77th Brigade (United Kingdom)


The 77th Brigade is a British Army information operations and psychological warfare formation, created in January 2015. It was a retitling of the Security Assistance Group, created as part of the Army 2020 reorganisation after the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010. A previous 77th Brigade served in both world wars. The brigade initially brought together a psychological warfare unit; a media operations unit; and the Military Stabilisation and Support Group. It is based at Denison Barracks in Hermitage, Berkshire and became operational in April 2015.
The original 77th Brigade was formed in 1914 as part of 'Kitchener's Army'. Consisting of Scottish infantry battalions it served with 26th Division on the Salonika Front during World War I. It took part in the disastrous Second Battle of Doiran in 1917, and the equally costly Third Battle of Doiran near the end of the war. It took part in the postwar occupation of Bulgaria before it was disbanded in 1919.
The present-day brigade was named the 77th in tribute to the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade, which was part of the Chindits, an Indian Army guerilla warfare force led by Orde Wingate who used unorthodox tactics against the Japanese in Burma in World War II. The formation badge of the revived 77th shows a stylized lion known as a Chinthe in reference to the Chindits.

World War I

Recruitment and training

On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army. The newly-appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'. The K2 and K3 battalions, brigades and divisions quickly followed: 26th Division, containing 77th, 78th and 79th Brigades, was authorised on 13 September as part of K3. The K1 and K2 divisions had regional affiliations, but this had been abandoned by the time the K3 formations were organised; nevertheless, 77th Bde was composed entirely of Scottish battalions. Colonel
H.P. Shekleton, who had been Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General in the Malta Garrison on the outbreak of war, was appointed Temporary Brigadier-General to command 77th Bde on 25 September 1914. However, he was transferred to the General Staff in France as an AA&QMG on 5 October and was succeeded in command of 77th Bde on 25 October by Brig-Gen Sir Hugh Houghton Stewart, 4th Baronet of Athenree, a retired Militia colonel. Brigade headquarters formed at Codford St Mary on the edge of Salisbury Plain, where the battalions arrived from their regimental depots in September and October.
As the junior division of K3, there were no khaki uniforms available for the men, who were clothed in any makeshift uniforms the clothing contractors could find. Later it became possible to issue a form of blue uniform. It took longer to obtain drill-pattern rifles and accoutrements, but barrack-square training continued until the weather worsened at the end of October, turning the drill ground and tent floors into a sea of mud. In November the division was dispersed into billets, with 77th Bde in Bristol. The men now had drill rifles for training, and khaki uniforms and equipment arrived between February and April 1915. Between 26 April and 8 May the units returned to Salisbury Plain and were concentrated in huts between Sutton Veny and Longbridge Deverill near Warminster. Brigade training could now begin, and the drill rifles were slowly replaced by Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III service rifles. Divisional training started in July, followed by final battle training. The division completed its mobilisation on 10 September and was ordered to France to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. The first advanced parties left on 12 September and 77th Bde's units landed at Boulogne on 20 November. By 23 September the division had completed its concentration around Guignemicourt, west of Amiens.

Order of Battle

The composition of 77th Brigade was as follows:
From 28 September 1915 the brigades and battalions of 26th Division were attached to units already in the line for their introduction to Trench warfare. Then on 31 October the division was ordered to Marseille to embark for another theatre. Entrainment began at Flesselles on 9 November and embarkation two days later, with the division expecting to be sent to Egypt. However, the destination was changed to the Macedonian front, and ships carrying elements of the division. began to arrive at Salonika on 23 November. On 26 December the first units moved out of the Salonika base area to Happy Valley Camp, where the division completed its concentration on 8 February 1916.
When the Allies moved out of their entrenched camp in April 26th Division. remained behind as Army Reserve and for road construction. Because of the movement difficulties in the mountainous terrain, the British Salonika Army reorganised its transport to rely on pack mules. One result of this was that by July the reorganised brigade SAA sections were detached from the DAC and attached to the brigades they served. In August 26th Division moved up to the Lake Doiran sector of the front. 77th Brigade was in divisional reserve and did not take part in the Battle of Horseshoe Hill on 17 August. Afterwards they conducted a holding operation for the rest of the year, with numerous raids to pin down the Bulgarians; the other brigades of 26th Division carried out raids on 23 December and against the Petit Couronné on 10 February 1917.

Second Battle of Doiran

In March and April 1917 the BSA was repositioned in preparation for an offensive in the Doiran sector. 26th Division was now one of the more experienced in the theatre, and was given a wide front of about . It advanced without opposition on the night of 9/10 March to take over the mounds known as the Whale Back and Bowls Barrow. The main attack was carried out at dusk on 24 April after three days of artillery fire to cut the Bulgarian barbed wire. 26th Division attacked with 78th and 79th Bdes in line. The attack by 79th Bde on the Jumeaux Ravine was a disaster, and at midnight 77th Bde in reserve was ordered to send up a battalion in support. 12th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders set off from its camp by the railway at 01.30 on 25 April and marched about to enter the Jumeaux Ravine, where it found the trenches blocked with wounded and stretcher-parties. It was not ready to join 79th Bde's renewed attack until 04.10, but before it could be launched 78th Bde had fallen back from the Petit Couronné. The attack was called off at the last minute: one company of 12th A&SH did start out, but was called back in time.
When the attack was renewed on the night of 8 May, the attacking brigades had practised the assault over taped-out representations of the enemy line. 77th Brigade led the assault, avoiding the Jumeaux Ravine and concentrating on the ridge to the right of Petit Couronné, with objectives labelled O1, O2 and O3. The brigade had attached to it the 9th Gloucestershire Regiment from 78th Bde and the divisional pioneer battalion, 8th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. On the right, the two attacking companies of 11th Scottish Rifles reached their objectives with heavy casualties, but were bombed out again and the supporting company got lost. On the left one of the two attacking companies of 10th Black Watch was held up by uncut wire, the other was late and lost the creeping barrage, and although it got into the Bulgarian trenches it was bombed out again; the support company was stooped by the same uncut wire. In the centre 12th A&SH had started from in front of the British wire and had avoided the worst of the Bulgarian defensive barrage. The companies entered the enemy front line, bombing the dugouts and then moving onto the final objective. Here they began to consolidate the position, but finding that they were isolated by the failures on either flank and that all their officers were casualties, the men withdrew after about half an hour without any warning having reached Brigade HQ. 8th Royal Scots Fusiliers had placed one company at the disposal of each of the attacking battalions to help hold the objectives: they slowly made their way up shelled and congested communication trenches. They found that the attacking companies of 11th Scottish Rifles had simply disappeared; 12th A&SH was being reorganised by its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Ronald Falconar Stewart; Lt-Col J. Harvey of 10th Black Watch was trying to organise a fresh attack with his reserve company and the company from 8th RSF. 9th Gloucesters was also moving up to attack from the objectives of 12th A&SH and 10th Black Watch, and the divisional reserve, 11th Worcestershire Regiment had also been sent up. All six battalions were then ordered to attack at 04.30, then delayed until 05.50, but the second order did not reach 10th Black Watch which attacked with its company of 8th RSF and was repulsed again. At the revised zero hour, 11th Worcesters reported that the shelling was so heavy that they could not form up, and that the other troops had withdrawn: the Worcesters were ordered to fall back to cover. Yet 9th Gloucesters had advanced on time, finding the enemy trenches at O2 empty apart from the dead, but was under fire from O1 where 11th Scottish Rifles had not advanced. The attack was called off, and all the troops withdrawn; the last to go back was the company of 8th RSF that had attacked with 10th Black Watch and was close to the enemy's trench and engaging them with Lewis gun fire.
The BSA settled down once more to trench warfare and raids. On 4 November 12th A&SH raided Boyau Hill after three days of preliminary bombardment. Because the enemy were still holding the trenches in strength, the raiders went in behind a barrage and there was a fierce battle in the dark with bomb and bayonet. Bulgarian losses were very heavy, but the British also lost 54 men including casualties to parties making demonstrations on other parts of the line.
The crisis on the Western Front after the German spring offensive in early 1918 led to urgent calls for reinforcements to be sent from other theatres. In June the BSA was required to send 12 infantry battalions, one from each of its brigades: 10th Black Watch was sent from 77th Bde. As well as this loss of manpower, the BSA was crippled by malaria, which left many of the troops in hospital during the summer months.