7th Brigade 7th Infantry Brigade (Guards) 7th Infantry Brigade 7th Infantry (Reserve) Brigade 7th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters East |
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Active | 1815–1945 2014 – |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Brigade |
Part of | 1st (United Kingdom) Division |
Garrison/HQ | Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell |
Engagements |
Crimean War Second Boer War First World War Second World War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
Walter Kitchener Frederick McCracken George Lindsay William Platt |
The 7th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters East is a formation in the British Army with a direct lineage to 7th Armoured Brigade and a history that stretches back to the Napoleonic Wars. It saw active service in the Crimean War, the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II. In 2014, the 7th Armoured Brigade was re-designated as 7th Infantry Brigade, thereby ensuring that the famed "Desert Rats" continue in the British Army's Order of battle.
When Wellington organized his troops into numbered divisions for the Peninsular War, the component brigades were named for the commanding officer. For the Hundred Days Campaign, he numbered his British infantry brigades in a single sequence, 1st to 10th. The 7th Brigade formed part of the 7th Division under the command of Major-general Kenneth MacKenzie. It consisted of:
It was assigned to garrison duty and so played no part in the Battle of Waterloo.
The 7th Brigade formed part of the 4th Division in the Crimean War. At the Battle of the Alma it was commanded by Brigadier-General Arthur Wellesley Torrens and consisted of:
The brigade was present with the 4th Division at the Battle of Balaclava and played a more major role at the Battle of Inkerman.