4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East
| Heavy Armoured Brigade (Egypt) 4th Armoured Brigade 4th Armoured Brigade Group 4th Mechanized Brigade 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East |
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|---|---|
Current insignia of the 4th Mechanized Brigade.
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| Active | 1939–1945 1976–Present |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
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| Branch |
 British Army
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| Type | Mechanized |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of |
7th Armoured Division 1st (United Kingdom) Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Catterick, North Yorkshire |
| Nickname(s) | The Black Rats |
| Engagements |
Gulf War Bosnian War Kosovo Campaign Iraq War Afghanistan |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Brigadier Charlie Herbert |
| Notable commanders |
Michael Carver |
The 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East (The Black Rats), previously known as 4th Mechanized Brigade (The Black Rats) is a brigade formation of the British Army, currently based in Catterick, North Yorkshire as part of 1st (United Kingdom) Division. The brigade, now known as the 'Black Rats', was formed in 1939 and fought in the Second World War in the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa. The Black Rats were subsequently involved in the invasion of Sicily and fighting in Italy before taking part in the Battle of Normandy and the advance through Belgium, Holland and into Germany.
More recently, the Brigade took part in the First Gulf War and completed a number of tours to the Balkans during the 1990s. The Black Rats have since deployed twice to Iraq and once before to Afghanistan for Operation Herrick 12 in 2010. The Brigade returned to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in October 2012 for Operation Herrick 17 to take over as the lead formation of British troops. The roulement tour saw the brigade working in support of the Afghan Army's 3/215 Brigade and elements of the Afghan National Police.
In September 1939, at the start of the Second World War this brigade changed its title from Heavy Armoured Brigade (Egypt) to 4th Armoured Brigade.
On 27 July 1941 it handed over its units to the 1st Army Tank Brigade and received new units from Egypt. It was reformed again when the HQ arrived in Sicily and it took control of new units there. The 4th Armoured Brigade saw service in the North African Campaign, the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Italian Campaign and in North-western Europe. Although it served under many different formations it was most famous as part of the 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats.
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