The 10th Armoured Division was an

armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

formation of

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

-size of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, raised during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was active from 1941–1944 and after the war from 1956–1957. It was formed from the 1st Cavalry Division, a 1st Line

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

unit of the Territorial Army (TA) which had previously been serving in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. The division was converted from cavalry to armour and redesignated from 1 August 1941.

History

The divisional sign was a fox's mask, representing the

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

tradition of the formation's cavalry and

units. The division was originally under command of HQ British Troops Palestine and Transjordan, but transferred to Ninth Army when the headquarters was redesignated on 1 November 1941. It was later transferred into Egypt, serving under HQ Middle East, XXX Corps,

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces, ...

, and

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

. The division fought at the Battles of Alam Halfa and

El Alamein El Alamein ( ar, العلمين, translit=al-ʿAlamayn, lit=the two flags, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Arab's Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. , it had ...

. It was disbanded on 15 June 1944 in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. The 10th Armoured Division was also briefly active after the war ended in Libya in the 1950s, incorporating 25th Armoured Brigade, but was disbanded in July 1957. The 25th Armoured Brigade was formed in 1952 to provide an operational headquarters for the troops in Libya. Also 1st RTR & 3rd RHA in Canal Zone, Egypt 1954/56 (Not listed on Orbat site). The

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard ...

arrived in Libya in 1952, and stayed until 1955. Other units of the brigade from 1952 were the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, 1st Battalion,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, 1st Battalion,

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...

, 3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery and the 14th/20th King's Hussars. Also the Queens Bays at Sabratha 5th Royal Tank Regiment became part of 25th Armd Bde Gp in Cyrenaica from December 1954 to March 195

In May and June 1956 the brigade was hastily expanded to division status as 10th Armoured Division, with the intention of invading Egypt from the west during the Suez Canal Crisis. Planning was halted when it was found that such an invasion was banned under the terms of Britain's treaty with Libya. The Armoured Brigade Signals Squadron was expanded to 10th Armd Div Signals in May–June 1956, based in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. It began to wind up in April 1957, and disbanded completely in September 1957. From 1948 to 1957 22 Engineer Regiment was in Libya, with a short stint in Egypt in October 195

It was under the command of 1st Infantry Division (United Kingdom), 1st Infantry Division and 10th Armoured Division. 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was at Wavell Barracks,

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

from December 1965, operating armoured cars, with "A" Squadron at Ziyyi Camp in Cyprus, until the end of 196

General Officer Commanding

Order of battle

The 10th Armoured Division was constituted as follows during the war: 8th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom), 8th Armoured Brigade (''left 16 February 1942, rejoined 27 March 1942, left 30 June 1942, rejoined 17 July 1942, left 21 November 1942'') *

Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) was a British Yeomanry regiment. In 1967 it was amalgamated with other units to form the Royal Yeomanry (RY), a light cavalry regiment of the Army Reserve. Originally raised as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cav ...

Staffordshire Yeomanry The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a unit of the British Army. Raised in 1794 following Prime Minister William Pitt's order to raise volunteer bodies of men to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion, the Staffordshir ...

(''left 30 June 1942'') * 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (''from 12 July 1942'') * 1st Battalion,

Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

(''from 14 March 1942'') 9th Armoured Brigade (''from 9 October 1941, left 25 March 1942, rejoined 14 November 1942, left 27 May 1943'') *

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial ...

(''left 27 May 1943'') *

Warwickshire Yeomanry The Warwickshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as cavalry and machine gunners in the First World War and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the Second World War, before being amalg ...

(''left 27 May 1943'') * 1st Household Cavalry Regiment (''from 3 August, left 9 October 1941'') *

Yorkshire Hussars The Yorkshire Hussars (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own) was an auxiliary unit of the British Army formed in 1794. The regiment was formed as volunteer cavalry (Yeomanry) in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars and served in the Second Boe ...

(''from 10 October 1941, left 13 March 1942'') *

3rd The King's Own Hussars The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and the Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, to ...

(''from 16 March 1942, left 27 May 1943'') * 14th Battalion,

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

(''from 10 August, left 9 December 1942'') * 11th (

Queen's Westminsters The Queen's Westminsters were an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originally formed from Rifle Volunteer Corps, which were established after a French invasion scare of 1859. The unit became part of the newly ...

) Battalion,

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

(''from 9 December 1942, left 27 May 1943'')

7th Armoured Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

(''from 3 June 1943, left 11 April 1944'') *

7th Queen's Own Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

(''from 15 December 1943'') * 2nd Royal Tank Regiment *

6th Royal Tank Regiment The 6th Royal Tank Regiment (6 RTR) was a regiment of the Royal Tank Regiment, of the British Army, until 1959. It originally saw action as 6th Battalion Tank Corps in 1917. First World War When tanks were first used in action in 1916, they wer ...

(''from 8 June 1944'') *

8th Royal Tank Regiment The 8th Royal Tank Regiment (8 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army until 1960. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It originally saw action as H Battalion, Tank Corps in 1917. In the Nort ...

(''from 29 January 1944'') * 2nd Battalion,

Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

(''from 26 September 1943 until 13 November 1943, rejoined 19 December 1943'') 23rd Armoured Brigade (''from 1 June 1944, left 14 June 1944'') *

40th (The King's) Royal Tank Regiment The 40th (The King's) Royal Tank Regiment (40 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It was originally formed by converting the 7th ...

* 46th (Liverpool Welsh) Royal Tank Regiment * 50th Royal Tank Regiment * 11th (Queen's Westminsters) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps 7th Motor Brigade (''from 12 September 1942, left 23 September 1942'') * 2nd Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps * 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) * 7th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) 133rd Lorried Infantry Brigade (''from 29 September 1942, left 25 November 1942'') * 2nd Battalion,

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot ...

* 4th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment * 5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment 201st Guards Motor Brigade (''from 9 January 1943, left 1 February 1943'')Joslen, p. 265 * 6th Battalion,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

* 3rd Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

Divisional Troops Royal Armoured Corps * 1st Household Cavalry Regiment (''from 9 October 1941, left 13 March 1942, rejoined 14 January 1943, left 5 November 1943'') * 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry (''from 21 August 1942, left 10 September 1942'') * 1st The Royal Dragoons (''from 22 September 1942, left 31 October 1942'') *

(''from 5 November 1943, left 25 April 1944'') Royal Engineers * 2nd Field Squadron,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

(''from 21 November 1941, left 10 June 1943'') * 3rd Field Squadron, Royal Engineers (''from 22 September 1942, left 15 May 1944'') * 622nd Field Squadron, Royal Engineers (''from 11 June 1943, left 31 May 1944'') * 141st Field Park Squadron, Royal Engineers (''from 20 November 1941, left 1 April 1944'') * 6th Bridging Troop, Royal Engineers (''from 20 November 1943, left 1 April 1944'') Royal Corps of Signals 10th Armoured Divisional Signals,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

Royal Artillery * 1st Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (''from 13 September 1942, left 27 May 1943, rejoined 13 November 1943, left 25 April 1944'') * 14th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (''from 3 June 1943, left 8 November 1943'') * 104th (Essex Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (''from 27 September 1942, left 3 May 1944'') * 98th Field Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(''from 19 September 1942, left 29 December 1942'') * 84th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery (''from 13 September 1942, left 20 May 1944'') * 53rd (King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (''from 2 September 1942, left 2 November 1942'') * 101st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (''from 11 November 1943, left 30 April 1944'')

Notes

; Footnotes ; Citations

References

* * *

External links