1st Belgian Infantry Brigade

1st Belgian Brigade Brigade Piron
Early insignia of the Brigade Piron
Active	late 1942 – 17 November 1945
Country	Belgium  Luxembourg
Allegiance	Belgian government in exile
Branch	Free Belgian Forces
Type	Brigade group with motorised, artillery, reconnaissance, engineer and support elements
Size	2,200 officers and men
Part of	Guards Armoured Division
Nickname(s)	Brigade Piron
Engagements	Operation Paddle Liberation of Belgium and Netherlands
Commanders
Notable commanders	Jean-Baptiste Piron

The 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, also known as the "Piron Brigade" (Brigade Piron) after its commander Jean-Baptiste Piron, was a Belgian and Luxembourgish military unit in the Free Belgian forces during World War II. It participated in the Battle of Normandy and, later, the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Brigade Piron originated in 1940, with hundreds of Belgian soldiers who had escaped to Britain, as had the Belgian Government. A new command of the Belgian Army, under Lieutenant-General Victor van Strydonck de Burkel, was created in Tenby on 25 May 1940, three days before the Belgian capitulation. Van Strydonck de Burkel became commander of the Belgian Forces in Great Britain in June 1940 and in the same month, a Belgian Minister (Jaspar) called upon all Belgians to come to Britain to continue fighting.

At the end of July 1940 there were 462 men in the Belgian Forces in exile; the arrival of many Belgians allowed the creation of several military units. The troops were trained in Great Britain and Canada and in 1942, Major Jean-Baptiste Piron arrived in Scotland where he quickly joined the army staff, with the responsibility of improving the training of Belgian troops. In an artillery competition, the Belgian battery came first. The Belgian Forces in Britain were officially made available to the Allies on 4 June 1942. By the end of the year the army had been restructured, including the creation of the 1st Belgian Brigade, under the command of Major Piron, with a mix of infantry, artillery and reconnaissance units. Troop training continued through 1943 and landing exercises were conducted in early 1944. A Luxembourgish unit was assigned to Brigade Piron in March, forming an artillery troop. Because the Belgians had arrived from around the world, thirty-three languages were spoken in the Brigade in 1944.