242nd Brigade (United Kingdom)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 242nd Brigade | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1920 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry Brigade |
| Engagements | Occupation of Turkey |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Brig.-Gen. F.S. Montague-Bates |
242nd Brigade (242 Bde) was an infantry formation composed of British and Indian troops, which served in Turkey during the Occupation of Constantinople after World War I
242 Brigade was formed around Izmit, about 100 km east of Constantinople, on 30 March 1920 by General Headquarters of the British Army of Occupation. Under the command of Brigadier-General F.S. Montague-Bates,[1] 242 Bde initially comprised three Indian Army battalions, with a proportion of British Army support troops, all drawn from 28th Division, which was serving in Turkey at the time; a British infantry battalion (1st Gordon Highlanders, from the Army of Occupation in Germany)[2] was soon added. The brigade was formally attached to 28th Division from 6 June to 15 September 1920.[3][4]
Order of battle
During its short existence, 242 Bde was constituted as follows:[3][4]
- General Officer Commanding: Brig.-Gen. F.S. Montague-Bates
Brig.-Gen. H.A.V. Cummins - 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders
- 1st Battalion 10th Jats
- 1st Battalion 21st Punjabis
- 1st Battalion 25th Punjabis
Attached:
- 20th Hussars
- Anatolian Mounted Infantry
- 51st Battery Royal Field Artillery (18-pounders) from 39th Field Brigade
- Section 39th Field Brigade Ammunition Column
- 26th Field Company Royal Engineers
- One company 2nd Battalion 128th Pioneers
- One section Z Company Machine Gun Corps
- 84th Field Ambulance Royal Army Medical Corps
- A and B echelons Royal Army Service Corps
On 13 July the 20th Hussars took part in one of the last mounted actions by British cavalry, during an operation against Turkish nationalists.[4][5]
During August Major-General Edmund Ironside took over command of the troops in the Izmit area (which became 'Ironside Force').[4] When Montague-Bates authorised a sortie over the River Sarkaria to protect his perimeter against attacks by Nationalist Turks, Ironside reprimanded him. One of Montague-Bates' staff reported that the two generals 'had heated words' and 'When Brigadier Bates came out of the meeting he was white with rage, said good-bye, and having collected his belongings left with hardly a word'. Montague-Bates returned to Constantinople and was sent home.[6] He was replaced in command of 242 Bde by Brigadier-General H.A.V. Cummins.[3]
In September 1920 the Greek Army took over the Izmit Front, which allowed the British Army of Occupation to be reduced. 242 Brigade was disbanded on 3 October and the troops dispersed, most of them joining 84th Brigade of 28th Division at Haydarpaşa.[3]