Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
British 1st Armoured Division
*** Shopping-Tip: British 1st Armoured Division
The '''British 1st Armoured Division''' is an
armored division armoured division of the
British Army. It saw extensive service during
World War II, was disbanded afterward, was reconstituted in
1976, and remains in service today.
History
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 Force sent to
France in
1940. It landed in France on
14 April 1940 and was evacuated on
16 June having seen service south of the
River Somme, 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
Egypt under the command of Major General
Herbert Lumsden. Arriving in Egypt on
13 November 1941 it took part in many of the major battles of the later part of the campaign against Rommel including
Battle of Gazala Gazala,
Battle of Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh,
First Battle of El Alamein 1st El Alamein,
Second Battle of El Alamein 2nd El Alamein,
Battle of Tebaga Gap Tebaga Gap,
Battle of Akarit Akarit,
Battle of El Kourzia El Kourzia and
Battle of Tunis Tunis.
From the end of the Tunisian campaign the division remained in North Africa until May 1944. It then transferred to
Italy, fighting one last battle at
Battle of Coriano Coriano before ceasing to be an operational unit on
28 October. The division was disbanded on
1 January 1945.
The post-war period
The unit was deployed in Palestine 1945 – 48; Libya 1948 – 51; Egypt 1951 – 55.
It was not until
1976 that the Division re-emerged in the British Army. It was reformed by the redesignation of the
British 1st Infantry Division, and has been stationed in
Germany ever since as part of the British forces committed to
NATO. The 1st (UK) Armoured Division is currently the only British division to be stationed in Germany. The Headquarter is stationed in
Herford.
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 Arabia 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 Guard formations. The two brigades in the division alternated heading the advance.
The Division headquarters again deployed to the
Persian Gulf Gulf 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
Basra during the invasion. It came under
I Marine Expeditionary Force during the 2003 conflict.
Organisation
Present day
The following brigades make up the 1 (United Kingdom) Armoured Division.
*
British 4 Armoured Brigade 4th Armoured Brigade
*
British 7 Armoured Brigade 7th Armoured Brigade
*
British 20 Armoured Brigade 20th Armoured Brigade
*
Danish Reaction Brigade
*
4th (Czech) Rapid Deployment Brigade
See also
*
Western Desert Campaign,
North African Campaign
*
List of senior officers of {{PAGENAME}}
*
List of component units of {{PAGENAME}}
*
List of equipment of {{PAGENAME}}
*
List of headquarters of {{PAGENAME}}
*
List of higher formations {{PAGENAME}} served under
Category:British World War II divisions 1st Armoured Division Category:British armoured divisions 1st Armoured Division
*** Shopping-Tip: British 1st Armoured Division
