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Heavy Armoured Brigade (Egypt) 4th Armoured Brigade 4th Armoured Brigade Group 4th Mechanized Brigade 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East 4th Light Brigade
Current insignia of the 4th Infantry Brigade & HQ North East.
Active	1939–1945 1976–Present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Brigade
Part of	1st (United Kingdom) Division
Garrison/HQ	Catterick, North Yorkshire
Engagements	Second World War North African Campaign Invasion of Sicily Battle of Normandy North West Europe Campaign Gulf War Bosnian War Kosovo Campaign Iraq War Afghanistan
Commanders
Current commander	Brigadier R J Singleton
Notable commanders	Michael Carver

4th Light Brigade, provides light infantry mass, offering significant utility in operate tasks and with the ability to surge ground manoeuvre units by air or sea to reinforce UK forces or partners.Previously known as 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East, and before that as 4th Mechanized Brigade and before that 4th Armoured Brigade 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 and 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 also since deployed twice to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan as the lead formation.

History

Second World War

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 based in 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".

The 4th Armoured Brigade left the 7th Armoured Division in North Africa in 1943, to return to join the Allied invasion force for Normandy. In June 1944, the brigade landed in Normandy as an independent brigade and fought during the Battle of Normandy during the Battle for Caen.

The 4th Armoured Brigade was the first to cross the Rhine into Germany.

The brigade was disestablished in 1948.

Former BBC motorsports commentator Murray Walker served with 4th Armoured Brigade during the Second World War as a member of The Royal Scots Greys. After the war he started a motorcycle club, organising trials and scrambles for the soldiers within the Brigade.

Cold War era

The brigade spent many years in Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine. The brigade was one of two "square" brigades assigned to 2nd Division when it converted into an armoured formation in 1976. After being briefly converted to "Task Force Charlie" in the late 1970s, the brigade was reinstated in 1981, assigned to 3rd Armoured Division and was based at York Barracks in Münster. The Brigade deployed to the First Gulf War on Operation Granby in 1990/91 and was involved in the liberation of Kuwait. It moved to Quebec Barracks at Osnabrück in 1993 to replace 12th Armoured Brigade as part of 1st (UK) Armoured Division.

Post-Cold War

4th Armoured Brigade deployed to Bosnia in October 1995 as UNPROFOR HQ Sector South-West and subsequently as the leading UK element of the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR). The Black Rats have since deployed twice to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan, first on Operation Herrick 12 in 2010; and again in October 2012 for Operation Herrick 17, during which it was working in support of the Afghan Army's 3/215 Brigade and elements of the Afghan National Police.

4th Infantry Brigade

Under Army 2020, the brigade lost its armour and converted to an infantry brigade. The structure of the brigade in 2020 was as follows:

• 4th Infantry Brigade, at Peronne Lines, Catterick Garrison
  • The Light Dragoons, at Gaza Barracks, Catterick Garrison (Light Cavalry, 66x Jackal armoured reconnaissance vehicles)
  • The Queen's Own Yeomanry (Army Reserve), at Fenham Barracks, Newcastle upon Tyne (Light Cavalry, 66x Jackal armoured reconnaissance vehicles)
  • The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, at Glencorse Barracks, Penicuik (Light Infantry)
  • 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, at Dale Barracks, Chester (Light Infantry)
  • 2nd Battalion, Mercian Regiment, at Weeton Barracks, Blackpool (Light Infantry) – arriving back from Cyprus in November 2020
  • 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, at Lille Barracks, Aldershot Garrison (Light Infantry)
  • 52nd Lowland Volunteers, 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (Army Reserve), at Walcheren Barracks, Glasgow (Light Infantry) – paired with 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS)
  • 4th Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (Army Reserve), at Kimberley Barracks, Preston (Light Infantry) – paired with 1st Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (1 LANCS)
  • 4th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (Army Reserve), at Worsley Barracks, York (Light Infantry) – paired with 2 YORKS until November, then paired with 2nd Battalion, Mercian Regiment (2 MERCIAN)
  • 154 (Scottish) Regiment RLC, (Army Reserve), at Bothwell House, Dunfermline.
  • 75 Regiment Royal Engineers

Second World War commanders

During the Second World War:

• January 1940 to April 1941 Brigadier J.A.L. Caunter
• April 1941 to April 1942 Brigadier A.H. Gatehouse
• April 1942 to July 1942 Brigadier G.W. Richards
• July 1942 to September 1942 Brigadier W.G. Carr
• September 1942 to November 1942 Brigadier M.G. Roddick
• November 1942 to January 1943 Brigadier C.B.C. Harvey
• January 1943 to February 1943 Brigadier D.S. Newton-King
• February 1943 to December 1943 Brigadier J.C. Currie
• December 1943 to March 1944 Brigadier H. J. B. Cracroft
• March 1944 to June 1944 Brigadier J. C. Currie
• June 1944 to August 1945 Brigadier R.M.P. Carver

Brigade commanders

Recent commanders have included:

• 1976–1978 Brigadier Desmond Langley
• 1981–1984 Brigadier Charles Guthrie
• 1994–1996 Brigadier Richard Dannatt
• 1996–1998 Brigadier David Richards
• 1998–2000 Brigadier Bill Rollo
• 2000-2002 Brigadier Nicholas Smith
• 2002–2004 Brigadier Paul Gibson
• 2005–2007 Brigadier Chris Deverell
• 2007–2009 Brigadier Julian Free
• 2009–2011 Brigadier Richard Felton
• 2011–2013 Brigadier Bob Bruce
• 2013–2015 Brigadier Charlie Herbert
• 2015–2016 Brigadier Gerald Strickland
• 2016–2019 Brigadier Oliver Stokes
• 2019–2022 Brigadier Oliver Brown
• 2022-2023 Brigadier M Mudd
• 2023- Present Brigadier R J Singleton

See also

• 4th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)

• British Armoured formations of World War II
• List of British brigades of the Second World War

Notes

References

1. British Army (2021). "Future Soldier" (PDF).
2. 4th Mechanized Brigade, British Army, retrieved 15 February 2017
3. Brigadier RMP Carter (1945). The History of the 4th Armoured Brigade. ISBN 978-1470119645.
4. ^ Brief History Of The British 4th Armoured Brigade Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
5. Carter, R. M. P. (1997). The History of the 4th Armoured Brigade. Merriam Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-1576380185.
6. Murray Walker (2003). Unless I'm Very Much Mistaken. ISBN 0-00-712697-2.
7. Watson, Graham (2005). The British Army in Germany: An Organisational History 1947-2004. Tiger Lily. p. 95. ISBN 9780972029698.
8. Black, Harvey. "The Cold War Years. A Hot War in reality. Part 6".
9. "York Barracks". BAOR Locations. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
10. 4th Mechanized Brigade, archived from the original on 5 March 2016 Global Security
11. The Blue Beret (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2012
12. "4th Mechanized Brigade to replace 12 Mechanized Brigade in Helmand". MoD. 11 July 2012.
13. "Map/Maps showing the responsibilities of the British Army's Regional Commands across the United Kingdom" (PDF). What do they know?. 17 August 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
14. Ministry, of Defence (July 2013). "Transforming the British Army an Update" (PDF). Parliamentary Publishments. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
15. "Google Earth". earth.google.com. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
16. "4th Infantry Brigade and HQ North East". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
17. ^ "British Army - The Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps - Light Cavalry Regiment and Armoured Regiment (Type 56)- Armed Forces - a4a3". www.armedforces.co.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
18. "Mercian Regiment". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
19. Grzeszczyk, Sian. "2 YORKS Takes Over Cyprus Duties From 2 MERCIAN For Two-Year Posting". Forces Network. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
20. Orders of Battle Archived March 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
21. "4th Armoured Brigade Commanders". Desert Rats.
22. Army Commands Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
23. 5,000 'Rats' spotted in Basra Archived October 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Defence News, 11 December 2007
24. Brigadier salutes move to Garrison Archived August 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Northern Echo, 17 February 2009
25. 4th Mechanized Brigade Archived October 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine 11 April 2011
26. New man takes over the Black Rats Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Northern Echo, 12 June 2013

Further reading

• RMP Carter (1945). The History of the 4th Armoured Brigade. ISBN 978-1470119645.

External links

• 4th Infantry Brigade
• Desert Rats Association - Brigade History
• British Army Locations from 1945

• Infantry brigades of the British Army
• Military units and formations established in 1939
• Organisations based in North Yorkshire
• Military units and formations established in 1976