234th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 234th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the First World War and Second World War.
First World War
It was assigned to the 75th Division and served in the Middle East.
- 2nd Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
- 1/4th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
- 123rd Outram's Rifles
- 58th Vaughan's Rifles (Frontier Force)
- 2/4th Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment
- 2/4th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment
- 1/152nd Infantry
- 231st Machine Gun Company
- 234th Trench Mortar Battery [1]
Second World War
The brigade was re-formed on 1 April 1943 from the 4th (Malta) Infantry Brigade, which had garrisoned the island during its siege by air and sea by the Axis powers. The unit was formed as the main British military force for the operation to capture the Dodecanese Islands in late 1943. The brigade, under Major General F. G. R. Brittorous, later replaced by Brigadier Robert Tilney, was landed on the island of Leros. The Brigade, together with other British, Italian and Allied forces, attempted to hold the Dodecanese islands against successive German air attacks and the landings of amphibious German forces, but without success. In the Battle of Kos and the Battle of Leros, German air superiority and tactical ability resulted in British defeats, and their garrisons were forced to surrender after a few days' resistance.
Component units on 16 November 1943 included:
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers
- 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
- 4th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
- 1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
References
- ^ "75th Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 16 January 2012.