The British 1st Army Tank Brigade took part in the Battle of France, serving as part of the British Expeditionary Force. It fought against the Germans in Northern France and Belgium, and covered the Allied retreat to Dunkirk. It lost all of its equipment on the beaches following the retreat. The reformed 1st Army Tank Brigade was reequipped and redeployed to North Africa. There it took part in Operation Crusader, being a part of the XIII Corps. Attached to the 2nd South African Division, it took part in the conquest of Bardia December 1941-January 1942. It was at the time equipped with Valentine infantry tanks. The brigade eventually took part in the Invasion of Normandy until 17 November 1944 when it was possible disbanded.[1]
Units[]
Structure of the regiment at different time periods:[2][3][4][5]
- Battle of France
- Headquarters under Brigadier General Douglas Henry Pratt[6]
- 1st Army Tank Brigade Signal Section, Royal Corps of Signals
- 4th Royal Tank Regiment
- 7th Royal Tank Regiment (arrived Mid-May)
8th Royal Tank Regiment(wasn't sent to France)- 1st Army Tank Brigade Transport and Supply Company, Royal Army Service Corps
- 1st Army Tank Brigade Maintenance Workshop, Royal Army Ordnance Corps
- 1st Army Tank Brigade Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps
- Battle of Tobruk
- Battle of Gazala
- Second Battle of El Alamein
- Battle of Normandy and on
- Headquarters under Brigadier General Thomas Reginald Price
- 11th Royal Tank Regiment
- 42nd (7th(23rd London) Battalion, The East Surrey Regiment) Royal Tank Regiment
- 49th Royal Tank Regiment
Battle honours[]
- Tobruk 1941
- Gazala
- Defence of Alamein Line
- El Alamein
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ http://www.ordersofbattle.com/Units/UnitSuperiors?UniX=1396
- ↑ http://niehorster.org/017_britain/42-10-23/corps_bte.html
- ↑ http://niehorster.org/017_britain/40_org/non-div/tank_bde.html
- ↑ http://www.ordersofbattle.com/Units/UnitOrderofBattle?UniX=1396&OobDate=10+May+1940
- ↑ http://www.generals.dk/general/Price/Thomas_Reginald/Great_Britain.html
- ↑ http://www.generals.dk/general/Pratt/Douglas_Henry/Great_Britain.html
External links[]
The original article can be found at 1st Army Tank Brigade (United Kingdom) and the edit history here.