List_of_commanders_of_the_British_1st_Armoured_Division

List of commanders of the British 1st Armoured Division

List of commanders of the British 1st Armoured Division

Military unit officers

For the GOCs of the Cold War and Gulf War-era 1st Armoured Division (1976–2014), see List of commanders of the British 1st Division.

The 1st Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army and formed in 1937. The division was commanded by a general officer commanding (GOC), who received orders from a level above him in the chain of command, and then used the forces within the division to undertake the mission assigned. In addition to directing the tactical battle in which the division was involved, the GOC oversaw a staff and the administrative, logistical, medical, training, and discipline concerns of the division.[1] From its founding to being disbanded in 1945, the division had eight permanent GOCs.

Quick Facts Mobile Division1st Armoured Division 1st British Armoured Division, Active ...

On 24 November 1937, after several years of debate on such a formation, the division was founded as the Mobile Division.[2][3] It was then renamed, in April 1939, as the 1st Armoured Division.[4] Following the start of the Second World War, subordinate units and formations were withdrawn from the division to reinforce others. It was eventually deployed for combat, in May 1940, when it was dispatched to France and subsequently fought in the Battle of France before being withdrawn back to the UK in June during Operation Aerial.[5] In late 1941, the division was sent to North Africa where it took part in the Western Desert campaign, notably fighting at the Battle of Gazala, and the First and the Second Battles of El Alamein.[6][7][8] During 1942, Major-General Herbert Lumsden was wounded in action twice while leading the division, and Major-General Alexander Gatehouse was wounded once.

The division then fought in the Tunisian campaign until the Axis defeat in North Africa in May 1943.[9] It was during this period that it was temporarily renamed the 1st British Armoured Division, to avoid it being confused with the American 1st Armored Division that was also fighting in the campaign. With the conclusion of fighting in Tunisia, the division remained in North Africa until 1944. In May 1944, it started to move to Italy to fight in the Italian campaign. Between late August and the end of September, the division fought in several engagements as part of the Allied assault on the German Gothic Line.[10][11] Due to a manpower crisis within the British Army, the division was chosen to be broken up to provide reinforcements for other formations to attempt to keep them at full strength. In October 1944, the division relinquished command of its final troops and ceased to be an operational formation. It was then officially disbanded on 11 January 1945.[12][13][lower-alpha 1]

General officer commanding

See also: General officer commanding
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Notes

Footnotes

  1. In 1946, the 6th Armoured Division was redesignated as the 1st Armoured Division. Major-General Charles Loewen retained command following the renaming, and the formation maintained the insignia of the 6th Armoured Division. It undertook occupational duties in Italy, before it was transferred to Palestine and disbanded in 1947.[14][15]

Citations

  1. [1]
    Haythornthwaite 2016, The Divisional System.
  2. [2]
    Crow 1971, p. 24; Perry 1988, p. 45; French 2001, p. 42.
  3. [3]
    "No. 34459". The London Gazette. 30 November 1937. p. 7517.
  4. [4]
    French 2001, p. 42.
  5. [5]
    Ellis 1954, pp. 257–260, 298–301; Crow 1971, p. 29; Joslen 2003, pp. 16, 144, 151, 215; Doherty 2013, p. 28.
  6. [6]
    Joslen 2003, p. 15.
  7. [7]
    Playfair et al. 2004, pp. 219, 240–243, 249, 341–343, 349, 353.
  8. [8]
    Playfair et al. 2004, pp. 8–9.
  9. [9]
    Playfair et al. 2004, pp. 39, 47, 53–57, 66–67, 70–71, 350–352, 357, 364–367, 432–436, 446, 453.
  10. [10]
    Joslen 2003, pp. 13–15.
  11. [11]
    Jackson & Gleave 2004, pp. 257–260, 274–275, 278, 291–293, 353.
  12. [12]
    Joslen 2003, p. 13.
  13. [13]
    Jackson & Gleave 2004, pp. 300, 371–372.
  14. [14]
    "Badge, formation, 6th Armoured Division & 1st Armoured Division". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  15. [15]
    Lord & Watson 2003, p. 36.
  16. [16]
    "No. 34536". The London Gazette. 29 July 1938. p. 4879.
  17. [17]
    Playfair et al. 2004, p. 136.
  18. [18]
    Barr 2004, p. 153.

References

  • Barr, Niall (2004). Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 978-0-22406-195-7.
  • Crow, Duncan (1971). British and Commonwealth Armoured Formations (1919–46). AFV/Weapons Series. Windsor: Profile Publications. OCLC 471709669.
  • Doherty, Richard (2013). British Armoured Divisions and their Commanders, 1939-1945. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-84884-838-2.
  • Ellis, Lionel F. (1954). Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. OCLC 1087882503.
  • French, David (2001) [2000]. Raising Churchill's Army: The British Army and the War Against Germany 1919–1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-24630-4.
  • Haythornthwaite, Philip (2016). Picton's Division at Waterloo. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-78159-102-4.
  • Jackson, William; et al. (2004) [1988]. Victory in the Mediterranean, Part II – June to October 1944. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. VI. London: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84574-071-9.
  • Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
  • Lord, Cliff; Watson, Graham (2003). The Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents. West Midlands: Helion. ISBN 978-1-874622-07-9.
  • Perry, Frederick William (1988). The Commonwealth Armies: Manpower and Organisation in Two World Wars. War, Armed Forces and Society. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-71902-595-2.
  • Playfair, I. S. O.; et al. (2004) [1960]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East: British Fortunes Reach their Lowest Ebb (September 1941 to September 1942). History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. III. London: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84574-067-2.
  • Playfair, I. S. O.; et al. (2004) [1966]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Destruction of Axis Forces in Africa. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. IV. London: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 978-184574-068-9.
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