# Brigade major

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{{Short description|Commonwealth military appointment}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Trooping the Colour 2018 (01).jpg|thumb|The brigade major of the [Household Division](/source/Household_Division) (first from left), 2018]]
thumb|upright|1812 engraving of a brigade major (right)

A '''brigade major''' was the [chief of staff](/source/chief_of_staff) of a [brigade](/source/brigade) in the [British Army](/source/British_Army). They most commonly held the rank of [major](/source/Major_(United_Kingdom)), although the appointment was also held by [captain](/source/Captain_(British_Army_and_Royal_Marines))s, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section directly, and oversaw the two other branches, "A – Administration" and "Q – Quartermaster". Intentionally ranked lower than the [lieutenant colonel](/source/Lieutenant_colonel_(United_Kingdom))s commanding the brigade's combat battalions, his role was to expand on, detail and execute the intentions of the commanding [brigadier](/source/Brigadier_(United_Kingdom)).

==History==
In 1913, staff captains of artillery in the British Army were re-styled as brigade majors to bring them into line with cavalry and infantry practice. In the 21st century, the title is no longer used except in the [Household Division](/source/Household_Division) and in divisional-level artillery headquarters. As of 2014 the title is still retained by HQ [London District](/source/London_District).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.army.mod.uk/news/26074.aspx |title=Balaklava Coy ready for royal duties |date=12 February 2014 |access-date=2014-02-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223122753/http://www.army.mod.uk/news/26074.aspx |archive-date=2014-02-23}}</ref>

During [World War I](/source/World_War_I), the brigade major was reportedly "a key personality who affected the health and happiness of the battalions."<ref>{{cite book|title=Fire Power — British Army Weapons and Theories of War |location=[Winchester, Mass](/source/Winchester%2C_Massachusetts) |publisher=[Allen & Unwin](/source/Allen_%26_Unwin) |date=1982 |page=117 |first1=Shelford |last1=Bidwell |first2=Dominick |last2=Graham}}</ref> He was in most frequent contact with the front-line troops and was responsible for planning brigade operations. Many brigade majors held the rank of captain, e.g., the future [prime minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom), [Anthony Eden](/source/Anthony_Eden), was a brigade major at the age of twenty-one.

The practice of using brigade majors has continued in some [Commonwealth](/source/Commonwealth_of_Nations) armies, such as that of India. The position was a standard fixture in the British Army and [Canadian Army](/source/Canadian_Army) until between 1982 and 1984 when the [NATO](/source/NATO) system was adopted and brigade G-3 ([Operations](/source/Operations_(military_staff))), also known as "Chief of Staff", replaced the brigade major. In the old system, the brigade major was a [Staff Officer 2](/source/Staff_(military)) in charge of "G Branch", abbreviated "GSO2", General Staff Officer (Grade 2).<ref>{{cite book|title=No Picnic: A fully revised and updated new edition of the bestselling account of 3 Commando Brigade in the Falklands War, 1982 |publisher=[Pen and Sword Books](/source/Pen_and_Sword_Books) |date=2008 |page=glossary |first=Julian |last=Thompson |author-link=Julian Thompson (Royal Marines officer)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Operation Banner: The British Army in Northern Ireland 1969 — 2007 |date=2009 |publisher=[Pen and Sword Military](/source/Pen_and_Sword_Books) |page=193 |first=Nick |last=Van der Bijl}}</ref> The rank of brigade major was used in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) until the [War of 1812](/source/War_of_1812), with army regulations mentioning only brigade majors as necessary/required staff for a brigadier general.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/Brigade-AHistory.pdf 
|author-last1=McGrath |first=John J. |title=The Brigade: A History of Its Organization and Employment in the US Army |location=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas |page=12 |publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press |year=2004 |lccn=2004003701}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [Staff (military)](/source/Staff_(military))

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Military appointments of the British Army

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Brigade major](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigade_major) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigade_major?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.