120th Brigade ( United Kingdom ) The 120th Brigade ( 120 Bde ) was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I . Part of Kitchener ' s ' New Armies ' , it served in 40th Division on the Western Front . In 1918 it was reorganised as 120th ( Highland ) Brigade . The brigade number was reactivated for deception purposes during World War II . Origin . 120 Brigade was a New Army or ' Kitchener ' s Army ' formation raised in September 1915 , in 40th Division at Aldershot . An earlier 120 Brigade had been raised in late 1914 as part of the ' Fifth New Army ' , but when the Fourth New Army was broken up in April 1915 to provide reserve units for the First to Third New Armies , the formations of the Fifth took their place , and the original 120 Bde was renumbered 99th Brigade . By the time the new 120 Bde was organised the flow of volunteers had dwindled , and the standard of height for infantry soldiers had been lowered in order to encourage recruitment . Some of these so - called ' bantams ' were well - knit , hardy men , but many others , especially in 120th Bde , were under - developed and unfit . It was estimated that the four battalions in the brigade would provide enough fit men for only two serviceable battalions . To prevent the departure of the division to the Front being indefinitely postponed , the divisional commander asked for fresh units to be drafted in . 120th Brigade was completely reorganised in February 1916 . Divisional training was then intensified and the division was warned for overseas service in May 1916 . Initial order of battle . The original units forming 120 Bde were as follows : Operations . Disembarkation was carried out at Le Havre between 2 and 6 June , and the division concentrated in the Lillers area by 9 June ready to take its place in the line . 120 Brigade ' s active service was entirely spent on the Western Front . It was the first part of the division to see serious action , being engaged in the Battle of the Ancre ( the last phase of the Battle of the Somme , 14 – 18 November 1916 ) , detached under the command of 31st Division . Early in 1917 the division followed up the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line , with offensive action on 24 April , when 13th East Surreys captured Villers - Plouich and over 100 prisoners , while Beaucamp was entered by 14th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders . Bourlon Wood . In November 1917 , during the Battle of Cambrai , the division relieved 62nd ( 2nd West Riding ) Division to continue the breakthrough . The attack on the morning of 23 November , with the objective of capturing Bourlon Wood , was begun by 119 and 121 Bdes with tank support , while 120 Bde was in reserve . Confused fighting went on for two days and nights , with troops from 120 Bde being gradually fed into the line . On the afternoon of 24 November 14th Bn Highland Light Infantry of 120 Bde together with some tanks attacked Bourlon village ; although the HLI fought their way through the village , they became cut off on the other side . 40th Division ordered a renewed attack the following morning to break through and relieve them . The only troops available to 121 Bde for this task were the uncommitted 13th East Surreys from 120 Bde . The East Surreys attacked around dawn , made contact with the HLI battalion HQ , but were unable to get through to the HLI companies furthest forward , who were forced to surrender . In the two days the division suffered over 4000 casualties , and Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby ' s battalions had been badly damaged while under the command of others . Reorganisation . In February 1918 , British brigades were reduced to a three - battalion basis and brigade machine gun companies were combined into divisional battalions . 40th Division had lost so heavily in late 1917 that a more extensive reorganisation was required , leading to the following order of battle for 120 Bde , which was henceforth sometimes referred to as 120th ( Highland ) Brigade : 120 Bde saw heavy action during the German Spring Offensive of 1918 : Following heavy casualties during these battles , 40th Division was reduced to two composite brigades . 10 / 11th and 14th Highland Light Infantry from 120 Bde combined to form C Bn of 2nd Composite Bde . ( 14th Argylls had already been reduced to a cadre and transferred to 30th Division on 7 April . ) 2nd Composite Bde was employed on digging the Poperinghe Line behind the threatened Ypres Salient . In early May 1918 , all of 40th Division ' s remaining infantry battalions were reduced to training cadres and were posted to other formations while the trench mortar batteries disbanded . Reconstituted . On 10 June 1918 , 120 Bde was reconstituted with six Garrison Guard Battalions . Three of these were immediately transferred to 119 Bde and the remainder formed 120 Bde and were redesignated as Garrison Battalions of their parent regiments : On 13 July the term ' Garrison ' was dropped from the battalion titles , and the brigade light trench mortar battery had been reformed . By 18 July the brigade resumed its place in the Front Line . It then took part in the following operations of the Hundred Days Offensive in 1918 : After the Armistice with Germany , the division was engaged in road repair and refresher courses for men returning to civilian trades . Demobilisation proceeded rapidly during January and February 1919 , and its units were reduced to cadre strength by March . The final cadres disappeared during May . Commanders . The following officers commanded 120 Bde during World War I : World War II . 120 Brigade was never reformed , but the number was used for deception purposes during World War II . 30th Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment , a line of communication unit serving in 43rd Brigade in Sicily and composed mainly of men below Medical Category ' A ' , was redesignated ' 120th Infantry Brigade ' and acted as if it were a full brigade in an equally fictitious ' 40th Infantry Division ' from November 1943 until June 1944 .