British 25th Army Tank Brigade
Encyclopedia
The 25th Army Tank Brigade was a British Army
formation active during World War II. It served with the British First Army
and the British Eighth Army during the battles in North Africa and Italy
.
It fought in Tunisia
under the British First Army
and in the Italy
as part of the British Eighth Army.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
formation active during World War II. It served with the British First Army
British First Army
The First Army was a field army of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. Despite being a British command, the First Army also included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American and French during the Second World War.-First World War:The...
and the British Eighth Army during the battles in North Africa and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
History
The unit was formed on 3 September 1939 as a 2nd Line Territorial Army Tank Brigade, but had very few tanks. On 28 May 1940 it was converted to the 2nd Motor Machine Gun Brigade in recognition of this lack of tanks, but reconverted back on 10 December 1940 and then to the 25th Tank Brigade on 1 June 1942.It fought in Tunisia
Tunisia Campaign
The Tunisia Campaign was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African Campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces. The Allies consisted of British Imperial Forces, including Polish and Greek contingents, with American and French corps...
under the British First Army
British First Army
The First Army was a field army of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. Despite being a British command, the First Army also included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American and French during the Second World War.-First World War:The...
and in the Italy
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
as part of the British Eighth Army.
Commanding officers
- Brig. T.D. Murray
- Brig. R.H. Maxwell
- Lieut.Col. D. Dawnay (acting)
- Brig. J.N. Tetley
- Brig. E.W.H. Clarke
Structure (1943—44)
- North Irish HorseNorth Irish HorseThe North Irish Horse is a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War...
- 142nd Royal Armoured CorpsRoyal Armoured CorpsThe Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...
- 51st (Leeds Rifles) Royal Tank Regiment51st (Leeds Rifles) Royal Tank RegimentThe 51st Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army during World War II. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps....
See also
- British Army Order of Battle - September 1939 Please note North Irish Horse was senior regt in all the Tank Brigades in which it served during WW11,consequently it should be listed first in Brigade order not last! B Anderson, NIH Regt Assoc.