British 7th Armoured Division
Encyclopedia
The 7th Armoured Division was a British armoured division which saw service during the Second World War where its exploits made it famous as the Desert Rats.
After the Munich Crisis, the division was formed in Egypt during 1938 as the Mobile Division (Egypt) and its first divisional commander was the acclaimed tank theorist Major-General Sir Percy Hobart
. During January 1940, the name of the unit was changed to the 7th Armoured Division. It was during this period that the nickname "Desert Rats" was coined.
The division fought in every major battle during the North African Campaign
; later it would land and fight in Italy before being withdrawn to the United Kingdom where it prepared to fight in North West Europe. It began landing in Normandy
during the afternoon of June 6 and fought its way across Europe ending the war in Kiel
and Hamburg
, Germany. The 7th Armoured Brigade was detached from the division during early 1942 and fought the Japanese during the fighting in Burma before it returned to the Mediterranean Theatre and fought in Italy
.
Although the division was disbanded during the 1950s, the history, name and the famous 'Desert Rat' flash is carried on by the 7th Armoured Brigade.
in 1938 to increase British strength in Egypt
.
The 'Mobile Force' was established on the coast some 120 miles (193.1 km) west of Alexandria
. It was formed from the Cairo Cavalry Brigade (three armoured regiments, the 7th Hussars, the 8th Hussars, and 11th Hussars
) and the 1st Royal Tank Regiment
(RTR
) supported by 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
(RHA
) and a company of Royal Army Service Corps
(RASC
) and a Field Ambulance unit. It was joined by a battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps
and then its first commander, Major-General Percy Hobart
later "creator" of the Funnies
of the Normandy Invasion
. Hobart was an armoured warfare expert and saw that his troops were properly prepared to fight in the desert despite their poor equipment. Stewart Henry Perowne, the Public Relations Attaché at the British Embassy in Baghdad perhaps uncharitably referred to the unit as the "Mobile Farce" because it included some obsolete tanks like the Vickers Medium Mark II
.
The unit was meant to be equipped with 220 tank
s. However, at the outbreak of war the 'Mobile Force' had only 65. Most of the unit's troops had already been deployed for two years by 1940 and it took as long as three months for mail
to arrive.
On 16 February 1940, the Mobile Division became the 7th Armoured Division. The Desert Rat divisional flash was adopted about the same time. It originated from a sketch of a jerboa
drawn by the divisional commander's wife after a visit to the Cairo Zoo.
After the Italian declaration of war, the Western Desert Force
was massively outnumbered. However, the Italians proved to be no match for the British. The Western Desert Force captured 250,000 Italians in the early engagements in 1940.
During the January 1941 Italian
retreat, Major-General Richard O'Connor
, the Western Desert Force
commander, ordered the Desert Rats to travel south of the Jebel Akhdar
and cut off the Italian forces at Beda Fomm
, while Australia
n forces pushed the Italians west. On February 7, as the tanks were unable to travel fast enough, the manoeuvre was led by an ad hoc
brigade
of armoured cars, towed artillery
and infantry
which completed the trip in 30 hours, cutting off the Italian retreat and destroying the Italian Tenth Army
. Lieutenant-Colonel John Combe
led this ad hoc group which was known as "Combe Force
" after him. After this, the tanks of 7th Armoured Division, after eight months of fighting, needed a complete overhaul and the division was withdrawn to Cairo and temporarily ceased to be available as a fighting formation.
The Italians had proved so weak that Hitler
was forced to send the Afrika Korps
as reinforcements under the command of General
Erwin Rommel
. In April 1941, the allied troops in Tobruk
were cut off by the Germans and Italians.
In June the 7th was again prepared for battle as part of Operation Battleaxe
having received new tanks and additional personnel. In the attack plan for Operation Battleaxe, the 7th force was divided between the Coast Force and Escarpment Force. However, this Allied push failed, and the 7th was forced to withdraw on the third day of fighting. On 18 November, as part of Operation Crusader
the whole of the 7th Armoured Division was concentrated on breaking through. They faced only the weakened 21st Panzer. However, XXX Corps commander Norrie, aware that 7th Armoured division was down to 200 tanks decided on caution. During the wait, in the early afternoon of 22 November Rommel attacked Sidi Rezegh with 21st Panzer and captured the airfield. Fighting was desperate and gallant: for his actions during these two days of fighting Brigadier Jock Campbell
, commanding 7th Support Group, was awarded the Victoria Cross
. However, 21st Panzer, despite being considerably weaker in armour, proved superior in its combined arms tactics, pushing 7th Armoured Division back with a further 50 tanks lost (mainly from 22nd Brigade).
The Western Desert Force later became HQ XIII Corps
, one of the major parts of Eighth Army
. The 7th Armoured Division took part in most of the major battles of the North African Campaign, including both Battles of El Alamein
(see First Battle of El Alamein
and Second Battle of El Alamein
for details). It also participated in the destruction of Axis forces in North Africa
in Tunisia
in 1943.
but did participate in the battle for Italy
. It came ashore at Salerno
on 15 September 1943, to help repel heavy German counterattacks, then as part of U.S. Fifth Army's British X Corps
and supported by the 46th (North Midland) Division, drive on and took Naples
. The Desert Rats, used to fighting in the desert, had to adjust to the confined Italian roads. The division crossed the river Volturno
in southern Italy, constructing a pontoon bridge. This paved the way for many divisions heading north.
and in April and May received delivery of 36 Sherman Vc Fireflies
; enough to organise each troop so that they had a complement of three 75 mm gun Cromwell tanks and a 17 pounder gun Firefly. 7th Armoured was the only British division to use the Cromwell as their main battle tank.
The division was one of the three British follow-up divisions of the two British assault Corps earmarked for the Normandy Landings. The 22nd Armoured Brigade embarked on 4 June and most of the division landed on Gold Beach
by the end of 7 June. The division initially took part in Operation Perch
and Operation Goodwood
, two operations that formed part of the Battle for Caen
. During Perch the division was to spearhead one arm of a pincer attack to capture the city. Due to a change in plan elements of the division engaged tanks of the Panzer-Lehr-Division and the Heavy SS-Panzer Battalion 101 in the Battle of Villers-Bocage
. Following the capture of Caen the division took part in Operation Spring
, intended to keep German forces pinned to the British front away from the Americans who were launching Operation Cobra
and then Operation Bluecoat
, an attack to support the American breakout and intercept German reinforcements moving to stop it. The division then took part in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine.
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 George Erskine
the division's commander, the armoured brigade commanding officer, Hinde and up to 100 other officers were removed from their positions and reassigned. Historians largely agree that this was a consequence of the "failure" at Villers-Bocage and had been planned since that battle. Historian Daniel Taylor is of the opinion that the battle's result provided an excuse and that the sackings took place to "demonstrate that the army command was doing something to counteract the poor public opinion of the conduct of the campaign". Historian Mungo Melvin has commented approvingly of the 7th Armoured Division's institution of a flexible combined arms
structure which other British armoured divisions did not adopt until after Operation Goodwood.
Following the advance across France, the division took part in the Allied advance through Belgium
and the Netherlands
; liberating Ghent
on 5 September. The division then took part in the advance to and securing of the River Maas. In January 1945 the division took part in Operation Blackcock
to clear the Roer Triangle, followed by Operation Plunder
; the division crossed the Xanten and Wesel rivers and advance on the city of Hamburg
its destination, part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany.
The replacement of the division's commanding officer, following Normandy, did not change the performance of the division and in November 1944, Erskine's replacement Major-General G.L. Verney
was relieved after he "was unable to cure the division's bad habits well enough to satisfy Montgomery
and [Lieutenant-General Miles] Dempsey
."
No doubt the division suffered from collective and cumulative battle fatigue. As Verney put it, with some prescience: "There is no doubt that familiarity with war does not make one more courageous. One becomes cunning and from cunning to cowardice is but a short step."
standing watch against the Warsaw Pact
. As the British Army
became smaller, its higher numbered divisions were removed from the order of battle. The Division's long and illustrious career finally came to an end in this fashion, in April 1958, when it was converted into 5th Division. However, the traditions of 7th Armoured Division are maintained by 7th Armoured Brigade, which forms part of 1 (UK) Division.
in Thetford Forest
where the 7th trained prior to D-day.
After the Munich Crisis, the division was formed in Egypt during 1938 as the Mobile Division (Egypt) and its first divisional commander was the acclaimed tank theorist Major-General Sir Percy Hobart
Percy Hobart
Major-General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart KBE CB DSO MC , also known as "Hobo", was a British military engineer, noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division during World War II...
. During January 1940, the name of the unit was changed to the 7th Armoured Division. It was during this period that the nickname "Desert Rats" was coined.
The division fought in every major battle during the North African Campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
; later it would land and fight in Italy before being withdrawn to the United Kingdom where it prepared to fight in North West Europe. It began landing in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
during the afternoon of June 6 and fought its way across Europe ending the war in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
and Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany. The 7th Armoured Brigade was detached from the division during early 1942 and fought the Japanese during the fighting in Burma before it returned to the Mediterranean Theatre and fought in 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...
.
Although the division was disbanded during the 1950s, the history, name and the famous 'Desert Rat' flash is carried on by the 7th Armoured Brigade.
History
Founding
After the Munich Crisis, elements of what would become the 7th Armoured Division arrived in the Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
in 1938 to increase British strength in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
The 'Mobile Force' was established on the coast some 120 miles (193.1 km) west of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. It was formed from the Cairo Cavalry Brigade (three armoured regiments, the 7th Hussars, the 8th Hussars, and 11th Hussars
11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army.-History:The regiment was founded in 1715 as Colonel Philip Honeywood's Regiment of Dragoons and was known by the name of its Colonel until 1751 when it became the 11th Regiment of Dragoons...
) and the 1st Royal Tank Regiment
1st Royal Tank Regiment
The 1st Royal Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the British Army. It is part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It was originally formed as 1st Battalion, Royal Tank Corps in 1934....
(RTR
Royal Tank Regiment
The Royal Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is made up of two operational regiments, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment...
) supported by 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery in the British Army. They are currently based in Caen Barracks, Hohne, Germany.-Current role:...
(RHA
Royal Horse Artillery
The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
) and a company of Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
(RASC
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
) and a Field Ambulance unit. It was joined by a battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
and then its first commander, Major-General Percy Hobart
Percy Hobart
Major-General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart KBE CB DSO MC , also known as "Hobo", was a British military engineer, noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division during World War II...
later "creator" of the Funnies
Hobart's Funnies
Hobart's Funnies were a number of unusually modified tanks operated during World War II by the United Kingdom's 79th Armoured Division or by specialists from the Royal Engineers. They were designed in light of problems that more standard tanks experienced during the Dieppe Raid, so that the new...
of the Normandy Invasion
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
. Hobart was an armoured warfare expert and saw that his troops were properly prepared to fight in the desert despite their poor equipment. Stewart Henry Perowne, the Public Relations Attaché at the British Embassy in Baghdad perhaps uncharitably referred to the unit as the "Mobile Farce" because it included some obsolete tanks like the Vickers Medium Mark II
Vickers Medium Mark II
The Vickers Medium Mark II was a British tank built by Vickers in the Inter-war period.The Medium Mark II, derived from the Vickers Medium Mark I, was developed to replace the last of the Medium Mark Cs still in use. Production and rebuilding ran from 1925 until 1934. The tank was phased out of...
.
North Africa
In December 1939, Major-General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh succeeded Hobart who had fallen afoul of his superiors.The unit was meant to be equipped with 220 tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s. However, at the outbreak of war the 'Mobile Force' had only 65. Most of the unit's troops had already been deployed for two years by 1940 and it took as long as three months for mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
to arrive.
On 16 February 1940, the Mobile Division became the 7th Armoured Division. The Desert Rat divisional flash was adopted about the same time. It originated from a sketch of a jerboa
Jerboa
The jerboa form the bulk of the membership of the family Dipodidae. Jerboas are hopping desert rodents found throughout Asia and Northern Africa. They tend to be found in hot deserts....
drawn by the divisional commander's wife after a visit to the Cairo Zoo.
After the Italian declaration of war, the Western Desert Force
Western Desert Force
The Western Desert Force, during World War II, was a British Commonwealth army formation stationed in Egypt.On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the British 6th Infantry Division was designated as the Western Desert Force. The unit consisted of the 7th Armoured Division and the Indian 4th Infantry...
was massively outnumbered. However, the Italians proved to be no match for the British. The Western Desert Force captured 250,000 Italians in the early engagements in 1940.
During the January 1941 Italian
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...
retreat, Major-General Richard O'Connor
Richard O'Connor
General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor KT, GCB, DSO & Bar, MC, ADC was a British Army general who commanded the Western Desert Force in the early years of World War II...
, the Western Desert Force
Western Desert Force
The Western Desert Force, during World War II, was a British Commonwealth army formation stationed in Egypt.On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the British 6th Infantry Division was designated as the Western Desert Force. The unit consisted of the 7th Armoured Division and the Indian 4th Infantry...
commander, ordered the Desert Rats to travel south of the Jebel Akhdar
Jebel Akhdar (Libya)
The Jebel Akhdar is a heavily forested, fertile upland area in northeastern Libya. It is located in the modern Shabiyahs or Districts of Derna, Jabal al Akhdar, and Marj.-Geography:...
and cut off the Italian forces at Beda Fomm
Beda Fomm
Beda Fomm is a small coastal town in southwestern Cyrenaica, Libya located between the much larger port city Benghazi to its north and the larger town of El Agheila further to the southwest...
, while Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n forces pushed the Italians west. On February 7, as the tanks were unable to travel fast enough, the manoeuvre was led by an ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
of armoured cars, towed artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
which completed the trip in 30 hours, cutting off the Italian retreat and destroying the Italian Tenth Army
Italian Tenth Army
The Italian Tenth Army was one of two Italian armies in Italian North Africa during World War II. The Tenth Army in Cyrenaica faced the British in the neutral Kingdom of Egypt...
. Lieutenant-Colonel John Combe
John Frederick Boyce Combe
Major-General John Frederick Boyce Combe CB DSO & Bar was a British Army officer before and during World War II. He was twice awarded the DSO for his service in the Western Desert Campaign before being captured in April 1941 and spending nearly two and a half years as a prisoner of war in Italy...
led this ad hoc group which was known as "Combe Force
Combe Force
Combe Force, or Combeforce, was an ad hoc flying column formed by the British Army for a specific purpose during the latter stages of Operation Compass. Combe Force was formed to cut across the open desert of Cyrenaica and cut off the retreating Italian Army which was traveling along the coastal...
" after him. After this, the tanks of 7th Armoured Division, after eight months of fighting, needed a complete overhaul and the division was withdrawn to Cairo and temporarily ceased to be available as a fighting formation.
The Italians had proved so weak that Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
was forced to send the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
as reinforcements under the command of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
. In April 1941, the allied troops in Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
were cut off by the Germans and Italians.
In June the 7th was again prepared for battle as part of Operation Battleaxe
Operation Battleaxe
Operation Battleaxe was a British Army operation during the Second World War in June 1941 with the goal of clearing eastern Cyrenaica of German and Italian forces; one of the main benefits of this would have been the lifting of the Siege of Tobruk....
having received new tanks and additional personnel. In the attack plan for Operation Battleaxe, the 7th force was divided between the Coast Force and Escarpment Force. However, this Allied push failed, and the 7th was forced to withdraw on the third day of fighting. On 18 November, as part of Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader was a military operation by the British Eighth Army between 18 November–30 December 1941. The operation successfully relieved the 1941 Siege of Tobruk....
the whole of the 7th Armoured Division was concentrated on breaking through. They faced only the weakened 21st Panzer. However, XXX Corps commander Norrie, aware that 7th Armoured division was down to 200 tanks decided on caution. During the wait, in the early afternoon of 22 November Rommel attacked Sidi Rezegh with 21st Panzer and captured the airfield. Fighting was desperate and gallant: for his actions during these two days of fighting Brigadier Jock Campbell
John Charles Campbell
Major-General John Charles "Jock" Campbell VC, DSO & Bar, MC was a Scottish officer in the British Army, recipient of the Victoria Cross.-History:Campbell was born in Thurso...
, commanding 7th Support Group, was awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. However, 21st Panzer, despite being considerably weaker in armour, proved superior in its combined arms tactics, pushing 7th Armoured Division back with a further 50 tanks lost (mainly from 22nd Brigade).
The Western Desert Force later became HQ XIII Corps
XIII Corps (United Kingdom)
XIII Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I and World War II.-World War I:XIII Corps was formed in France on 15 November 1915 under Lieutenant-General Walter Congreve to be part of Fourth Army. It was first seriously engaged during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On the First day on...
, one of the major parts of Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
. The 7th Armoured Division took part in most of the major battles of the North African Campaign, including both Battles of El Alamein
El Alamein
El Alamein is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. As of 2007, it has a local population of 7,397 inhabitants.- Climate :...
(see First Battle of El Alamein
First Battle of El Alamein
The First Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought between Axis forces of the Panzer Army Africa commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and Allied forces The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert...
and Second Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
for details). It also participated in the destruction of Axis forces in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
in 1943.
Italy
The division was not an assault force in the invasion of SicilyAllied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
but did participate in the battle for 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...
. It came ashore at Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
on 15 September 1943, to help repel heavy German counterattacks, then as part of U.S. Fifth Army's British X Corps
X Corps (United Kingdom)
The X Corps was a British Army formation in the First World War and was later reformed in 1942 during the North African campaign of the Second World War as part of the Eighth Army.- First World War :...
and supported by the 46th (North Midland) Division, drive on and took Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. The Desert Rats, used to fighting in the desert, had to adjust to the confined Italian roads. The division crossed the river Volturno
Volturno Line
The Volturno Line was a German defensive position in Italy during the World War II.The line ran from Termoli in the east, along the Biferno River through the Apennine Mountains to the Volturno River in the west....
in southern Italy, constructing a pontoon bridge. This paved the way for many divisions heading north.
North West Europe
The division departed Italy from November 1943, the last of the division arrived in the United Kingdom on 7 January 1944. The division was reequipped with the new Cromwell cruiser tanksCromwell tank
Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell ,The designation as the eighth Cruiser tank design, its name given for ease of reference and its General Staff specification number respectively and the related Centaur tank, were one of the most successful series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second...
and in April and May received delivery of 36 Sherman Vc Fireflies
Sherman Firefly
The Sherman Firefly was a World War II British variant of the American Sherman tank, fitted with the powerful British 17 pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon...
; enough to organise each troop so that they had a complement of three 75 mm gun Cromwell tanks and a 17 pounder gun Firefly. 7th Armoured was the only British division to use the Cromwell as their main battle tank.
The division was one of the three British follow-up divisions of the two British assault Corps earmarked for the Normandy Landings. The 22nd Armoured Brigade embarked on 4 June and most of the division landed on Gold Beach
Gold Beach
Gold Beach was the code name of one of the D-Day landing beaches that Allied forces used to invade German-occupied France on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
by the end of 7 June. The division initially took part in Operation Perch
Operation Perch
Operation Perch was a British offensive of the Second World War which took place between 7 and 14 June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. The operation was intended to encircle and seize the German occupied city of Caen, which was a major Allied objective in the early stages of the invasion of...
and Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood was an attack launched on 18 July 1944, during the Second World War, by the British army to the east of the city of Caen...
, two operations that formed part of the Battle for Caen
Battle for Caen
The Battle for Caen from June-August 1944 was a battle between Allied and German forces during the Battle of Normandy....
. During Perch the division was to spearhead one arm of a pincer attack to capture the city. Due to a change in plan elements of the division engaged tanks of the Panzer-Lehr-Division and the Heavy SS-Panzer Battalion 101 in the Battle of Villers-Bocage
Battle of Villers-Bocage
The Battle of Villers-Bocage took place during the Second World War on 13 June 1944, one week after the Allies landed in Normandy to begin the liberation of German-occupied France. The battle was the result of a British attempt to improve their position by exploiting a temporary vulnerability in...
. Following the capture of Caen the division took part in Operation Spring
Operation Spring
Operation Spring was an offensive operation conducted by II Canadian Corps during the Normandy campaign. The plan was intended to create pressure on the German forces operating on the British and Canadian front simultaneously to American offensive operations in their sector known as Operation...
, intended to keep German forces pinned to the British front away from the Americans who were launching Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II...
and then Operation Bluecoat
Operation Bluecoat
Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army at the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War, from 30 July – 7 August 1944. The geographical objectives of the attack were to secure the key road junction of Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon...
, an attack to support the American breakout and intercept German reinforcements moving to stop it. The division then took part in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine.
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 George Erskine
George Erskine
General Sir George Watkin Eben James Erskine GCB, KBE, DSO was a senior British Army officer during World War II-Background:...
the division's commander, the armoured brigade commanding officer, Hinde and up to 100 other officers were removed from their positions and reassigned. Historians largely agree that this was a consequence of the "failure" at Villers-Bocage and had been planned since that battle. Historian Daniel Taylor is of the opinion that the battle's result provided an excuse and that the sackings took place to "demonstrate that the army command was doing something to counteract the poor public opinion of the conduct of the campaign". Historian Mungo Melvin has commented approvingly of the 7th Armoured Division's institution of a flexible combined arms
Combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...
structure which other British armoured divisions did not adopt until after Operation Goodwood.
Following the advance across France, the division took part in the Allied advance through Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
; liberating Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
on 5 September. The division then took part in the advance to and securing of the River Maas. In January 1945 the division took part in Operation Blackcock
Operation Blackcock
Operation Blackcock was the code name for the clearing of the Roer Triangle formed by the towns of Roermond, Sittard and Heinsberg. It was conducted by the 2nd British Army in January 1945 between 14 and 26 January 1945. The objective was to drive the German 15th Army back across the Rivers Rur and...
to clear the Roer Triangle, followed by Operation Plunder
Operation Plunder
Commencing on the night of 23 March 1945 during World War II, Operation Plunder was the crossing of the River Rhine at Rees, Wesel, and south of the Lippe River by the British 2nd Army, under Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey , and the U.S. Ninth Army , under Lieutenant General William Simpson...
; the division crossed the Xanten and Wesel rivers and advance on the city of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
its destination, part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany.
The replacement of the division's commanding officer, following Normandy, did not change the performance of the division and in November 1944, Erskine's replacement Major-General G.L. Verney
Gerald Lloyd-Verney
Major-General Gerald Lloyd-Verney DSO & Bar MVO was a British Army officer who commanded 7th Armoured Division during World War II. He changed his name by Deed poll from Gerald Lloyd Verney to Gerald Lloyd-Verney in 1941....
was relieved after he "was unable to cure the division's bad habits well enough to satisfy Montgomery
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
and [Lieutenant-General Miles] Dempsey
Miles Dempsey
General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC was commander of the British Second Army during the D-Day landings in the Second World War...
."
No doubt the division suffered from collective and cumulative battle fatigue. As Verney put it, with some prescience: "There is no doubt that familiarity with war does not make one more courageous. One becomes cunning and from cunning to cowardice is but a short step."
Post war
The Division remained in Germany as part of the occupation forces and then into the 1950s as part of the British Army of the RhineBritish Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
standing watch against the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
. As the British 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...
became smaller, its higher numbered divisions were removed from the order of battle. The Division's long and illustrious career finally came to an end in this fashion, in April 1958, when it was converted into 5th Division. However, the traditions of 7th Armoured Division are maintained by 7th Armoured Brigade, which forms part of 1 (UK) Division.
General Officer Commanding
Commanders included:| Appointed | General Officer Commanding |
|---|---|
| 3 September 1939 | Major-General Percy Hobart Percy Hobart Major-General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart KBE CB DSO MC , also known as "Hobo", was a British military engineer, noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division during World War II... |
| 16 November 1939 | Brigadier Brigadier Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general.... John A. L. Caunter (acting) |
| 4 December 1939 | Major-General Michael O'Moore Creagh Michael O'Moore Creagh Major-General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh KBE MC, was a British soldier who served in both the First and Second World Wars. He commanded the 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats, between 1939 and 1941.-Early life:... |
| 1 April 1941 | Brigadier Brigadier Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general.... J.A.L. Caunter (acting) |
| 13 April 1941 | Major-General Michael O'Moore Creagh Michael O'Moore Creagh Major-General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh KBE MC, was a British soldier who served in both the First and Second World Wars. He commanded the 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats, between 1939 and 1941.-Early life:... |
| 3 September 1941 | Major-General William Gott William Gott Lieutenant-General William Henry Ewart Gott CB, CBE, DSO and bar, MC , nicknamed "Strafer", was a British Army officer during both the First and Second World Wars, reaching the rank of lieutenant-general when serving in the British Eighth Army.-Military career:Educated at Harrow School he was... |
| 6 February 1942 | Major-General John Campbell (Killed on 23 February) |
| 23 February 1942 | Brigadier A.H. Gatehouse (acting) |
| 9 March 1942 | Major-General Frank Messervy Frank Messervy General Sir Frank Walter Messervy, KCSI, KBE, CB, DSO & Bar, , was a British Indian Army officer in both the First and Second World Wars... |
| 19 June 1942 | Major-General James Renton James Renton Major-General James Malcolm Leslie Renton CB DSO OBE was a British Army officer who commanded 7th Armoured Division during World War II.-Military career:... |
| 14 September 1942 | Major-General John Harding John Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton Field Marshal Allan Francis John Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton, GCB, CBE, DSO, MC was a British Army officer and Governor of Cyprus from 1955 to 1957, Cyprus being a British colony at that time.... (wounded on 18 January 1943) |
| 20 January 1943 | Brigadier George Roberts George Philip Bradley Roberts Major-General George Philip Bradley Roberts CB, DSO, MC, , better known as "Pip", was a British commander of an armoured division during the Second World War.-Military career:... (acting) |
| 24 January 1943 | Major-General George Erskine George Erskine General Sir George Watkin Eben James Erskine GCB, KBE, DSO was a senior British Army officer during World War II-Background:... |
| 4 August 1944 | Major-General Gerald Lloyd-Verney Gerald Lloyd-Verney Major-General Gerald Lloyd-Verney DSO & Bar MVO was a British Army officer who commanded 7th Armoured Division during World War II. He changed his name by Deed poll from Gerald Lloyd Verney to Gerald Lloyd-Verney in 1941.... |
| 22 November 1944 | Major-General Lewis Lyne Lewis Lyne Major-General Lewis Owen Lyne CB DSO was a British Commander during World War II.-Military career:Lyne was commissioned into the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1921. He was made a Staff Officer at the War Office in 1938.... |
| 1947 | Major-General George Roberts George Philip Bradley Roberts Major-General George Philip Bradley Roberts CB, DSO, MC, , better known as "Pip", was a British commander of an armoured division during the Second World War.-Military career:... |
| March 1949 | Major-General Robert Arkwright Robert Arkwright Major-General Robert Harry Bertram Arkwright CB DSO & Bar was a British Army officer who commanded 2nd Division.-Military career:Arkwright was commissioned into the 12th Royal Lancers in 1924... |
| May 1951 | Major-General Charles Jones Charles Phibbs Jones General Sir Charles Phibbs Jones GCB CBE MC was a British Army General who reached high office in the 1950s.-Military career:Charles Jones was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1925... |
| November 1953 | Major-General Kenneth Cooper Kenneth Cooper (British Army officer) Major-General Kenneth Christie Cooper CB DSO OBE was a British Army officer who commanded 7th Armoured Division.-Military career:... |
| March 1956 | Major-General John Hackett |
| February 1958 | Major-General Geoffrey Musson Geoffrey Musson General Sir Geoffrey Randolph Dixon Musson GCB CBE DSO was a senior British Army officer who became Adjutant-General to the Forces.-Military career:... |
Notable Members of the 7th Armoured Division
- Field Marshal Lord CarverMichael Carver, Baron CarverField Marshal Richard Michael Power Carver, Baron Carver GCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC was a British soldier. He served as the Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom and thus the professional head of the British Armed Forces.-Army career:Educated at Winchester College, Michael Carver was...
- GS01 - Major-General John CombeJohn Frederick Boyce CombeMajor-General John Frederick Boyce Combe CB DSO & Bar was a British Army officer before and during World War II. He was twice awarded the DSO for his service in the Western Desert Campaign before being captured in April 1941 and spending nearly two and a half years as a prisoner of war in Italy...
- initially 11th Hussars, later staff officer - The Rt Hon Enoch Powell MBEEnoch PowellJohn Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
- Staff officer - Second LieutenantSecond LieutenantSecond lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
Dan Ranfurly - chronicled by his wife's book To War With Whitaker: The Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939–1945
Monument
There is a monument to the 7th Armoured at BrandonBrandon, Suffolk
Brandon is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is in the Forest Heath local government district.Brandon is located in the Breckland area on the border of Suffolk with the adjoining county of Norfolk...
in Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain, Thetford Forest Park is located in a region straddling the north of Suffolk and the south of Norfolk in England...
where the 7th trained prior to D-day.
See also
- British Armoured formations of the Second World WarBritish Armoured formations of the Second World WarThe British Armoured formations of the Second World War refers to the Armoured Divisions and Independent Armoured and Tank Brigades deployed by the British Army during the Second World War. They had two types of armoured vehicle. The Infantry tank which was heavily armoured and slow, designed to...
- British Divisions in World War IIBritish Divisions in World War IIThis page is a list of British Army divisions that fought in World War II.-Armoured:*Guards Armoured Division*1st Armoured Division*2nd Armoured Division - Formed 15 December 1939 in the UK. Served in Egypt from January 1941 until March 1941 and from April 1941 until May 1941, and in Libya from...
- British Army Order of Battle - September 1939
External links
- British Army Locations from 1945 British Army Locations from 1945
- Battle of the Roer Triangle January 1945
- British Unit Histories
- "The Sharpshooters", the County of London Yeomanry Association website
- Journeyman Autobiography of former Desert Rat Ted Rogers