diff --git a/Documentation/config/advice.txt b/Documentation/config/advice.txt
index 063eec2511..e52262dc69 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/advice.txt
+++ b/Documentation/config/advice.txt
@@ -116,6 +116,9 @@ advice.*::
 	submoduleAlternateErrorStrategyDie::
 		Advice shown when a submodule.alternateErrorStrategy option
 		configured to "die" causes a fatal error.
+	submodulesNotUpdated::
+		Advice shown when a user runs a submodule command that fails
+		because `git submodule update` was not run.
 	addIgnoredFile::
 		Advice shown if a user attempts to add an ignored file to
 		the index.
diff --git a/Documentation/config/submodule.txt b/Documentation/config/submodule.txt
index ee454f8126..c318b849aa 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/submodule.txt
+++ b/Documentation/config/submodule.txt
@@ -72,6 +72,15 @@ submodule.recurse::
 	For these commands a workaround is to temporarily change the
 	configuration value by using `git -c submodule.recurse=0`.
 
+submodule.propagateBranches::
+	[EXPERIMENTAL] A boolean that enables branching support with
+	submodules. This allows certain commands to accept
+	`--recurse-submodules` (`git branch --recurse-submodules` will
+	create branches recursively), and certain commands that already
+	accept `--recurse-submodules` will now consider branches (`git
+	switch --recurse-submodules` will switch to the correct branch
+	in all submodules).
+
 submodule.fetchJobs::
 	Specifies how many submodules are fetched/cloned at the same time.
 	A positive integer allows up to that number of submodules fetched
diff --git a/advice.c b/advice.c
index 1dfc91d176..e00d30254c 100644
--- a/advice.c
+++ b/advice.c
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ static struct {
 	[ADVICE_STATUS_HINTS]				= { "statusHints", 1 },
 	[ADVICE_STATUS_U_OPTION]			= { "statusUoption", 1 },
 	[ADVICE_SUBMODULE_ALTERNATE_ERROR_STRATEGY_DIE] = { "submoduleAlternateErrorStrategyDie", 1 },
+	[ADVICE_SUBMODULES_NOT_UPDATED] 		= { "submodulesNotUpdated", 1 },
 	[ADVICE_UPDATE_SPARSE_PATH]			= { "updateSparsePath", 1 },
 	[ADVICE_WAITING_FOR_EDITOR]			= { "waitingForEditor", 1 },
 };
diff --git a/advice.h b/advice.h
index 601265fd10..a7521d6087 100644
--- a/advice.h
+++ b/advice.h
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ struct string_list;
 	ADVICE_STATUS_HINTS,
 	ADVICE_STATUS_U_OPTION,
 	ADVICE_SUBMODULE_ALTERNATE_ERROR_STRATEGY_DIE,
+	ADVICE_SUBMODULES_NOT_UPDATED,
 	ADVICE_UPDATE_SPARSE_PATH,
 	ADVICE_WAITING_FOR_EDITOR,
 	ADVICE_SKIPPED_CHERRY_PICKS,
diff --git a/branch.c b/branch.c
index 528cb2d639..404766d01d 100644
--- a/branch.c
+++ b/branch.c
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 #include "sequencer.h"
 #include "commit.h"
 #include "worktree.h"
+#include "submodule-config.h"
+#include "run-command.h"
 
 struct tracking {
 	struct refspec_item spec;
@@ -345,6 +347,127 @@ void create_branch(struct repository *r, const char *name,
 	free(real_ref);
 }
 
+static int submodule_validate_branchname(struct repository *r, const char *name,
+					 const char *start_name, int force,
+					 int quiet, char **err_msg)
+{
+	int ret = 0;
+	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
+	struct strbuf child_err = STRBUF_INIT;
+	child.git_cmd = 1;
+	child.err = -1;
+
+	prepare_other_repo_env(&child.env_array, r->gitdir);
+	strvec_pushl(&child.args, "branch", "--dry-run", NULL);
+	if (force)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--force");
+	if (quiet)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--quiet");
+	strvec_pushl(&child.args, name, start_name, NULL);
+
+	if ((ret = start_command(&child)))
+		return ret;
+	ret = finish_command(&child);
+	strbuf_read(&child_err, child.err, 0);
+	*err_msg = strbuf_detach(&child_err, NULL);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int submodule_create_branch(struct repository *r, const char *name,
+				   const char *start_oid,
+				   const char *start_name, int force,
+				   int reflog, int quiet,
+				   enum branch_track track, char **err_msg)
+{
+	int ret = 0;
+	struct child_process child = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
+	struct strbuf child_err = STRBUF_INIT;
+	child.git_cmd = 1;
+	child.err = -1;
+
+	prepare_other_repo_env(&child.env_array, r->gitdir);
+	strvec_pushl(&child.args, "submodule--helper", "create-branch", NULL);
+	if (force)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--force");
+	if (quiet)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--quiet");
+	if (reflog)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--create-reflog");
+	if (track == BRANCH_TRACK_ALWAYS || track == BRANCH_TRACK_EXPLICIT)
+		strvec_push(&child.args, "--track");
+
+	strvec_pushl(&child.args, name, start_oid, start_name, NULL);
+
+	if ((ret = start_command(&child)))
+		return ret;
+	ret = finish_command(&child);
+	strbuf_read(&child_err, child.err, 0);
+	*err_msg = strbuf_detach(&child_err, NULL);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+void create_submodule_branches(struct repository *r, const char *name,
+			       const char *start_name, int force, int reflog,
+			       int quiet, enum branch_track track)
+{
+	int i = 0;
+	char *branch_point = NULL;
+	struct repository *subrepos;
+	struct submodule *submodules;
+	struct object_id super_oid;
+	struct submodule_entry_list *submodule_entry_list;
+	char *err_msg = NULL;
+
+	validate_branch_start(r, start_name, track, &super_oid, &branch_point);
+
+	submodule_entry_list = submodules_of_tree(r, &super_oid);
+	CALLOC_ARRAY(subrepos, submodule_entry_list->entry_nr);
+	CALLOC_ARRAY(submodules, submodule_entry_list->entry_nr);
+
+	for (i = 0; i < submodule_entry_list->entry_nr; i++) {
+		submodules[i] = *submodule_from_path(
+			r, &super_oid,
+			submodule_entry_list->name_entries[i].path);
+
+		if (repo_submodule_init(
+			    &subrepos[i], r,
+			    submodule_entry_list->name_entries[i].path,
+			    &super_oid)) {
+			die(_("submodule %s: unable to find submodule"),
+			    submodules[i].name);
+			if (advice_enabled(ADVICE_SUBMODULES_NOT_UPDATED))
+				advise(_("You may try initializing the submodules using 'git checkout %s && git submodule update'"),
+				       start_name);
+		}
+
+		if (submodule_validate_branchname(
+			    &subrepos[i], name,
+			    oid_to_hex(
+				    &submodule_entry_list->name_entries[i].oid),
+			    force, quiet, &err_msg))
+			die(_("submodule %s: could not create branch '%s'\n\t%s"),
+			    submodules[i].name, name, err_msg);
+	}
+
+	create_branch(the_repository, name, start_name, force, 0, reflog, quiet,
+		      track);
+
+	for (i = 0; i < submodule_entry_list->entry_nr; i++) {
+		printf_ln(_("submodule %s: creating branch '%s'"),
+			  submodules[i].name, name);
+		if (submodule_create_branch(
+			    &subrepos[i], name,
+			    oid_to_hex(
+				    &submodule_entry_list->name_entries[i].oid),
+			    branch_point, force, reflog, quiet, track,
+			    &err_msg))
+			die(_("submodule %s: could not create branch '%s'\n\t%s"),
+			    submodules[i].name, name, err_msg);
+
+		repo_clear(&subrepos[i]);
+	}
+}
+
 void remove_merge_branch_state(struct repository *r)
 {
 	unlink(git_path_merge_head(r));
diff --git a/branch.h b/branch.h
index d8e5ff4e28..1b4a635a2f 100644
--- a/branch.h
+++ b/branch.h
@@ -76,6 +76,12 @@ void create_branch(struct repository *r,
 		   int force, int clobber_head_ok,
 		   int reflog, int quiet, enum branch_track track);
 
+/*
+ * Creates a new branch in repository and its submodules.
+ */
+void create_submodule_branches(struct repository *r, const char *name,
+			       const char *start_name, int force, int reflog,
+			       int quiet, enum branch_track track);
 /*
  * Check if 'name' can be a valid name for a branch; die otherwise.
  * Return 1 if the named branch already exists; return 0 otherwise.
diff --git a/builtin/branch.c b/builtin/branch.c
index 5d4b9c82b4..6a16bdb1a3 100644
--- a/builtin/branch.c
+++ b/builtin/branch.c
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ static const char * const builtin_branch_usage[] = {
 
 static const char *head;
 static struct object_id head_oid;
+static int recurse_submodules = 0;
+static int submodule_propagate_branches = 0;
 
 static int branch_use_color = -1;
 static char branch_colors[][COLOR_MAXLEN] = {
@@ -101,6 +103,15 @@ static int git_branch_config(const char *var, const char *value, void *cb)
 			return config_error_nonbool(var);
 		return color_parse(value, branch_colors[slot]);
 	}
+	if (!strcmp(var, "submodule.recurse")) {
+		recurse_submodules = git_config_bool(var, value);
+		return 0;
+	}
+	if (!strcasecmp(var, "submodule.propagateBranches")) {
+		submodule_propagate_branches = git_config_bool(var, value);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
 	return git_color_default_config(var, value, cb);
 }
 
@@ -621,7 +632,8 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	int delete = 0, rename = 0, copy = 0, force = 0, list = 0, create = 0,
 	    unset_upstream = 0, show_current = 0, edit_description = 0;
 	/* possible options */
-	int reflog = 0, quiet = 0, dry_run = 0, icase = 0;
+	int reflog = 0, quiet = 0, dry_run = 0, icase = 0,
+	    recurse_submodules_explicit = 0;
 	const char *new_upstream = NULL;
 	enum branch_track track;
 	struct ref_filter filter;
@@ -670,6 +682,7 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		OPT_CALLBACK(0, "points-at", &filter.points_at, N_("object"),
 			N_("print only branches of the object"), parse_opt_object_name),
 		OPT_BOOL('i', "ignore-case", &icase, N_("sorting and filtering are case insensitive")),
+		OPT_BOOL(0, "recurse-submodules", &recurse_submodules_explicit, N_("recurse through submodules")),
 		OPT_STRING(  0 , "format", &format.format, N_("format"), N_("format to use for the output")),
 		OPT__DRY_RUN(&dry_run, N_("show whether the branch would be created")),
 		OPT_END(),
@@ -713,9 +726,16 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (create < 0)
 		usage_with_options(builtin_branch_usage, options);
 
+	if (recurse_submodules_explicit && submodule_propagate_branches &&
+	    !create)
+		die(_("--recurse-submodules can only be used to create branches"));
 	if (dry_run && !create)
 		die(_("--dry-run can only be used when creating branches"));
 
+	recurse_submodules =
+		(recurse_submodules || recurse_submodules_explicit) &&
+		submodule_propagate_branches;
+
 	if (filter.abbrev == -1)
 		filter.abbrev = DEFAULT_ABBREV;
 	filter.ignore_case = icase;
@@ -874,6 +894,12 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			FREE_AND_NULL(unused_full_ref);
 			return 0;
 		}
+		if (recurse_submodules) {
+			create_submodule_branches(the_repository, branch_name,
+						  start_name, force, reflog,
+						  quiet, track);
+			return 0;
+		}
 		create_branch(the_repository, branch_name, start_name, force, 0,
 			      reflog, quiet, track);
 	} else
diff --git a/builtin/submodule--helper.c b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
index 6298cbdd4e..3ea1e8cc96 100644
--- a/builtin/submodule--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 #include "diff.h"
 #include "object-store.h"
 #include "advice.h"
+#include "branch.h"
 
 #define OPT_QUIET (1 << 0)
 #define OPT_CACHED (1 << 1)
@@ -2983,6 +2984,37 @@ static int module_set_branch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	return !!ret;
 }
 
+static int module_create_branch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
+{
+	enum branch_track track;
+	int quiet = 0, force = 0, reflog = 0;
+
+	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT__QUIET(&quiet, N_("print only error messages")),
+		OPT__FORCE(&force, N_("force creation"), 0),
+		OPT_BOOL(0, "create-reflog", &reflog,
+			 N_("create the branch's reflog")),
+		OPT_SET_INT('t', "track", &track,
+			    N_("set up tracking mode (see git-pull(1))"),
+			    BRANCH_TRACK_EXPLICIT),
+		OPT_END()
+	};
+	const char *const usage[] = {
+		N_("git submodule--helper create-branch [-f|--force] [--create-reflog] [-q|--quiet] [-t|--track] <name> <start_oid> <start_name>"),
+		NULL
+	};
+
+	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, options, usage, 0);
+
+	if (argc != 3)
+		usage_with_options(usage, options);
+
+	create_branch(the_repository, argv[0], argv[1], force, 0, reflog, quiet,
+		      BRANCH_TRACK_NEVER);
+	setup_tracking(argv[0], argv[2], track, quiet, 0);
+
+	return 0;
+}
 struct add_data {
 	const char *prefix;
 	const char *branch;
@@ -3379,6 +3411,7 @@ static struct cmd_struct commands[] = {
 	{"config", module_config, 0},
 	{"set-url", module_set_url, 0},
 	{"set-branch", module_set_branch, 0},
+	{"create-branch", module_create_branch, 0},
 };
 
 int cmd_submodule__helper(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
diff --git a/t/t3207-branch-submodule.sh b/t/t3207-branch-submodule.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..14ff066e91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t3207-branch-submodule.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,249 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='git branch submodule tests'
+
+GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME=main
+export GIT_TEST_DEFAULT_INITIAL_BRANCH_NAME
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+. "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-rebase.sh
+
+test_expect_success 'setup superproject and submodule' '
+	git init super &&
+	test_commit foo &&
+	git init sub-upstream &&
+	test_commit -C sub-upstream foo &&
+	git -C super submodule add ../sub-upstream sub &&
+	git -C super commit -m "add submodule" &&
+	git -C super config submodule.propagateBranches true
+'
+
+cleanup_branches() {
+	super_dir="$1"
+	shift
+	(
+		cd "$super_dir" &&
+		git checkout main &&
+		for branch_name in "$@"; do
+			git branch -D "$branch_name"
+			git submodule foreach "(git checkout main && git branch -D $branch_name) || true"
+		done
+	)
+} >/dev/null 2>/dev/null
+
+# Test the argument parsing
+test_expect_success '--recurse-submodules should create branches' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-a &&
+		git rev-parse --abbrev-ref branch-a &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse --abbrev-ref branch-a
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--recurse-submodules should be ignored if submodule.propagateBranches is false' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git -c submodule.propagateBranches=false branch --recurse-submodules branch-a &&
+		git rev-parse branch-a &&
+		test_must_fail git -C sub rev-parse branch-a
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--recurse-submodules should fail when not creating branches' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-a &&
+		test_must_fail git branch --recurse-submodules -D branch-a &&
+		# Assert that the branches were not deleted
+		git rev-parse --abbrev-ref branch-a &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse --abbrev-ref branch-a
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should respect submodule.recurse when creating branches' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git -c submodule.recurse=true branch branch-a &&
+		git rev-parse --abbrev-ref branch-a &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse --abbrev-ref branch-a
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should ignore submodule.recurse when not creating branches' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-a &&
+		git -c submodule.recurse=true branch -D branch-a &&
+		test_must_fail git rev-parse --abbrev-ref branch-a &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse --abbrev-ref branch-a
+	)
+'
+
+# Test branch creation behavior
+test_expect_success 'should create branches based off commit id in superproject' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a branch-b" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-a &&
+		git checkout --recurse-submodules branch-a &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse HEAD >expected &&
+		# Move the tip of sub:branch-a so that it no longer matches the commit in super:branch-a
+		git -C sub checkout branch-a &&
+		test_commit -C sub bar &&
+		# Create a new branch-b branch with start-point=branch-a
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-b branch-a &&
+		git rev-parse branch-b &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse branch-b >actual &&
+		# Assert that the commit id of sub:second-branch matches super:branch-a and not sub:branch-a
+		test_cmp expected actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should not create any branches if branch is not valid for all repos' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git -C sub branch branch-a &&
+		test_must_fail git branch --recurse-submodules branch-a 2>actual &&
+		test_must_fail git rev-parse branch-a &&
+
+		cat >expected <<EOF &&
+fatal: submodule sub: could not create branch ${SQ}branch-a${SQ}
+	fatal: A branch named ${SQ}branch-a${SQ} already exists.
+
+EOF
+		test_cmp expected actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should create branches if branch exists and --force is given' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse HEAD >expected &&
+		test_commit -C sub baz &&
+		git -C sub branch branch-a HEAD~1 &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules --force branch-a &&
+		git rev-parse branch-a &&
+		# assert that sub:branch-a was moved
+		git -C sub rev-parse branch-a >actual &&
+		test_cmp expected actual
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should create branch when submodule is in .git/modules but not .gitmodules' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a branch-b branch-c" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git branch branch-a &&
+		git checkout -b branch-b &&
+		git submodule add ../sub-upstream sub2 &&
+		# branch-b now has a committed submodule not in branch-a
+		git commit -m "add second submodule" &&
+		git checkout branch-a &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-c branch-b &&
+		git rev-parse branch-c &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse branch-c &&
+		git checkout --recurse-submodules branch-c &&
+		git -C sub2 rev-parse branch-c
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should set up tracking of local branches with track=always' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git -c branch.autoSetupMerge=always branch --recurse-submodules branch-a main &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse main &&
+		test "$(git -C sub config branch.branch-a.remote)" = . &&
+		test "$(git -C sub config branch.branch-a.merge)" = refs/heads/main
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should set up tracking of local branches with explicit track' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git branch --track --recurse-submodules branch-a main &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse main &&
+		test "$(git -C sub config branch.branch-a.remote)" = . &&
+		test "$(git -C sub config branch.branch-a.merge)" = refs/heads/main
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should not set up unnecessary tracking of local branches' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-a main &&
+		git -C sub rev-parse main &&
+		test "$(git -C sub config branch.branch-a.remote)" = "" &&
+		test "$(git -C sub config branch.branch-a.merge)" = ""
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'setup remote-tracking tests' '
+	(
+		cd super &&
+		git branch branch-a &&
+		git checkout -b branch-b &&
+		git submodule add ../sub-upstream sub2 &&
+		# branch-b now has a committed submodule not in branch-a
+		git commit -m "add second submodule"
+	) &&
+	(
+		cd sub-upstream &&
+		git branch branch-a
+	) &&
+	git clone --branch main --recurse-submodules super super-clone &&
+	git -C super-clone config submodule.propagateBranches true
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should not create branch when submodule is not in .git/modules' '
+	# The cleanup needs to delete sub2:branch-b in particular because main does not have sub2
+	test_when_finished "git -C super-clone/sub2 branch -D branch-b && \
+		cleanup_branches super-clone branch-a branch-b" &&
+	(
+		cd super-clone &&
+		# This should succeed because super-clone has sub.
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-a origin/branch-a &&
+		# This should fail because super-clone does not have sub2.
+		test_must_fail git branch --recurse-submodules branch-b origin/branch-b 2>actual &&
+		cat >expected <<-EOF &&
+		fatal: submodule sub: unable to find submodule
+		You may reinitialize the submodules using ${SQ}git checkout origin/branch-b && git submodule update${SQ}
+		EOF
+		test_must_fail git rev-parse branch-b &&
+		test_must_fail git -C sub rev-parse branch-b &&
+		# User can fix themselves by initializing the submodule
+		git checkout origin/branch-b &&
+		git submodule update &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-b origin/branch-b
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should set up tracking of remote-tracking branches' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super-clone branch-a" &&
+	(
+		cd super-clone &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-a origin/branch-a &&
+		test "$(git -C sub config branch.branch-a.remote)" = origin &&
+		test "$(git -C sub config branch.branch-a.merge)" = refs/heads/branch-a
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'should not fail when unable to set up tracking in submodule' '
+	test_when_finished "cleanup_branches super-clone branch-b" &&
+	(
+		cd super-clone &&
+		git branch --recurse-submodules branch-b origin/branch-b
+	)
+'
+
+test_done
