The 24th Lancers was a cavalry regiment 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 existed from late 1940 to mid-1944. Assigned to the 8th Armoured Brigade, the regiment fought during the Invasion of Normandy before being disbanded in July 1944. After disbandment, the regiment's personnel were sent to other cavalry regiments as reinforcements.

History

The regiment was raised in December 1940 from a cadre of personnel taken from the

9th Queen's Royal Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but wa ...

and the

17th/21st Lancers The 17th/21st Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in England by the amalgamation of the 17th Lancers and the 21st Lancers in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it amalgamated with the 16th/5th The Quee ...

; despite its numerical designation, the regiment shared no lineage with the earlier 24th Light Dragoons. It was initially assigned to the 29th Armoured Brigade, which formed part of the 11th Armoured Division, but it was reassigned to the 8th Armoured Brigade on 8 February 1944. Sherman tank of 24th Lancers

With the 8th Armoured Brigade, the regiment landed on Gold Beach, in the second wave of the Operation Overlord landings, supporting the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. The regiment landed on 7 June 1944 (D+1). Equipped with Sherman tanks, shortly after landing the regiment was involved in the fighting around

Putot-en-Bessin Putot-en-Bessin (, literally ''Putot in Bessin'') 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 Thue et Mue () is a commune in th ...

and Villers Bocage. After intensive action in the Tilly-sur-Seulles, Fontenay-le-Pesnel, Tessel Wood and Rauray areas, the regiment was disbanded towards the end of July 1944 due to heavy casualties and limited reinforcements, and its personnel were transferred to other regiments. Most of these men went to the 23rd Hussars or other units of the 8th Armoured Brigade, or the 29th Armoured Brigade in the 11th Armoured Division. Since D-Day, the regiment had lost 41 officers and men killed in action, along with 98 wounded or missing.

Battle honours

The 24th Lancers was awarded the following

battle honours A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

for service 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 opposi ...

: : Putot en Bessin, Villers Bocage, Tilly sur Seulles, The Odon, Fontenay le Pesnil,

Defence of Rauray Operation Epsom, also known as the First Battle of the Odon, was a British offensive in the Second World War between 26 and 30 June 1944, during the Operation Overlord, Battle of Normandy. The offensive was intended to outflank and seize the N ...

, North-West Europe 1944

References

Bibliography

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External links

* *{{cite web , url=http://www.warlinks.com/armour/8th_armoured/chapter_4.php , title=A Short History of the 8th Armoured Brigade Chapter IV , publisher=Warlinks , author=Brigadier G.E. Prior-Palmer , authorlink=George Erroll Prior-Palmer , access-date=28 November 2015 Cavalry regiments of the British Army Lancers 024 1940 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944