The 6th Guards Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army during the Second World War formed from the Foot Guards in 1941 as the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade when the United Kingdom was under the threat of invasion and more armoured formations were required.

History

Permission was granted from

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

and the Colonels of the Regiments involved and, over the summer of 1941, the Infantry of the Guards converted into an armoured formation and the Guards Armoured Division was formed, containing the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and 6th Guards Armoured Brigades, together with supporting units. The 6th Brigade, was converted from the 30th Independent (Guards) Infantry Brigade In 1942, all British armoured divisions were reorganised to have one armoured brigade and one motorised infantry brigade. The 6th Guards Armoured Brigade thus became an independent tank brigade, being renamed as the 6th Guards Tank Brigade. The brigade, now equipped with the Churchill tank, served in the North West Europe campaign landing in Normandy on 20 July 1944. Correspondence in

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's ''The Second World War'' (Volume V: Closing the Ring, Annex C) in April 1944 appears to indicate there was consideration of breaking the brigade up and making its personnel available as replacements for other army formations. Churchill was opposed to this, and nothing appears to have been done. The brigade went on to take part in the Battle of Normandy in Operation Bluecoat, Operation Veritable finally ending the war at Lübeck on the Baltic Sea where they captured a U-boat. 6th Guards Churchill tank Netherlands Oct 1944 IWM BU 1232

6th Guards Churchill tank Netherlands Oct 1944 IWM BU 1232

Order of battle

The 6th Guards Tank Brigade was constituted as follows during the war: * 4th Tank Battalion Coldstream Guards * 4th Tank Battalion Grenadier Guards * 3rd Tank Battalion Scots Guards Prior to Operation Plunder & after Operations Veritable & Blackcock, the 6th Guards had units of Artillery, Engineer and other units to their formation. The Brigade then became known as the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade through to V.E day.

Commanders

The following officers commanded 6th Guards Tank Brigade during the war:Joslen, pps. 157, 197. * 15 January 1943 – 3 August 1944 Brigadier GL Verney * 3 August 1944 – 16 August 1944 Brigadier Sir Walter Bartellot, Bt * 18 August 1944 – 2 February 1945 Brigadier WDC Greenacre

Notes

References

* The Guards Divisions 1914–45 By Mike Chappell, Published by Osprey Publishing, 1995 . * * British Armour in the Normandy Campaign 1944 By John Buckley, Published by Routledge, 2004 . * 6th. Guards Tank Brigade: The Story of Guardsmen in Churchill Tanks by Patrick Forbes, Published by Sampson Low, 1946. *

External links

* * * {{British mobile brigades of the Second World War Armoured brigades of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Guards Division (United Kingdom) Military units and formations disestablished in 1945