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{{Short description|Infantry brigade of the British Army}}
{{For|the equivalent formation in the [[World War I|First World War]]|22nd Brigade (United Kingdom)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name =22nd Guards Brigade<br>200th Guards Brigade<br>201st Guards Motor Brigade
| image =
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| dates =1939–1946
| country ={{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch ={{army|United Kingdom}}
| type = [[Infantry]]
| role = 
| size = [[Brigade]]
| command_structure =
| garrison =[[Mersa Matruh]]
| garrison_label =
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| colors =
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| mascot =
| equipment =
| battles =[[Tobruk]], [[Battle of Gazala]], [[Medenine]], Mareth Akarit, [[Enfidaville]], [[Tunis]], [[Salerno]], Capture of Naples, Volturno Crossing, Monte Cassino, Garigliano Crossing 
| anniversaries =
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}}
The '''22nd Guards Brigade''' was an [[infantry]] [[brigade]] of the [[British Army]] that saw distinguished active service during the [[World War II|Second World War]].

==History==
The '''22nd Infantry Brigade''' was formed by the redesignation of the [[29th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|29th Infantry Brigade]] on 3 September 1939 and in March 1940 became responsible for all the troops in the [[Mersa Matruh]] Garrison area. In February 1941 the unit was reformed and renamed the '''22nd Guards Brigade''' on 20 March 1941. It was converted to the '''200th Guards Brigade''' (14 January 1942) and then finally the '''201st Guards Motor Brigade Group''' (25 May 1942).

The 201st Guards Brigade saw extensive service in the [[North African Campaign]], in [[Operation Crusader]] in late 1941 and later the [[Battle of Gazala]], where it was forced to surrender on 20 June 1942 when [[Tobruk]] was captured by German and [[Royal Italian Army during World War II|Italian forces]], although some men managed to escape capture. The brigade was reformed, as the '''201st Guards Brigade''', under the command of [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] [[Julian Gascoigne]] in [[Egypt]] on 14 August 1942 and spent the next few months training there, before being sent to [[Syria]] in September where it trained as a [[motorized infantry|motorised infantry]] brigade, with each of the battalions (the 6th [[Grenadier Guards]], fresh from [[England]], and 3rd [[Coldstream Guards]] and 2nd [[Scots Guards]], both veterans) composed of only three [[Company (military unit)|rifle companies]].

[[File:The British Army in Tunisia 1943 NA1168.jpg|thumb|left|[[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Bernard Montgomery]] with Lieutenant Colonel A. C. Clive of the Grenadier Guards in a turretless Stuart command tank, 8 March 1943.]]

In early February 1943 the brigade was ordered to [[Tunisia]] to become part of [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|XXX Corps]] of the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]]. The brigade's first action in the [[Tunisian Campaign]], which was nearing its end, was during the [[Battle of the Mareth Line]] in March. The battle, the first for the inexperienced 6th Grenadiers, was disastrous. Ordered to attack an objective named Horseshoe Ridge, which was believed to be lightly held, the Grenadiers, supported by a very heavy artillery barrage and advancing with all three companies, suffered 70% casualties, mainly from anti-personnel mines and mortars, but managed to take the ridge, and all three companies fired [[Flare gun|Very light]]s to announce the capture of their objective. In an attempt to reinforce the forward companies, and aware that his men had suffered very heavy losses in the minefields, the Grenadiers' [[commanding officer]] (CO), Lieutenant Colonel Clive, ordered the battalion's [[Universal Carrier]]s to clear a way through the minefield, thus making it easier to reinforce the forward companies. This was a dismal failure, with all the Carriers being destroyed. The Germans launched numerous [[counterattack]]s, which forced the remnants of the Grenadiers' rifle companies to retreat back through the minefields, sustaining further casualties. The Coldstream Guards, in a similar attack, managed to obtain one of the hills but, like the Grenadiers, also suffered heavily and also lost all Carriers. Realising the dire situation faced by his troops, Brigadier Gascoigne ordered both battalions to be withdrawn. This was achieved under the cover of darkness with no further loss. In the relatively short battle both battalions suffered heavy losses, with the 6th Grenadiers sustaining 279 casualties, including 9 officers and 67 men being killed, 5 officers and 83 men wounded, with a further 5 officers and 104 men taken prisoner. The Coldstream suffered 136 casualties.

[[File:The Campaign in Italy, September-december 1943- the Allied Advance To the Gustav Line NA8719.jpg|thumb|right|View of Monte Camino during the early stages of the first assault by the British X Corps.]]

In July 1943 the brigade was attached to the [[56th (London) Infantry Division]] to replace the [[168th (2nd London) Brigade|168th (London) Infantry Brigade]] of that division which was temporarily attached to the [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]] during the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Sicilian invasion]]. With the rest of the 56th Division, the brigade [[Allied invasion of Italy#Salerno landings|landed at Salerno]], the first stage of the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]], on 9 September 1943, where they were involved in heavy fighting and sustained heavy losses. During the battle 27-year-old [[Company sergeant major|Company Sergeant Major]] [[Peter Harold Wright]] of the 3rd Battalion, [[Coldstream Guards]] was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]]. The brigade continued to fight in Italy, crossing the [[Volturno Line]] in October and in November and December at the [[Bernhardt Line]]. In early 1944, due to heavy casualties and a lack of Guards replacements, the brigade was eventually sent back to the United Kingdom, where it became a training brigade for the whole [[Brigade of Guards]] for the rest of the war.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/webeasycms/hold/uploads/bmh_document_pdf/56_Infantry_Division__1944_45_.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331201711/http://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/webeasycms/hold/uploads/bmh_document_pdf/56_Infantry_Division__1944_45_.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 March 2012 |title=56 (London) Infantry Division (1943–45) |website=British Military History |date=19 July 2010 |accessdate=24 July 2016 }}</ref>

===Order of battle===
The brigade was composed as follows during the war:
* 2nd Battalion, [[Scots Guards]] ''(from 28 February 1941, left 1 October 1941, rejoined 14 December 1941 and left 16 June 1942)''
* 1st Battalion, [[Durham Light Infantry]] ''(from 28 February 1941, left 23 May 1941)''
* 3rd Battalion, [[Coldstream Guards]] ''(from 11 March 1941, left 20 June 1942)''
* 22nd Guards Brigade Anti-Tank Company ''(formed 1 June 1941, disbanded 28 July 1941)''
* 1st Battalion, [[Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)]] ''(from 7 June 1941, left 21 September 1941)''
* [[9th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Tower Hamlets Rifles)]] ''(from 29 September 1941, left 14 December 1941, rejoined 14 January and left 4 June 1942)''

Upon reforming in August 1942 the 201st Guards Motor Brigade was composed as follows:
* 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards ''(from 25 August 1942, left 23 June 1943, rejoined 22 July 1943 and left 12 March 1944, rejoined again 1 April 1945, left 3 August 1945)''
* 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards ''(from 25 August 1942, left 27 June 1943)''
* 9th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Tower Hamlets Rifles) ''(from 1 to 5 September 1942, then  disbanded)''
* 6th Battalion, [[Grenadier Guards]] ''(from 7 October 1942, disbanded 17 November 1944)''
* 1st Battalion, [[Irish Guards]] ''(from 13 March 1944)''
* 1st Battalion, [[Welsh Guards]] ''(from 11 April 1945, left 3 August 1945)''

===Commanders===
* Lieutenant-Colonel E.G. Earle (3 October 1939 – 21 October 1939)
* Brigadier J.T. Leslie (21 October 1939 – 26 July 1940)
* Brigadier G. Dawes (26 July 1940 – 26 August 1940)
* Brigadier A.R. Selby (26 August 1940 – 1 September 1940)
* Brigadier [[Ian Erskine|I.D. Erskine]] (11 February 1941 – 5 October 1941)
* Brigadier [[John Charles Oakes Marriott|J.C.O. Marriott]] (20 October 1941 – 17 June 1942)
* Brigadier [[George Johnson (British Army officer)|G.F. Johnson]] (17 June 1942 – 20 June 1942)
* Brigadier [[Julian Gascoigne|J.A. Gascoigne]] (14 August 1942 – 13 November 1943)
* Brigadier R.B.R. Colvin (27 November 1942 – 5 January 1945)
* Brigadier H.R. Norman (5 January 1945 – 31 August 1945)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Joslen-OOB}}
{{British infantry brigades of the Second World War}}
[[Category:Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II|22 Guards]]
[[Category:Guards Division (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1939]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1946]]
[[Category:Infantry brigades of the British Army]]