Product Code Database
| a friendly brigade |
| a hostile brigade |
| a friendly infantry brigade |
| a friendly combined-arms brigade |
| a hostile armored brigade |
| a hostile engineer brigade |
A brigade is a major tactical military unit that typically comprises three to six plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Brigades formed into divisions are usually infantry or armored (sometimes referred to as combined arms brigades). In addition to combat units, they may include combat support units or sub-units, such as artillery and engineers, and logistic units. Historically, such brigades have been called brigade-groups. On operations, a brigade may comprise both organic elements and attached elements, including some temporarily attached for a specific task.
Brigades may also be specialized and comprise battalions of a single branch, for example cavalry, mechanized, armored, artillery, air defence, aviation, engineers, signals or logistic. Some brigades are classified as independent or separate and operate independently from the traditional division structure. The typical NATO standard brigade consists of approximately 5,000 troops. However, in Switzerland and Austria, the numbers could start as high as 10,000 troops. The Soviet Union as well as its forerunners and successors have mostly used "regiment" instead of brigade, and this was common in much of Europe until after World War II.
A brigade's commander is commonly a major general, brigadier general, brigadier or colonel. In some armies, the commander is rated as a general officer. The brigade commander has a self-contained headquarters and staff. The principal staff officer, usually a lieutenant colonel or colonel, may be designated chief of staff. Until the late 20th century British and similar armies called the position 'brigade-major' and most British brigades have a major as the chief of staff. Some brigades may also have a deputy commander. The headquarters has a nucleus of staff officers and support (clerks, assistants and drivers) that can vary in size depending on the type of brigade. On operations, additional specialist elements may be attached. The headquarters will usually have its own communications unit.
In some gendarmerie forces, brigades are the basic-level organizational unit.
The Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus improved the brigade as a tactical unit, introducing it in 1631 during a reorganization of the Swedish Army in the course of the Thirty Years' War. The invention of the brigade overcame the lack of coordination inherent in the traditional army structure consisting of independent regiments of infantry and units of supporting arms (viz., cavalry and artillery) acting separately under their individual commanding officers. Gustavus Adolphus accomplished this battlefield coordination by combining battalions of infantry with cavalry troops and artillery batteries into a "battle group", viz., brigada or "brigade" commanded by a senior colonel, or lieutenant colonel, appointed as a brigadier-general.
In France, Marshal Turenne (1611–1675) copied the brigade organization; he made it a permanent standing unit, requiring the creation in 1667 of a permanent rank of brigadier des armées du roi (literally translating to "brigadier of the armies of the king"). Unlike the Swedish brigades, French brigades at that time comprised two to five regiments of the same branch (brigade de cavalerie, brigade d'infanterie etc.). The rank, intermediate between colonel and maréchal de camp, disappeared in 1788 and should not be confused with that of général de brigade, which is equivalent to a brigadier general. (A modern général de brigade is referred to occasionally as brigadier.)
Co-located with each CMBG is a field ambulance, a tactical helicopter squadron, and a military police platoon. Regular Force CMBG's strengths are 5,000 personnel. Canada also has ten Primary Reserve brigades (Canadian brigade group, CBG), 31 CBG through 39 CBG, and 41 CBG. The CBG formations are for administrative purposes.
France replaced its divisions with brigades in 1999 (so for example the 2nd Armored Division became the 2nd Armored Brigade). It was decided in 2016 to again form two divisions (1st and 3rd) made up of four and three brigades for a total of seven brigades: two armored, two "intermediate", two light brigades (alpine and parachute) and the Franco-German Brigade. There is also an airmobile brigade subordinated to the army aviation command.
In peacetime, brigades serve primarily as force providers. The units deployed (battlegroups and task-forces) are battalion-size units provided by the regiments composing the brigades.
Tactical Operation Command Headquarters: 4 Officers, 4 Other Ranks
Tactical Operation Commander: Colonel
Chief of Staff (rough equivalent of Brigade major): Major (GSO II)
GS: Captain (GSO III)
AQ: Captain (GSO III)
Sergeant (Clerk) (4x)
GSO II and GSO III are called G2 and G3 in daily usages.
Found on page 80/95 (depending on how you count)
"While the MOC is equivalent to the LID, as both command ten battalions, the ROC is much smaller in size, with merely four battalions; thus it is the regiment level with a brigadier general as commander. It is a position between LID/MOC commander and Tactical Operation Command (TOC) commander, who commands only three infantry battalions with a small TOC HQ of Coordination officer, GS, AQ and 4 sergeant (clerks). Yet, the ROC commander enjoys financial, administrative, and judicial authority while the MOC commander does not have judicial authority."
The brigade is intended to be combat ready at all times. The combat battalions have a significant portion of professional soldiers (specialists). The fairly large size of the combat ready support contingent is also intended to complement the Heimevernet (translates as "Home Defense") which is a large reserve infantry force, as well as act in a support capacity for an international cooperation force (e.g. NATO) in case of an invasion.
There are 7 independent armoured brigades, seven engineering brigades and eight air defense brigades. Independent armoured and infantry brigades are capable of extended operations without necessarily being reliant on a higher HQ for short-term logistic or intimate support. They can be used in counter-attack, exploitation of an advance, or rapid movement to reinforce formations under pressure.
Structured very similarly to U.S. Army BCTs, the PLAGF combined arms brigade places Maneuver warfare, artillery, air defense, reconnaissance, engineer and Military police, and logistics and sustainment under a single brigade-level command. The PLAGF distinguishes three distinct types of combined arms brigades: light (motorized), medium (mechanized), and heavy (armoured). These distinctive types are more indicative of the role of the organization within its parent unit than the composition and equipment which vary and overlap between types. A light combined arms brigade may be designed as an Airborne forces, Mountain warfare, or amphibious combined arms brigade.
A combined arms brigade typically comprises the following organic units wherein the maneuver battalions vary between motorized, mechanized, or Armoured warfare depending on the type of CA-BDE.
Until 1918, the chief of staff of a brigade was known as a brigade major. Before 1922, British Army brigades were normally commanded by general officers holding the rank of brigadier-general (equivalent to a "one-star" rank in the US Army); after that date, the brigade commander was an appointment for officers with the rank of brigadier, which were then classified as field officers not general officers. This is universally the case today.
From 1859 to 1938, "brigade" ("brigade-division" 1885–1903) was also the term used for a battalion-sized unit of the Royal Artillery. This was because, unlike infantry battalions and cavalry regiments, which were organic, artillery units consisted of individually numbered batteries that were "brigaded" together. The commanding officer of such a brigade was a lieutenant colonel. In 1938, the Royal Artillery adopted the term "regiment" for this size of unit, and "brigade" became used in its normal sense, particularly for groups of anti-aircraft artillery regiments commanded by a brigadier.Maj-Gen Sir John Headlam, The History of the Royal Artillery, Vol II (1899–1914), Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1937.
In the Second World War, a tank brigade comprised three tank regiments and was equipped with for supporting the infantry divisions. Armoured brigades were equipped with or (US Lend-Lease) medium tanks and a motorised infantry battalion. The armoured divisions included one or more armored brigades.
More recently, the U.S. Army has moved to a new generic brigade combat team (BCT) in which each brigade contains combat elements and their support units. After the 2013 reform, BCT personnel strength typically ranges from 4,400 personnel for infantry BCTs, to 4,500 personnel for Stryker BCTs, to 4,700 personnel for armoured BCTs. This formation is standard across the active U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard.
The brigade commander is usually a colonel, although a lieutenant colonel can be selected for brigade command in lieu of an available colonel. A typical tour of duty for this assignment is 24 to 36 months. Separate brigades, viz., brigades not permanently assigned to a division, were commanded by brigadier generals. The Brigade: A History: Its Organization and Employment in the US Army, Chapter 6, The Early Modern Brigade, 1958–1972, ROAD Brigades and Airmobile Brigades, p. 63 and Appendix 1, Divisional Versus Separate Brigades, p. 159. [1] . Retrieved 21 December 2016.
A brigade commander has a headquarters and staff to assist them in commanding the brigade and its subordinate units. The typical staff includes:
In addition, the headquarters includes additional junior staff officers, non-commissioned officers, and Enlisted rank support personnel in the occupational specialities of the staff sections; these personnel are ordinarily assigned to the brigade's headquarters and headquarters company.
Functional brigades are those from the combat support or combat service support arms.
Along with the marine infantry regiments, the MEU, (while smaller than an army brigade), are the USMC organizational equivalents of army brigades. The MEU consists of three battalion-equivalent-sized units and a command element (a battalion landing team, a marine medium tilt-rotor squadron (reinforced), a combat logistics battalion, and a MEU headquarters group). The marine infantry regiments, combined with the marine artillery regiments, comprise the bulk of the marine divisions. An example of a MEB is Task Force Tarawa (2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade) during the Iraq Conflict campaign.
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