly formed units joining AA Command were increasingly 'mixed' ones into which women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service were integrated. At
936-1133: The Royal Dragoon Guards , Royal Lancers , and King's Royal Hussars . Similarly, motorised infantry have trucks and other unarmed vehicles for non-combat movement, but are still infantry since they leave their vehicles for any combat. Most modern infantry have vehicle transport, to the point where infantry being motorised is generally assumed, and the few exceptions might be identified as modern light infantry . Mechanised infantry go beyond motorised, having transport vehicles with combat abilities, armoured personnel carriers (APCs), providing at least some options for combat without leaving their vehicles. In modern infantry, some APCs have evolved to be infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), which are transport vehicles with more substantial combat abilities, approaching those of light tanks . Some well-equipped mechanised infantry can be designated as armoured infantry . Given that infantry forces typically also have some tanks, and given that most armoured forces have more mechanised infantry units than tank units in their organisation,
1008-572: The Royal Engineers (RE), but when the RA redesignated its brigades as regiments in 1938, the group adopted the more usual title of 32nd (Midland) Ant-Aircraft Brigade in November 1938. On first formation the brigade comprised the following units: All these units had previously been infantry battalions of the former 46th (North Midland) Division , which had been converted into 2 AA Division in 1935. With
1080-442: The ballista , trebuchet , and battering ram . Modern versions include machine guns , anti-tank missiles , and infantry mortars . Beginning with the development the first regular military forces, close-combat regular infantry fought less as unorganised groups of individuals and more in coordinated units, maintaining a defined tactical formation during combat, for increased battlefield effectiveness; such infantry formations and
1152-469: The 1800s with the invention of more accurate and powerful weapons. In English, use of the term infantry began about the 1570s, describing soldiers who march and fight on foot. The word derives from Middle French infanterie , from older Italian (also Spanish) infanteria (foot soldiers too inexperienced for cavalry), from Latin īnfāns (without speech, newborn, foolish), from which English also gets infant . The individual-soldier term infantryman
1224-580: The 2nd Line, which adopted the '2/'. The South Midland Division spent many months in England training until 13 March 1915 when it was warned to prepare for overseas service to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front which had suffered heavy casualties in the winter of 1914-15. On 13 May 1915 the division was numbered, becoming the 48th (South Midland) Division and
1296-522: The American all-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment (ALICE). Infantrymen are defined by their primary arms – the personal weapons and body armour for their own individual use. The available technology, resources, history, and society can produce quite different weapons for each military and era, but common infantry weapons can be distinguished in a few basic categories. Infantrymen often carry secondary or back-up weapons, sometimes called
1368-733: The Summer of 1944 London and South-East England had been bombarded with V-1 flying bombs . Once the launching sites were overrun by 21st Army Group , the Luftwaffe began launching them from aircraft over the North Sea . 5 AA Group had to reorganise its defences, stripping HAA guns from inland sites and moving them to the coast of East Anglia . AA Command was also suffering a personnel shortage, as fit men were posted to make up losses in 21st Army Group fighting in North West Europe . In November 1944 all
1440-503: The Swiss, English, Aragonese and German, to men-at-arms who went into battle as well-armoured as knights, the latter of which at times also fought on foot. The creation of standing armies —permanently assembled for war or defence—saw increase in training and experience. The increased use of firearms and the need for drill to handle them efficiently. The introduction of national and mass armies saw an establishment of minimum requirements and
1512-728: The Ypres-Comines Canal . With the rest of the BEF, most of the brigade and division were evacuated to England after the Germans threatened to cut off the BEF from the main French Armies which would likely have caused the annihilation of the BEF. The brigade and division were successfully evacuated, yet had suffered extremely heavy casualties (8th Royal Warwicks had been reduced to 8 officers and 134 ORs ) and had to be completely reformed and brought up to strength with conscripts . Until late 1941
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#17328551648461584-443: The arms they used developed together, starting with the spear and the shield. A spear has decent attack abilities with the additional advantage keeping opponents at distance; this advantage can be increased by using longer spears, but this could allow the opponent to side-step the point of the spear and close for hand-to-hand combat where the longer spear is near useless. This can be avoided when each spearman stays side by side with
1656-514: The brigade's units left except 15th and 16th AA Area Mixed Rgts, which were joined by 9th (Londonderry) HAA Rgt (24, 25, 26 HAA Btys) returned from service in the Italian Campaign . Then at the end of the year the Home Guard was stood down and all the Z Btys disappeared. By the beginning of 1945 the brigade only had four AA Area Mixed Rgt HQs (2nd, 15th, 16th, 17th) left under its command. It
1728-641: The brigades in the division were also numbered, the 1st Warwickshire Brigade became the 143rd (Warwickshire) Brigade . The brigade served throughout the Great War on the Western Front in battles at the Somme and Passchendaele . In early November 1917 the 143rd Brigade, with the rest of 48th (South Midland) Division, was sent to the Italian Front and fought at Piave River in June 1918 and later at Vittoria Veneto , which ended
1800-411: The carrying burden is spread across several infantrymen. In all, this can reach 25–45 kg (60–100 lb) for each soldier on the march. Such heavy infantry burdens have changed little over centuries of warfare; in the late Roman Republic, legionaries were nicknamed " Marius' mules " as their main activity seemed to be carrying the weight of their legion around on their backs, a practice that predates
1872-514: The continued expansion of AA defences, especially after the Munich Crisis of 1938, new formations appeared, culminating in the creation of Anti-Aircraft Command , responsible for all TA air defence units in the UK. As a result of this expansion, some existing units transferred from 32 AA Bde to the new formations, while newly formed units replaced them, although the brigade remained within 2 AA Division. On
1944-856: The control of the new Support Command based in Aldershot , in April 2012. 11 Signal Brigade and 143 (West Midlands) Brigade amalgamated to form 11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands in November 2014. A few remaining elements of the former brigade moved to MoD Donnington in 2015. Infantry Infantry is a specialization of military personnel who engage in warfare combat . Infantry generally consists of light infantry , irregular infantry , heavy infantry , mountain infantry , motorized infantry , mechanized infantry , airborne infantry , air assault infantry , and naval infantry . Other types of infantry, such as line infantry and mounted infantry , were once commonplace but fell out of favor in
2016-463: The distinction between mechanised infantry and armour forces has blurred. The first military forces in history were infantry. In antiquity , infantry were armed with early melee weapons such as a spear , axe , or sword , or an early ranged weapon like a javelin , sling , or bow , with a few infantrymen being expected to use both a melee and a ranged weapon. With the development of gunpowder , infantry began converting to primarily firearms . By
2088-464: The division was on home defence, training in preparation for a possible German invasion of England . The invasion, fortunately, never arrived due to events that occurred during the Battle of Britain as German intentions turned to the invasion of the Soviet Union . On 20 December 1942, the division was reduced to a Lower Establishment and the division, now the 48th Infantry (Reserve) Division, became
2160-464: The end of its wartime service. At the end of 1942, 120th LAA Rgt left for mobile training, and in the early part of 1943 41st (5NSR) S/L Rgt moved to the Humber defences and 58th (Middlesex) S/L Rgt left for 41 AA Bde. Although 43rd (5th Duke of Wellington's Regiment) S/L Rgt joined, by March 1943 32 AA Bde had been reduced to one battery of 136th HAA Rgt (the others being distributed to other brigades) and
2232-455: The enemy to prepare for the main forces' battlefield attack, protecting them from flanking manoeuvers , and then afterwards either pursuing the fleeing enemy or covering their army's retreat. After the fall of Rome, the quality of heavy infantry declined, and warfare was dominated by heavy cavalry , such as knights , forming small elite units for decisive shock combat , supported by peasant infantry militias and assorted light infantry from
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2304-442: The eponymous Gaius Marius . When combat is expected, infantry typically switch to "packing light", meaning reducing their equipment to weapons, ammunition, and other basic essentials, and leaving other items deemed unnecessary with their transport or baggage train , at camp or rally point, in temporary hidden caches, or even (in emergencies) simply discarding the items. Additional specialised equipment may be required, depending on
2376-400: The existence of any organised military, likely started essentially as loose groups without any organisation or formation. But this changed sometime before recorded history ; the first ancient empires (2500–1500 BC) are shown to have some soldiers with standardised military equipment, and the training and discipline required for battlefield formations and manoeuvres: regular infantry . Though
2448-434: The expected duration of time operating away from their unit's base, plus any special mission-specific equipment. One of the most valuable pieces of gear is the entrenching tool —basically a folding spade —which can be employed not only to dig important defences, but also in a variety of other daily tasks, and even sometimes as a weapon. Infantry typically have shared equipment on top of this, like tents or heavy weapons, where
2520-605: The first complete division of the Territorial Army to be sent overseas during the Second World War. The division came under command of I Corps , commanded by Lieutenant-General Michael Barker , serving alongside the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions , both Regular Army formations. Due to a policy within the BEF of integrating the Regular Army with the Territorials, the 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
2592-889: The individual – weapons using personal strength and force, such as larger swinging swords, axes, and clubs. These take more room and individual freedom to swing and wield, necessitating a more loose organisation. While this may allow for a fierce running attack (an initial shock advantage) the tighter formation of the heavy spear and shield infantry gave them a local manpower advantage where several might be able to fight each opponent. Thus tight formations heightened advantages of heavy arms, and gave greater local numbers in melee. To also increase their staying power, multiple rows of heavy infantrymen were added. This also increased their shock combat effect; individual opponents saw themselves literally lined-up against several heavy infantryman each, with seemingly no chance of defeating all of them. Heavy infantry developed into huge solid block formations, up to
2664-628: The inter-war years. However, in the late 1930s, there was an increasing need to strengthen the anti-aircraft defences for the cities of the United Kingdom and, as a result, many infantry battalions of the Territorial Army were subsequently converted into anti-aircraft or searchlight units. In 1936 the 5th Battalion , Royal Warwickshires was one of many selected and transferred to the Royal Engineers , becoming 45th (The Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers , transferring to 32nd (South Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group , itself part of 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division . They were replaced by
2736-422: The introduction of special troops (first of them the engineers going back to medieval times, but also different kinds of infantry adopted to specific terrain, bicycle, motorcycle, motorised and mechanised troops) culminating with the introduction of highly trained special forces during the first and second World War. Naval infantry, commonly known as marines , are primarily a category of infantry that form part of
2808-707: The lower classes. Towards the end of Middle Ages, this began to change, where more professional and better trained light infantry could be effective against knights, such as the English longbowmen in the Hundred Years' War . By the start of the Renaissance , the infantry began to return to a larger role, with Swiss pikemen and German Landsknechts filling the role of heavy infantry again, using dense formations of pikes to drive off any cavalry. Dense formations are vulnerable to ranged weapons. Technological developments allowed
2880-417: The main enemy lines, using weight of numbers to achieve a decisive victory , and were usually equipped with heavier weapons and armour to fit their role. Light infantry, such as Greek peltasts , Balearic slingers , and Roman velites , using open formations and greater manoeuvrability, took on most other combat roles: scouting , screening the army on the march, skirmishing to delay, disrupt, or weaken
2952-447: The main force of the army, these forces were usually kept small due to their cost of training and upkeep, and might be supplemented by local short-term mass-conscript forces using the older irregular infantry weapons and tactics; this remained a common practice almost up to modern times. Before the adoption of the chariot to create the first mobile fighting forces c. 2000 BC , all armies were pure infantry. Even after, with
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3024-439: The men of the brigade volunteered for Imperial Service and those who did not were left to be formed into 2nd Line battalions and brigades, forming the 2nd Warwickshire Brigade (2/5th-2/8th Royal Warwickshires) of the 2nd South Midland Division, later the 182nd (2/1st Warwickshire) Brigade , 61st (2nd South Midland) Division . The 1st Line battalions adopted the '1/' prefix (1/5th-1/8th Royal Warwickshires) to distinguish them from
3096-487: The mid 17th century began replacement of the pike with the infantry square replacing the pike square. To maximise their firepower, musketeer infantry were trained to fight in wide lines facing the enemy, creating line infantry . These fulfilled the central battlefield role of earlier heavy infantry, using ranged weapons instead of melee weapons. To support these lines, smaller infantry formations using dispersed skirmish lines were created, called light infantry, fulfilling
3168-595: The mission or to the particular terrain or environment, including satchel charges , demolition tools, mines , or barbed wire , carried by the infantry or attached specialists. Historically, infantry have suffered high casualty rates from disease , exposure, exhaustion and privation — often in excess of the casualties suffered from enemy attacks. Better infantry equipment to support their health, energy, and protect from environmental factors greatly reduces these rates of loss, and increase their level of effective action. Health, energy, and morale are greatly influenced by how
3240-664: The naval forces of states and perform roles on land and at sea, including amphibious operations , as well as other, naval roles. They also perform other tasks, including land warfare, separate from naval operations. Air force infantry and base defense forces are used primarily for ground-based defense of air bases and other air force facilities. They also have a number of other, specialist roles. These include, among others, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) defence and training other airmen in basic ground defense tactics. Infentory 32nd (Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade The 32nd (Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade
3312-400: The others in close formation, each covering the ones next to him, presenting a solid wall of spears to the enemy that they cannot get around. Similarly, a shield has decent defence abilities, but is literally hit-or-miss; an attack from an unexpected angle can bypass it completely. Larger shields can cover more, but are also heavier and less manoeuvrable, making unexpected attacks even more of
3384-695: The outbreak of war its order of battle was as follows: In 1940 the RE AA battalions were transferred to the RA, and that summer the AA regiments of the RA were redesignated Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) to distinguish them from the new Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) units being formed. During The Blitz of 1940–41, 32 AA Bde controlled the following AA units defending the East Midlands: The Blitz ended in May 1941, but occasional raids continued. The brigade's order of battle
3456-626: The peacetime Territorials. The Warwickshire Brigade was composed of the 5th , 6th, 7th and 8th Volunteer battalions of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment . The brigade and division were mobilised on 5 August 1914, a day after the British declaration of war on Germany, thus beginning the First World War . When asked to serve overseas (as soldiers in the TF were not obliged to serve overseas), most of
3528-458: The raising of large numbers of light infantry units armed with ranged weapons, without the years of training expected for traditional high-skilled archers and slingers. This started slowly, first with crossbowmen , then hand cannoneers and arquebusiers , each with increasing effectiveness, marking the beginning of early modern warfare , when firearms rendered the use of heavy infantry obsolete. The introduction of musketeers using bayonets in
3600-1041: The same multiple roles as earlier light infantry. Their arms were no lighter than line infantry; they were distinguished by their skirmish formation and flexible tactics. The modern rifleman infantry became the primary force for taking and holding ground on battlefields as an element of combined arms . As firepower continued to increase, use of infantry lines diminished, until all infantry became light infantry in practice. Modern classifications of infantry have since expanded to reflect modern equipment and tactics, such as motorised infantry , mechanised or armoured infantry , mountain infantry , marine infantry , and airborne infantry . Beyond main arms and armour, an infantryman's "military kit" generally includes combat boots , battledress or combat uniform , camping gear , heavy weather gear, survival gear , secondary weapons and ammunition , weapon service and repair kits, health and hygiene items, mess kit , rations , filled water canteen , and all other consumables each infantryman needs for
3672-537: The same time, experienced units were posted away for service overseas. This led to a continual turnover of units, which accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for Operation Torch . During this period the division was composed as follows (temporary detachments omitted): When the AA Divisions were disbanded in 1942, 32 AA Bde came under the command of 5 AA Group , based in Nottingham, and remained with it until
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#17328551648463744-502: The six S/L batteries of 43 and 65 S/L Rgts. All these units had left by August 1943, after which the brigade was entirely composed of Mixed (M) units, including some armed with Z Battery rocket projectiles that were partly manned by members of the Home Guard . From August 1943 the brigade had the following composition: 'Z' AA Rgts were redesignated AA Area Mixed Rgts in April 1944 The composition of 32 AA Bde remained stable during
3816-723: The soldier is fed, so militaries issue standardised field rations that provide palatable meals and enough calories to keep a soldier well-fed and combat-ready. Communications gear has become a necessity, as it allows effective command of infantry units over greater distances, and communication with artillery and other support units. Modern infantry can have GPS , encrypted individual communications equipment, surveillance and night vision equipment, advanced intelligence and other high-tech mission-unique aids. Armies have sought to improve and standardise infantry gear to reduce fatigue for extended carrying, increase freedom of movement, accessibility, and compatibility with other carried gear, such as
3888-572: The summer of 1944. Then in October there was a further reorganisation: By this time, the brigade's HQ establishment was 8 officers, 7 male other ranks and 22 members of the ATS, together with a small number of attached drivers, cooks and mess orderlies (male and female). In addition, the brigade had a Mixed Signal Office Section of 5 male other ranks and 19 ATS, which was formally part of the Group signal unit. During
3960-561: The time by Acting Brigadier James Muirhead , a Regular Army officer, with the rest of the 48th Division was sent to France in early 1940. The brigade arrived in France on 12 January, where it became part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), which was stationed alongside the French Army on the Franco-Belgian border. The 48th Division, commanded by Major-General Andrew Thorne , was
4032-464: The time of Napoleonic warfare , infantry, cavalry and artillery formed a basic triad of ground forces, though infantry usually remained the most numerous. With armoured warfare , armoured fighting vehicles have replaced the horses of cavalry, and airpower has added a new dimension to ground combat, but infantry remains pivotal to all modern combined arms operations. The first warriors, adopting hunting weapons or improvised melee weapons, before
4104-445: The time of the musket, the dominance of firepower shifted militaries away from any close combat, and use of armour decreased, until infantry typically went without wearing any armour. Helmets were added back during World War I as artillery began to dominate the battlefield, to protect against their fragmentation and other blast effects beyond a direct hit. Modern developments in bullet-proof composite materials like kevlar have started
4176-526: The tribal host assembled from farmers and hunters with only passing acquaintance with warfare and masses of lightly armed and ill-trained militia put up as a last ditch effort. Kushite king Taharqa enjoyed military success in the Near East as a result of his efforts to strengthen the army through daily training in long-distance running. In medieval times the foot soldiers varied from peasant levies to semi-permanent companies of mercenaries, foremost among them
4248-613: The war in Italy with the signing of the Armistice of Villa Giusti . Both the brigade and division ended the war in Italy. The brigade and division were both disbanded in 1919 and then again reformed in 1920 as part of the Territorial Army as the 143rd (Warwickshire) Infantry Brigade and continued to serve with the 48th Division. The brigade again consisted of four battalions of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and remained this way for most of
4320-627: The war: The following officers commanded 143rd Infantry Brigade during the war: The brigade was disbanded after the Second World War and not reformed in the Territorial Army in 1947. The brigade was re-raised in 1984, moving to Shrewsbury in 1986. In 1991, it took on responsibility for the Army in Shropshire, Staffordshire, Hereford and Worcester, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. With the disbandment of 5th Division , 143 (West Midlands) Brigade came under
4392-596: The weapon speciality; examples of infantry units that retained such names are the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Grenadier Guards . Dragoons were created as mounted infantry , with horses for travel between battles; they were still considered infantry since they dismounted before combat. However, if light cavalry was lacking in an army, any available dragoons might be assigned their duties; this practice increased over time, and dragoons eventually received all
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#17328551648464464-452: The weapons and training as both infantry and cavalry, and could be classified as both. Conversely, starting about the mid-19th century, regular cavalry have been forced to spend more of their time dismounted in combat due to the ever-increasing effectiveness of enemy infantry firearms. Thus most cavalry transitioned to mounted infantry. As with grenadiers, the dragoon and cavalry designations can be retained long after their horses, such as in
4536-590: Was an air defence formation of Anti-Aircraft Command in Britain's Territorial Army (TA) from 1936 to 1955, charged with defending the East Midlands of England. The formation was raised on 1 November 1936 at Normanton House, Derby , as 32nd (South Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group , forming part of 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division . It comprised anti-aircraft (AA) 'brigades' of the Royal Artillery (RA) and AA battalions of
4608-560: Was briefly joined on 1 January by 72nd (Middlesex) S/L Rgt at Hatfield Militia Camp near Doncaster , which consolidated the personnel of 72nd, 80th and 82nd S/L Rgts while they awaited posting elsewhere. 32nd AA Brigade HQ was disbanded on 31 January 1945. The Brigade was reformed in the TA in 1947, still based at Derby, but renumbered as 58 AA Brigade (TA) , with the following composition: In 1954, 262 and 526 HAA Regiments amalgamated as 262 Regiment. Then on 10 March 1955, AA Command
4680-603: Was designed to ensure that raids penetrating deeply towards the Midlands GDAs would cross more than one belt, and the GDAs had more S/Ls at close spacing. The number of LAA units to protect Vital Points such as airfields was growing, albeit slowly. In June 1941, Lieutenant-Colonel T.R. Anderson, MC , who had seen active service on the Western Front and in Mesopotamia during the First World War , and had commanded 2 S/L Rgt during
4752-679: Was finally disbanded in 1946. Raised again in the 1980s, this brigade disbanded under Army 2020 in November 2014. The Warwickshire Brigade , as this brigade was originally known, was first raised in April 1908 under the Haldane Reforms when the Territorial Force was created, which was formed by the amalgamation of the Yeomanry and Volunteer Force . The brigade was assigned to the South Midland Division, one of fourteen divisions of
4824-500: Was mobilised on 1 September 1939, along with the rest of the Territorial Army, when the German Army launched its invasion of Poland . The Second World War began two days later, on 3 September 1939, with Britain and France declaring war on Germany . The men of the brigade were called up for full-time war service and, with the division, began training in preparation for an eventual move overseas. The 143rd Infantry Brigade, commanded at
4896-510: Was not coined until 1837. In modern usage, foot soldiers of any era are now considered infantry and infantrymen. From the mid-18th century until 1881, the British Army named its infantry as numbered regiments "of Foot" to distinguish them from cavalry and dragoon regiments (see List of Regiments of Foot ). Infantry equipped with special weapons were often named after that weapon, such as grenadiers for their grenades , or fusiliers for their fusils . These names can persist long after
4968-399: Was not common), similar to modern sections (squads) , companies , and regiments . The training of the infantry has differed drastically over time and from place to place. The cost of maintaining an army in fighting order and the seasonal nature of warfare precluded large permanent armies. The antiquity saw everything from the well-trained and motivated citizen armies of Greece and Rome,
5040-491: Was now predominantly composed of searchlight (S/L) units. AA Command redeployed its S/L units during the summer of 1941 into 'Indicator Belts' of radar-controlled S/L clusters covering approaches to the RAF's Night-fighter sectors, repeated by similar belts covering AA Command's Gun Defence Areas (GDAs). Inside each belt was a 20-mile deep 'Killer Belt' of single S/Ls cooperating with night-fighters patrolling defined 'boxes'. The pattern
5112-452: Was sent to 11th Brigade of the 4th Division and exchanged for the 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry , a Regular Army unit. With the rest of the division, the 143rd Brigade fought in the battles of Belgium and France in May–June 1940 against the German Army but was forced to retreat to Dunkirk , where the 143rd Brigade in particular fought in the battle of
5184-436: Was transferred to the Royal Artillery and converted to an anti-aircraft regiment, becoming 69th (Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery , joining the 45th AA Battalion, RE (formerly the 5th Royal Warwickshires) in the 32nd (Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group, 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. In the following year the brigade was redesignated 143rd Infantry Brigade . The 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division
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