British 8th Armoured Division
Encyclopedia
The 8th Armoured Division was a British Army
formation during the Second World War. It was deployed to Egypt in June 1942 but never operated as a complete formation and was disbanded in January the following year.
but never saw active service as a complete formation. As the division could not be provided with a lorried infantry brigade, it was broken up and was finally disbanded in Egypt
on 1 January 1943.
Following the Second Battle of El Alamein
a plan was put forth to use the remains of the division as a self contained pursuit force to dart forward into the German-Italian rear as far as possibly Tobruk, however the plan to use the division was shelfed and units in the forward area were used instead. Afterwards, the name of the division was used for the purpose of military deception.
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23rd Armoured Brigade
24th Armoured Brigade
133rd Infantry Brigade
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 during the Second World War. It was deployed to Egypt in June 1942 but never operated as a complete formation and was disbanded in January the following year.
History
The division was sent to North AfricaNorth 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...
but never saw active service as a complete formation. As the division could not be provided with a lorried infantry brigade, it was broken up and was finally disbanded 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...
on 1 January 1943.
Following the 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...
a plan was put forth to use the remains of the division as a self contained pursuit force to dart forward into the German-Italian rear as far as possibly Tobruk, however the plan to use the division was shelfed and units in the forward area were used instead. Afterwards, the name of the division was used for the purpose of military deception.
General Officer Commanding
The division had four officers who held the position of General Officer Commanding, during the Second World War.| Appointed | General Officer Commanding |
| 4 November 1940 | Brigadier A.G. Kenchington (acting) |
| 14 December 1940 | Major General Richard McCreery Richard McCreery General Sir Richard Loudon McCreery GCB, KBE, DSO, MC , was a British career soldier, who was Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein and later commanded the British Eighth Army in Northern Italy during... |
| 15 October 1941 | Major-General Charles Norman Charles Norman Major-General Charles Wake Norman CBE was General Officer Commanding Aldershot District.-Military career:Educated at Eton College, Norman was commissioned into the Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry in 1910.... |
| 24 August 1942 | Major-General Charles Gairdner Charles Gairdner General Sir Charles Henry Gairdner, GBE, KCMG, KCVO, CB was a British Army general during World War II and was Governor of Western Australia from 1951 to 1963, and Governor of Tasmania from 1963 to 1968.-Early life:... |
Component Units
(all brigades stripped away from the division prioir to the Second Battle of El AlameinSecond 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...
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23rd Armoured Brigade
British 23rd Armoured Brigade
The 23rd Armoured Brigade was originally formed as the 23rd Army Tank Brigade, a second-line Territorial Army unit of the British Army during Second World War...
- 40th Royal Tank Regiment
- 46th Royal Tank Regiment
- 50th Royal Tank Regiment50th Royal Tank RegimentThe 50th Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army during the Second World War. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps....
- 7th The Rifle Brigade
24th Armoured Brigade
British 24th Armoured Brigade
- History :The 24th Armoured Brigade was converted from the 24th Army Tank Brigade on 1 November 1940. It served with the British 10th Armoured Division and the British 8th Armoured Division in the Eighth Army during the Western Desert Campaign...
- 41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment41st (Oldham) Royal Tank RegimentThe 41st Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps....
- 45th Royal Tank Regiment
- 47th Royal Tank Regiment
- 11th The King's Royal Rifle Corps
133rd Infantry Brigade
British 133rd Infantry Brigade
The 133rd Infantry Brigade was a 1st Line Territorial Army unit of the British Army during World War II.-History:Part of the British 44th Infantry Division it served in the Battle of France and the Western Desert Campaign where this brigade along with the 44th Infantry Division was...
- 2nd Bn, The Royal Sussex Regiment
- 4th Bn, The Royal Sussex Regiment
- 5th Bn, The Royal Sussex Regiment
Support Units
8th Support Group- 14th The Sherwood Foresters
- 2nd The Derbyshire Yeomanry
- 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
- 11th (HACHonourable Artillery CompanyThe Honourable Artillery Company was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII. Today it is a Registered Charity whose purpose is to attend to the “better defence of the realm"...
) Regiment, Royal Horse ArtilleryRoyal Horse ArtilleryThe regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army... - 104th (Essex YeomanryEssex YeomanryThe Essex Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army raised in 1797. The regiment recruited volunteers from the county of Essex in the East of England.-Origins:...
) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery - 146th (PembrokePembroke YeomanryThe Pembroke Yeomanry were formed in 1794, by Lord Milfordwhen King George III was on the throne, William Pitt the Younger was Prime Minister of Great Britain, and across the English Channel, Britain was faced by a French nation that had recently guillotined its King and which possessed a...
and Cardiganshire) Field Regiment, Royal ArtilleryRoyal ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
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...