The 23rd Armoured Brigade, originally formed as the 23rd Army Tank Brigade, 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 f ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

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 ...

that saw service 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 opposi ...

. The brigade was a 2nd Line Territorial Army (TA) formation. It was reorganised and renamed the 23rd Armoured Brigade, when it was assigned to the 8th Armoured Division, although it never operated under command of the division.

Mobilisation

The brigade was formed as the 23rd Army Tank Brigade on the outbreak of the

as a 2nd Line Territorial Army (TA) formation, under the command of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

W. F. Murrogh. The brigade had only a few light armoured vehicles during its existence as an Army Tank Brigade.Joslen, p. 201. It was reorganised and renamed the 23rd Armoured Brigade on 1 November 1940, when it was assigned to the new 8th Armoured Division (

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Richard McCreery General Sir Richard Loudon McCreery, (1 February 1898 – 18 October 1967) was a career soldier of the British Army, who was decorated for leading one of the last cavalry actions in the First World War. During the Second World War, he was chief ...

). As part of the reorganisation it was reinforced with the 1st Battalion,

London Rifle Brigade The London Rifle Brigade was a volunteer regiment of the British Army. History The regiment was first raised in the City of London on 14 December 1859 as 1st London (City of London Volunteer Rifle Brigade) Rifle Volunteer Corps, a rifle volun ...

, this

motorised infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, whic ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

was renamed the 7th 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 ...

on 19 January 1941.Joslen, pp. 170–2. It began to receive significant numbers of tanks as a consequence of its assignment to the 8th Armoured Division, deliveries of the close-support version of the

Matilda II The Infantry Tank Mark II, best known as the Matilda, was a British infantry tank of the Second World War.Jentz, p. 11. The design began as the A12 specification in 1936, as a gun-armed counterpart to the first British infantry tank, the machi ...

and

Valentine tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter ...

s beginning about that same time. By November 1941, the brigade had approximately 18 Matildas and 120 Valentines.Hughes, et al. (1999), p. 61

North Africa

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H12185

The division remained in Britain until May 1942 when it was sent to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

to join the Eighth Army, becoming active there in early July. In mid-July the brigade, now commanded by Brigadier L. E. Misa, was detached from the 8th Armoured Division and with the addition of the 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery became known as the 23rd Armoured Brigade Group.

First Alamein

After only 14 days of acclimatisation and without any infantry support training, the brigade was chosen to reinforce an attack by XXX Corps during the Second Battle of Ruweisat Ridge, part of the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marsha ...

. The regiments failed to locate lanes cleared by the leading units through Axis minefields and were virtually annihilated by German anti-tank fire while in the minefield. The brigade had mustered 122 Valentines and 18 Matildas for the attack but at day's end, had lost 116 tanks; the tank crews suffered 44 per cent killed or wounded.Hughes, et al. (2002), pp. 37–41.

Alam el Halfa

The brigade was rebuilt by cannibalising men and tanks from the newly arrived 24th Armoured Brigade and it was retrained as an infantry support unit, although it was not renamed an Army Tank Brigade. On 11 August 1942, the 7th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was transferred to the 7th Motor Brigade, then part of the 7th Armoured Division but later became part of the 1st Armoured Division. During the

Battle of Alam el Halfa The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. '' Panzerarmee Afrika'' (''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel), attempted an envelopme ...

in September, the brigade was initially in XXX Corps reserve but was transferred to the

10th Armoured Division 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, XIII Corps.

Second Alamein

Before the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

, the brigade was reinforced by the addition of the

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 ...

to a strength of about 186 Valentines; the 5th RHA was exchanged for the 107th 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 ...

, with sixteen

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

self-propelled guns. During that battle, most of the regiments supported the infantry divisions of XXX Corps. The 8th RTR was attached to the 1st South African Division, 40th RTR was attached to the

9th Australian Division The 9th Division was a division of the Australian Army that served during World War II. It was the fourth division raised for the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). The distinctions of the division include it being: * in front line comb ...

and the 50th RTR was attached to

51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

. The brigade suffered heavily during the battle and it remained in Egypt to refit and reorganise. The 8th RTR was transferred to Palestine in early November, after having turned over its surviving tanks while the 46th RTR was removed from the brigade, as was 107th Field Regiment.

Tunisia

In December 1942, elements of the brigade, now with the 11th (Queen's Westminsters) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) under command, began to move forward but it saw no combat until it entered Tunisia on 17 February 1943. In the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

the brigade served as an independent armoured formation under XXX Corps, Eighth Army and fought in most of the battles of the campaign. On 3 May, the 50th RTR was withdrawn to convert to

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

tanks. After the campaign, the 46th RTR was reassigned to the brigade, although it was still converting to Shermans and the 40th RTR began to convert to the new tank.

Sicily

The 23rd Armoured Brigade took part in the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...

(Operation Husky) in July 1943, although only the 50th RTR and B Squadron of the 46th RTR participated in the initial landings. The remainder of the 46th RTR was still converting to Shermans and did not land in Sicily until 23 July. The brigade did not fight as a unit in Sicily, its units being detached to support other formations. the brigade historian commented that "Sicily was the hardest, the bloodiest, and above all, the most disillusioning campaign in which the brigade had served during the war". The two regiments of the brigade had a short rest before the next operation.

Italy

Only the 40th RTR participated in the initial landings at Salerno during

Operation Avalanche Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but ...

, part of the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General Sir Harold Alexander's 15th Army ...

, which began the Italian Campaign. It was assigned to the British 46th Infantry Division. The brigade, now under Brigadier Robert Arkwright, took command of various units from the British

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 * ...

and the US

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...

during the big German

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

s of 12 to 14 September, to defend the boundary between the two armies. It commanded American and British units up through the occupation of Naples on 1 October 1943. By October, the brigade had consolidated once more and had joined X Corps, containing the 7th Armoured Division, the 46th and 56th Infantry Division, on the left wing of the US Fifth Army, taking part in the fighting from the

Volturno Line The Volturno Line (also known as the Viktor Line; , ) was a German defensive position in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The line ran from Termoli in the east, along the Biferno River through the Apennine Mountains to the ...

to the

Winter Line The Winter Line was a series of German and Italian military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by Albert Kesselring. The series of three lines was designed to defend a western section ...

(Gustav Line). In early January 1944, the 46th RTR was detached from the brigade to come under command of the British 1st Infantry Division for the Battle of Anzio landings (Operation Shingle) and rejoined the brigade in July. In March 1944 the brigade was transferred to the British

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

which had a holding role on the eastern side of the Gustav Line by the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

while the Eighth and Fifth Armies combined to launch

Operation Diadem Operation Diadem, also referred to as the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino or, in Canada, the Battle of the Liri Valley, was an offensive operation undertaken by the Allies of World War II (U.S. Fifth Army and British Eighth Army) in May 1944, as p ...

in the Cassino sector. The Allies finally broke the German defences there after three unsuccessful attempts in the Battle of Monte Cassino since January.

Arkforce

5th Scottish Parachute Battalion Athens 1944

In late May 1944, the brigade was withdrawn from Italy and returned to Egypt. In August 1944, the brigade was renamed Force 140, later Arkforce after its commander, Brigadier Arkwight and was dismounted from its tanks. The 40th and 50th RTR were retrained as infantry while 46th RTR was reorganised with one squadron of

armoured cars Armored (or armoured) car or vehicle may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armoured fighting vehicle, any armed combat vehicle protected by armor ** Armored car (military), a military wheeled armored vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an arm ...

and one squadron of infantry, this being attached to the 50th RTR but kept one squadron of Shermans. Arkforce arrived at

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

on 12 October 1944 as part of the British occupying force in Greece when the Germans withdrew. It participated in the repression of the

Greek People's Liberation Army Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

(ELAS) during the Greek Civil War (the

Dekemvriana The ''Dekemvriana'' ( el, Δεκεμβριανά, "December events") refers to a series of clashes fought during World War II in Athens from 3 December 1944 to 11 January 1945. The conflict was the culmination of months of tension between the c ...

). Arkforce was disbanded on 8 January 1945 and the 23rd Armoured Brigade regained its name and had its tanks restored by the end of January. It remained in Greece beyond

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

until the end of the Second World War.

Second World War Order of battle

The 23rd Armoured Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: *

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 ''(left 1 December 1942, rejoined 28 June 1943, left 4 January 1944, rejoined again 22 July 1944)'' *

50th Royal Tank Regiment The 50th Royal Tank Regiment (50 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army's Royal Tank Regiment during the Second World War. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It was formed in June 1939 as ...

* 1st Battalion,

''(from 2 November 1940 until 18 January 1941)'' * 7th Battalion,

''(from 19 January 1941 until 11 August 1942)'' * 11th (Queen's Westminsters) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (''from 4 November 1942'') * 23rd Armoured Brigade Signal Squadron, Royal Corps of Signals304 Sqn at Kelly, ''42 Signal Sqn''.
/ref>

Brigade Commanders

The following officers commanded the 23rd Armoured Brigade during the war: *

W. F. Murrough ''(until 16 December 1941)'' * Brigadier L. E. Misa ''(from 16 December 1941 until 31 July 1942)'' * Brigadier G. W. Richards ''(from 31 July 1942 until 23 July 1943)'' * Brigadier R. H. E. Arkwright ''(from 23 July 1943 until 4 December 1944)'' * Brigadier R. A. Hermon 4 December 1944 ''( acting, from 4 December 1944 until 8 January 1945)'' * Brigadier R. H. E. Arkwright ''(from 8 January until 1 April 1945)'' *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

R. A. Hermon 1 April 1945 ''(acting, from 1 to 22 April 1945)'' * Brigadier R. H. E. Arkwright ''(from 22 April 1945)''

Postwar

The brigade was disestablished in May 1946 but when the TA was revived on 1 January 1947 it reformed as an independent Armoured Brigade in Western Command with the following organisation:. *

Cheshire Yeomanry The Cheshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment that can trace its history back to 1797 when Sir John Leicester of Tabley raised a county regiment of light cavalry in response to the growing fears of invasion from Napoleonic France. Its lineag ...

, RAC, at Chester * Staffordshire Yeomanry, RAC, at Stafford *

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's ...

* 41st (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment at

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

* 304 Signal Squadron (Armoured Brigade), RCS, at ChesterLord & Watson, p. 202. * The Liverpool Scottish (motorised infantry) at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

The brigade was finally disbanded in the late 1950s.

Citations and notes

References

* * * * * * . * * *

External links

Maj I.G. Kelly, ''42 Signal Squadron History'' (archive site).

{{World War II 23 Armoured Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Ad hoc units and formations of the British Army