British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)

British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)

The organisation of Divisions and Brigades of British Army in 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War, is listed below. The ultimate head of all the British armed forces was nominally King George VI, with the various Offices coming underneath. The War Office covered the Army in the United Kingdom, and the Middle East Command. The professional head of the Army was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Lord Gort[1] and it was administered through the Army Council.[2]

War Office
Leslie Hore-Belisha was responsible for the War Office in his role as Secretary of State for War.[3]

Northern Command
The Northern Command, under Commander-in-chief Lieutenant General Sir William Bartholomew, with its HQ in York.[4][5] 5th Infantry Division[4] Northumbrian Area (HQ in Darlington).[6][7] 23rd Motorised Division[6] 50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division[6] 25th Army Tank Brigade[6] West Riding Area (HQ in York).[8] 46th Infantry Division[8] 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division[8] 5th Cavalry Brigade[8]

Eastern Command
Eastern Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Guy Williams, with its HQ in London.[9] Apart from the 4th Infantry Division, the units were drawn from the Territorial Army. 4th Infantry Division[9][10] East Anglia Area (HQ in Hereford).[9] 18th Infantry Division[11] 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division[11] Home Counties Area (HQ in Woolwich).[12] 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division[12] 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division[12] 21st Tank Brigade[12][13] Chatham Area (HQ in Chatham).[14] No divisions or brigades.

British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)

Western Command
The Western Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Robert Haining, with its HQ in Chester.[15][16] Welsh Area (HQ in Shrewsbury).[16][17] 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division[16][17] 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division[16][17] West Lancashire Area (HQ in Liverpool).[18] 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division[16] 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division[18] 6th Cavalry Brigade[18] 23rd Army Tank Brigade[16][18]

East Lancashire Area (HQ in Manchester).[16][19] 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division[16][19] 66th Infantry Division[16][19] 24th Army Tank Brigade[16][19]

Southern Command
The Southern Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Bertie Fisher, with its HQ in Salisbury.[20][21] 3rd Infantry Division[20][21] 1st Armoured Division[20][21] South-Western Area (HQ in Devonport).[21][22] 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division[21][22] 45th Infantry Division[21][22] South Midland Area (HQ in Oxford).[21][23] 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division[21][23] 61st Infantry Division[21][23] 20th Light Armoured Brigade[21][23] Southern Area (HQ in Salisbury).[24] No divisions or brigades. Salisbury Plain Area (HQ in Salisbury).[24] No divisions or brigades.

Aldershot Command
Aldershot Command, under Lieutenant General Sir John Dill, with its HQ in Aldershot.[25][26] 1st Infantry Division[25][27] 2nd Infantry Division[25][27] 1st Army Tank Brigade[25][27]

Scottish Command
The Scottish Command, under General Sir Charles Grant, with its HQ in Edinburgh.[28][29] Highland Area (HQ in Perth).[30][31] 9th (Highland) Infantry Division[30][31] 51st (Highland) Infantry Division[30][31]

British Army Order of Battle (September 1939) Lowland Area (HQ in Darlington).[31][32] 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division[31][32] 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division[31][32]

Northern Ireland District

The Northern Ireland District, under Major-General Robert Pollock, with its HQ in Belfast. It had no subordinate divisions or brigades.[33]

London District
The London District, under Major-General Andrew Thorne, with its HQ in London.[34][35] 1st (London) Motorised Division[34][35] 2nd (London) Motorised Division[34][35] 22nd Heavy Armoured Brigade[34][35]

Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Pile, with its HQ co-located with RAF Fighter Command[36] at RAF Bentley Priory, in the northwestern London suburb of Stanmore.[37] 1st Anti-Aircraft Division[37][38] 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division[37][38] 3rd Anti-Aircraft Division[37][38] 4th Anti-Aircraft Division[37][38] 5th Anti-Aircraft Division[37][38] 6th Anti-Aircraft Division[37][38] 7th Anti-Aircraft Division[37][38]

There were varying numbers of brigades to each Divisional HQ, the units were drawn from the Royal Artillery.

Middle East Command

The Middle East Command, under Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Wavell, with its HQ in Cairo, Egypt.[39] British Troops in Egypt (HQ in Cairo).[40] Mobile Division[40] 7th Infantry Division[40] Mandate Palestine (HQ in Jerusalem). 8th Infantry Division[41] 14th Infantry Brigade[41] 16th Infantry Brigade[41] The Sudan (HQ in Khartoum).[42] Brigadier commanding British Troops in the Sudan:[42] 1 Worcs 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (machine-gun battalion)

British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)

India and Burma Offices

Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Marquess of Zetland was responsible for both the India and Burma Offices in his role as Secretary of State for India.[43]

Army of India
There were no British Army divisions or brigades in India[44] but units of the British Army were posted on tour to India as the "British Army in India" and collectively with the Indian Army formed the "Army of India" under the Commander-in-Chief, India (in 1939 General Robert Cassels). India Command covered India, Iraq and Persia

Notes
Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] Gort would command the BEF when it crossed to the continent, being replaced by General Ironside comparable to the Air Staff or the Admiralty British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_army/ 39_army. html) Northern Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ northern. html)

[5] British Northern Command on 3 September 1939 (http:/ / www. patriotfiles. com/ index. php?name=Sections& req=viewarticle& artid=6691& page=1) Patriotfiles.com accessed 1 April 2011 [6] Northumbrian Area, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ northern_northumbria. html) [7] British Military History (http:/ / www. britishmilitaryhistory. co. uk/ aqadmin/ media/ uploads/ 4b4b9d6f47d12_Northumbrian Area (1939). pdf) [8] West Riding Area, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ northern_west-riding. html) [9] Eastern Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ eastern. html) [10] British Military History (http:/ / www. britishmilitaryhistory. co. uk/ documents. php?aid=11& nid=2& start=0) [11] http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ eastern_east-anglia. html> [12] Home Counties Area, Eastern Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ eastern_home-counties. html) [13] British Military History (http:/ / www. britishmilitaryhistory. co. uk/ aqadmin/ media/ uploads/ 4b40eac00b61f_Home Counties Area (1939). pdf) [14] Chatham Area, Eastern Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ eastern_chatam. html) [15] Western Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ western. html) [16] Patriot Files (http:/ / www. patriotfiles. com/ index. php?name=Sections& req=viewarticle& artid=6695& page=1) [17] Welsh Area, Western Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ western_welsh. html) [18] West Lancashire Area, Western Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ western_west-lancs. html) [19] East Lancashire Area, Western Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ western_east-lancs. html) [20] Southern Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ southern. html) [21] Patriot Files (http:/ / www. patriotfiles. com/ index. php?name=Sections& req=viewarticle& artid=6694& page=1) [22] South-Western Area, Southern Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ southern_southwest. html) [23] South Midland Area, Southern Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ southern_south-midland. html) [24] Southern Area, Southern Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ southern_southern. html) [25] Aldershot Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ aldershot. html) [26] British Military History (http:/ / www. britishmilitaryhistory. co. uk/ documents. php?aid=10& nid=2& start=0) [27] Patriot Files (http:/ / www. patriotfiles. com/ index. php?name=Sections& req=viewarticle& artid=6688& page=1) [28] Scottish Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ scottish. html) [29] British Military History (http:/ / www. britishmilitaryhistory. co. uk/ documents. php?aid=13& nid=2& start=0) [30] Highland Area, Scottish Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ scottish_highland. html)

British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)

[31] Patriot Files (http:/ / www. patriotfiles. com/ index. php?name=Sections& req=viewarticle& artid=6693) [32] Lowland Area, Scottish Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ scottish_lowland. html) [33] Northern Ireland District, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ north-ireland. html) [34] London District, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ london. html) [35] Patriot Files (http:/ / www. patriotfiles. com/ index. php?name=Sections& req=viewarticle& artid=6690) [36] London Gazette 38149 p59735974 (http:/ / www. london-gazette. co. uk/ issues/ 38149/ pages/ 5974) [37] Anti-Aircraft Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_commands/ aa_command. html) [38] Patriot Files (http:/ / www. patriotfiles. com/ index. php?name=Sections& req=viewarticle& artid=6697) [39] Middle East Command, British Army, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_army/ middle-east. html) [40] Egypt, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_army/ egypt. html) [41] Palestine, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_army/ palestine. html) [42] Leo Niehorster, The Sudan,03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_army/ sudan. html) [43] The India and Burma Office, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_gov/ 39_office_india-burma. htm) [44] Army of India, 03.09.1939 (http:/ / niehorster. orbat. com/ 017_britain/ 39_india/ army. html)

Citations

External links
http://niehorster.orbat.com/017_britain/39_army/39_army.html British Army, 03.09.1939 (http://www.ordersofbattle.darkscape.net/site/ww2/drleo/017_britain/39_army/ 39_army.html)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

British Army Order of Battle (September 1939) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=502102445 Contributors: Buckshot06, DuncanHill, Glevum, GraemeLeggett, Heywoodg, Hmains, Hugo999, Kernel Saunters, Kwamikagami, Paste, Sturmvogel 66, Tim!, Ukexpat

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