303rd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)  The 303rd Infantry Brigade was a formation of the British Army organised from surplus Royal Artillery (RA) personnel retrained as infantry towards the end of World War II. By the end of 1944, 21st Army Group was suffering a severe manpower shortage, particularly among the infantry. At the same time the German "Luftwaffe" was suffering from such shortages of pilots, aircraft and fuel that serious aerial attacks on the United Kingdom could be discounted. In January 1945 the War Office began to reorganise surplus anti-aircraft and coastal artillery regiments in the UK into infantry battalions, primarily for line of communication and occupation duties in North West Europe, thereby releasing trained infantry for frontline service. The 303rd brigade was one of seven brigades formed from these new units. The 303rd Infantry Brigade was formed on 22 January 1945 by conversion of the Headquarters of 27th (Home Counties) Anti-Aircraft Brigade within the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Group. It was commanded by Brigadier H.G. Smith and comprised the following Territorial Army RA units:   After infantry training, including a short period attached to the 61st Infantry Division, the 303rd Brigade was sent to Norway in June 1945 following the liberation of that country (Operation Doomsday).