The 51st (Leeds Rifles) Royal Tank Regiment (51 RTR) was an
armoured regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
of the British
Territorial Army that fought in the
Tunisian and
Italian campaigns during
World War II
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 continued to serve during the 1950s.
Origin
In April 1938, the 7th (
Leeds Rifles
The Leeds Rifles was a unit of the 19th century Volunteer Force of the British Army that went on to serve under several different guises in the World Wars of the 20th century. In World War I both battalions served as infantry on the Western Fron ...
) Battalion,
West Yorkshire Regiment
)
, march = ''Ça Ira''
, battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine
, anniversaries = Imphal (22 June)
The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...
converted to the armoured role as the
45th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment. The Leeds Rifles was a long-standing Territorial Army (TA) infantry unit, founded by volunteers from the city of
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
in 1859. In June 1939, the company based at
Morley was split off to form the cadre for a duplicate unit, the 51st (Leeds Rifles) Bn, Royal Tank Regiment.
World War II
On the outbreak of war in September 1939, 51 RTR was part of the
25th Army Tank Brigade
The 25th Army Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army that was active before and during the Second World War. It served with the British First Army and the British Eighth Army during the battles in North Africa and Ita ...
, in
Northern Command, alongside the
Newcastle-based TA regiments
43 RTR and
49 RTR.
[Joslen, p. 203.]
Motor Machine Gun Battalion
At the end of May 1940, with the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) being
evacuated from Dunkirk and the imminent threat of German invasion of England, the 25th Army Tank Brigade was redesignated 2nd Motor Machine Gun Brigade and its regiments reorganised accordingly. Each of 51 RTR's three MMG squadrons consisted of three troops, each with six
Humber Snipe
The Humber Snipe was a four-door luxury saloon introduced by British-based Humber Limited for 1930 as a successor to the Humber 20/55 hp (which remained in the catalogue as 20/65) at the same time as the similar but slightly longer Humber ...
or Hillman Utility (
'Tilly') two-seat cars, two carrying
Vickers medium machine guns, two
Bren light machine guns and two
Boys anti-tank rifle
The Boys anti-tank rifle (officially Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys, and sometimes incorrectly spelled "Boyes"), is a British anti-tank rifle used during the Second World War. It was often nicknamed the "elephant gun" by its users due to its si ...
s. In July 1940, volunteers from the units of 25th Army Tank Brigade formed No 5 Troop of
No. 5 Commando
No. 5 Commando was a battalion-sized commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War.
Formed in July 1940, the unit took part in a couple of small-scale raids in France in 1941 and contributed some personnel to Operation Chariot bef ...
at
Bridlington. In August, 51 RTR and the rest of the brigade moved to
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
to guard the coastline with machine gun posts along the cliffs and sand dunes.
The 25th Army Tank Brigade was reconstituted at the end of 1940, and its regiments began to receive a trickle of tanks on which to train. By the end of 1942, 51 RTR was fully trained and fully equipped with
Churchill tank
The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, a ...
s. In January 1943, the regiment embarked, with the rest of the 25th Tank Brigade, for North Africa, where it came under the command of
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 Army ...
of the
British First Army 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. The ...
.
Tunisia
![51st Royal Tank Regiment Tunisia April 1943 IWM NA 1896](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/51st_Royal_Tank_Regiment_Tunisia_April_1943_IWM_NA_1896.jpg)
The regiment took part in containing the German offensive of
Operation Ochsenkopf
(Operation Ox Head) also known as the Battle of Sidi Nsir and the Battle of Hunts Gap was an Axis offensive operation in Tunisia from 1943, during the Tunisia Campaign of the Second World War. The offensive and a subsidiary operation was intende ...
in February - March 1943. At a place called Steamroller farm, two Churchill tanks ambushed and shot up an entire German transport column before rejoining the rest of their squadron. The end result was the destruction of two 88 mm, two 75 mm, two 50 mm and four smaller calibre anti-tank guns, twenty-five wheeled vehicles, two 3-inch Mortars, two Mark III tanks and nearly 200 Axis casualties.
On 7–8 April, 51 RTR supported
IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to:
France
* 9th Army Corps (France)
* IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...
at Fondouk Pass. The
128th (Hampshire) Brigade of
46th Infantry Division crossed the Wadi Marguellil during the night and at 5.30 am on 8 April began its main attack, supported by 'C' Sqn 51 RTR, and by noon was on its objective. The regiment ended the campaign in Army reserve.
The 25th Tank Brigade came 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. In ...
James Noel Tetley
Brigadier James Noel Tetley (30 December 1898 – 25 December 1971) was a member of a prominent Yorkshire brewing family and a senior British Army officer who saw active service in the Italian Campaign during the Second World War.
Early life
J ...
of the Leeds Rifles at the end of the Tunisia campaign. He was the only
Territorial Army officer of the
Royal Tank Regiment
The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...
to command a brigade on active service. The brigade, including 51 RTR, remained training in North Africa for almost a year, before they were required for service on the
Italian Front.
[ The regiment celebrated Cambrai Day (20 November, commemorating the tank Battle of Cambrai) in Algeria. 51 RTR embarked on 16 April 1944 and landed at Naples, where it was equipped with ]Churchill tank
The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, a ...
s, with a few Shermans and Stuarts
The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...
.
Italy
The brigade distinguished itself in support of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division
The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...
in the assault on the Hitler Line
The Hitler Line was a German defensive line in central Italy during the Second World War. The strong points of the line were at Piedmonte, Pontecorvo and Aquino. In May 1944, the line was renamed the Senger Line, after General von Senger und E ...
in May 1944. At the request of the Canadians, its regiments adopted the Maple leaf as an additional badge, later worn by 51 RTR's successors, the Leeds Detachment (Leeds Rifles), Imphal (PWO) Company, East and West Riding Regiment.[ Brigadier Tetley, formerly of the Leeds Rifles himself, was the only TA RTR officer to command a brigade on active service.][ 51 RTR went on to fight in the ]Gothic Line
The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...
battles of August–September 1944.[
]
To deal with the successive enemy lines of defences anticipated in the later stages of the campaign, it was decided in late 1944 to convert the brigade into the 25th Assault Engineer Brigade, equipped with the specialized tanks known as Hobart's Funnies. Organised on 5 January 1945, this was primarily a 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 ...
formation, but 51 RTR remained in the brigade, although converted to specialised armour. 'B' Squadron received 15 Crab Mark II flail tanks, while 'A' and 'C' sqns had a total of 32 Churchill Crocodile flamethrowing tanks. Each squadron in the brigade was self-administering, so that they could be detached where required.
25 Armoured Assault Brigade first went into action at the crossing of the Senio on 9 April 1945. 51 RTR was attached to the 2nd New Zealand and 8th Indian Divisions. The flamethrowing tanks crept forward during the preliminary bombardment and positioned themselves close to the floodbank as possible. One minute before the infantry assault started, the positions were flamed. Most of the Crocodiles had to be 60 feet behind the bank to be able to direct their flame over the bank. World War II in Europe ended shortly after this operation.
Postwar
When the Territorial Army was reformed after the war, it included a combined 45th/51st (Leeds Rifles) RTR.[ The personnel received their tank training from 'A' Sqn of 6 RTR at RAF Worksop.] Brigadier Noel Tetley was the honorary colonel.
In 1956, the 45th/51st (Leeds Rifles) RTR returned to the infantry role under its old title of 7th (Leeds Rifles) Bn West Yorkshire Regiment. It carried the honorary distinction on its colours and appointments of the badge of the Royal Tank Regiment with the dates '1942-45' and two scrolls inscribed 'North Africa' and 'Italy'.[
]
Notes
References
* Ronald Addyman, ''The 51st Royal Tank Regiment : Morley, Tunisia and Italy, 1939-1945'', 2004.
* Gen Sir William Jackson, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Mediterranean and Middle East'', Vol VI: ''Victory in the Mediterranean Part III: November 1944 to May 1945'', London: HMSO, 1988.
* {{Joslen-OOB
* Maj-Gen I.S.O. Playfair and Brig C.J.C. Molony, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series, The Mediterranean and Middle East'', Vol IV: ''The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa'', London: HMSO, 1966.
External sources
Yorkshire Volunteers website
Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire Museum
Merseyside RTR
Brian Gill`s website)
Military units and formations established in 1939
Royal Tank Regiment
West Yorkshire Regiment
Regiments of Yorkshire
Royal Tank Regiment 051