Post by son-of-tiny on Jul 8, 2007 20:50:45 GMT
Royal Tank Regiments
Served With The 7th Armoured Division
Service History
1st RTR: When war was declared on 3rd September 1939, 1st RTR was one of the original units that formed what was then called The Heavy Brigade which was then to become 4th Armoured Brigade in December 1939. It took part in the British offensive in late 1940, which re-captured Sidi Barrani from the Italians, moving to 7th Armoured Brigade in November 1940. When Rommel counter-attacked in April 1941 it was part of 3rd Armoured Brigade and along with 5th and 6th RTR it fell back on Tobruk. 1st RTR was hastily moved to the forward areas with 'B' and 'C' Squadrons, together with 'A' Squadron 7th RTR arriving in Tobruk just before the Germans encircled the town in their advance towards the Egyptian border. Meanwhile A Squadron 1st RTR joined with 7th RTR and fought with them. As soon as the German offensive was halted, the two Battalions 'A' Squadrons were exchanged, by a destroyer making the return trip in one night. The regiment now formed part of the Tobruk garrison initially as part of 3rd Armoured Brigade and then as part of 32nd Army Tank Brigade, when the formers Brigade HQ, and regiments, were evacuated. It broke out of Tobruk with the rest of 32nd Army Tank Brigade and 70th Infantry Division, in November 1941 during the 'Operation Crusader' battles.
In mid February 1942 1st RTR joined 1st Armoured Brigade and was re-equipped with Honey and Grant Tanks ready for the Gazala battles of than year, at one time being amalgamated with 6th RTR due to losses. It fought near the 'Knightsbridge Box' before withdrawing with the rest of the 8th Army to El Alamein, briefly serving under the command of 4th Armoured Brigade in June 1942. Then as part of the re-organisation of the 8th Army prior to the coming offensive, it was re-equipped, (A Squadron with Crusaders and B and C Squadrons with Grants and Shermans) and then joined 22nd Armoured Brigade, with which was to served for the rest of the war. The Brigade then joined 7th Armoured Division in October 1942.
2nd RTR: 3rd September 1939 found 2nd RTR stationed at Farnborough, Hampshire as part of 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division. It fought as part of the BEF during the Fall of France in May 1940 serving with 3rd and 5th RTR in 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade. After being evacuated at Dunkirk it was re-equipped and sailed to the Middle East and joined 4th Armoured Brigade in November 1940, taking part in the British offensive in late 1940 which re-captured Sidi Barrani from the Italians in late 1940. Along with the rest of 7th Armoured Division it was re-equipping in the Nile Delta when Rommel attached in April 1941 and in November 1941 it was part of 7th Armoured Brigade ready for 'Operation Crusader' battles.
When 7th Armoured Brigade left the desert to serve in India 2nd RTR was part of it serving along with 7th Queen's Own Hussars, arriving in Burma on 21st February 1942. It took part in the retreat from Burma and then returned to Iraq in 1943 with 7th Armoured Brigade, before moving to Italy in May 1944 where it finished the war.
3rd RTR: When war was declared on 3rd September 1939, 3rd RTR was stationed at Warminster, Wiltshire as part of 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division, along with 2nd and 5th RTR. After landing at Calais on 21st/22nd May 1940, it fought in the ten day defence of the vital town and port, witch delayed the Germans final assaults on Dunkirk. Many of the unit were evacuated while other fought a significant engagement at Gravelines in defence of Calais. A detach from the Regiment, also made it toe Cherbourg in time to be evacuated from there, too. Before being evacuated 3rd RTR destroyed all its tanks to prevent them falling readily into German hands. After being evacuated at the Regiment was reinforced from survivors from other units and re-equipped with A9 and A10 tanks, serving briefly in 22nd Armoured Brigade before joining 2nd Armoured Brigade. In October 1940 it joined 3rd Armoured Brigade, along with 5th RTR, then sailed to the Middle East, arriving in Suez on 24th December 1940. In March 1941 it joined 1st Armoured Brigade. It then saw service in Greece as part of this unit under the command of 6th Australian Division, before being evacuated back to Egypt. During the Greek campaign 3rd RTR lost more tanks to mechanical problems, due to the rough terrain and lack of spares, than to enemy fire. As tank loses grew the crews mounted BESA machine guns of the backs of lorries, before later forming an anti Paratroop unit under command of the 2nd New Zealand Division.
At the end of April 1941, the surviving 12 officers and 180 Other Racks were evacuated firstly to Crete and by end of May 1941 back to Egypt. There it was attached to 4th Light Armoured Brigade, along with 8th Hussars and 5th RTR. It served in 4th Armoured Brigade, 7th Armoured Division during the 'Operation Crusader' battles of November 1941 and again during the Gazala battles of May and June 1942. After withdrawing to El Alamein it joined 8th Armoured Brigade as part of 10th Armoured Division, on 10th September 1942, with which it fought during the battle. When 10th Armoured Division was disbanded 3rd RTR the crews of the 3rd RTR were home in Britain for Christmas 1943. Then after a period of leave they moved to Bridlington to help form the 11th Armoured Division as part of 29th Armoured Brigade, along with 23rd Hussars and 2nd Fife and Forfarshire Yeomanry, being the only unit in the Brigade with any real combat experience. After Bridlington they were moved to Aldershot in readiness for the Allied invasion of Europe joined.
The 3 RTR landed in Normandy D+5, i.e. five days after the main landings moving towards Caen. It was in the narrow roads near Villers-Bocage, hemmed in by high hedges and banks, that the 3 RTR saw some of its fiercest fighting. Accustomed to swift open warfare in the desert, the crews of the tank regiments were now being shot at close range. Having survived the ferocity of the claustrophobic fighting of the Bocage, the 3rd RTR now prepared for Operation Epsom, the first attempt to attack the German stronghold of Caen which threatened to hold back the Allied movement out into France and the countries beyond. Operation Epsom was a failure and despite suffering heavy casualties, Caen was not seized. The town was eventually taken from the Germans between the 7th and 9th July 1944 and the Allied tanks were at last free to cross the Orne river and start fighting eastward.
The 3rd RTR took part in the next part of the breakout from Normandy was Operation Goodwood. Between the 18th and 21st July 1944, the Allied forces attempted to thrust out of Caen. Despite initial successes in clearing the German forces out of the surrounding villages, Goodwood finally ground to a halt. The operation had gained seven miles at most at a cost of some 6,000 casualties and nearly 400 tanks.
The main breakthrough happened soon after when the German forces, increasingly stretched, headed south allowing the Allied forces to circle round them and trap them at Falaise. Some 50,000 German soldiers were captured when the Allies finally slammed shut the Falaise Gap, another 10,000 dead.
The 3rd RTR then headed at high speed through France and towards the Belgian border. Encountering resistance virtually all the way, the regiment fought its way into Belgium and continued as far as Antwerp, an important port heavily protected by the Germans. Its importance for supplying equipment to the Allies made its capture a key priority in this phase of the invasion. British forces, including the 3rd RTR finally liberated Antwerp on the 4th September 1944.
With winter approaching, the 11th Armoured Division was sent back behind the lines for rest and a refit of vehicles, with the men of 3rd RTR billeted in the small town of Aarschot near Leuven.
At the end of 1944 the 3rd RTR were rushed to the Ardennes region of south-east Belgium following the German breakthrough of the Allied defences there - the Von Runstedt offensive. The heavy fighting that broke out here came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. The wintry weather and the difficult hilly terrain made tank warfare in this area especially dangerous. 3rd RTR along with elements of the American 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion were engaged in attacking the leading battlegroup of the German 2nd Panzer Division near the town of Dinant. After protracted fighting the German forces were overwhelmed and 147 German soldiers and their commanding officer were captured.
The 3rd RTR fought into Germany and had reached Flensburg near the German-Danish border when the Germans finally surrendered.
4th RTR: 3rd September 1939 found 4th RTR stationed at Farnborough, Hampshire as part of 1st Army Tank Brigade. It served with this independent unit during the Fall of France in May 1940, taking part in the action a Arras, 21st May 1940, when as part of 'Frankforce' (along with 7th RTR, 6th and 8th Battalions, DLI) they attacked a certain General Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, nearly killing Rommel himself. Here they suffered heavy causalities and were at one time being amalgamated with 7th RTR due to heavy losses. After evacuation at Dunkirk the Battalion was re-formed in September 1940. It arrived in North Africa in December 1940. It then served as part of 4th Armoured Brigade in May and June 1941, during Operations Brevity and Battleaxe. After Operation Crusader helped in the lifting of the siege of Tobruk 7th RTR joined 32nd Army Tank Brigade as part of the Tobruk Garrison, but in June 1942 it was lost when Tobruk fell to the Germans. It was never reformed after being lost.
5th RTR: When war was declared on 3rd September 1939, 5th RTR was stationed at Perham Down, Wiltshire as part of 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division. It fought as part of the BEF during the Fall of France in May 1940 serving with 2nd and 3rd RTR in 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade. After being evacuated at Dunkirk it was re-equipped and then sailed to the Middle East as part of 1st Armoured Division, in 3rd Armoured Brigade. When Rommel counter-attacked in April 1941 it was part of 3rd Armoured Brigade and along with 3rd Hussars and 6th RTR it fell back on Tobruk. There it formed part of the Tobruk garrison until it embarking on 14th April 1941 for Egypt.
After a re-fit it then joined 4th Armoured Brigade with which it served during the Battleaxe battles of November 1941 and the Gazala battles of May and June 1942, withdrawing with the rest of the 8th Army to El Alamein. Then as part of the re-organisation of the 8th Army prior to the coming offensive, it joined 22nd Armoured Brigade, with which was to serve for the rest of the war. The Brigade then joined 7th Armoured Division in October 1942.
6th RTR: When the Mobile Division was formed in 1938 6th RTR was one of the original units that formed what was then called The Heavy Brigade which was then to become 4th Armoured Brigade in December 1939. It took part in the British offensive in late 1940 which re-captured Sidi Barrani from the Italians, and then patrolled the Tobruk - Bardia area during most of January, before being taken out of the line on 18th January 1940, handing over its vehicles to 1st and 2nd RTR. It then spent a month in Cairo before returning to Tobruk in mid February 1941. It then took over a large number of Italian M13 tanks captured at Beda Fomm in late February, spending most of March in the Beda Fomm area learning to handle these captured tanks. At this time it came under the command of 3rd Armoured Brigade and was involved in a fighting withdrawal when Rommel first attacked in April 1941. During this withdrawal which many of the captured Italian M13 tanks had to be destroyed as they were in poor shape and unlikely to make the journey back to Tobruk, let alone Egypt. The regiment fell back on Tobruk with the last of it embarking on 14th April 1941, returning to Alexandria two days later. Here it re-equipped returning to the desert in June of that year under the command of 4th Armoured Brigade. It then served in 7th Armoured Brigade, during the 'Operation Battleaxe' and later during Operation Crusader. During the battles at Sidi Rezegh they were virtually wiped out by German 88mm anti-tank guns on 21st November 1941, but the survivors continued to fight on under 'Jock' Campbell's command.
In mid February 1942 6th RTR joined 1st Armoured Brigade and was re-equipped with Honey and Grant Tanks ready for the Gazala battles of than year at one time being amalgamated with 1st RTR due to losses. It fought near the 'Knightsbridge Box' before withdrawing with the rest of the 8th Army to El Alamein. It was still re-equipping during the Battle of El Alamein, and in December 1942 to moved to Jordan and then Iraq, where it served for all of 1943, with brief periods in Syria and Palestine, joining 7th Armoured Brigade upon its return from Burma, in September 1943.
As part of 7th Armoured Brigade, 6th RTR arrived in Italy landing at Taranto on 4th May 1944. It then took over from 40th RTR in supporting 10th Indian Division. It then served as a 10 Corps unit with both 4th and 10th Indian Divisions, serving alongside the 2nd and 8th RTR, in 7th Armoured Brigade, for the rest of the war. It continued to fight its way through Italy, find itself near Padua when the German forces in Italy surrendered in May 1945. It then moved onto Austria as the rounding up of the surrendering German Army continued. This was the end of 6th RTR's war. There is one final epitaph to the work 6th RTR did with 10th Indian Division, because on 21st May 1945, 6th RTR received a letter from Major General D. W. Reid CBE DSO MC, Commander 10th Indian Division.
“Will you please excuse the grave delay in writing to you. I think this is now the third time you have worked with 110th Indian Division. I think you know what our chaps, British and Indian troops alike, think of you and your very fine fellows in the 6th Royal Tank Regiment.
It has always been a case of smiles on all faces when it has been known that it was the 6th Royal Tank Regiment who were going to play with us.
Many, many thanks to you all for all you did for us last winter and again in this last recent and final affair. Will you please tell your officers and men how grateful we all are in 10th Indian Division.
In the meanwhile, all good fortune to you all and the very best of luck”.
7th RTR: 3rd September 1939 found 7th RTR stationed at Catterick Camp, North Yorkshire. It joined 1st Army Tank Brigade as part of the BEF serving with this independent unit during the Fall of France in May 1940, taking part in the action a Arras, 21st May 1940, when as part of 'Frankforce' (along with 4th RTR, 6th and 8th Battalions, DLI) they attacked a certain General Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, nearly killing Rommel himself. Here they suffered heavy causalities and were at one time being amalgamated with 4th RTR due to heavy losses. After evacuation at Dunkirk the Battalion was re-formed in September 1940. It arrived in North Africa in December 1940. It then served as part of 4th Armoured Brigade in May and June 1941, during Operation Battleaxe, with one Squadron being assigned to Airfield defence on Crete in May 1941, too. After Operation Crusader helped in the lifting of the siege of Tobruk 7th RTR joined 32nd Army Tank Brigade as part of the Tobruk Garrison, but in June 1942 it was lost when Tobruk fell to the Germans.
It was then reconstituted by re-designation of 10th Royal Tank Regiment in February 1943, a part of 31st Army Tank Brigade. The Battalion then served in 31st Army Tank Brigade, being equipped with Crocodile Flame Thrower Tanks in September 1944, when it joined 79th Armoured Division. 7th RTR finished the war in North Germany, having supported both 4th Armoured Brigade and 7th Armoured Division many times on the way. In February 1945 31st Army Tank Brigade had become 31st Armoured Brigade.
Regimental History:
The Invention Of The Tank
On the 13th June 1900 Major General Sir Ernest Swinton was serving with the British Forces in the Boer War. On that precise date, he visualised the requirement for an armoured fighting vehicle to defeat the destructive power of the machine gun. The tank, a revolutionary new weapon system, born of General Swinton's vision, was to break the stalemate of trench warfare and the dominance of the machine gun of the battlefields of Flanders sixteen years later.
Formation
The story of The Royal Tank Regiment is one of struggle, triumph and achievement. Its origins are a mere three-quarters of a century old, but those years have seen the stalemate of trench warfare overcome, the restoration of mobility and the establishment of the tank and mechanised forces, as a dominant factor in battle. The tank reaffirmed its position as the decisive weapon on the battlefield during the Gulf War.
The present Royal Tank Regiment, composed of two regular regiments, is the direct heir to the original armoured car pioneers of 1914, the Naval Brigade and the RNAS squadron which augmented the British Expeditionary Forces for the defence of Antwerp in August of that year.
The First World War
When the first tanks were produced in 1916, they were manned by members of the Machine Gun Corps, formed into six companies which were collectively known as the Heavy Branch.
The very first battle involving tanks took place on the Somme. About thirty British Mark 1 tanks attacked German positions between the villages of Flers and Courcelette, on Friday 15 September 1916. The arrival of the tanks on the battlefield signalled the end of trench warfare, which had suffocated both sides in the 1914-18 conflict.
During this action the Press seized on a report from an aircraft crew, which said that "a tank is walking down the main street of Flers with the British Army cheering behind it." This was "D" Company, later the 4th Royal Tank Regiment. These companies were expanded to form battalions and were renamed the Tank Corps in 1917.
The first battle between two opposing tanks took place near the village of Cachy on 24 April 1918. The German A7V tank Nixe (Lt Biltz), engaged three British Mark IV tanks, and damaged two, but was knocked out by the third, commanded by 2/Lt Frank Mitchell.
By December 1918 there were 26 battalions, and as well as serving in France, a detachment from the Corps had served under Allenby at Gaza, Palestine in 1917. The Corps saw almost continuous action, winning four VC's.
Cambrai
In France at dawn on November 20th, 1917, some 300 British Mark IV tanks of the Tank Corps, led by Brigadier Hugh Elles, created a major break in the German Hindenburg Line and nearly reached Cambrai itself. This was the Battle of Cambrai, and so successful was this action, that the church bells were rung throughout Great Britain. Each year this great battle is commemorated as "Cambrai Day".
Between The Wars
At the end of World War 1 with the status of the Tank Corps in the greatest doubt, three small tank detachments were despatched to Russia, to support the White Russians against the Bolsheviks. One British manned tank achieved the capture of Tsaritsin, later called Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd.
By 1920 the Tank Corps was reduced to a Depot and four battalions, becoming established in its own right in 1923 when it was granted the prefix "Royal" by King George V, its Colonel-in-Chief since 1918. At this time it also officially adopted the black beret as its distinctive headgear, with the silver badge and 'Fear Naught' motto.
Thereafter Royal Tank Regiment armoured car and light tank units helped maintain the peace throughout the Empire in Iraq, Persia, Palestine, India and Egypt until 1939 when war clouds once more gathered over Europe.
The Second World War
The Corps changed to its present title in 1939, with the formation of the Royal Tank Regiment. The RTC had, up until 1928, been entirely responsible for all "armour" in the British Army. Its schools began the mechanisation and training of the cavalry, and the RTR itself expanded between 1935 and 1938 into eight regular battalions.
From the outset of World War II, both Sir Winston Churchill and Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, made it clear that they wished to be associated with the Royal Tank Regiment - the value of the tank as a decisive battlefield weapon was being recognised.
By the end of the Second World War, the tank had once again proved itself a major battle winner, and having fought in most of the major engagements in Europe, North Africa, the Middle and Far East, the Regiment had battalions spread all over the globe. Two more VC's had been awarded, together with countless other decorations, to men who, "...cheerfully went to war in tin cans, closely surrounded by a lethal mixture of petrol and ammunition.
Dunkirk
Both 4th and 7th RTR fought in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force. At Arras, on 21 May 1940 they smashed into the rear of Rommel's 7th Panzer Division with good effect. However, both regiments suffered heavily in the end and the survivors escaped via Dunkirk. Three other RTR regiments fought in Western France as part of the British First Armoured Division.
Alamein
Throughout the desert war, elements of the RTR saw almost continuous action. In particular the great victory over the Italian at Beda Fomm. The RTR was heavily committed at El Alamein in October 1942, not only in conventional tanks but also in mine-sweeping flail tanks called Scorpions. While Montgomery's Eighth Army pursued retreating Axis forces across Libya, a new Army under General Eisenhower landed in Tunisia. It was here RTR crews in Churchill tanks met and defeated the mighty German Tigers.
D-Day
Major General Sir Percy Hobart, an RTR officer since 1923, is best known as commander of the famous 79th Armoured Division. Equipped with special purpose tanks known as Funnies this division spearheaded the British attack on D-Day, 6 June 1944 and continued to support Allied forces in Europe until the end of the war. Once again the RTR played a vital part, notably in such events as the attack on Le Havre, the fantastic six-day dash from Normandy to Belgium and the crossing of the river Rhine in March 1945.
Post War
By the end of World War II there were 24 regiments of the RTR and they had seen service in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sicily, Malta, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Greece, Crete, Algeria, Abyssinia, Sudan, Palestine, Iraq, Persia, Jordan, India and Burma.
Reduced once more to eight regular regiments after the war, the tank has still continued to demonstrate its importance on the modern battlefield, with The Royal Tank Regiment seeing action in Aden, Borneo, Malaya, Egypt, Cyprus, Korea and the Gulf. The Regiment has also had units stationed in Germany, Libya, Hong Kong, England and Northern Ireland.
However, as the recent Gulf War yet again illustrated most clearly, it is the quality, bravery and high degree of expertise of the tank crews which was, and still is, the real battle winner. Throughout the tank's history the most important element has been the crewmen, who together make up this close knit team of professionals.
Served With The 7th Armoured Division
Service History
1st RTR: When war was declared on 3rd September 1939, 1st RTR was one of the original units that formed what was then called The Heavy Brigade which was then to become 4th Armoured Brigade in December 1939. It took part in the British offensive in late 1940, which re-captured Sidi Barrani from the Italians, moving to 7th Armoured Brigade in November 1940. When Rommel counter-attacked in April 1941 it was part of 3rd Armoured Brigade and along with 5th and 6th RTR it fell back on Tobruk. 1st RTR was hastily moved to the forward areas with 'B' and 'C' Squadrons, together with 'A' Squadron 7th RTR arriving in Tobruk just before the Germans encircled the town in their advance towards the Egyptian border. Meanwhile A Squadron 1st RTR joined with 7th RTR and fought with them. As soon as the German offensive was halted, the two Battalions 'A' Squadrons were exchanged, by a destroyer making the return trip in one night. The regiment now formed part of the Tobruk garrison initially as part of 3rd Armoured Brigade and then as part of 32nd Army Tank Brigade, when the formers Brigade HQ, and regiments, were evacuated. It broke out of Tobruk with the rest of 32nd Army Tank Brigade and 70th Infantry Division, in November 1941 during the 'Operation Crusader' battles.
In mid February 1942 1st RTR joined 1st Armoured Brigade and was re-equipped with Honey and Grant Tanks ready for the Gazala battles of than year, at one time being amalgamated with 6th RTR due to losses. It fought near the 'Knightsbridge Box' before withdrawing with the rest of the 8th Army to El Alamein, briefly serving under the command of 4th Armoured Brigade in June 1942. Then as part of the re-organisation of the 8th Army prior to the coming offensive, it was re-equipped, (A Squadron with Crusaders and B and C Squadrons with Grants and Shermans) and then joined 22nd Armoured Brigade, with which was to served for the rest of the war. The Brigade then joined 7th Armoured Division in October 1942.
2nd RTR: 3rd September 1939 found 2nd RTR stationed at Farnborough, Hampshire as part of 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division. It fought as part of the BEF during the Fall of France in May 1940 serving with 3rd and 5th RTR in 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade. After being evacuated at Dunkirk it was re-equipped and sailed to the Middle East and joined 4th Armoured Brigade in November 1940, taking part in the British offensive in late 1940 which re-captured Sidi Barrani from the Italians in late 1940. Along with the rest of 7th Armoured Division it was re-equipping in the Nile Delta when Rommel attached in April 1941 and in November 1941 it was part of 7th Armoured Brigade ready for 'Operation Crusader' battles.
When 7th Armoured Brigade left the desert to serve in India 2nd RTR was part of it serving along with 7th Queen's Own Hussars, arriving in Burma on 21st February 1942. It took part in the retreat from Burma and then returned to Iraq in 1943 with 7th Armoured Brigade, before moving to Italy in May 1944 where it finished the war.
3rd RTR: When war was declared on 3rd September 1939, 3rd RTR was stationed at Warminster, Wiltshire as part of 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division, along with 2nd and 5th RTR. After landing at Calais on 21st/22nd May 1940, it fought in the ten day defence of the vital town and port, witch delayed the Germans final assaults on Dunkirk. Many of the unit were evacuated while other fought a significant engagement at Gravelines in defence of Calais. A detach from the Regiment, also made it toe Cherbourg in time to be evacuated from there, too. Before being evacuated 3rd RTR destroyed all its tanks to prevent them falling readily into German hands. After being evacuated at the Regiment was reinforced from survivors from other units and re-equipped with A9 and A10 tanks, serving briefly in 22nd Armoured Brigade before joining 2nd Armoured Brigade. In October 1940 it joined 3rd Armoured Brigade, along with 5th RTR, then sailed to the Middle East, arriving in Suez on 24th December 1940. In March 1941 it joined 1st Armoured Brigade. It then saw service in Greece as part of this unit under the command of 6th Australian Division, before being evacuated back to Egypt. During the Greek campaign 3rd RTR lost more tanks to mechanical problems, due to the rough terrain and lack of spares, than to enemy fire. As tank loses grew the crews mounted BESA machine guns of the backs of lorries, before later forming an anti Paratroop unit under command of the 2nd New Zealand Division.
At the end of April 1941, the surviving 12 officers and 180 Other Racks were evacuated firstly to Crete and by end of May 1941 back to Egypt. There it was attached to 4th Light Armoured Brigade, along with 8th Hussars and 5th RTR. It served in 4th Armoured Brigade, 7th Armoured Division during the 'Operation Crusader' battles of November 1941 and again during the Gazala battles of May and June 1942. After withdrawing to El Alamein it joined 8th Armoured Brigade as part of 10th Armoured Division, on 10th September 1942, with which it fought during the battle. When 10th Armoured Division was disbanded 3rd RTR the crews of the 3rd RTR were home in Britain for Christmas 1943. Then after a period of leave they moved to Bridlington to help form the 11th Armoured Division as part of 29th Armoured Brigade, along with 23rd Hussars and 2nd Fife and Forfarshire Yeomanry, being the only unit in the Brigade with any real combat experience. After Bridlington they were moved to Aldershot in readiness for the Allied invasion of Europe joined.
The 3 RTR landed in Normandy D+5, i.e. five days after the main landings moving towards Caen. It was in the narrow roads near Villers-Bocage, hemmed in by high hedges and banks, that the 3 RTR saw some of its fiercest fighting. Accustomed to swift open warfare in the desert, the crews of the tank regiments were now being shot at close range. Having survived the ferocity of the claustrophobic fighting of the Bocage, the 3rd RTR now prepared for Operation Epsom, the first attempt to attack the German stronghold of Caen which threatened to hold back the Allied movement out into France and the countries beyond. Operation Epsom was a failure and despite suffering heavy casualties, Caen was not seized. The town was eventually taken from the Germans between the 7th and 9th July 1944 and the Allied tanks were at last free to cross the Orne river and start fighting eastward.
The 3rd RTR took part in the next part of the breakout from Normandy was Operation Goodwood. Between the 18th and 21st July 1944, the Allied forces attempted to thrust out of Caen. Despite initial successes in clearing the German forces out of the surrounding villages, Goodwood finally ground to a halt. The operation had gained seven miles at most at a cost of some 6,000 casualties and nearly 400 tanks.
The main breakthrough happened soon after when the German forces, increasingly stretched, headed south allowing the Allied forces to circle round them and trap them at Falaise. Some 50,000 German soldiers were captured when the Allies finally slammed shut the Falaise Gap, another 10,000 dead.
The 3rd RTR then headed at high speed through France and towards the Belgian border. Encountering resistance virtually all the way, the regiment fought its way into Belgium and continued as far as Antwerp, an important port heavily protected by the Germans. Its importance for supplying equipment to the Allies made its capture a key priority in this phase of the invasion. British forces, including the 3rd RTR finally liberated Antwerp on the 4th September 1944.
With winter approaching, the 11th Armoured Division was sent back behind the lines for rest and a refit of vehicles, with the men of 3rd RTR billeted in the small town of Aarschot near Leuven.
At the end of 1944 the 3rd RTR were rushed to the Ardennes region of south-east Belgium following the German breakthrough of the Allied defences there - the Von Runstedt offensive. The heavy fighting that broke out here came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. The wintry weather and the difficult hilly terrain made tank warfare in this area especially dangerous. 3rd RTR along with elements of the American 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion were engaged in attacking the leading battlegroup of the German 2nd Panzer Division near the town of Dinant. After protracted fighting the German forces were overwhelmed and 147 German soldiers and their commanding officer were captured.
The 3rd RTR fought into Germany and had reached Flensburg near the German-Danish border when the Germans finally surrendered.
4th RTR: 3rd September 1939 found 4th RTR stationed at Farnborough, Hampshire as part of 1st Army Tank Brigade. It served with this independent unit during the Fall of France in May 1940, taking part in the action a Arras, 21st May 1940, when as part of 'Frankforce' (along with 7th RTR, 6th and 8th Battalions, DLI) they attacked a certain General Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, nearly killing Rommel himself. Here they suffered heavy causalities and were at one time being amalgamated with 7th RTR due to heavy losses. After evacuation at Dunkirk the Battalion was re-formed in September 1940. It arrived in North Africa in December 1940. It then served as part of 4th Armoured Brigade in May and June 1941, during Operations Brevity and Battleaxe. After Operation Crusader helped in the lifting of the siege of Tobruk 7th RTR joined 32nd Army Tank Brigade as part of the Tobruk Garrison, but in June 1942 it was lost when Tobruk fell to the Germans. It was never reformed after being lost.
5th RTR: When war was declared on 3rd September 1939, 5th RTR was stationed at Perham Down, Wiltshire as part of 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division. It fought as part of the BEF during the Fall of France in May 1940 serving with 2nd and 3rd RTR in 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade. After being evacuated at Dunkirk it was re-equipped and then sailed to the Middle East as part of 1st Armoured Division, in 3rd Armoured Brigade. When Rommel counter-attacked in April 1941 it was part of 3rd Armoured Brigade and along with 3rd Hussars and 6th RTR it fell back on Tobruk. There it formed part of the Tobruk garrison until it embarking on 14th April 1941 for Egypt.
After a re-fit it then joined 4th Armoured Brigade with which it served during the Battleaxe battles of November 1941 and the Gazala battles of May and June 1942, withdrawing with the rest of the 8th Army to El Alamein. Then as part of the re-organisation of the 8th Army prior to the coming offensive, it joined 22nd Armoured Brigade, with which was to serve for the rest of the war. The Brigade then joined 7th Armoured Division in October 1942.
6th RTR: When the Mobile Division was formed in 1938 6th RTR was one of the original units that formed what was then called The Heavy Brigade which was then to become 4th Armoured Brigade in December 1939. It took part in the British offensive in late 1940 which re-captured Sidi Barrani from the Italians, and then patrolled the Tobruk - Bardia area during most of January, before being taken out of the line on 18th January 1940, handing over its vehicles to 1st and 2nd RTR. It then spent a month in Cairo before returning to Tobruk in mid February 1941. It then took over a large number of Italian M13 tanks captured at Beda Fomm in late February, spending most of March in the Beda Fomm area learning to handle these captured tanks. At this time it came under the command of 3rd Armoured Brigade and was involved in a fighting withdrawal when Rommel first attacked in April 1941. During this withdrawal which many of the captured Italian M13 tanks had to be destroyed as they were in poor shape and unlikely to make the journey back to Tobruk, let alone Egypt. The regiment fell back on Tobruk with the last of it embarking on 14th April 1941, returning to Alexandria two days later. Here it re-equipped returning to the desert in June of that year under the command of 4th Armoured Brigade. It then served in 7th Armoured Brigade, during the 'Operation Battleaxe' and later during Operation Crusader. During the battles at Sidi Rezegh they were virtually wiped out by German 88mm anti-tank guns on 21st November 1941, but the survivors continued to fight on under 'Jock' Campbell's command.
In mid February 1942 6th RTR joined 1st Armoured Brigade and was re-equipped with Honey and Grant Tanks ready for the Gazala battles of than year at one time being amalgamated with 1st RTR due to losses. It fought near the 'Knightsbridge Box' before withdrawing with the rest of the 8th Army to El Alamein. It was still re-equipping during the Battle of El Alamein, and in December 1942 to moved to Jordan and then Iraq, where it served for all of 1943, with brief periods in Syria and Palestine, joining 7th Armoured Brigade upon its return from Burma, in September 1943.
As part of 7th Armoured Brigade, 6th RTR arrived in Italy landing at Taranto on 4th May 1944. It then took over from 40th RTR in supporting 10th Indian Division. It then served as a 10 Corps unit with both 4th and 10th Indian Divisions, serving alongside the 2nd and 8th RTR, in 7th Armoured Brigade, for the rest of the war. It continued to fight its way through Italy, find itself near Padua when the German forces in Italy surrendered in May 1945. It then moved onto Austria as the rounding up of the surrendering German Army continued. This was the end of 6th RTR's war. There is one final epitaph to the work 6th RTR did with 10th Indian Division, because on 21st May 1945, 6th RTR received a letter from Major General D. W. Reid CBE DSO MC, Commander 10th Indian Division.
“Will you please excuse the grave delay in writing to you. I think this is now the third time you have worked with 110th Indian Division. I think you know what our chaps, British and Indian troops alike, think of you and your very fine fellows in the 6th Royal Tank Regiment.
It has always been a case of smiles on all faces when it has been known that it was the 6th Royal Tank Regiment who were going to play with us.
Many, many thanks to you all for all you did for us last winter and again in this last recent and final affair. Will you please tell your officers and men how grateful we all are in 10th Indian Division.
In the meanwhile, all good fortune to you all and the very best of luck”.
7th RTR: 3rd September 1939 found 7th RTR stationed at Catterick Camp, North Yorkshire. It joined 1st Army Tank Brigade as part of the BEF serving with this independent unit during the Fall of France in May 1940, taking part in the action a Arras, 21st May 1940, when as part of 'Frankforce' (along with 4th RTR, 6th and 8th Battalions, DLI) they attacked a certain General Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, nearly killing Rommel himself. Here they suffered heavy causalities and were at one time being amalgamated with 4th RTR due to heavy losses. After evacuation at Dunkirk the Battalion was re-formed in September 1940. It arrived in North Africa in December 1940. It then served as part of 4th Armoured Brigade in May and June 1941, during Operation Battleaxe, with one Squadron being assigned to Airfield defence on Crete in May 1941, too. After Operation Crusader helped in the lifting of the siege of Tobruk 7th RTR joined 32nd Army Tank Brigade as part of the Tobruk Garrison, but in June 1942 it was lost when Tobruk fell to the Germans.
It was then reconstituted by re-designation of 10th Royal Tank Regiment in February 1943, a part of 31st Army Tank Brigade. The Battalion then served in 31st Army Tank Brigade, being equipped with Crocodile Flame Thrower Tanks in September 1944, when it joined 79th Armoured Division. 7th RTR finished the war in North Germany, having supported both 4th Armoured Brigade and 7th Armoured Division many times on the way. In February 1945 31st Army Tank Brigade had become 31st Armoured Brigade.
Regimental History:
The Invention Of The Tank
On the 13th June 1900 Major General Sir Ernest Swinton was serving with the British Forces in the Boer War. On that precise date, he visualised the requirement for an armoured fighting vehicle to defeat the destructive power of the machine gun. The tank, a revolutionary new weapon system, born of General Swinton's vision, was to break the stalemate of trench warfare and the dominance of the machine gun of the battlefields of Flanders sixteen years later.
Formation
The story of The Royal Tank Regiment is one of struggle, triumph and achievement. Its origins are a mere three-quarters of a century old, but those years have seen the stalemate of trench warfare overcome, the restoration of mobility and the establishment of the tank and mechanised forces, as a dominant factor in battle. The tank reaffirmed its position as the decisive weapon on the battlefield during the Gulf War.
The present Royal Tank Regiment, composed of two regular regiments, is the direct heir to the original armoured car pioneers of 1914, the Naval Brigade and the RNAS squadron which augmented the British Expeditionary Forces for the defence of Antwerp in August of that year.
The First World War
When the first tanks were produced in 1916, they were manned by members of the Machine Gun Corps, formed into six companies which were collectively known as the Heavy Branch.
The very first battle involving tanks took place on the Somme. About thirty British Mark 1 tanks attacked German positions between the villages of Flers and Courcelette, on Friday 15 September 1916. The arrival of the tanks on the battlefield signalled the end of trench warfare, which had suffocated both sides in the 1914-18 conflict.
During this action the Press seized on a report from an aircraft crew, which said that "a tank is walking down the main street of Flers with the British Army cheering behind it." This was "D" Company, later the 4th Royal Tank Regiment. These companies were expanded to form battalions and were renamed the Tank Corps in 1917.
The first battle between two opposing tanks took place near the village of Cachy on 24 April 1918. The German A7V tank Nixe (Lt Biltz), engaged three British Mark IV tanks, and damaged two, but was knocked out by the third, commanded by 2/Lt Frank Mitchell.
By December 1918 there were 26 battalions, and as well as serving in France, a detachment from the Corps had served under Allenby at Gaza, Palestine in 1917. The Corps saw almost continuous action, winning four VC's.
Cambrai
In France at dawn on November 20th, 1917, some 300 British Mark IV tanks of the Tank Corps, led by Brigadier Hugh Elles, created a major break in the German Hindenburg Line and nearly reached Cambrai itself. This was the Battle of Cambrai, and so successful was this action, that the church bells were rung throughout Great Britain. Each year this great battle is commemorated as "Cambrai Day".
Between The Wars
At the end of World War 1 with the status of the Tank Corps in the greatest doubt, three small tank detachments were despatched to Russia, to support the White Russians against the Bolsheviks. One British manned tank achieved the capture of Tsaritsin, later called Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd.
By 1920 the Tank Corps was reduced to a Depot and four battalions, becoming established in its own right in 1923 when it was granted the prefix "Royal" by King George V, its Colonel-in-Chief since 1918. At this time it also officially adopted the black beret as its distinctive headgear, with the silver badge and 'Fear Naught' motto.
Thereafter Royal Tank Regiment armoured car and light tank units helped maintain the peace throughout the Empire in Iraq, Persia, Palestine, India and Egypt until 1939 when war clouds once more gathered over Europe.
The Second World War
The Corps changed to its present title in 1939, with the formation of the Royal Tank Regiment. The RTC had, up until 1928, been entirely responsible for all "armour" in the British Army. Its schools began the mechanisation and training of the cavalry, and the RTR itself expanded between 1935 and 1938 into eight regular battalions.
From the outset of World War II, both Sir Winston Churchill and Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, made it clear that they wished to be associated with the Royal Tank Regiment - the value of the tank as a decisive battlefield weapon was being recognised.
By the end of the Second World War, the tank had once again proved itself a major battle winner, and having fought in most of the major engagements in Europe, North Africa, the Middle and Far East, the Regiment had battalions spread all over the globe. Two more VC's had been awarded, together with countless other decorations, to men who, "...cheerfully went to war in tin cans, closely surrounded by a lethal mixture of petrol and ammunition.
Dunkirk
Both 4th and 7th RTR fought in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force. At Arras, on 21 May 1940 they smashed into the rear of Rommel's 7th Panzer Division with good effect. However, both regiments suffered heavily in the end and the survivors escaped via Dunkirk. Three other RTR regiments fought in Western France as part of the British First Armoured Division.
Alamein
Throughout the desert war, elements of the RTR saw almost continuous action. In particular the great victory over the Italian at Beda Fomm. The RTR was heavily committed at El Alamein in October 1942, not only in conventional tanks but also in mine-sweeping flail tanks called Scorpions. While Montgomery's Eighth Army pursued retreating Axis forces across Libya, a new Army under General Eisenhower landed in Tunisia. It was here RTR crews in Churchill tanks met and defeated the mighty German Tigers.
D-Day
Major General Sir Percy Hobart, an RTR officer since 1923, is best known as commander of the famous 79th Armoured Division. Equipped with special purpose tanks known as Funnies this division spearheaded the British attack on D-Day, 6 June 1944 and continued to support Allied forces in Europe until the end of the war. Once again the RTR played a vital part, notably in such events as the attack on Le Havre, the fantastic six-day dash from Normandy to Belgium and the crossing of the river Rhine in March 1945.
Post War
By the end of World War II there were 24 regiments of the RTR and they had seen service in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sicily, Malta, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Greece, Crete, Algeria, Abyssinia, Sudan, Palestine, Iraq, Persia, Jordan, India and Burma.
Reduced once more to eight regular regiments after the war, the tank has still continued to demonstrate its importance on the modern battlefield, with The Royal Tank Regiment seeing action in Aden, Borneo, Malaya, Egypt, Cyprus, Korea and the Gulf. The Regiment has also had units stationed in Germany, Libya, Hong Kong, England and Northern Ireland.
However, as the recent Gulf War yet again illustrated most clearly, it is the quality, bravery and high degree of expertise of the tank crews which was, and still is, the real battle winner. Throughout the tank's history the most important element has been the crewmen, who together make up this close knit team of professionals.
