6th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)
6th Armoured Division | |
---|---|
Italian Campaign | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Sir John Crocker Herbert Lumsden Charles Keightley Sir Gerald Templer |
Insignia | |
Insignia | Mailed Fist |
The 6th Armoured Division was an
History
The division was formed in the United Kingdom under
In October 1940, armoured regiments within the Division, such as the 2nd Lothian and Border Horse, were supplied with
Kasserine
On 30 January 1943, the German 21st Panzer Division (veterans of the Afrika Korps under Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel) and three Italian divisions met elements of the French forces near Faïd, the main pass from the eastern arm of the mountains into the coastal plains. The French were overrun and two US units near them were surrounded.[6]
Faced with stiffening defences and the news that the Eighth Army had reached Medenine, only a few kilometres from the Mareth Line, Rommel decided to call off the attack and withdraw on the night of 22 February 1943 to support the Mareth defences, hoping that the Kasserine attack had caused enough damage to deter any offensive action from the west for the moment. The Axis forces from Kasserine reached the Mareth line on 25 February. It was after the battle of Kasserine Pass that the 6th Armoured Division was reorganised and equipped with the M4 Sherman tank. In March 1943 the division was assigned to the recently arrived IX Corps (Lieutenant-General John Crocker) the former first GOC of the division, who was later wounded in a training accident and replaced by Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks. The division was the spearhead of the final assault by the First Army in May 1943, breaking through to Tunis. The 6th Armoured Division went on to take the surrender of the famous 90th Light Division and participated in the round up and capitulation of all Axis forces in North Africa in May 1943.[9]
Italy
Italy was to prove different from North Africa. There was no more mobile warfare in wide open spaces. The division would spend much of its time supporting the infantry as the Allies came across defensive line after defensive line.[10]
The 6th Armoured Division, now under Major General
Spring 1945 Offensive
By 19 April, the Argenta Gap had been forced and 6th Armoured was released through the left wing of the advancing 78th Infantry Division, to swing left to race north west along the line of the river Reno to Bondeno and link up with units of the Fifth Army advancing north from west of Bologna, to complete the encirclement of the German divisions defending Bologna. On all fronts the German defence continued to be determined and effective but Bondeno was captured on 23 April. The 6th Armoured Division linked with the 10th Mountain Division (US IV Corps) the next day at Finale. The IV Corps had broken through onto the plains on 19 April, bypassing Bologna on their right. Bologna was entered by the Poles advancing up the line of Route 9 on 21 April, followed two hours later by the US II Corps from the south.[12]
Post-war
The division moved to the Trieste area, at the time within the boundary of the Kingdom of Italy. In July 1946, the division was redesignated as the 1st Armoured Division and the mailed fist was retained. During 1947, the now 1st Armoured Division was transferred to Palestine and was disbanded in September 1947.[13][14] A new 6th Armoured Division was formed in May 1951 in the UK and later assigned to the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. It consisted of the 20th Armoured Brigade and 61st Lorried Infantry Brigade. It was disbanded in June 1958.[15]
General Officer Commanding
Commanders included:[16]
Appointed | General Officer Commanding |
27 September 1940 | Major-General John Crocker[17]
|
9 January 1941 | Brigadier Evelyn Fanshawe (acting)[17] |
22 February 1941 | Major-General John Crocker[17] |
15 October 1941 | Major-General Herbert Lumsden[17] |
29 October 1941 | Major-General Charles Gairdner[17] |
19 May 1942 | Major-General Charles Keightley[17] |
19 December 1943 | Major-General Vyvyan Evelegh[17] |
15 February 1944 | Brigadier William Edward Gordon Hemming (acting)[17] |
19 March 1944 | Major-General Vyvyan Evelegh[17] |
24 July 1944 | Major-General Gerald Templer (wounded 5 August 1944)[17] |
5 August 1944 | Brigadier C.A.M.D. Scott (acting)[17] |
13 August 1944 | Brigadier Francis Mitchell (acting)[17] |
21 August 1944 | Major-General Horatius Murray[17] |
27 July 1945 | Brigadier Adrian Gore[17] |
January 1946 | Major-General Charles Loewen[18] |
October 1953 | Major-General Francis Mitchell |
1955 | Major-General Roderick McLeod |
1957 | Major-General Denis O'Connor |
Order of battle
6th Armoured Division was constituted as follows during the war:
20th Armoured Brigade (from 16 October 1940, left 23 April 1942)[19]
- 1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
- 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry
- 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry
- 2nd Battalion, The Rangers (became 10th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps21 March 1941)
26th Armoured Brigade (from 9 November 1940)[20]
- 16th/5th Lancers(detached 9 January 1944, rejoined 29 March 1944)
- 17th/21st Lancers
- 2nd Lothians and Border Horse(left 17 July 1945)
- 4th Queen's Own Hussars (from 28 July 1945)
- 10th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Tower Hamlets Rifles)15 January 1941, left 29 May 1944)
- 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (from 22 July 1945)
6th Support Group (from 1 November 1940, disbanded 1 June 1942)[21]
- 12th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (Honourable Artillery Company)(left 31 May 1942)
- 72nd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery (left 31 May 1942)
- 51st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (left 31 May 1942)
- 9th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment (left 24 April 1942)
- 2nd Battalion, London Irish Rifles
- 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers
- 6th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
1st Guards Brigade (from 24 March 1943, left 29 May 1944)[23]
- 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
- 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards
- 3rd Battalion, Welsh Guards
61st Infantry Brigade (from 29 May 1944)[24]
- 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)
- 7th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (London Rifle Brigade)
- 10th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Tower Hamlets Rifles) (from 30 May 1944, disbanded 20 March 1945)
- 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (from 8 March 1945, left 22 July 1945)
- 1st Battalion, Welch Regiment (from 29 June 1945)
- 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (from 19 July 1945)
- 1st Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (from 19 July 1945)
Divisional Troops
- 1st Derbyshire Yeomanry(Reconnaissance Regiment, from 10 November 1940)
- 12th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (Honourable Artillery Company)
- 152nd (Ayrshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 72nd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 51st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 5th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers (from 19 November 1940, left 6 March 1944)
- 8th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers (from 15 December 1940)
- 625th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers (from 7 March 1944)
- 144th Field Park Squadron, Royal Engineers (from 19 November 1940)
- 6th Bridging Troop, Royal Engineers (from 25 December 1943, left 21 August 1945)
- 6th Armoured Divisional Signals Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals
Brigade Attachments
The following brigades were, at various points in time, attached to the 6th Armoured Division.
See also
- List of British divisions in World War II
- British Armoured formations of World War II
Notes
Citations
- ^ Joslen, p. 129
- ^ Joslen, p. 9
- ISBN 978-1848848382.
- ^ "17th/21st Lancers". BritishEmpire.co.uk website.
- ^ "6th Armoured Division" (PDF). British Military History. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ Westrate 1944, pp. 109–117
- ^ BBC Peoples War website
- ^ Walker 2006, pp. 186–187
- ISBN 978-1783832064.
- ^ "Breaking the Gustav Line". History.net. 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ISBN 978-1446795705.
- ^ Blaxland, p. 271
- ^ "Badge, formation, 6th Armoured Division & 1st Armoured Division". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Lord & Watson 2003, p. 36.
- ^ Watson and Rinaldi, p. 24
- ^ Army Comnmands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Joslen, p. 17
- ^ "Obituaries: Sir Charles Loewen". The Times. No. 62545. 26 August 1986.
- ^ Joslen, p. 166.
- ^ Joslen, pp. 176–177.
- ^ Joslen, p. 217.
- ^ Joslen, p. 373.
- ^ Joslen, pp. 225–226.
- ^ Joslen, p. 297.
References
- Blaxland, Gregory (1979). Alexander's Generals (the Italian Campaign 1944–1945). London: William Kimber. ISBN 978-0-7183-0386-0.
- Ford, Ken (1999). Battleaxe Division. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-1893-0.
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- Lord, Cliff; Watson, Graham (2003). The Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents. West Midlands: Helion. ISBN 978-1-874622-07-9.
- Playfair, I. S. O.; Molony, C. J. C.; Flynn, F. C. & Gleave, T. P. (2004) [HMSO 1966]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. IV. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-068-8.
- Walker, Ian (2006). Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts: Mussolini's Elite Armoured Divisions in North Africa. Ramsbury: Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1-86126-839-6.
- Watson, Bruce Allen (2007) [1999]. Exit Rommel: The Tunisian Campaign, 1942–43. Stackpole Military History Series. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3381-6.
- Watson, Graham; Rinaldi, Richard A. (2005). The British Army in Germany: An Organizational History 1947-2004. General Data. ISBN 978-0972029698.
- Westrate, Edwin V. (1944). Forward Observer. Philadelphia: Blakiston. OCLC 13163146.
External links
- "6 Armoured Division". Orders of Battle.com.
- World War II Battlefields