The brigade was re-formed as the 234th Infantry Brigade during the
Second World War on 1 April 1943 from the redesignation of the 4th (Malta) Infantry Brigade, which before that was known as the Western Infantry Brigade, which had garrisoned the island during its
siege by air and sea by the
Axis powers from June 1940 until November 1942. The unit was formed as the main British military force for the
Dodecanese Campaign to capture the
Dodecanese Islands in late 1943 and consisted mainly of
regular army units of the British Army that had served on the island during the siege.
The brigade, under
Major-GeneralF. G. R. Brittorous, later replaced by
BrigadierRobert Tilney, was landed on the island of
Leros towards the end of September 1943.[3] The 234th Brigade, together with other British, Italian and
Allied forces, attempted to hold the Dodecanese islands against successive German air attacks and the landings of amphibious German forces, but without success. In the
Battle of Kos and the
Battle of Leros, German air superiority and tactical ability resulted in British defeats, and their garrisons were forced to surrender after a few days' resistance. The few men of the brigade who had escaped returned to the Middle East, where it was disbanded on 16 January 1944.[4]
Order of battle
The brigade was constituted as follows during the war:[5]
4th Battalion,
Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) (from 13 May 1942 until 10 April 1943, rejoined 26 October 1943, captured 16 November 1943)