7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)
Mobile Division (Egypt) / Mobile Division, Egypt Armoured Division (Egypt) 7th Armoured Division | |
---|---|
Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Percy Hobart Michael O'Moore Creagh William Gott John Campbell Frank Messervy John Harding George Erskine Lewis Lyne |
Insignia | |
First insignia to use a jerboa, adopted c.1940[1] | |
Second design, adopted prior to the division's deployment to Italy.[1] |
The 7th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army. It was formed as the Mobile Division (Egypt) on 27 September 1938, after increased tensions between Britain and the Axis powers. This was part of an effort to reinforce and maintain the British strategic presence in Egypt to defend the Suez Canal, which was seen as vital to the British Empire's interests. In February 1940, the formation was renamed as the 7th Armoured Division. During its early years, the Jerboa was adopted as the mascot and divisional insignia giving rise to the nickname Desert Rats.
The division fought in most of the major battles of the
, Germany.After the war it formed part of the British Army of the Rhine until it was disbanded in the 1950s. The division's history and insignia was carried on by the 7th Armoured Brigade, until the brigade was disbanded in 2014, and is now maintained by the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team.
Background
The
During the
Formation
In September 1938, due to the tensions between Britain and the
In the meantime, on 27 September,
During 1939, the Mobile Division (Egypt) was renamed as the Armoured Division (Egypt), while the Cairo Cavalry Brigade became the Light Armoured Brigade (Egypt). The 7th Hussars were re-equipped with the
When tensions in Europe reached a boiling point, in late August and just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in September, the division was again deployed into the Western Desert. In December, with Italy having not joined the war, the formation returned to Cairo to resume training.
Major-General Michael O'Moore Creagh, the Inspector of the Royal Armoured Corps, was given command of the division on 4 December 1939 as Hobart's replacement.[21][22] Two months later, on 16 February 1940, further nomenclature changes took place. The formation was renamed as the 7th Armoured Division, the Heavy Armoured Brigade (Egypt) became the 4th Heavy Armoured Brigade, and the Light Armoured Brigade (Egypt) was redesignated as the 7th Light Armoured Brigade. The two armoured brigades dropped the heavy and light descriptives on 14 April.[23] During April 1940, the War Office set out an organisation for armoured divisions that stated such formations should have 340 tanks.[24] During this period, the 7th Armoured Division had just 65 cruiser tanks, with eight not equipped with their required anti-tank weapons.[25][26] The same month, the division started to return to Mersa Matruh. Training continued for the majority, while the 11th Hussars moved close to the Frontier Wire on the Egypt-Libyan border, where they started reconnaissance of Italian positions.[12]
Insignia
The initial
Most sources concur that the jerboa design was created during Creagh's tenure; that he felt something representative was needed to be added to the white circle and chose the desert rat. His wife then went to the Cairo zoo and sketched the first draft.[1][29] Rea Leakey, who was the division's intelligence officer (GSO 3) at the time, claimed in his memoir that he and Hobart conversed about his pet jerboa. When he informed Hobart that they were called desert rats, Hobart decided to use that as the nickname for the division. George Forty, who edited the memoir, included a contradictory note that disputed Leakey's version of events and explained the story surrounding Creagh and his wife at the zoo.[30][g]
Second World War
North Africa
On 10 June 1940, Italy entered the Second World War against the Allies. In response, the 1st KRRC, the 7th, and the 11th Hussars patrolled the border and then crossed into Italian territory the next day and took 70 prisoners. The Italian border forts Capuzzo and Maddalena were quickly taken, and various small unit actions inflicted the loss of 24 armoured cars and several hundred casualties on the Italians.[32] The first tank-on-tank clash for the division occurred on 16 June, when a force of 12 Italian light tanks were engaged and destroyed.[33] However, these actions did not hinder the Italian build-up, and they soon retook Capuzzo and engaged in their own reconnaissance efforts. While more of the division's tank units were initially moved forward, it was decided to avoid mechanical attrition and the majority were pulled back to the Mersa Matruh area. This left one tank regiment along with the 1st KRRC, joined by two additional infantry battalions, and several batteries from the division's artillery to monitor a 60 mi (97 km) section of the border. Their instructions were to harass any Italian probes and to attempt to delay, but not become seriously engaged with, any offensive move. The 11th Hussars were allowed to continue their long-range efforts into Italian territory.[34][h] Between 11 June and 9 September, 3,500 Italian casualties were inflicted for the loss of 150 of the division's personnel. The tank strength of the division had also rose to 85 cruisers by September, although 15 were being repaired and wear and tear issues impacted the rest.[36]
On 13 September, the Italians invaded Egypt with a force of five divisions supplemented by a tank group. In accordance with their instructions, the division's forward elements engaged and harassed the Italians while falling back to avoid prolonged engagements. By 16 September, the Italians had reached Sidi Barrani. They halted to improve the infrastructure behind them and constructed a series of fortified camps. The 7th Armoured Division regrouped at Mersa Matruh, then spent the following two months reconnoitering the Italian positions.[33][37] Towards the end of August, and prior to the Italian invasion, reinforcements and supplies were dispatched to Egypt from the UK. This included artillery, spare parts, and around 100 tanks for the division; a mix of light tanks and cruisers split between two armoured regiments. Their arrival in early October doubled the 7th Armoured Division's strength.[38][i]
On 9 December, the Western Desert Force
The Italians had proven so weak that Hitler was forced to send the Afrika Korps, under Erwin Rommel, as reinforcements. In April 1941, the Allied troops in Tobruk were cut off by the Germans and Italians.[42]
On 7 June, the division was again prepared for battle as part of
On 27 June 1942, elements of the 7th Armoured Division, along with units of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars, suffered one of the worst friendly fire incidents when they were attacked by a group of Royal Air Force (RAF) Vickers Wellington medium bombers during a two-hour raid near Mersa Matruh, Egypt. Over 359 troops were killed and 560 others were wounded.[46]
The Western Desert Force later became HQ
The 7th Armoured Division, now consisting of the 22nd Armoured and
The division, now commanded by Major General
Italy
The division was not an assault force in the invasion of Sicily, instead remaining in Homs, Syria for training in amphibious warfare, but did participate in the early stages of the Italian campaign.[50][51]
The 7th Armoured Division came ashore at Salerno, on 15 September 1943, to help repel heavy German counterattacks during the Battle for the Salerno beachhead (Operation Avalanche). Shortly after landing on the 18th the 131st (Queen's) Infantry Brigade (which consisted of the 1/5th, 1/6th and 1/7th Territorial battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment) relieved its 'sister' duplicate, the 169th (Queen's) Infantry Brigade, (consisting of 2/5th, 2/6th and 2/7th Queen's, all formed in 1939), which was part of the 56th (London) Infantry Division, and had been in continuous combat since 9 September. The assembly of six battalions of a single regiment has since been considered a unique moment in the regiment's history.[52] The 169th Brigade was commanded at the time by Brigadier Lewis Lyne, who would later command the 7th Armoured Division from November 1944 onwards.[53]
Then, it drove on and took
There could not have been a greater contrast to the desert. We struggled forward, blown bridges and muddy vineyards causing more delay than opposition from the enemy.[54]
The division crossed the river Volturno in southern Italy, constructing a pontoon bridge.[55]
On the wishes of the British Eighth Army commander, General Montgomery, the 7th Armoured Division was recalled to the United Kingdom, along with the
North West Europe
In November 1943, the division left Italy for the United Kingdom, with the last units arriving on 7 January 1944.[58][59] The division was re-equipped with the new Cromwell cruiser tanks and in April and May received 36 Sherman Vc Fireflies. Each troop now had three 75 mm gun Cromwells and a 17-pounder gun Firefly.[58] The Desert Rats were the only British armoured division to use the Cromwell as their main battle tank.[60]
The 22nd Armoured Brigade embarked on 4 June, and most of the division landed on
The division's performance in Normandy and the rest of France has been called into question and it has been claimed they did not match those of its earlier campaigns. In early August 1944, Major General George Erskine, who had commanded the division since January 1943, Brigadier
The replacement of Erskine in August did not change the performance of the division. In November 1944, Lloyd-Verney was relieved by Major General Lyne, after he "was unable to cure the division's bad habits well enough to satisfy Montgomery and
Following the advance across France, the division took part in the Allied advance through
In July 1945 the 7th Armoured Division took part in the Berlin Victory Parade of 1945, alongside American, French and Soviet troops. Among the many witnesses of the parade were British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was particularly fond of the division, Field Marshal Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff and Field Marshal Montgomery.[75]
Post war
During the summer of 1945, the BAOR reorganised and disbanded its corps headquarters. These were replaced by new formations based around a divisional headquarters. This resulted in the creation of the 7th Armoured Division District, which was headquartered at Bad Rothenfelde.[76][j] The division was reformed when Hannover District became the 7th Armoured Division.[78] The division remained part of the BAOR until April 1958, when it was redesignated as the 5th Division. While the division ceased to exist, its traditions and iconic nickname were maintained by 7th Armoured Brigade.[79]
A monument to commemorate the 7th Armoured was erected at Brandon in Thetford Forest where the division trained prior to D-day.[80]
Notable personnel
- Field Marshal Michael Carver, Baron Carver– GS01
- John Combe- initially 11th Hussars, later staff officer
- To War With Whitaker: The Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939–1945
See also
- List of British divisions in World War II
- British Armoured formations of World War II
- British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)
- Jock column
- John Beeley
- George Ward Gunn
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ These figures represent the war establishment, the paper strength, of an armoured division. In 1939, an armoured division was to have 9,442 men, close to 400 guns, 351 tanks and about 3,000 vehicles. By 1944, a division was supposed to have 14,964 men, 126 guns, 366 tanks and around 4,000 vehicles.[2] Various organisational changes were introduced throughout the war that changed the composition of armoured divisions. More information can be found at British Army during the Second World War and British armoured formations of the Second World War.
- ^ Mechanisation of this brigade started in 1935, with an intent to have one regiment equipped with light tanks, one with armoured cars, and the third to be motorized cavalry.[7]
- ^ Mobile Division was the initial terminology used, by the British Army, to describe a tank-based force. They would later be known as an armoured division.[10]
- ^ British doctrine initially defined light tanks as reconnaissance vehicles armed only with machine guns.[13]
- ^ On 4 April 1939, the Royal Armoured Corps was formed to command all mechanised cavalry and the battalions of the Royal Tank Corps. The latter was renamed the Royal Tank Regiment and its nomenclature colloquially changed; each unit dropped the word battalion from their names, although this was not officially adopted until September 1945.[14]
- ^ Len Burritt, who was a divisional headquarters wireless operator in 1940, alleged that he coined the nickname desert rats, talked Creagh out of applying the name Jerboa Division, and was presented with the first handmade insignia in 1940 after being dubbed "the first Desert Rat" by Creagh.[31]
- ^ The 1KRRC were joined by the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards and the 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade.[35]
- ^ The convoy also included an armoured regiment outfitted with Matilda II infantry tanks, 48 anti-tank guns, 20 light anti-tank guns, 48 artillery pieces, 250 anti-tank rifles, 500 Bren light machine guns, 50,000 anti-tank mines, 300 tons of spare parts and other required equipment, tens of thousands of artillery rounds, and one million rounds of ammunition.[39]
- ^ XII Corps was disbanded in June 1945, followed by I, VIII, and XXX Corps in July.[77]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e "Badge, formation, 7th Armoured Division". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 129.
- ^ Jeffery 1984, p. 110.
- ^ Carver 1954, p. 4.
- ^ Hughes 2013, p. 150.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, pp. 1–3.
- ^ a b c Crow 1971, p. 17.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, pp. 6–8.
- ^ Gibbs 1976, pp. 484–486.
- ^ French 2001, p. 37.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, pp. 17–19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Verney 2002, Prologue.
- ^ a b Playfair et al. 2004a, p. 478.
- ^ Chadwick 1970.
- ^ a b Macksey 1983, p. 57.
- ^ "No. 34557". The London Gazette. 30 September 1938. p. 6140.
- ^ Verney 2002, Prologue; Carver 2005, pp. 11–12; Crow 1971, pp. 25–26.
- ^ "The Monthly Army List, May 1939". National Library of Scotland. p. 136. and "The Monthly Army List, August 1939 Security Edition". National Library of Scotland. pp. 247–50.
- ^ Zaloga 2015, pp. 80, 82.
- ^ Buckingham 2012, Chapter 3: Stroke and Counter-Stroke: The Italian Invasion of Egypt and Operation Compass June 1940–December 1940.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 19.
- ^ Smart 2005, Creagh, Major General Sir Michael O’Moore.
- ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 19, 153, 158.
- ^ Joslen 2003, p. 4.
- ^ Crow 1971, p. 26.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, p. 189.
- ^ Verney 2002, p. 301.
- ^ Chappell 1987, p. 13.
- ^ Forty 2014, p. 145.
- ^ Leakey 2022, Chapter 2: The Western Desert.
- ^ Slevin, Jennie (5 December 2014). "Binfield man who was world's first Desert Rat honoured on trip to Germany". Berkshire Live. Reading. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, pp. 100, 118–119.
- ^ a b Verney 2002, Chapter 1: The First Offensive.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, pp. 100, 118–119, 205.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, pp. 208–211.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, p. 206.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, pp. 208–211, 259.
- ^ Verney 2002, Chapter 1: The First Offensive; Playfair et al. 2004a, p. 190; Wahlert 2011, The Italians Stall and the British Plan.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, p. 190.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004a, pp. 260–261, 267, 269–271, 278, 284 287–288, 356, 358.
- Wavell, Archibald (1946). Operations in the Middle East from 7th February to 15th July 1941. Wavell's Official Despatches. first published in "No. 37638". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 July 1946. pp. 3423–3444., p. 2 (see "No. 38177". The London Gazette(Supplement). 13 January 1948. p. 310.)
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004, p. 35–36.
- ^ Playfair, Volume II, pp. 1–2, 32, 163–164
- ^ Liddell Hart, Basil H.. The Tanks: The History of the Royal Tank Regiment and its Predecessors, Heavy Branch, Machine-Gun Corps, Tank Corps, and Royal Tank Corps, 1914–1945, pg. 90
- ^ "CHAPTER 7 – A disastrous Beginning - NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz.
- ^ The Rommel Papers, Liddell-Hart, Basil Henry pp. 238–239 (New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace, Javanovich, 1953)
- ^ Playfair Volume IV, p.34
- ^ "The British Army in North Africa". Imperial War Museum. 4 February 1943. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ "The Struggle for North Africa 1940-1943". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ "Thomas Campbell RE". The Desert Rats. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ Delaforce 2009, pp. 148–152.
- ^ "The Italian Campaign". The Queen's Royal Surrey Regimental Association. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "Major-General Lewis Owen Lyne CB, DSO". Lancashire Fusiliers. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ Delaforce 2009, p. 179.
- ISBN 978-0850524109.
- ^ "Fifth Canadian Armoured Division: Introduction to Battle". Canadian Military History. 23 January 2012. p. 44. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ Delaforce 2009, p. 183.
- ^ a b c Fortin, p. 4
- ^ Delaforce, 2003, pp. 1–2
- ^ Taylor, p. 6
- ^ Forty, p. 36
- ^ Buckley, pp. 23–27
- ^ Ellis, Lionel Frederic (1968). Victory in the West Volume II: The Defeat of Germany. History of the Second World War. H.M. Stationery Office. pp. 123–27.
- ^ Fortin, p. 10
- ^ Forty, p. 104
- ^ a b Taylor, p. 84
- ^ Wilmot, p. 398
- ^ Buckley (2006), pp. 28–29
- ^ D'Este, Carlo (1983). Decision in Normandy. London: William Collins Sons. p. 286.
- ^ D'Este, p. 273
- ^ Williams p. 90
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: British Movietone. "FREE! Prisoners of war released by the "Desert Rats" Stalag XIB and 357" – via YouTube.
- ^ "16 April 1945: The first POW camp liberated – Fallingbostel". ww2today.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ISBN 978-1781554005.
- ^ "Winston Churchill in Berlin". Imperial War Museum. 21 July 1945. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ Porter 1958, pp. 546–547.
- ^ Donnison 1961, p. 244.
- ^ Kennett 1970, p. 425.
- ^ "Fact file: 7th Armoured Brigade". BBC. 20 January 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ "Desert Rats embark upon final fundraising push for memorial". The Thetford and Brandon Times. 24 June 2021.
References
- Buckingham, William F. (2012) [2008]. Tobruk: The Great Siege 1941–1942 (ebook ed.). Stroud: History Press. ISBN 978-0-75248-715-1.
- ISBN 978-1-57638-018-5.
- OCLC 35423747.
- Chadwick, Kenneth (1970). The Royal Tank Regiment. London: Leo Cooper. OCLC 102888.
- Chappell, Mike (1987). British Battle Insignia (2): 1939–1940. Men-At-Arms No. 187. Oxford: ISBN 978-0-85045-739-1.
- Donnison, F. S. V. (1961). Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). North-West Europe 1944–1946. Civil Affairs and Military Government. London: HMSO. OCLC 715877483.
- Crow, Duncan (1971). British and Commonwealth Armoured Formations (1919–46). AFV/Weapons Series. Windsor: Profile Publications. OCLC 471709669.
- Delaforce, Patrick. Churchill's Desert Rats: From Normandy to Berlin with the 7th Armoured Division, Sutton Publishing, 2003
- ISBN 978-1848840393.
- Fortin, Ludovic. British Tanks in Normandy, Histoire & Collections (2004). ISBN 2-915239-33-9
- Forty, George. Battle Zone Normandy: Villers Bocage. Sutton Publishing, London, 2004. ISBN 0-7509-3012-8
- ISBN 978-0-95769-155-1.
- French, David (2001) [2000]. Raising Churchill's Army: The British Army and the War Against Germany 1919–1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-24630-4.
- ISBN 978-0-116-30181-9.
- Hughes, Matthew (2013) [1999]. Allenby and British Strategy in the Middle East, 1917–1919. Hoboken, New Jersey: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-13632-388-1.
- ISBN 978-0-71901-717-9.
- 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.
- Kennett, Brian Bishop (1970). Craftsmen of the Army: The Story of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Vol. I. London: Leo Cooper. OCLC 1033988.
- ISBN 978-1-80399-047-7.
- Lindsay, Martin and Johnston, M.E. History of the 7th Armoured Division June 1943 – July 1945 first published by BAOR in 1945, reprinted in 2001 by DP & G for the Tank Museum
- ISBN 978-0-95085-360-4.
- Porter, Whitworth (1958). History of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Vol. IX: 1938–1948. Chatham, England: Institution of Royal Engineers. OCLC 4950855.
- ISBN 978-1-84574-065-8.
- Playfair, I.S.O.; Flynn, F.C.; Molony, C. J. C.; Toomer, S. E. (2004) [1956]. ISBN 1-84574-066-1.
- Playfair, I.S.O.; Flynn, F. C.; Molony, C. J. C.; Gleave, T. P. (2004) [1960]. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume 3: British Fortunes Reach Their Lowest Ebb. ISBN 1-84574-067-X.
- Playfair, I.S.O. (2004) [1966]. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume 4: The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa. ISBN 1-84574-068-8.
- ISBN 978-0-306-80157-0.
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-78346-036-6.
- ISBN 978-1-78438-410-4.
- Wahlert, Glenn (2011). The Western Desert Campaign 1940–41. Australian Army Campaigns Series – 2 (2nd ed.). Canberra: Army History Unit. ISBN 978-0-97576-692-7.
- Williams, E. R. (2007). 50 Div in Normandy: A Critical Analysis of the British 50th (Northumbrian) Division on D-Day and in the Battle of Normandy (MMAS). Fort Leavenworth KS: Army Command and General Staff College. OCLC 832005669. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- Zaloga, Steven (2015). Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-81171-437-2.
External links
- Battle of the Roer Triangle January 1945
- British Unit Histories
- "The Sharpshooters", the County of London Yeomanry Association website
- The History of the British 7th Armoured Division, plus the 4th and 7th Armoured Brigades
- Journeyman Autobiography of former Desert Rat Ted Rogers
- 7th Armoured Division Desert War.net