The French 2nd Armored Division , commanded by General Leclerc, fought during the final phases of World War II in the Western Front

Western Front (World War II)

The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...

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The division was formed around a core of units that had fought at Koufra

Battle of Kufra

Battle of Kufra may refer to either of two battles fought for control of the Libyan desert town of Kufra:*Battle of Kufra , a battle of the World War II Western Desert Campaign fought between Allied and Italian forces from 31 January to 1 March 1941....

 in 1941 under Leclerc; later renamed the 2nd Light Division, in August 1943, it was organized under the US light armored division organization.

The Division's 14,454 personnel included men from the 2nd Light Division, escapees from metropolitan France, about 3,600 Moroccans and Algerians, and about 350 Spanish Republicans

Spanish Republican government in Exile

The Spanish Republican government in exile was a continuation of the government of the Second Spanish Republic, which was established in exile after the victory of Francisco Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War in April 1939...

 (other sources: about 2 000, official records of 2e DB : less than 300 Spanish).

The division embarked in April 1944 and shipped to various ports in Great Britain.