The
1st Armoured Division is an armoured division of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
. Originally formed in October 1937 as the
Mobile Division, it saw extensive service during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, was disbanded afterward, was reconstituted in 1976, and remains in service today. It should not be confused with 1st Infantry Division which saw service in World War II as a separate formation.
The 1st Armoured Division was a regular division in the British Army at the outbreak of World War II.
The
1st Armoured Division is an armoured division of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
. Originally formed in October 1937 as the
Mobile Division, it saw extensive service during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, was disbanded afterward, was reconstituted in 1976, and remains in service today. It should not be confused with 1st Infantry Division which saw service in World War II as a separate formation.
World War II
The 1st Armoured Division was a regular division in the British Army at the outbreak of World War II. It had formerly been designated
The Mobile Division. It first saw service in incomplete form under the second
British Expeditionary ForceThe British Expeditionary Force was the name given to the British Forces in Europe from 1939–1940 during The Second World War.-History:...
sent to
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in 1940. It landed in France on 14 April 1940 and was evacuated on 16 June, having served south of the
River SommeThe Somme is a river in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility. The department Somme was named after this river....
, isolated from the other British formations.
For the rest of 1940 and up until 27 August 1941, the division was stationed in the United Kingdom on anti-invasion duties. It then embarked for
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
under the command of Major General
Herbert LumsdenLieutenant-General Herbert Lumsden, CB, DSO, MC, psc was a British Army general during World War II.-Early career:...
. Arriving in Egypt on 13 November 1941, it took part in many of the major battles of the later part of the campaign against
RommelRommel is the family name of:*Erwin Rommel, German Field Marshal*Eddie Rommel, American baseball pitcher and umpire*Juliusz Rómmel, Polish general*Karol Rómmel, Polish equestrian and brother of Juliusz Rómmel...
including
GazalaThe Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the World War II Western Desert Campaign, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from May 26 to June 21, 1942...
, Mersa Matruh,
1st El AlameinThe First Battle of El Alamein 1–27 July 1942 was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought between Axis forces commanded by Erwin Rommel, and Allied forces commanded by Claude Auchinleck...
,
2nd El AlameinThe Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The battle lasted from 23 October to 5 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance...
, Tebaga Gap, Akarit, El Kourzia and
TunisThe Battle of Tunis between the Roman Republic and Carthage occurred in the spring of 255 BC during the First Punic War. The battle ended in a decisive Carthaginian victory. The battle is also referred to as the first Battle of Bagradas River....
.
From the end of the Tunisian campaign the division remained in North Africa until May 1944. It then transferred to
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, fighting one last battle at Coriano in the fighting on the
Gothic LineThe Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of Nazi Germany's forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold...
before ceasing to be an operational unit on 28 October. The division was disbanded on 1 January 1945.
Artillery
- 2nd Regiment, 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...
24/08/42-26/09/44
- 4th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 21/09/42-25/10/43
- 11th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 24/08/42-26/09/44
- 60th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
The Royal Artillery is the common name for the Royal Regiment of Artillery, an arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
01/04/44-26/09/44
- 76th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery 22/09/42-31/03/44
- 42nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 26/09/42-05/10/44
Engineers
- 1st Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. It provides combat engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces...
01/02/40-04/02/42; 02/09/42-29/09/44
- 7th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers 23/10/40-19/03/42; 01/10/42-20/08/44
- 627th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers 21/08/44-29/09/44
- 1st Field Park Squadron, Royal Engineers 03/07/40-25/08/44
- 631st Field Park Squadron, Royal Engineers 26/08/44-29/09/44
- 1st Field Park Troop, Royal Engineers 01/08/40-02/07/40
- 27th Bridging Troop, Royal Engineers 18/10/43-25/08/44
Scouting Forces
- 12th Lancers 01/11/40-12/05/42; 13/09/42-06/04/44
- Royals 12/05/42-13/09/42
- 4th Hussars 23/05/44-25/09/44
Brigades
- 2nd Light Armoured Brigade 03/09/39-14/04/40
- 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade 03/09/39-14/04/40
- 1st Support Group 03/09/39-11/02/42
- 2nd Armoured Brigade 14/04/40-25/09/44
- 3rd Armoured Brigade 14/04/40-04/10/40
- 22nd Armoured Brigade 14/10/40-07/11/41
- 200th Guards Brigade Group 12/02/42-20/05/42
- 201st Guard Brigade Group 21/05/42-14/06/42
- 7th Motor Brigade 23/09/42-19/07/43
- 18th Lorried Infantry Brigade 20/07/43-16/02/44
- 18th Infantry Brigade 05/10/43-16/02/44; 17/08/44-28/10/44
Post World War II
It was not until 1976 that the Division re-emerged in the British Army. It was reformed by the re-designation of the
British 1st Infantry DivisionThe 1st Infantry Division was a regular British Army division with a long history having been present at the Peninsula War, the Crimean War, the First World War, and during the Second World War.-Napoleonic Wars:...
, and has been stationed in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
ever since as part of the British forces committed to
NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
. During the 1970s, the division consisted of two "square" brigades, the 7th Armoured Brigade and 11th Armoured Brigade. After being briefly reorganised into two "task forces" ("Alpha" and "Bravo"), in the early 1980s it consisted of the 7th, 12th, and 22nd Armoured Brigades.
Divisional formations and units have deployed on many other operations such as internal security in Northern Ireland, The Falkland Islands, Belize and United Nations tours in Cyprus, Bosnia and Kosovo. The Divisional Headquarters itself has also taken its full share of operational deployment in command of the Multi-National Division (South West) in Bosnia in 1996 – 97 and 1998 – 99.
The headquarters of the division was deployed to
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
in 1990 to command British land forces. It had two brigades under its command, 4th and 7th Armoured Brigade. During the war it came under the US VII Corps and was part of the great armoured left-hook that destroyed many
Iraqi Republican GuardThe Iraqi Republican Guard was a branch of the Iraqi military, which later became the Republican Guard Corps and then the Republican Guard Forces Command. Formed in 1980, it was originally created to be Saddam Hussein's bodyguard but was expanded into a large military force...
formations. The two brigades in the division alternated heading the advance.
Current formation
In 1993 HQ 1st Armoured Division was disbanded and the
1st (UK) Armoured Division formed from the 4th Armoured Division.
The Division headquarters again deployed to the
GulfThe Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf by most Arab states or simply The...
area in 2003. It again commanded British forces in the area, this time with three full brigades under its control. Those were 7th Armoured Brigade again, along with 16th Air Assault Brigade, and 3rd Commando Brigade. In a combined arms operation the division secured southern Iraq, including the city of
BasraAl-Baṣrah is the capital of Basra Province, and had an estimated population of 3,800,200 as of 2009. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it is incapable of deep water access, which is handled at the the port of Umm Qasr...
during the invasion. It came under I Marine Expeditionary Force during the 2003 conflict.
The 1st (UK) Armoured Division is currently the only British division to be stationed in Germany. The headquarters is stationed in
HerfordHerford is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the mountain chains of the Wiehengebirge and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford.- Geographic location :...
. The Division currently reports to
Commander Field ArmyThe Commander Field Army has command over the Deployable Divisions of the British Army i.e. those divisions on full strength. The post is held by a Lieutenant General and is based at Land Command.-Structure:...
within Headquarters
Land CommandLand Command was a military command and part of the structure of the modern British Army. It was active from 1 April 1995 to 1 April 2008. After that date, HQ Land, with elements of HQ Adjutant-General, became HQ Land Forces....
at Wilton.
The divisional badge dates from 1983, and combines the hollow red triangular "spearhead" badge of 1st Infantry Division with the charging rhinoceros badge of 1st Armoured Division as displayed in World War II.
The following brigades make up the 1 (United Kingdom) Armoured Division.
- 4th Mechanized Brigade (formerly an Armoured Brigade)
- 7th Armoured Brigade
- 20th Armoured Brigade
- 102nd Logistics Brigade
The Headquarters Combat Service Support Group was established in Gütersloh in January 1993, which subsequently became 102 Logistic Brigade.The units of this military formation are based both in the UK and British Forces Germany...
- 4th (Czech) Rapid Deployment Brigade
The 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade is assigned to the NATO Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps but falls under the organizational control of 1 Armoured Division when required...
- Divisional Units:
- 1 Regiment, Army Air Corps (Lynx)
- 12 Regiment, Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery is generally known as the Royal Artillery and is nicknamed the Gunners. The regiment is an arm of the British Army...
(Air Defence)
- 9th/12th Royal Lancers
The 9th/12th Royal Lancers is a cavalry regiment of the British Army.It was formed on 11 September 1960 in the garrison church at Tidworth from the amalgamation of the*9th Queen's Royal Lancers...
(Formation Reconnaissance)
- 1 Logistic Support Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps is the British Army corps that provides the logistic support for the Army. It is the largest corps in the British Army.-History:...
- 2 Logistic Support Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps is the British Army corps that provides the logistic support for the Army. It is the largest corps in the British Army.-History:...
- 1 Regiment, Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel and providing a military police presence on service property, operations and exercises. Its members are generally known as Redcaps because they wear red-topped peaked caps or red berets...
- 1 Armoured Division Signal Regiment
Recent Commanders
Recent Commanders have been:
- 1993-1995 Major General RA Cordy-Simpson
Lieutenant General Sir Roderick Alexander Cordy-Simpson KBE CB is a retired British Army general.-Career:Educated at Radley College, Roddy Cordy-Simpson was commissioned into the 13th/18th Hussars in February 1966....
- 1996-1997 Major General JP Kiszely
Lieutenant General Sir John Panton Kiszely KCB, MC is Director of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.-Military career:Educated at Marlborough College, John Kiszely was commissioned into the Scots Guards from Sandhurst in 1969...
- 1998-2001 Major General CR Watt
General Sir Charles Redmond "Reddy" Watt KCB, KCVO, CBE was Commander-in-Chief at Land Command.-Army career:Reddy Watt was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford and was commissioned into the Welsh Guards in 1972...
- 2002-2003 Major General RV Brims
Lieutenant General Robin Vaughan Brims CB, CBE, DSO is a senior British Army officer. He was Commander of the Field Army at Land Command from 2005 to 2007.- Military career :...
- 2003-2004 Major General PA Wall
General Sir Peter Anthony Wall KCB, CBE is a British military commander who became Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces in August 2009.-Army career:Educated at Whitgift School, he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1974...
- 2004-2005 Major General J Cooper
Lieutenant General John Cooper CB DSO MBE is a British Army officer, since March 2008 the Deputy Commander of Multinational Force-Iraq , the operational-level headquarters in Iraq, and Senior British Military Representative-Iraq. As Deputy Commander, he is the principal assistant to General...
- 2006-2009 Major General GJ Binns
Major General Graham John Binns CBE DSO MC is a British military commander, who is the current General Officer Commanding the 1st Armoured Division. He had previously commanded the 7th Armoured Brigade during Operation Telic 1 when they took Basra, Iraq.- Military career :Binns was commissioned...
- 2009-Present Major General AJ Bradshaw
Major General Adrian John Bradshaw CB OBE is the current General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division.-Career:Educated at Reading University, Adrian Bradshaw was commissioned into the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 1980...
See also
External links