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173-814: The 7th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army . It was formed as the Mobile Division (Egypt) on 27 September 1938, after increased tensions between Britain and the Axis powers . This was part of an effort to reinforce and maintain the British strategic presence in Egypt to defend the Suez Canal , which was seen as vital to the British Empire 's interests. In February 1940,

346-510: A Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) which specifies exact assignments of units, personnel, and equipment for a division. The modern division became the primary identifiable combat unit in many militaries during the second half of the 20th century, supplanting the brigade ; however, the trend started to reverse since the end of the Cold War . The peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II , when

519-523: A corps . Historically, the division has been the default combined arms unit capable of independent operations . Smaller combined arms units, such as the American regimental combat team (RCT) during World War II, were used when conditions favored them. In recent times, modern Western militaries have begun adopting the smaller brigade combat team (similar to the RCT) as the default combined arms unit, with

692-523: A flotilla or squadron , or to two or three sections of aircraft operating under a designated division leader. In the West, the first general to think of organizing an army into smaller combined-arms units was Maurice de Saxe (d. 1750), Marshal General of France , in his book Mes Rêveries . He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea. Victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of

865-472: A "swarm" of light tanks for this, or a limited number of potent heavy vehicles. Though in the Battle of Cambrai a large concentration of British heavy tanks effected a breakthrough, it was not exploited by armour. The manoeuvrability of the tank should at least in theory regain armies the ability to flank enemy lines. In practice, tank warfare during most of World War I was hampered by the technical immaturity of

1038-553: A breakthrough, seeking to bring about defeat of the enemy by severing his lines of communication and supply, as cavalry had done during the previous century. The British were the first to create a larger fully mechanised unit when the War Office sanctioned the creation of the Experimental Mechanized Force , which was formed on 1 May 1927, under infantry Colonel R. J. Collins, after Fuller (was) refused

1211-550: A combined arms force used in modern brigades and divisions, and are no longer granted divisional status. "Light divisions" were German horse cavalry divisions organized early in World War II which included motorized units. The development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the same way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs (including tanks) and motorizing

1384-635: A complete overhaul and the division was withdrawn to Cairo and temporarily ceased to be available as a fighting formation being replaced in the line by the 2nd Armoured Division . Compass ultimately captured 130,000 Italians. The Italians had proven so weak that Hitler was forced to send the Afrika Korps , under Erwin Rommel , as reinforcements. In April 1941, the Allied troops in Tobruk were cut off by

1557-534: A concern that Italy could invade Egypt, the Cairo Cavalry Brigade was ordered to Mersa Matruh. The brigade consisted of the 7th Hussars equipped with light tanks , the 8th Hussars outfitted with trucks with the intent to be motorised cavalry, and the 11th Hussars with armoured cars . Once there, the brigade was reinforced by the 1st Battalion, Royal Tank Corps , as well as artillery , engineers , medical, and logistical units and became known as

1730-468: A dangerous practice. The turboshaft -powered M1 Abrams , for example, has such hot exhaust gas that nearby infantry have to be careful where they stand. Tanks can also be very vulnerable to well aimed artillery ; well-coordinated air support and counter-battery artillery units can help overcome this. While attempts to defeat the tank were made before and during the Second World War, through

1903-463: A deliberate military doctrine, in 1941, it ultimately failed on the eastern front, though initially attaining spectacular successes. Before the war, Heinz Guderian had in his Achtung–Panzer! propounded a thorough mechanisation of the German forces. By 1942, increased AFV-production allowed a fuller implementation of this ideal. Now extensive armoured combined arms team could be formed, distinct from

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2076-570: A narrow cooperation between large armoured units – of the Panzerwaffe and the Cavalry – and "active" infantry divisions to break the Polish defensive lines and pursue the defeated enemy forces. The more limited and dispersed Polish armoured units were quickly destroyed. The Red Army, invading the east of Poland , also deployed armoured divisions. At the time, the swift collapse of the Polish army

2249-447: A number of cavalry divisions were formed. They were most often similar to the nations' infantry divisions in structure, although they usually had fewer and lighter support elements, with cavalry brigades or regiments replacing the infantry units, and supporting units, such as artillery and supply, being horse-drawn. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II . While horse cavalry had been found to be obsolete,

2422-483: A particular mission. These units were usually combat units such as tank battalions, tank-destroyer battalions or cavalry-reconnaissance squadrons. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures. This does not mean that divisions are equal in size or structure from country to country, but divisions have, in most cases, come to be units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers with enough organic support to be capable of independent operations. Usually,

2595-435: A practical way to do so: providing caterpillar traction to machine guns allowing them to overcome trenches, while at the same time offering them armour protection against small arms as they were moving. Britain and France first developed tanks in 1915 as a way of navigating the barbed wire and other obstacles of no-man's land while remaining protected from machine-gun fire. British Mark I tanks first went into action at

2768-588: A public reprimand for Hobart due to errors made. In November, Hobart was dismissed by General Archibald Wavell (Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command and who oversaw Wilson) and ordered back to the UK. Hobart's biography suggested that the dismissal was the result of long held animosities between Hobart and the upper echelons of the British Army; and noted that while Wavell may not have held direct issues with Hobart, he would have been motivated to ensure that there

2941-496: A purely infantry or cavalry formation. The panzer divisions integrated tanks with mechanised infantry (riding in halftracks to be protected from small-arms fire while being transported) and self-propelled artillery (howitzers fitted on a tank chassis). This allowed the panzer division to become an independent combat force, in principle able to overcome the problems of attaining a breakthrough against entrenched enemy infantry, equipped with large numbers of antitank-guns, with

3114-416: A single regiment has since been considered a unique moment in the regiment's history. The 169th Brigade was commanded at the time by Brigadier Lewis Lyne , who would later command the 7th Armoured Division from November 1944 onwards. Then, it drove on and took Naples . Used to fighting in the desert, the division had to adjust to the confined Italian roads . There could not have been a greater contrast to

3287-525: A sudden change in the global geostrategic situation, gaining Germany a position of hegemony on the European continent, but also seemed to vindicate the theories of Fuller and Liddell-Hart. Confronted with the undeniable potential of armoured manoeuvre warfare, from the summer of 1940 onwards the armed forces of all surviving major powers adapted their tactical doctrine, unit organisation, strategic planning and tank production plans. According to Frieser, this

3460-456: A tank component supplemented by tank destroyers formed into independent tank destroyer battalions . The latter is most closely identified with the Chief of Army Ground Forces, Lesley J. McNair . Having studied the early German successes McNair came under the belief that U.S. forces would be faced with fast moving enemy forces who would seek to bypass, isolate and reduce U.S. forces in a replay of

3633-538: A total of six infantry divisions were raised as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force : 1st , 2nd , 3rd , 4th , 5th and 6th . The 1st Division and part of the 2nd saw service during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 before later taking part in the fighting on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918 along with the 3rd, 4th and 5th. The 6th Division existed only briefly in 1917, but

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3806-527: A war of attrition and embarked on a high-risk strategy. They approved the Manstein Plan , envisaging an advance through the Ardennes by the main mass of German infantry divisions, spearheaded by seven armoured divisions, while the main mobile French reserve consisting of three Cavalry armoured divisions ( Divisions Légères Mécaniques or Mechanised Light Divisions) – the only armoured units organised on

3979-605: Is a division with a majority of infantry subunits transported on soft-skinned motor vehicles . A " mechanized infantry " division is a division with a majority of infantry subunits transported on armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) or both, or even some other class of armored fighting vehicles designed for the transportation of infantry. Mechanized infantry divisions in Nazi Germany were called " Panzergrenadier divisions". In Russia, they were known as "motor rifle divisions". Because of

4152-483: Is an extreme example but exemplifies what has been fairly thoroughly documented since the Second World War: tanks and infantry work best by taking advantage of each other's strengths and combining to minimise the weaknesses. In many conflicts, it was usual to see infantry riding on the back of tanks, ready to jump off and provide support when necessary. Unfortunately, the design of many modern tanks makes this

4325-619: Is but a short step." This was not an isolated incident: the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and several other veteran formations Montgomery had brought back from the Mediterranean experienced similar difficulties, although not the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division, which performed well throughout the Normandy Campaign. Following the advance across France, the division took part in the Allied advance through Belgium and

4498-411: Is now maintained by the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team . The Suez Canal , located in Egypt, was seen as a vital throughway of the British Empire linking Britain with its colonial possessions in the east, especially British India . In addition, it held economic and prestigious importance. To maintain this, Egypt was occupied in 1882 and a protectorate was subsequently established. During

4671-580: 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 and former British Army officer 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. The replacement of Erskine in August did not change

4844-513: The Panzerwaffe . The precise interpretation of this phenomenon has proven controversial among military historians. Traditionally, it has been seen as part of a " Blitzkrieg strategy" of swift world conquest by means of armoured forces. Later it has been argued, among others by Karl-Heinz Frieser , that the German army in the 1930s did not even possess an explicit Blitzkrieg tactical doctrine, let alone strategy. This would have been reflected by

5017-707: The 1937 repression of the officer corps . The Red Army ignored the lessons from Nomonhan , which had been successfully conducted by General Zhukov , and relied instead on lessons from politically selected officers who were veterans of the Spanish Civil War . The result was a poor showing during the Winter War . The Red Army tank fleet was extremely large, consisting of some 24,000 vehicles, but many were obsolete or unfit for service due to difficulties with supplying spare parts and lack of qualified support staff. One important development took place shortly before

5190-696: The 50th (Northumbrian) and 51st (Highland) Infantry Divisions , all of which had seen extensive service alongside the 7th Armoured Division in the Mediterranean and Middle East , to participate in the invasion of North Western Europe with the British Second Army . The 7th Armoured, handing over its battered vehicles and equipment to the recently arrived 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division , left Italy in late December 1943, arriving in Glasgow , Scotland in early January 1944. In November 1943,

5363-669: The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division ) under command, took part in Operation Blackcock to clear the Roer Triangle . The division had a short rest for training in late February. This was followed by Operation Plunder : the 7th Armoured Division crossed the River Rhine near Xanten and Wesel and advanced northeast. On 16 April 1945, the 7th Armoured Division liberated Stalag 11B in Fallingbostel, which

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5536-680: The Battle for the Salerno beachhead (Operation Avalanche). Shortly after landing on the 18th the 131st (Queen's) Infantry Brigade (which consisted of the 1/5th, 1/6th and 1/7th Territorial battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment ) relieved its 'sister' duplicate, the 169th (Queen's) Infantry Brigade , (consisting of 2/5th, 2/6th and 2/7th Queen's, all formed in 1939), which was part of the 56th (London) Infantry Division , and had been in continuous combat since 9 September. The assembly of six battalions of

5709-646: The Battle of the Falaise Gap , which saw most of the German Army in Normandy destroyed, the 7th Armoured 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 1944, Major General George Erskine, who had commanded

5882-663: The First World War , the Ottoman Empire came into conflict with the Entente , and the British presence in Egypt was reinforced. Following the conclusion of hostilities and the British victory in the Middle Eastern theatre , Britain intended to maintain a garrison to protect the canal. However, military commitments had to be balanced with economic and geopolitical conditions. From a peak of 400,000 men in 1919,

6055-654: The French Army as the best army in Europe, and consequently the U.S. Army frequently copied French uniforms (the American Civil War) and aeroplanes. Only when France was rapidly overrun in 1940 did the U.S. Army become "shocked" into re-thinking the influences by the perceived actions of German tanks in the 1939 Polish Campaign. Its Armored Combat Arm was not created until 1940 when the Armored Force

6228-637: The Heavy SS-Panzer Battalion 101 in the Battle of Villers-Bocage and were repulsed. Following the capture of Caen, the division took part in Operation Spring , which was intended to keep the 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 break-out and intercept German reinforcements moving to stop it. After

6401-623: The IJN favoured all-around protective armour) IJA tanks were lightly armoured. As with most armour during the 1930s, the main guns were small in calibre: 37 mm for their Type 95 light tanks and 47 mm for the Type 97 medium tank, but this was sometimes compensated by a high muzzle velocity. The IJA's use of tanks in China exemplifies its doctrine: light tanks were used for scouting or acted as mobile infantry support, while medium tanks supported

6574-527: The Jerboa (also known as a desert rat) was added to the design. While primarily red, the Imperial War Museum highlighted that pink variations may have existed. The design was used on vehicles from its inception, but there is no evidence that it was worn on uniforms until at least 1943. Then, only a single photograph depicts such and it is of the commanding officer. It is believed that the insignia

6747-562: The Netherlands , liberating Ghent on 6 September. The division then took part in the advance to and securing of the River Maas, where the division, now commanded by Major-General Lewis Lyne, a highly experienced commander, was slightly reorganized, with many experienced men who had been overseas with the division for five years returning home. In January 1945 the division, with the 8th Armoured Brigade and 155th Infantry Brigade (from

6920-619: The Second Battle of El Alamein . In 2022, Kendrick Kuo, assistant professor at the U.S. Naval War College, wrote that due to factors emanating from the interwar period , the British army in North Africa initially operated their armoured units with little infantry or artillery support. Meanwhile, the Germans had integrated their armour with mechanised infantry and artillery. Only after undoing their misplaced emphasis on armour were

7093-660: The Second World War in 1942, although plans were in place since the later stages of the Russian Civil War . An artillery division serves as a specialized division using only artillery howitzers, anti-tank guns, rocket artillery (MRLs and tactical missiles) and mortars (both towed and self-propelled) (and historically siege artillery) and are usually tasked with providing concentrated firepower support to higher combined arms formations. They are mainly combat support formations most performing operations in support of

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7266-873: The US 10th Mountain Division , the German 1st Ski Division or the French 27th Alpine Infantry Division . Nazi Germany also organized " Jäger divisions" to operate in more adverse terrain. Italian Mountain divisions are called " Alpini divisions". An airborne division is an infantry division given special training and equipment for arrival on the battlefield by air (typically via parachute or glider-borne). The US, Britain, and Germany experimented during World War II with specialized light infantry divisions capable of being quickly transported by transport aircraft or dropped into an area by parachute or glider. This required both high-quality equipment and training, creating elite units in

7439-654: The 131st Brigade. The fighting in North Africa came to an end just days later, with almost 250,000 Axis soldiers surrendering to the Allies and becoming POWs. The division was not an assault force in the invasion of Sicily , instead remaining in Homs , Syria for training in amphibious warfare , but did participate in the early stages of the Italian campaign . The 7th Armoured Division came ashore at Salerno , on 15 September 1943, to help repel heavy German counterattacks during

7612-496: The 1920s, a very limited number of tanks were produced. There were however, important theoretical and technical developments. Various British and French commanders who had contributed to the origin of the tank, such as Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne , B. H. Liddell Hart and J. F. C. Fuller , theorised about a possible future use of independent armoured forces, containing a large concentration of tanks, to execute deep strategic penetrations. Especially Liddell Hart wrote many books about

7785-494: The 1930s, political tensions between the world powers quickly increased. The Soviet Union and France began to rearm in the early thirties. In the Soviet Union, the mechanisation of the armed forces was part of a massive general industrialisation programme, the successive Five Years Plans , and the country soon had more tanks than the rest of the world combined, thousands of them being produced per year. In this period, before

7958-474: The 1944 Operation Market Garden and the 1945 Operation Varsity . When not being used for a specific airborne mission, airborne divisions usually functioned as light infantry divisions. An " air assault division" is an airborne division that mainly uses helicopters to transport its troops. The Soviet Union developed the concept of the specialized "artillery division" during the Eastern Front of

8131-595: The 19th century school of thought that advocated manoeuvre and decisive battle outcomes in military strategy . Modern armored warfare began during the First World War of 1914–1918. Strategists wanted to break the tactical , operational and strategic stalemates forced on commanders on the Western Front by the effectiveness of entrenched defensive infantry armed with machine guns – known as trench warfare . Under these conditions, attacks usually advanced very slowly and incurred massive casualties. The developers of tanks aimed to return manoeuvre to warfare, and found

8304-476: The 1st KRRC, joined by two additional infantry battalions, and several batteries from the division's artillery to monitor a 60 mi (97 km) section of the border. Their instructions were to harass any Italian probes and to attempt to delay, but not become seriously engaged with, any offensive move. The 11th Hussars were allowed to continue their long-range efforts into Italian territory. Between 11 June and 9 September, 3,500 Italian casualties were inflicted for

8477-523: The 4th Cavalry Division was transformed into the 1e Division Légère Mécanique , the first French armoured division of the Cavalry. In Germany, after the Nazi Regime started open rearmament in March 1935, on 15 October 1935 three Panzerdivisionen were formed. Though some tank brigades were part of the Cavalry or Infantry arm, most German tanks were concentrated into a special branch, from 1936 called

8650-563: The 4th Heavy Armoured Brigade, and the Light Armoured Brigade (Egypt) was redesignated as the 7th Light Armoured Brigade. The two armoured brigades dropped the heavy and light descriptives on 14 April. During April 1940, the War Office set out an organisation for armoured divisions that stated such formations should have 340 tanks. During this period, the 7th Armoured Division had just 65 cruiser tanks, with eight not equipped with their required anti-tank weapons. The same month,

8823-540: The 7th Armoured Division was transferred to IX Corps of the British First Army for the assault on Medjez El Bab . The attack was successful, with the 7th Armoured Division competing with the 6th Armoured Division of the First Army in a race to the city of Tunis , with 'B' Squadron of the 11th Hussars being first into the city on the afternoon of 7 May, followed closely by the 22nd Armoured Brigade and

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8996-400: The 7th Armoured Division, along with units of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars , suffered one of the worst friendly fire incidents when they were attacked by a group of Royal Air Force (RAF) Vickers Wellington medium bombers during a two-hour raid near Mersa Matruh, Egypt. Over 359 troops were killed and 560 others were wounded. The Western Desert Force later became HQ XIII Corps , one of

9169-559: The 7th Armoured Division. The division remained part of the BAOR until April 1958, when it was redesignated as the 5th Division . While the division ceased to exist, its traditions and iconic nickname were maintained by 7th Armoured Brigade. A monument to commemorate the 7th Armoured was erected at Brandon in Thetford Forest where the division trained prior to D-day. Footnotes Citations Armoured warfare Much of

9342-495: The Allies on the tactical and operational level. German tanks operated while directed by radio communication, which allowed tank commanders to take greater advantage of the manoeuvrability of their vehicles. Even after the conquest of Poland , "Blitzkrieg" was not defined on the strategic level. Guderian and von Manstein devised a strategy that entailed what later would be seen as the essence of Blitzkrieg: concentrated panzer divisions performing swift deep penetrations. This strategy

9515-513: The Anglo-French coalition proved unable to match the Germans in the number of armoured divisions, as it was impossible to quickly raise such large units. Though the French possessed a superior number of tanks, often better armoured and armed, half of these were allotted at army-level to independent Bataillons de Chars de Combat ("battle tank battalions") for infantry support. In early 1940, the German command had concluded that it could not win

9688-522: The Ardennes forced the crossings over the river Meuse , assisted by massive carpet bombing of the crossing points. In the original plan, the armoured divisions were again supposed to closely cooperate with the infantry divisions. In reality, armour commanders like Erwin Rommel and Heinz Guderian immediately broke out of the bridgeheads, initiating a drive towards the English Channel , which

9861-609: The British able to restore their combat effectiveness. Much of the Red Army development in tank use was based on the theoretical work carried out by such officers as Tukhachevsky and Triandafillov in the mid to late 1930s. This was as part of the two-directioned concepts, one being infantry-centred "broad front" and the other being a "shock army". While the infantry based part of the doctrine demanded "powerful tanks" (heavy tanks armed with infantry guns and machineguns) and "tankettes" (light, often amphibious tanks with machineguns),

10034-543: The Cairo Cavalry Brigade became the Light Armoured Brigade (Egypt). The 7th Hussars were re-equipped with the Light Tank Mk VI , and handed over their old tanks to the 8th Hussars. Additional armoured cars were delivered to the 11th Hussars, while the divisional artillery was provided with modern 25-pounder gun-howitzers . The 1st Battalion (Mk VI light tanks) and the 6th Battalion (light tanks and obsolete Vickers Medium Mark II ), Royal Tank Corps, were assigned to

10207-481: The Chief of the Imperial General Staff and Field Marshal Montgomery. During the summer of 1945, the BAOR reorganised and disbanded its corps headquarters. These were replaced by new formations based around a divisional headquarters. This resulted in the creation of the 7th Armoured Division District, which was headquartered at Bad Rothenfelde . The division was reformed when Hannover District became

10380-428: The Commonwealth troops of the British Western Desert Force . The arrival of the German Afrika Korps under command of General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel highlighted the weaknesses of the British approach: the small number of infantry and artillery in each armoured division was sufficient when attacking the immobile and uncoordinated Italian troops, but against the highly mobile, well-coordinated German units,

10553-458: The East Mediterranean region and Israel in particular would serve to become a testing ground for development in armoured warfare during the decades of the Cold War. Both sides in the Arab–Israeli series of conflicts made heavy use of tanks and other armoured vehicles due to the practicality of tanks in the desert environment these conflicts largely took place in. During the 1956 Suez War and Six-Day War (1967), Israeli armoured units typically had

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10726-400: The Fall of France. To stem the flood of marauding panzers, fast moving powerfully armed tank destroyer battalions were created to be held back and used in the counter-attack. It was also calculated that U.S. interests would be better served by large numbers of reliable ( battle-worthiness ) medium tanks rather than a smaller number of unreliable heavy tanks. It was decided therefore to slow

10899-439: The French, and ultimately were the deciding factors in the battle. It overcame their inferiority in armour and armament relative to the main French materiel such as the Char B1 bis . The superior tactical and operational praxis, combined with an appropriate strategic implementation, enabled the Germans to defeat forces superior in armour (both quantitatively and qualitatively) in the battles of 1940, but just as Blitzkrieg became

11072-439: The Germans and Italians. On 7 June, the division was again prepared for battle as part of Operation Battleaxe , having received new tanks and additional personnel. In the attack plan for Battleaxe, the 7th force was divided between the Coast Force and Escarpment Force . However, this Allied push failed, and the 7th Armoured Division was forced to withdraw on the third day of fighting. On 18 November, as part of Operation Crusader

11245-432: The Italian military build-up and invasion of Ethiopia . This crisis prompted the deployment an ad hoc formation called the Mobile Force, based around the Cairo Cavalry Brigade, to Mersa Matruh in the Western Desert , 170 mi (270 km) west of Alexandria . Due to rain and sandstorms, vehicles became stuck or were stricken by mechanical issues resulting in the moniker "Mobile Farce" being applied. The crisis also saw

11418-467: The Italians while falling back to avoid prolonged engagements. By 16 September, the Italians had reached Sidi Barrani . They halted to improve the infrastructure behind them and constructed a series of fortified camps. The 7th Armoured Division regrouped at Mersa Matruh, then spent the following two months reconnoitering the Italian positions. Towards the end of August, and prior to the Italian invasion, reinforcements and supplies were dispatched to Egypt from

11591-412: The Italians" invaded Egypt, due to the armoured cars being in good working order and the Italian opposition consisting largely of tankettes . When tensions subsided, due to the Munich Agreement on 30 September, the force moved to Cairo where it was joined by is first infantry unit, the 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (1st KRRC). In the meantime, on 27 September, Major-General Percy Hobart

11764-466: The Mobile Force. The assortment of different models of light tanks that the force had, lacked spare parts and the tank tracks had reached the end of their potential mileage capacity. For example, the 1st Battalion, Royal Tank Corps, had 63 light tanks but were quickly reduced to nine serviceable models. However, the historian Kenneth Macksey , a member of the Royal Armoured Corps during the Second World War , contended that it "might well have prevailed had

11937-474: The NKVD in World War II ). In a few cases, NKVD divisions were employed in front-line combat as rifle divisions. Naming examples 1st Division 2nd Infantry Division Division 60 101st Airborne Division Panzer Lehr Division Divisions are commonly designated by combining an ordinal number and a type name (e.g.: "13th Infantry Division"). Nicknames are often assigned or adopted, although these often are not considered an official part of

12110-431: The Red Army in World War II , initiated under strict secrecy and using the Principle of Surprise. Furthermore, to improve the fighting capabilities of armoured units, all heavy and medium tanks are to be commanded by officers and crewed by NCOs. In Germany, in-depth research through theoretical approaches, wargaming and exercises developed a confidence within the Panzertruppe itself (and political support by Hitler) in

12283-420: The Second World War against the Allies . In response, the 1st KRRC, the 7th, and the 11th Hussars patrolled the border and then crossed into Italian territory the next day and took 70 prisoners . The Italian border forts Capuzzo and Maddalena were quickly taken, and various small unit actions inflicted the loss of 24 armoured cars and several hundred casualties on the Italians. The first tank-on-tank clash for

12456-580: The Second World War, such as airborne, tank, mechanized, motorized. The Soviet Union's Red Army consisted of more than a thousand division-sized units at any one time, and the number of rifle divisions raised during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 is estimated at 2,000. Nazi Germany had hundreds of numbered or named divisions, while the United States employed up to 91 divisions. A notable change to divisional structures during

12629-522: The Second World War. All major European states (with the exception of Germany that was forbidden to possess armoured vehicles under the Treaty of Versailles ), the US, and Japan, would create their own experimental mechanised forces during the late 1920s, many using either French or British vehicle designs or even directly purchased vehicles, but largely borrowing from both to develop their own doctrines. During

12802-595: The Somme on 15 September 1916, but did not manage to break the deadlock of trench warfare. The first French employment of tanks, on 16 April 1917, using the Schneider CA , also failed to live up to expectations. In the Battle of Cambrai (November to December 1917) British tanks were more successful, and broke a German trenchline system , the Hindenburg Line . Despite the generally unpromising beginnings,

12975-757: The T-34 was also able to negotiate terrain in difficult weather conditions, something that persistently dogged the German designs. Assessing the success of the German Blitzkrieg strategy, operational methods and tactics, the Red Army concluded that it should return to the use of operational methods developed before the war, so the Tank Armies were eventually created. To complement the T-34, heavy tanks, self-propelled artillery, and tank destroyers were also designed. The Red Army's armoured forces were used in concentrations during all strategic operations of

13148-605: The U.S. Army consisted of the M2A4 and M3 Stuart light tanks up until 1941, although these vehicles were five years newer than the 1935 built Type 95 's, the IJA and U.S. light tanks were comparable to each other, and seemingly performed well for their respective forces during jungle combat operations; during their phase of World War II. As with all armour, maintenance was a continuous challenge; especially in tropical environments. When IJA and SNLF (Imperial marines) tanks did clash with

13321-528: The UK and Egypt negotiate the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936 , which stated that the majority of the British military were to be confined to the canal zone except in emergencies. In the case of the latter, troops could be deployed across Egypt. This saw the increased importance of Mersa Matruh, as it became the location from which the defense of Egypt would be conducted if Italy attacked. A joint declaration on 2 January 1937, by Italy and Britain, to maintain

13494-472: The UK. This included artillery, spare parts, and around 100 tanks for the division; a mix of light tanks and cruisers split between two armoured regiments. Their arrival in early October doubled the 7th Armoured Division's strength. On 9 December, the Western Desert Force launched its counterattack . The division protected the flank of the initial attack, then provided more direct support over

13667-587: The United Kingdom, to prepare for Operation Overlord . In June 1944, it landed in France and subsequently fought across western Europe and ended the war in Kiel and Hamburg , Germany. After the war it formed part of the British Army of the Rhine until it was disbanded in the 1950s. The division's history and insignia was carried on by the 7th Armoured Brigade , until the brigade was disbanded in 2014, and

13840-511: The Urals. A 1997 report said they were generally composed of four brigades, though later data suggests this was inaccurate. For most nations, cavalry was deployed in smaller units and was not therefore organized into divisions, but for larger militaries, such as that of the British Empire , United States, First French Empire , France, German Empire , Nazi Germany , Russian Empire , Empire of Japan , Second Polish Republic and Soviet Union ,

14013-408: The administrative organization used to manage personnel. Aboard US navy ships (including US coastguard vessels), in shore commands and in US naval aviation units (including US navy, marine corps, and coastguard aviation) it refers to an administrative/functional sub-unit of a department (e.g., fire control division of the weapons department). Alternatively it refers to a sub-unit of several ships within

14186-503: The advantage, mainly due to good tactics and unit cohesion . Conversely, the Yom Kippur War (1973) illustrated the problems that can arise if armoured and infantry units do not work closely together. Israeli tanks, operating independently in large numbers, were decimated by Egyptian anti-tank teams, well-distributed amongst regular infantry, and often equipped with new, first-generation portable anti-tank guided missiles . This

14359-514: The airfield. Fighting was desperate and gallant: for his actions during these two days of fighting, Brigadier Jock Campbell , commanding the 7th Support Group , was awarded the Victoria Cross . However, the 21st Panzer, despite being considerably weaker in armour, proved superior in its combined arms tactics, pushing the 7th Armoured back with a further 50 tanks lost (mainly from the 22nd Armoured Brigade ). On 27 June 1942, elements of

14532-420: The application of armoured warfare depends on the use of tanks and related vehicles used by other supporting arms such as infantry fighting vehicles , self-propelled artillery , and other combat vehicles , as well as mounted combat engineers and other support units. The doctrine of armored warfare was developed to break the static nature of World War I trench warfare on the Western Front , and return to

14705-529: The armoured divisions were structurally short of tanks. Though the U.S. had established the Tank Corps in World War I using French Renault FT light tanks and British Mark V and Mark V* heavy tanks, and some officers like Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton, Jr. emerged from that war initially as avid proponents of continuing and developing an American armoured force, the rapid reduction of

14878-449: The armoured formation as the key battlefield formation – although this view was before 1940 not shared by the other Arms of Service. A key part of this doctrine was improved communications by having radios in all tanks, although this ideal suffered from technical limits as most tanks had receiver sets only. At the outbreak of World War II, the German armoured forces benefited from a much more profound and more flexible training than that of

15051-419: The battlefield. Organic units within divisions were units which operated directly under divisional command and were not normally controlled by the regiments. These units were mainly support units in nature, and included signal companies, medical battalions, supply trains and administration. Attached units were smaller units that were placed under divisional command temporarily for the purpose of completing

15224-414: The beginning of the war, but would only be built in small numbers towards the end, being placed in reserve, to be deployed for the defence of Japan itself. The Republic of China 's National Revolutionary Army 's 200th Division was the country's only mechanised division during the war. The 200th used pre-war tanks acquired from Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union. The conflict between Arab nations in

15397-439: The belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the combat power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with appropriate support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms. In this case,

15570-528: The concept of cavalry as a fast force capable of missions traditionally fulfilled by horse cavalry made a return to military thinking during the Cold War. In general, two new types of cavalry were developed: air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry , based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) , formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning , Georgia. On 29 June 1965,

15743-514: The course of time. For instance, in 1944, Nazi Germany designated some of their infantry formations as Volksgrenadier divisions, which were slightly smaller than the regular divisions, with wider issue of sub-machine guns, automatic and anti-tank weapons to reflect the reality that they were to be used in defensive warfare. In 1945, Nazi Germany seconded members of the Kriegsmarine to create "naval divisions", which were of lower quality than

15916-470: The current 1st Armored Division consists of two armored BCTs and a Stryker BCT along with its support troops. Nevertheless, some US division types will retain their mission: The 82nd and 11th airborne divisions have airborne infantry BCTs, while the 10th Mountain Division has only light infantry BCTs. Historically, the Australian Army has fielded a number of divisions. During World War I,

16089-472: The desert. We struggled forward, blown bridges and muddy vineyards causing more delay than opposition from the enemy. The division crossed the river Volturno in southern Italy, constructing a pontoon bridge. On the wishes of the British Eighth Army commander, General Montgomery, the 7th Armoured Division was recalled to the United Kingdom, along with the 4th and 8th Armoured Brigades , and

16262-458: The direct organization of the division consists of one to four brigades or battle groups of its primary combat arm, along with a brigade or regiment of combat support (usually artillery ) and a number of direct-reporting battalions for necessary specialized support tasks, such as intelligence , logistics , reconnaissance , and combat engineers . Most militaries standardize ideal organization strength for each type of division, encapsulated in

16435-554: The division landed on Gold Beach by the end of 7 June, a day after the initial landings. 7th Armoured 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

16608-570: The division left Italy for the United Kingdom, with the last units arriving on 7 January 1944. The division was re-equipped with the new Cromwell cruiser tanks and in April and May received 36 Sherman Vc Fireflies . Each troop now had three 75 mm gun Cromwells and a 17-pounder gun Firefly. The Desert Rats were the only British armoured division to use the Cromwell as their main battle tank. The 22nd Armoured Brigade embarked on 4 June, and most of

16781-568: The division occurred on 16 June, when a force of 12 Italian light tanks were engaged and destroyed. However, these actions did not hinder the Italian build-up, and they soon retook Capuzzo and engaged in their own reconnaissance efforts. While more of the division's tank units were initially moved forward, it was decided to avoid mechanical attrition and the majority were pulled back to the Mersa Matruh area. This left one tank regiment along with

16954-476: The division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. An "infantry division" is a military formation composed primarily of infantry units , also supported by units from other combat arms . In the Soviet Union and Russia, an infantry division is often referred to as a "rifle division". A " motorised infantry " division

17127-413: The division since January 1943, Brigadier William Hinde , commanding the 22nd Armoured Brigade, and up to 100 other officers of the division were removed from their positions and reassigned. Erskine was replaced as GOC by Major General Gerald Lloyd-Verney . Historians largely agree that this was a consequence of the "failure" at Villers-Bocage and had been planned since that battle. Historian Daniel Taylor

17300-705: The division started to return to Mersa Matruh. Training continued for the majority, while the 11th Hussars moved close to the Frontier Wire on the Egypt-Libyan border, where they started reconnaissance of Italian positions. The initial divisional insignia was similar to that used by the 7th Division during the First World War: A white circle, but on a red background rather than the First World War-era black background. In early 1940,

17473-432: The division to which they belong, being less important. A similar word, divizion/divizijun/dywizjon , is also used in languages such as Russian, Serbian, Croatian and Polish, for a battalion -size artillery or cavalry unit. In naval usage " division " has a completely different range of meanings. Aboard ships of British Royal Navy tradition, the terms "division" or "department" are often used interchangeably and refer to

17646-521: The division was renamed the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) , before its departure for the Vietnam War . After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks and armored scout vehicles to form armored cavalry. The concept of a fast-moving, armored reconnaissance force has remained in modern armies, but these units are now smaller and make up

17819-600: The division's newly formed Heavy Armoured Brigade (Egypt) (later the 4th Armoured Brigade ), and started to receive modern Cruiser Mk I tanks in October 1939 to replace the medium tanks. When tensions in Europe reached a boiling point, in late August and just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in September, the division was again deployed into the Western Desert. In December, with Italy having not joined

17992-673: The division's regiments could engage the enemy with one regiment in reserve. All divisions in World War II were expected to have their own artillery formations, usually (depending upon the nation) the size of a regiment. Divisional artillery was occasionally seconded by corps-level command to increase firepower in larger engagements. During the war the US also used regimental combat teams , whereby attached and/or organic divisional units were parceled out to infantry regiments, creating smaller combined-arms units with their own armor and artillery and support units. These combat teams would still be under divisional command but had some level of autonomy on

18165-626: The divisional system in the Seven Years' War . The first war in which the divisional system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War . Lazare Carnot of the Committee of Public Safety , who was in charge of military affairs, came to the same conclusion about it as the previous royal government, and the army was organised into divisions. It made the armies more flexible and easy to maneuver, and it also made

18338-487: The divisions still consisted of infantry that was not even motorised. As a result, tanks tended to be allotted to special armoured units, where the limited and expensive expert maintenance and training capacity could be concentrated. Only the Soviet Union had enough tanks to equip an organic tank battalion in each infantry division. Nevertheless, France was the first to create large armoured units: in 1934 two Mechanised Corps were formed of 430 tanks each. In July 1935, in France

18511-407: The ease and simplicity involved in forming divisions of infantry compared to other formations, infantry divisions have often been the most numerous in historical warfare. Most US divisions during World War II were infantry divisions. Infantry divisions were also expected to travel by foot from place to place, with transport vehicles or pack horses used to augment their travel. Divisions evolved over

18684-497: The end of the war, most armoured and infantry divisions have had significant numbers of both tank and infantry units within them. The difference has usually been in the mix of battalions assigned. Additionally, in some militaries, armoured divisions are equipped with more advanced or powerful tanks than other divisions. Mountain divisions are infantry divisions given special training and equipment to operate in hilly, mountainous or arctic areas . Some examples of these formations include

18857-604: The enemy before they could get a shot in. Although they usually had guns of either 75 mm or 76 mm calibre (the M36 used a 90mm calibre gun), the tank destroyer units were issued with the ancestor of the modern armour-piercing discarding sabot , rounds which made their guns much more powerful than a simple comparison of calibres would suggest. The Japanese doctrine was mainly French in concept but with some purely Japanese elements. Due to Japan's naval priorities in warship construction and inter-service feuds (the marine branch of

19030-400: The enemy they were quickly destroyed by concealed anti-tank guns or overwhelming numbers of hostile tanks. Japan was a naval power, and concentrated its production on warships, thus placing a low priority on armoured vehicle development, its tanks becoming quickly obsolete during the later years of the war. A number of designs that were equal to heavier foreign types were on the drawing board at

19203-484: The expected vast increase in armour production during 1919 to execute deep strategic penetrations by mechanised forces consisting of tanks and infantry carried by trucks, supported by aeroplanes, to paralyse the enemy command-structure. Following the First World War, the technical and doctrinal aspects of armoured warfare became more sophisticated and diverged into multiple schools of doctrinal thought. During

19376-481: The first tank-versus-tank battle, during the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918, when a group of three German A7V tanks engaged a group of three British Mark IV tanks which they met accidentally. After the final German spring offensives of 21 March to 18 July 1918, the Entente deployed tanks en masse at the Battle of Soissons (18 to 22 July 1918) and Battle of Amiens (August 1918), which ended

19549-564: The following days and assisted in the capture of a large number of Italian troops. They then pursued the Italians into Libya and took up position between Tobruk and Bardia . In January, as Bardia was captured , the division advanced on then encircled Tobruk . In February, with Italian forces in retreat across Libya, the division crossed the desert south of the Jebel Akhdar and captured Beda Fomm , south of Benghazi . On 7 February, as

19722-407: The forces and apathy and even antipathy towards funding and maintaining armed forces in the inter-war years led to relative stagnation of armoured doctrine in the United States. Adna R. Chaffee, Jr. , virtually alone, advocated for the future of armoured warfare and the development of appropriate training, equipment and doctrine during the late 1920s through the 1930s. The United States Army regarded

19895-552: The formation was renamed as the 7th Armoured Division. During its early years, the jerboa was adopted as the mascot and divisional insignia giving rise to the nickname Desert Rats. The division fought in most of the major battles of the Western Desert campaign , was then engaged in the Tunisian campaign , and this was followed by the participation in the Italian campaign . It was then withdrawn from Italy and dispatched to

20068-470: The function. Its sub-units were entirely mobile and consisted of reconnaissance tankettes and armoured cars , a battalion of forty-eight Vickers Medium Mark I tanks, a motorised machine-gun battalion, a mechanised artillery regiment, which had one battery of fully tracked self-propelled Birch guns capable of acting as conventional or anti-aircraft artillery, and a motorised company of field engineers. The unit carried out operations on Salisbury Plain and

20241-541: The garrison was reduced to 20,000 by 1921 and included the Cairo Cavalry Brigade . During the inter-war period , the Middle East and the canal gained further importance as oil production expanded, in addition to the development of aerial links between Britain and British India. In 1935, British policy shifted to view Italy as the principal threat towards British interests in the Middle East, following

20414-508: The improvement of the suspension system, transmission and engine, to create vehicles that were faster, more reliable and had a better range than their WW I predecessors. To save weight, such designs had thin armour plating and this inspired fitting small-calibre high-velocity guns in turrets, giving tanks a good antitank capacity. Both France and Britain eventually built specialised infantry tanks, more heavily armoured to provide infantry support, and cavalry tanks that were faster and could exploit

20587-592: The infantry and armor. Nazi Germany organized Security divisions to operate in captured territory to provide rear-echelon security against partisans and maintain order among civilians. Structured like an infantry division, a security division was more likely to contain lower quality troops and was not intended to serve directly at the front. SS units of this type were called "SS Polizei divisions". The Soviet Union's People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (the NKVD ) organized security divisions (see Category:Divisions of

20760-619: The infantry and assaulted deeper objectives, but did not fight en masse. In 1939, the Japanese Army engaged Soviet armour at Nomonhan . During the three-month-long war, Japanese armour had shown their weakness against Soviet tanks; and the resulting Japanese defeat prompted a series of complaints by the Imperial Army to incorporate improvements in future Japanese armour. This is the primary reason IJA tanks were not as successful while being used with IJA tactics. The tank forces of

20933-583: The infantry divisions of the Heer . They also created " Luftwaffe field divisions" from members of the Luftwaffe . Infantry divisions were sometimes given the responsibility of garrison work. These were named "frontier guard divisions", "static infantry divisions" and "fortress divisions", and were used often by Nazi Germany. The Soviet Union organised Machine-Gun Artillery Divisions of artillery, multiple rocket launchers, and static gun positions for use East of

21106-475: The large French Revolutionary Army manageable. Under Napoleon , the divisions were grouped together into corps , because of their increasing size. Napoleon's military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe; by the end of the Napoleonic Wars , all armies in Europe had adopted it. The composition of divisions varied significantly during the two world wars and, in addition, there

21279-471: The lines of the German armoured divisions – would be lured into the Low Countries by a feint attack with a lesser force, including three armoured divisions. In May 1940, during the Battle of France , the German feint resulted in a number of undecided armour engagements, among them the Battle of Hannut , the largest tank battle fought until that date. At the same time, German motorised infantry west of

21452-400: The loss of 150 of the division's personnel. The tank strength of the division had also rose to 85 cruisers by September, although 15 were being repaired and wear and tear issues impacted the rest. On 13 September, the Italians invaded Egypt with a force of five divisions supplemented by a tank group . In accordance with their instructions, the division's forward elements engaged and harassed

21625-748: The major parts of the British Eighth Army which, from August 1942 was commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Montgomery . The 7th Armoured Division took part in most of the major battles of the North African Campaign , including both battles of El Alamein (the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942, which stopped the Axis advance, and the Second Battle of El Alamein in October/November 1942, which turned

21798-492: The mechanisation progressed, slowly the French armour doctrine began to reflect the increased capacity, evolving from direct infantry support, to independent breakthrough and eventually envelopment with the Infantry, and to deep strategic exploitation with the Cavalry. Despite the increase in tank numbers, in all countries financial constraints prohibited a full mechanisation of the entire armed ground forces. Necessarily, most of

21971-462: The military and political leadership in both Britain and France during 1917 backed large investment into armoured-vehicle production. This led to a sharp increase in the number of available tanks for 1918. The German Empire , on the contrary, produced only a few tanks, late in the war. Twenty German A7V tanks were produced during the entire conflict, compared to over 4,400 French and over 2,500 British tanks of various kinds. Nonetheless, World War I saw

22144-488: The new weapon system, limiting speed, operational range, and reliability, and a lack of effective armoured tactics. Strategic use of tanks developed only slowly during and immediately after World War I, partly due to these technical limits but also due to the prestige role traditionally accorded to horse-mounted cavalry. An exception, on paper, was the Plan 1919 of the British Army's Colonel J. F. C. Fuller , who envisaged using

22317-468: The number of divisions' sub-units. But, while the number of soldiers was lower, by 1917, divisions were much better armed. On the other hand, in 1917, the American infantry divisions that arrived in France numbered 28,061 officers and men, of which 17,666 were riflemen. The divisional system reached its numerical height during the Second World War . Beside the infantry and cavalry divisions created since Napoleonic era, new division types appeared during

22490-484: The performance of the division. In November 1944, Lloyd-Verney was relieved by Major General Lyne, after he "was unable to cure the division's bad habits well enough to satisfy Montgomery and Dempsey ". There is almost no doubt that the division was suffering from collective and cumulative battle fatigue. As Lloyd-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

22663-528: The potential to completely halt tank assaults inflicting devastating losses to armoured units without infantry support. However, much of the AFV production was increasingly diverted away from the Panzertruppe . The Artillery formed its own Sturmgeschütz units and infantry divisions were given their own Panzerjäger companies. Despite lowering their formal organic strength, from the summer of 1943 onwards,

22836-554: The process and usually crewed by volunteers rather than conscripts. The German 1st Parachute Division , which was part of the Luftwaffe and not the Heer , was instrumental in the 1941 Battle of Crete . US and British airborne troops first participated during the 1943 invasion of Sicily . The use of airborne divisions during the Invasion of Normandy was crucial to its success. Further allied paratroop operations were made during

23009-645: The production of the U.S. heavy tank designs such as the M26 Pershing and concentrate resources on mass-producing the M4 Sherman and tank destroyers such as the M18 Hellcat . To be able get into position to counter-attack, the tank destroyers had to be fast. To achieve the desired mobility and agility from the engines available the armour protection was sacrificed, a measure of protection coming from being nimble and hopefully from being able to knock out

23182-521: The purchase of a T3 chassis, using the Christie suspension , from US designer John Walter Christie , which served as the basis of the Soviet BT series of fast tanks. The Red Army tactics were influenced by the theoretical works of Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky who advocated "large scale tank warfare" as part of the deep battle doctrine. In France, the second largest tank producer, mechanisation

23355-645: The relatively unimpressive rate of tank production and development. During the 1930s the United Kingdom gave priority to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy . The British Army began the conversion of its cavalry from horse to tanks and all but a few regiments were fully converted by 1939. The British 1st Armoured Division was formed, as the "Mobile Division", in November 1937. Before the Second World War actual use of armoured fighting vehicles

23528-591: The rise to power of the Nazi Party in Germany, German officers were sent to observe and participate in development of armoured doctrine in the USSR. Red Army and German experts collaborated in developing the use of tanks based on second generation vehicles with turreted main weapons, and experimenting to design different chassis configurations and drive trains. One important acquisition for the Red Army turned out to be

23701-612: The same issues that the Mobile Force had encountered six months prior. With desert training concluded, the formation returned to Cairo where indoor exercises were held over the summer, while the higher ranks examined and refined the division's administration and logistical issues and explored desert warfare principles. During 1939, the Mobile Division (Egypt) was renamed as the Armoured Division (Egypt), while

23874-603: The same year, the political situation in Europe escalated as Germany annexed Austria and then focused its attention on the German-dominated territory within Czechoslovakia . As Italy was closely aligned with Germany, British forces moved to Mersa Matruh and authorization was provided to form a mobile division in Egypt. In September 1938, due to the tensions between Britain and the Axis Powers and

24047-435: The shock army demanded "manoeuvre tanks" (fast tanks with medium guns) used in conjunction with motorised forces and "mechanised cavalry" that would operate in depth as "strategic cavalry" combined with nascent airborne troops. These ideas culminated in the "PU-36" or the 1936 Field Service Regulations. At the start of the Second World War much of the Red Army, including its armoured forces, was in transition and recovering from

24220-426: The size of the division rarely makes such obfuscation necessary. In the years leading up to the end of the cold war and beyond, the type names of various divisions became less important. The majority of US Infantry divisions were now mechanized and had significant numbers of tanks and IFVs, becoming de facto armored divisions. US armored divisions had more tanks but less infantry than these infantry divisions. Moreover,

24393-468: The sole cavalry division was structured the same way as an armored division. With the introduction of modular brigade combat teams (BCT) in modern divisions, the nomenclature type is even less important, since a division can now be made of up any combination of light infantry, Stryker and armored BCTs. For example, the US 1st Infantry Division currently consists of two armored BCTs along with support troops, with no light infantry units at all. By contrast,

24566-486: The stalemate imposed by trench warfare on the Western Front, and thus effectively ended the war. Tactically, deployment plans for armour during the war typically placed a strong emphasis on direct support for infantry. The tank's main tasks were seen as crushing barbed-wire and destroying machine-gun nests, facilitating the advance of foot soldiers. Theoretical debate largely focused on the question of whether to use

24739-407: The status quo around the Mediterranean, momentarily eased the situation between both countries. However, tensions quickly mounted and in early 1938 the garrison in Egypt was authorised to be brought up from its peace time to its wartime establishment. It was envisioned that behind the Mersa Matruh position, a force of one mobile and two infantry divisions could be assembled in the event of war. During

24912-458: The subject, partly propagating Fuller's theories. Such doctrines were faced with the reality that during the 1920s the armoured vehicles, as early road transport in general, were extremely unreliable, and could not be used in sustained operations. Mainstream thought on the subject was more conservative and tried to integrate armoured vehicles into the existing infantry and cavalry organisation and tactics. Technical development initially focussed on

25085-722: The summer of 1939 combined mass tank manoeuvres with artillery and air attacks, to defeat the Japanese Imperial Army at the Battles of Khalkhin Gol at Nomonhan in Mongolia . Partly as a result of the experiences in Spain, the Soviet Union began the development of a new generation of medium and heavy tanks, sporting much stronger armour and armament. In their Invasion of Poland during September 1939, German forces applied

25258-562: The supporting units. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks but few infantry units. Instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. The terms "tank division" or "mechanized division" are alternative names for armored divisions. A " Panzer division " was an armoured division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II . Since

25431-514: 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, that cut off the Italian retreat and destroyed 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 the 7th Armoured Division, after eight months of fighting, needed

25604-672: The tide of the war in North Africa). The 7th Armoured Division, now consisting of the 22nd Armoured and 131st Infantry Brigades and commanded by Major General John Harding , fought in many major battles of the Tunisian Campaign , taking part in the Battle of El Agheila in December. By January 1943 the Eighth Army had reached Tripoli where a victory parade was held, with the 7th Armoured Division taking part. Among

25777-413: The time, claimed in his memoir that he and Hobart conversed about his pet jerboa. When he informed Hobart that they were called desert rats, Hobart decided to use that as the nickname for the division. George Forty , who edited the memoir, included a contradictory note that disputed Leakey's version of events and explained the story surrounding Creagh and his wife at the zoo. On 10 June 1940, Italy entered

25950-413: The undermanned Commonwealth formations were proving inadequate. Between 1941 and 1942, the Allies struggled in armoured battles in the North African desert due to improper tactics; in particular, running armoured formations into opposing anti-tank positions; however, they achieved some notable successes at Crusader , 1st Alamein and under Montgomery finally achieved decisive victories, in particular at

26123-470: The unit's nomenclature , with divisions of the Italian Army being one of the exceptions. In some cases, divisional titles lack an ordinal number, often in the case of unique units or units serving as elite or special troops. For clarity in histories and reports, the nation is identified before the number. This also helps in historical studies, but due to the nature of intelligence on the battlefield, division names and assignments are at times obscured. However,

26296-445: The use of conventional high velocity anti-tank artillery, this proved increasingly difficult in the post-war period due to increased armour protection and mobility of tanks. Division (military) A division is a large military unit or formation , usually consisting of between 10,000 to 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades ; in turn, several divisions typically make up

26469-428: The war was completion of the shift from square divisions (composed of two brigades each with two regiments) to triangular divisions (composed of three regiments with no brigade level) that many European armies had started using in World War I . This was done to increase flexibility and to pare down chain-of-command overhead. The triangular division structure allowed the tactic of "two forward, one back", where two of

26642-499: The war, the formation returned to Cairo to resume training. The training conducted over the course of the year earned Hobart, and the division, the praise of his immediate superior, Major-General Richard O'Connor (commander, Western Desert Force ), who stated it was the best trained formation he had ever seen. Similar plaudits came from Lieutenant-General Henry Maitland Wilson (Commander-in-Chief British Troops in Egypt), O'Connor's superior. An exercise in October, however, resulted in

26815-405: The war, which influenced Soviet armoured doctrine and tank design for a decade: the creation of the T-34 . Developed on the Christie suspension chassis and using sloped armour for the first time, the T-34 proved a shock to the German forces in the first German encounter of Soviet T-34 and KV tanks . The T-34 had an excellent combination of mobility, protection and firepower. Using wide tracks,

26988-407: The whole of the 7th Armoured Division was concentrated on breaking through. They faced only the weakened 21st Panzer Division . However, the XXX Corps commander, Lieutenant-General Willoughby Norrie , aware that the 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 the 21st Panzer and captured

27161-406: The witnesses was Winston Churchill , the British Prime Minister , and General Sir Alan Brooke , the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS). The division, now commanded by Major General George Erskine after Harding was severely injured in January, next took part in the Battle of Medenine , followed by the Battle of the Mareth Line in March. In late April, towards the end of the campaign,

27334-416: Was also established. Under this doctrine, U.S. tank crews of both armoured divisions and GHQ tank battalions were taught to fight tanks in tank on tank engagements. Armoured force personnel during and after the war criticised the infantry for using the GHQ tank battalions assigned to infantry divisions strictly as infantry support. The U.S. combined arms team included air support, artillery, engineers, and

27507-421: Was born on 10 July 1940, with the Headquarters, Armor Force and the Headquarters, I Armored Corps established at Fort Knox . On July 15, 1940, the 7th Cavalry Brigade (Mechanised) became the 1st Armored Division ; the 7th Provisional Tank Brigade, an infantry tank unit at Fort Benning , became the 2nd Armored Division ". The Tank Battalion was established at Fort Meade , Md., and a small Armored Force School

27680-415: Was disbanded without seeing combat to make up for manpower shortages in the other divisions. Another infantry division, known as the New Zealand and Australian Division , was also formed from Australian and New Zealand troops and saw service at Gallipoli. Two divisions of Australian Light Horse were also formed – the Australian Mounted Division (which also included some British and French units) and

27853-410: Was even true for Germany itself, that only now officially adopted Blitzkrieg tactics. In the deserts of North Africa, the British developed the alternative approach of combining the armoured, infantry and artillery together to form a 'balanced, combined arms team'. The 10th Italian Army of Maresciallo (Marshal) Rodolfo Graziani , being ill-armed and inadequately led, soon gave way to this approach by

28026-418: Was good working relationship between the various commanders that he oversaw. Major-General Michael O'Moore Creagh , the Inspector of the Royal Armoured Corps, was given command of the division on 4 December 1939 as Hobart's replacement. Two months later, on 16 February 1940, further nomenclature changes took place. The formation was renamed as the 7th Armoured Division, the Heavy Armoured Brigade (Egypt) became

28199-485: Was limited. Both sides used Italian, German and Soviet tanks during the Spanish Civil War but these proved to be vulnerable to antitank guns due to their thin armour. Traditionalist elements within the Red Army used this to diminish the influence of proponents of mechanisation. Tukhachevsky himself was executed in 1937. Nevertheless, during the Soviet-Japanese Border Wars of 1938 and 1939, the Soviet forces tested modern armoured warfare tactics. General Georgy Zhukov in

28372-463: Was motivated by a need to compensate for severe manpower shortages due to a collapsed birth rate during World War I. This led to the development of a vast range of specialised armoured vehicles, not just tanks but also armoured cars , self-propelled guns , mechanised artillery , armoured tractors, armoured supply vehicles, armoured artillery observation vehicles, armoured command vehicles, half-tracks , and fully tracked armoured personnel carriers . As

28545-457: Was no uniformity of quality, even when divisions had the same composition. The size of infantry divisions deployed by the major belligerents at start of the Great War ranged from about 16,000 in the French and Russian armies to 17,500 in the German imperial army and about 18,000 in Austro-Hungarian and British armies. As World War I went on, the size of divisions decreased significantly from those of 1914, with both British and Germans reducing

28718-627: Was not initially accepted by German High Command. Nevertheless, the final plans for the invasion of France in 1940 hinged on the element of a Schwerpunkt at Sedan, and was assigned to such forces. The great success of this operation led to Blitzkrieg being integrated with strategic planning for the rest of the war. German tanks could carry with them enough fuel and supplies to go almost two hundred kilometers, and enough food to last three to nine days. This relative independence from supply lines proved effective, and allowed them to advance on critical targets much faster and without hesitation. Another factor

28891-533: Was observed by the other major nations, the United States , Germany , and the Soviet Union . Although its performance was recognised, it was disbanded in 1928. In 2022, Kendrick Kuo, assistant professor at the U.S. Naval War College , argued that the British army, under budget and over-stretched during the interwar period, pursued innovation recklessly by betting on the combat effectiveness of armoured units operating with little infantry or artillery support. Doing so led to its initial setbacks in North Africa during

29064-435: Was reached within a week. The French reserve of four Infantry armoured divisions, the Divisions cuirassées , lacked sufficient strategic mobility to prevent this. The strategic envelopment surrounded the Belgian army, the British Expeditionary Force and the best French troops. It led to the Evacuation of Dunkirk and the ultimate fall of France in operation Fall Rot . The spectacular and unexpected success not only caused

29237-481: Was reassigned from being the Director of Military Training and ordered to Egypt to form an armoured formation. He joined the Mobile Force after its arrival in Cairo in October, and it was used as the nucleus of the new division. Theoretical and organisational work took place over the following months, before the first desert exercises were conducted in March 1939. Field training was limited by vehicle shortages and tanks restricted on how many miles they could traverse due to

29410-459: Was seen as the result of an armoured Blitzkrieg. However, later it has been argued that the campaign was largely an instance of the classical nineteenth century German concept of the "Annihilation Battle", in which the role of deep strategic armoured penetrations was limited. In the wake of the Polish campaign, during the Phoney War French, British and German tank production sharply increased, with both western allies out-producing Germany. However,

29583-520: Was the ability of commanders to make strategic decisions in the field and without much consultation with their headquarters, the orders of which were often simply ignored. A prime example is Erwin Rommel 's lead-from-the-front approach while commanding 7.Panzer-Division which allowed him a flexible response to the battlefield situation, an instance of the Auftragstaktik (reliance on subordinates to make their own decisions). The effect of German Panzer 's speed, mobility, and communication shocked

29756-408: Was the first prisoner-of-war camp to be liberated. The 7th Armoured Division's last action of the war was the battle for the German city of Hamburg . In July 1945 the 7th Armoured Division took part in the 1945 British victory parade in Berlin . Among the many witnesses of the parade were British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was particularly fond of the division, Field Marshal Alan Brooke,

29929-416: Was worn commonly on uniforms starting in 1944, and after the division arrived in the UK. Most sources concur that the jerboa design was created during Creagh's tenure; that he felt something representative was needed to be added to the white circle and chose the desert rat. His wife then went to the Cairo zoo and sketched the first draft. Rea Leakey , who was the division's intelligence officer (GSO 3) at

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