Brigade

Brigade, in its proper military sense, is a tactical group of regiments or battalions acting together under one commander, called a Brigadier-general (q.v.). In most European armies an infantry brigade consists of two regiments, each of three battalions; but in the British army it has only three battalions. There are three regiments of cavalry in all cavalry brigades. A brigade in this sense has no existence during peace in Great Britain or the United States, except at camps of exercise, such as Aldershot (q.v.), and temporarily for drill purposes; but the word is applied to a group of Batteries of Artillery (q.v.), for administrative purposes, to the household troops, Life-guards, Horse-guards, and Foot-guards, which are sometimes called the Household Brigade, and to the four battalions of rifles, called the Rifle Brigade. In India there are 28 brigade commands. These are territorial—the officers in charge, who are colonels, having under them all the troops quartered in their districts, whose numbers and nature may vary from time to time. In the United States the brigade consists of two regiments, each of two battalions.