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At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers consisted of seven battalions. A further three were raised during the war. Prior to the war, the regiment was one of a number that been selected to transition from an infantry role to an support role and be equipped with the Vickers machine gun. While most battalions served as divisional machine gun or support battalions, several undertook different roles: motorcycle, searchlight, tank, reconnaissance, regular infantry, and deception units. The battalions of the regiment saw action with the British Expeditionary Force during the Battle of France, defended the United Kingdom, fought in the North African Campaign, took part in the Battle of Singapore, fought in Italy, and operated with the 21st Army Group in the North-West Europe Campaign of 1944–1945. ==Inter-war years== In November 1919, following the First World War, the war-raised battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers were disbanded. The single exception was the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion. While its personal were transferred to the 1st battalion on 12 July 1919 disembodied on 29 July, it was not formally disbanded until April 1953. On 7 February 1920, following the establishment of the Territorial Army (T.A.), the 1st Line Territorial Force battalions of the regiment were reconstituted. The battalions were grouped together, to once again form the Northumberland Brigade, which was part of the Northumbrian Division. During the inter-war period, the make-up of the regiment was as follows: * 1st Battalion * 2nd Battalion * 3rd Battalion (Militia) ''suspended animation'' * 4th Battalion (T.A.) * 5th Battalion (T.A.) * 6th Battalion (T.A.) * 7th Battalion (T.A.) In June 1935, as part of George V's silver jubilee, the regiment was accorded royal status in recognition for their service during the war. They would henceforth be known as the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. In 1922, the Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was disbanded in order to save money. Following which, Vickers machine guns were organised into Machine Gun Platoons (later, Machine Gun Companies) in each infantry battalion. In 1936, this decision was reversed and the heavy machine guns were, once again, to be concentrated in specialised Divisional (Machine Gun) or Divisional (Support) Battalions. Rather than resurrecting the MGC, a number of infantry regiments were converted to take on the role. The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was one of four regiments selected for conversion. The needs of modern mechanized warfare had a significant effect on the regiment's T.A. battalions. The Northumbrian Division was reorganized as a Motor Division, which saw a reduction from three to two brigades (but the addition of a motorcycle battalion) and the Northumberland Brigade was broken up. On 1 November 1938, the role of several battalions were changed. The 4th Battalion was converted to a motorcycle battalion,〔 and assigned to 50th Division〔 The 5th Battalion became a searchlight battalion, styled as ''5th Battalion, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (53rd Searchlight Regiment)'',〔 and assigned to the 30th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade. The 6th Battalion was converted to an armoured role and transferred to the Royal Tank Corps as its 43rd Battalion (6th (City) Battalion, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers).〔 The 7th Battalion was converted to a machine gun battalion in Northumbrian Area, Northern Command〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=British Northern Command on 3 September 1939 )〕 By 1939, it became clear that a new major war was likely to break out. The War Office ordered the doubling of the Territorial Army, with each unit forming a duplicate.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=History of the Army Reserve )〕 The 4th and 7th Battalions formed duplicates: the 8th and 9th Battalions.〔〔 On the eve of the Second World War, the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers consisted of: * 1st Battalion ''(MG)'' * 2nd Battalion ''(MG)'' * 4th Battalion (T.A.) ''(motorcycle)'' * 5th Battalion (T.A.) (53rd Searchlight Regiment) * 7th Battalion (T.A.) ''(MG)'' * 8th Battalion (T.A.) ''(motorcycle)'' * 9th Battalion (T.A.) ''(MG)'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「List of Royal Northumberland Fusiliers battalions in World War II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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