During the Second World War, the British Army maintained and created several mechanised, motorised, and horse-based brigades that were not infantry-based. These mobile forces consisted of battalions and regiments, and were under the command of a brigadier. Brigades could be assigned to a division or operate as an independent formation assigned to a corps headquarters or higher. At the start of the war, in September 1939, the British Army had seven armoured brigades, five tank brigades and one support group (a mixed arms formation assigned to armoured divisions). Numerous armoured and tank brigades were raised, renamed, and disbanded during the war. The army also formed eight support groups, three brigades of cavalry, three brigades equipped with armoured cars and two brigades aimed at grouping divisional cavalry regiments.

The nomenclature of the units assigned to brigades varied at the start of the war. The armoured brigade was the primary force within an armoured division. It was to consist of regiments of fast moving cruiser tanks, prepared to exploit gaps in an opponent's front line and also assigned to engage and destroy opposing armoured forces. These brigades also had an integrated battalion of motorised infantry. Tank brigades, with no integrated infantry support, were to consist of battalions of heavily armoured infantry tanks that would support infantry divisions and for breakthrough operations. However, brigades could be outfitted with whatever was available. In May 1940, nomenclature was standardised in the Royal Armoured Corps and battalion titles were dropped, all units becoming regiments. Starting in 1942, armoured brigades were increasingly equipped with American-supplied medium tanks instead of cruisers. In 1945, all tank brigades were renamed armoured brigades, removing the distinction between titles.

Background

By the 1930s, the British Army had identified four required tank types: the light, the medium, the cruiser, and the infantry tank. Each would be utilised in a particular and separate role from the others. Because of research and development issues, the medium tank concept was dropped and subsumed by the work that proceeded on cruiser tanks. This distinction between tanks and their roles shaped how brigades were named and what their function would be. The armoured brigade was to be equipped with cruiser tanks, while the tank brigade would be equipped with infantry tanks. Irrespective of the different roles, all brigades were commanded by a brigadier.

British tank doctrine stated that infantry tank-equipped brigades would support infantry divisions in penetrating the enemy's defensive line. Cruiser tank-equipped brigades would exploit any gap created. Light tanks were intended for reconnaissance work. In the 1930s, the active British models were only equipped with machine guns. The cruiser was to be more heavily armoured in comparison (but not so armoured that it would be detrimental to its speed), faster, and equipped with machine guns and an anti-tank gun. In addition to being used to exploit holes in the enemy line, the doctrine called for the cruiser to engage and destroy opposing armoured forces. The infantry tank was to be the most heavily armoured of the three categories. It was slower, and was intended to work alongside infantry forces.

At the beginning of the Second World War, in 1939, regiments of mechanised cavalry were intended to be assigned to the armoured brigades and equipped with cruisers. The battalions of the Royal Tank Regiment were intended to be assigned to tank brigades, and would be equipped with infantry tanks. In May 1940, the Royal Armoured Corps (the parent organisation that administered all armoured units) standardised the nomenclature around the 'cavalry' tradition. Thereafter, the term battalion was dropped, and the Royal Tank Regiment units were known only as regiments. A brigade would generally be assigned three battalions or regiments. In 1945, an additional standardisation move took place, eliminating the armour and tank brigade difference with the latter being redesignated as armoured brigades.

Real-life conditions did not follow the ideal practice laid out above. For example, cavalry and Royal Tank Regiment units were assigned to the 1st Armoured Brigade in 1940. They were equipped with a mix of cruisers and light tanks. In 1941, elements of the 3rd Armoured Brigade were equipped with captured Italian M13/40 medium tanks because of the lack of available British models. After the implementation of lend-Lease, American tanks arrived. This resulted in the 4th Armoured Brigade being outfitted with the American M3 Stuart light tanks, which were equipped with a machine gun and an anti-tank cannon. During 1942, the 23rd Armoured Brigade was equipped with Valentine infantry tanks, while the 9th Armoured Brigade was outfitted with a mix of cruiser and American medium tanks.

In 1943, United States Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell, head of the Army Service Forces that oversaw the US logistical efforts and lend lease shipments, argued for the United Kingdom to cease domestic tank production and rely solely on American. Somervell reasoned that British tanks were inferior to the M4 Sherman medium tank, and that this would free up British factory space particularly for trucks, machinery, and trains (as British demands for these items via lend-lease had increased). British tank production was reduced, but domestic construction was maintained. By mid-1944, the majority of armoured brigades were equipped with the Sherman, as a result of British cruiser production being unable to meet the numbers required of the Royal Armoured Corps. The lack of quality and reliability, among the British designs, was also a factor in the increased use of American models. Of the nine British armoured brigades deployed to France, in 1944 as part of the Northwest Europe campaign, only the 22nd Armoured Brigade, of the 7th Armoured Division, was primarily equipped with British tanks (the new Cromwell). The number of brigades equipped with British tanks, in northwest Europe, doubled over the winter of 1944/45. In October 1944, the 29th Armoured Brigade, of the 11th Armoured Division, was selected to be re-equipped with the new British Comet tank. The process was started in December, but delayed through to January 1945 as a result of the Battle of the Bulge.

Simultaneously, in September and October, the US reduced the number of medium tanks that were to be delivered to the British Army. By December, as a result of decreased US tank production along with an increased need for medium tanks due to losses, the US suspended tank deliveries. The US Army, which lacking substantial reserves of Sherman tanks in Europe, had to obtain them from the extensive reserve that the British Army had accumulated. To build-up an adequate ongoing reserve for the US Army, the majority of Sherman tanks that were to be delivered to the British Army in 1945 were reallocated. The British had requested 4,000 Shermans and 1,150 of the new M26 Pershings. As a result of the shift in the American priority to build-up its own forces, this rendered the British order meaningless. Token deliveries of Sherman tanks were made, but 1945 saw the British realisation that they could no longer count on abundant American tank deliveries in order to maintain their own armoured forces.

Armoured

The armoured brigade was the primary formation within an armoured division. At the start of the Second World War, an armoured division was to consist of two armoured brigades: a heavy and a light. The war establishment called for the former to be equipped with 147 'heavy cruisers', such as the Cruiser Mk II and the Cruiser Mk III. The light brigade was to be 174 tanks strong and consist of a mix of light tanks and 'light cruiser' tanks such as the Cruiser Mk I. A further 20 tanks were to be assigned to the brigade headquarters. In April 1940, the light and heavy distinctions were dropped, and each brigade was to be equipped with three armoured regiments, each consisting of 52 tanks. In practice, however, brigades were equipped with what was available. In 1940, for example, the two brigades of the 2nd Armoured Division were equipped with a total of 256 light tanks and 54 cruisers. From October 1940 onwards, each armoured brigade was to include an integrated battalion of motorised infantry. For the brigades assigned to an armoured division, these battalions were to be assigned from the division's support groups that contained the infantry and supporting arms. Implementation of this change was not universal. For example, the 2nd Armoured Division's 1st Armoured Brigade received an infantry battalion in February 1941, whereas the division's 3rd Armoured Brigade did not receive one at all. Likewise, the 7th Armoured Division's 4th Armoured Brigade did not receive integrated infantry support until February 1942, while its 7th Armoured Brigade received an infantry battalion in April 1941. The majority of brigades formed after October 1940, however, included the required infantry battalion from the date of their creation.

As the war progressed, the war establishment diverged for those brigades based in the United Kingdom compared to those engaged in the Western Desert campaign in North Africa. By 1942, the armoured divisions in North Africa were to consist of one armoured brigade that had been reorganised as a brigade group; a formation that contained its own supporting arms, such as engineers and artillery. The arrival of American tanks in Egypt also resulted in an equipment difference. British-based brigades consisted of only cruisers, while those in Egypt were equipped with a mix of cruisers and American light and medium tanks. By the middle of 1942, the brigade group concept had been abandoned. The supporting arms were removed from the brigades and returned to being divisional assets. Each brigade, in the Middle East, was then to consist of three regiments of 52 tanks. The brigade headquarters was also assigned eight additional tanks, and the brigade was to include four tanks equipped with anti-aircraft guns. In 1943, the divisional armoured brigades were standardised for those abroad and those based in the United Kingdom. Each brigade was to have three regiments of 55 cruisers/medium tanks, six tanks equipped with howitzers capable of firing smoke and high explosive rounds in a close support role, eight anti-aircraft tanks, and ten tanks assigned to the brigade headquarters. From March 1944, the brigade was allocated 33 light tanks for reconnaissance, and eight tanks outfitted as artillery observation posts. In 1945, the brigade headquarters was reduced to seven tanks.