the surplus men were transferred to fill gaps in the other battalions of the brigade. The rest was short-lived, however, and the brigade soon returned to Italy where it was involved in fighting north of Florence, followed later by Operation Grapeshot. During May 1945, it was (briefly) detached to both 46th Infantry and 6th Armoured Divisions and the brigade then was allotted occupation duties in Carinthia in southern Austria, before being formally disbanded in April 1947. Order of battle The 38th Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers 2nd Battalion, London Irish Rifles 6th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (disbanded 5 August 1944) 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (from 26 July 1944) Commanders The following officers commanded the 38th Brigade during the war: Brigadier Morgan O'Donovan (12 January 1942 – 1 July 1942) Brigadier Nelson Russell (1 July 1942 – 20 February 1944) Brigadier Thomas (Pat) Scott (from 20 February 1944) Formations served under Formations that the brigade served under included: 1st Infantry Division 25 November 1941 – 7 June 1942 6th Armoured Division 9 June 1942 – 16 February 1943 'Y" Division 16 Feb 43 – 15 March 1943 78th Infantry Division 15 March 1943 – 28 March 1943 46th Infantry Division 29 March 1943 – 6 April 1943 78th Infantry Division 7 April 1943 – 10 May 1945 6th Armoured Division 10 May 1945 – 13 May 1945 46th Infantry Division 13 May 1945 – 18 May 1945 78th Infantry Division 18 May 1945 – 31 August 1945 Twenty-first century 38th (Irish) Brigade reformed on 1 August 2007, as part of a new combined divisional / brigade structure called HQ Northern Ireland and 38th (Irish) Brigade after the disbandment of HQ Northern Ireland and has its headquarters at Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn. The 38th Brigade subsequently came under command of the 2nd Division, the regional division for Scotland, the North of England and Northern Ireland, on 1 January 2009. it was now the regional brigade responsible for administering the Army within Northern Ireland. This was the culmination of a drawdown of military headquarters in Northern Ireland, which had seen the disbandment of 3rd Infantry Brigade, 8th Infantry Brigade, 39th Infantry Brigade and 107th (Ulster) Brigade. Today the Army Reserve soldiers from the brigade have served on operations supporting the Regular Army in the Balkans, on Operation TOSCA in Cyprus, on Operation HERRICK in