The 33rd Armoured Brigade (33rd Armd Bde) 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 ...

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. Br ...

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 was active in

northwestern Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northw ...

in 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 ...

from June 1944 until May 1945 and from 1980 to 1992.

History

Normandy

The brigade was formed in the United Kingdom on 17 March 1944 by the re-designation of the

33rd Tank Brigade The 33rd Army Tank Brigade (later 33rd Tank Brigade) was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army raised during the Second World War. Origin 33rd Army Tank Brigade was created on 30 August 1941 under GHQ Home Forces to supervise the t ...

. The brigade took part in the

Normandy campaign Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

and landed on

Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was lo ...

on 6 June 1944. The brigade, consisting of three armoured regiments, was assigned to any infantry who were in need of armoured support; because of this mission, the brigade rarely fought as a single unit. The brigade took part in several actions that comprised the

Battle for Caen The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) is the name given to fighting between the British Second Army and the German in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the larger Battle of Normandy. The battles ...

. On 11 June, the brigade took part in fighting at

Le Mesnil-Patry Le Mesnil-Patry () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Thue et Mue.Operation Charnwood Operation Charnwood was an Anglo-Canadian offensive that took place from 8 to 9 July 1944, during the Battle for Caen, part of the larger Operation Overlord (code-name for the Battle of Normandy) in the Second World War. The operation was in ...

; the capture of northern Caen. Supplementing the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division, on 16 July, the brigade took part in Operation Pomegranate, part of the

Second Battle of the Odon The Second Battle of the Odon comprised operations fought by the British Second Army during the Second World War. Attacks took place in mid-July 1944 against Panzergruppe West, as part of the Battle of Normandy. Operations Greenline and Pomegran ...

; an attack launched to divert German attention away from the upcoming

Operation Goodwood Operation Goodwood was a British offensive during the Second World War, which took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, ...

attack. Following the Battle for Caen the brigade was then involved in the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

’s attack towards

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...

; on 8 August the brigade took part in

Operation Totalize Operation Totalize (also spelled Operation Totalise in recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to bre ...

Rhine Crossing

The brigade was reformed and re-equipped with

LVT 4 The Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. (The USN and USMC use "L" to designate Amphibious vessels, also call ...

(Buffalo amphibious armoured fighting vehicles) for the Rhine crossing and was placed under the command of the

79th Armoured Division The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist armoured division of the British Army created during the Second World War. The division was created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, D-Day. Major-General Percy ...

Post War

During the 1970s the brigade was one of two "square" brigades assigned to 3rd Armoured Division. After being briefly converted to "Task Force Echo" in the late 1970s, the brigade was reinstated in 1981, assigned to 4th Armoured Division and based at Alanbrooke Barracks in

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

1986 assigned to 3 (UK) Armd Div. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, in December 1992, the brigade was merged with the 20th Armoured Brigade and disbanded as part of the

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...

programme.

Organisation

The Organisation of the brigade at certain times included:

Second World War

* Brigade Headquarters & Signal Squadron,

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 ...

1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry The Northamptonshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1794 as volunteer cavalry. It served in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War before being reduced to squadron level in 1956. It ceas ...

(Dragoons), 17/3/44–18/8/45 * 1st East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry (Lancers), 16/8/44–23/4/45 * The Queen's Own Staffordshire Yeomanry Regiment (Hussars), 26/4/45–26/6/45 * 4th Royal Tank Regiment, 1/3/45–30/3/45 * 11th Royal Tank Regiment, 28/1/45–30/3/45 and 26/4/35–19/8/45 * 144th (8th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps, 17/3/44–28/3/45 * 148th (9th Battalion Royal North Lancashire Regiment) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps, 17/3/44–16/8/44

Cold War

* Brigade Headquarters & 202 Signal Squadron,

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British ...

, 1/1/1980–11/1986 ** RHG(D), 11/1986–1/1990 ** Life Guards, 1/1990–19/8/92 * 1st Battalion, The Royal Highland Fusiliers(Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment), 1/1/1980–11/1984 ** 1st Battalion,

The Queen's Lancashire Regiment The Queen's Lancashire Regiment (30th, 40th, 47th, 59th, 81st and 82nd Regiments of Foot) (QLR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed on 25 March 1970 at Connaught Barracks in Dover through ...

, 11/1984–2/1990 ** 3rd Battalion,

The Light Infantry The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. The regiment was one of four 'large' regiments formed after the 1966 Defence White Paper through the amalgamation of units of the Light Infantry Brigad ...

, 2/1990–1/12/1992 * 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), 1/1/1980–3/1985 ** 1st Battalion, The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), 3/1985–12/1988 ** 1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons), 12/1988–3/1990

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:33 Armoured Armoured brigades of the British Army Armoured brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations established in 1980 Military units and formations disestablished in 1992