Naval brigade

A naval brigade is a body of sailors serving in a ground combat role to augment land forces.

Within the Royal Navy, a naval brigade is a large temporary detachment of Royal Marines and of seamen from the Royal Navy formed to undertake operations on shore, particularly during the mid- to late-19th century. Seamen were specifically trained in land-based warfare at the gunnery school at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth.

The Royal Navy fought only one ship-to-ship action (HMS Shah and Amethyst against the Peruvian ship Husacar in 1877) between 1850 and 1914, so, for much of that period, its only active service was on shore, through naval brigades formed from the men aboard its vessels. Naval brigades were used in engagements including:

The field gun competition commemorates the participation of a naval brigade in the relief of Ladysmith during the Boer War, when 12-pounder guns from HMS Terrible and Powerful were dragged across almost 200 mi (320 km) of rough terrain from Durban in October 1899.

A Royal Naval Division—later designated the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division—was formed in the First World War to make use of surplus reserves of the Royal Navy who were not required at sea. It included two naval brigades and a brigade of Royal Marines, and fought in the defence of Antwerp in 1914, the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915, and the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Few naval personnel remained in the Division by July 1916, and it was redesignated as the 63rd Division. The division was demobilised in April 1919.

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