242nd Brigade (United Kingdom)

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

242nd Brigade
Active1920
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry Brigade
EngagementsOccupation of Turkey
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Brig.-Gen. F.S. Montague-Bates

History

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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

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During its short existence, 242 Bde was constituted as follows:[3][4]

Attached:

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]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Brigadier-General F S Montague-Bates, CB CMG DSO". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  2. ^ 1st Bn, The Gordon Highlanders: Service at Regiments.org
  3. ^ a b c d Becke, pp. 112–6.
  4. ^ a b c d 242 Brigade War Diary, The National Archives, Kew file WO 95/4925.
  5. ^ 'Charge of the 20th Hussars at village Gebze' Archived 29 July 2013 at archive.today at Great War Forum
  6. ^ Lyster, Marie (15 July 2011). Among the Ottomans: Diaries from Turkey in World War I. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781848855212 – via Google Books.

References

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  • Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 1: The Regular British Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1934/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-84734-738-X.
  • Ian Lyster, Among the Ottomans: Diaries from Turkey in World War I, London: Tauris, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84885-521-2

External sources

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