234th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 234th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army, raised during the Great War and later reformed during World War II.
First World War
The 234th Brigade was assigned to the 75th Division and served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign.[1]
- 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
- 1st Battalion, 152nd Punjabis
- 231st Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps
- 234th Trench Mortar Battery
Second World War
The brigade was re-formed on 1 April 1943 from the redesignation of 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 and consisted mainly of regular army units of the British Army that had served on the island during the siege.
The brigade, under Major-General F. G. R. Brittorous, later replaced by Brigadier Robert Tilney, was landed on the island of Leros. The 234th 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:
- 4th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
- 1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers
- 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
