6th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)

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6th Armoured Division
Active	World War II, 1951-58
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Armor
Battles/wars	The North African Campaign, Italian Campaign, Battle of Tunis and Gothic Line
Commanders
Notable commanders	Maj. Gen. Sir John Crocker Maj. Gen. Herbert Lumsden

The 6th Armoured Division was a Second World War British Army formation, created on 12 September 1940.

Contents 1 History 2 General Officer Commanding 3 Structure 3.1 26th Armoured Brigade 3.2 Support Units 4 Attached Units 5 Battles 6 External links

[edit] History

This unit fought as part of the British First Army in North Africa and as part of the British Eighth Army in Italy. It ended the war in Austria in 1945.

The Division was reformed in May 1951 in the UK and later assigned to the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. It consisted of the 20th Armoured Brigade and 61st Lorried Infantry Brigade. It was disbanded in June 1958.

[edit] General Officer Commanding

• 27 September 1940–9 January 1941—Maj.Gen. Sir John Crocker
• 9 January 1941–22 February 1941—Brig. E.D. Fanshawe
• 22 February 1941–15 October 1941—Maj.Gen. Sir John Crocker
• 15 October 1941–29 October 1941—Maj.Gen. Herbert Lumsden
• 29 October 1941–19 May 1942—Maj.Gen. C.H. Gairdner
• 19 May 1942–19 December 1943—Maj.Gen. C.F. Keightley
• 19 December 1943–15 February 1944—Maj.Gen. V. Eveleigh
• 15 February 1944–19 March 1944—Brig. W.E.G. Hemming
• 19 March 1944–24 July 1944—Maj.Gen. V. Eveleigh
• 24 July 1944–5 August 1944—Maj.Gen. Gerald Templer
• 5 August 1944–13 August 1944—Brig. C.A.M.D. Scott
• 13 August 1944–21 August 1944—Brig. F.N. Mitchell
• 21 August 1944–27 July 1945—Maj.Gen. H. Murray
• 27 July 1945–31 August 1945—Brig. A.C. Gore

[edit] Structure

[edit] 26th Armoured Brigade

• 16th/5th Lancers
• 17th/21st Lancers
• 2nd Lothians and Border Horse Yeomanry
• 10th The Rifle Brigade

[edit] Support Units

• 1st The Derbyshire Yeomanry
• 12th (HAC) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
• 152nd (The Ayrshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
• 72nd Anti-Tank Regiment, RA
• 51st (Devon) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA
• 6th Armoured Division Signal Regiment

[edit] Attached Units

Throughout its service the 6th Armoured Division had many units attached for short periods. This is a List of them;

• British 20th Armoured Brigade
• British 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade
• British 1st Infantry Brigade (Guards)
• British 36th Infantry Brigade
• 201 Guards Motor Brigade
• British 24th Infantry Brigade (Guards)
• Indian 21st Infantry Brigade
• British 61st Infantry Brigade

[edit] Battles

• 18 January–25 January 1943—Bou Arada
• 7 April–11 April 1943—Fondouk
• 22 April–26 April 1943—El Kourzia
• 5 May–12 May 1943—Battle of Tunis
• 18 May–20 May 1944—Liri Valley
• 4 July–17 July 1944—Arezzo
• 17 July–10 August 1944—Advance to Florence
• 25 August–22 September 1944—Gothic Line
• 13 April–21 April 1945—Argenta Gap.

[edit] External links

• 6 Armoured Division at Orders of Battle.com^?