8th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 8th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army formed in August 1941, during the Second World War and active until 1956. The brigade was formed by the renaming of 6th Cavalry Brigade, when the 1st Cavalry Division based in Palestine converted from a motorised formation to an armoured unit, becoming 10th Armoured Division.

North Africa

Operation Supercharge

In February 1942, the 8th Armoured Brigade moved to the Khatatba region of the Western Desert. After a period of training, the brigade first went into action at the end of August 1942 at Bir Ridge at the Battle of Alam el Halfa. The Second Battle of El Alamein lasted from 23 October to 5 November 1942 and was a watershed in the Western Desert Campaign. the Allied victory at El Alamein ended Axis hopes of occupying Egypt, controlling access to the Suez Canal and gaining access to Middle Eastern oil fields. The defeat at El Alamein marked the end of Axis expansion in Africa. Following the First Battle of El Alamein, which had stalled the Axis advance, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery took command of the British Eighth Army from Claude Auchinleck in August 1942.
For the first night of the offensive, Montgomery planned that four infantry divisions from Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese's XXX Corps would advance on a front, to an objective codenamed the Oxalic Line, over-running the forward Axis defences. The Royal Engineers would clear and mark two lanes through the minefields, through which the armoured divisions from Lieutenant-General Herbert Lumsden's X Corps would pass to gain the Skinflint Report Line, where they would check and report their progress, and the Pierson Bound, where they would rally and temporarily consolidate their position in the Axis defences until the infantry battle had been won. Commanded by Brigadier Edward C. N. Custance, the 8th Armoured Brigade was equipped with and when it took part in Operation Supercharge, better known as the Battle of El Alamein.

Order of Battle, October 1942

The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry found a gap in the Axis defences and an attack was made that broke through and started the rout of the Afrika Korps. The brigade was then ordered to find the southern flank of the Axis defences. Driving across country it moved into the desert reaching the coast road at Galal and the German retreat was cut in two. Here, the brigade destroyed a large number of enemy guns and transport without loss and took 1,000 prisoners.
Early in November, the brigade reached the defences of Mersa Matruh and was ordered to halt; the rest of Eighth Army moved past. The 10th Armoured Division was ordered back to Egypt taking, 1st Royal Horse Artillery with them, leaving the 8th Armoured Brigade to become an independent brigade. At the end of November, the brigade came under the command of the 7th Armoured Division, the famous Desert Rats and was involved in the battles around El Agheila. This battle opened the road past Marble Arch to Nofaliya, which was entered without opposition.
On 15 January, the attack on the Buerat–Bungem line was launched. Then followed battles against a series of rear-guard positions at Wadi Zem Zem, where anti-tank guns and tanks were dug in on the reverse slope, Sedada and Tarhuna, where the hilly nature of the country assisted Axis delaying tactics. Tarhuna was the first civilian-occupied town to be captured by the brigade and it was surrendered by the Burgomaster to the Staffordshire Yeomanry. On 23 January, the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment entered Tripoli in the wake of the 11th Hussars. On 24 January, a composite force consisting of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, 1st Buffs, 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery and 7th Medium Regiment RA advanced to the Zavia area, south-west of Tripoli. The brigade was then rested before starting the campaign in Tunisia.

Tunisia and the Mareth Line

The brigade took advantage of new equipment and it became normal for the brigade to allocate infantry companies to armoured regiments, forming Armoured Regimental groups. At the start of operations at the Mareth Line, the brigade was formed as follows:

3rd Royal Tank Regiment	Nottinghamshire Yeomanry	Staffordshire Yeomanry
25 Sherman tanks	23 Sherman tanks	28 Sherman tanks
4 Grant tanks	4 Grant tanks	3 Grant tanks
22 Crusader tanks	19 Crusader tanks	19 Crusader tanks
8 Armoured cars	6 Armoured cars	7 Armoured cars
B Coy, 1st Buffs	A Coy, 1st Buffs	C Coy, 1st Buffs

On 14 March 1943, the brigade passed from the command of XXX Corps to the New Zealand Corps, joining the 2nd New Zealand Division, the Free French, General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque's forces from Chad and the 1st Free French Brigade.
Following the failure of the frontal attack on the Mareth Line during the Tunisia Campaign by XXX Corps, an attempt was made by the New Zealand Corps to outflank the Axis positions in Operation Supercharge II. Initially unsuccessful, the 1st Armoured Division was despatched to reinforce this "Left-Hook". On 26 March, the brigade was launched towards El Hamma and penetrated deep into the Switch Line. Having gained all their objectives, the brigade drove through the gap and the Axis forces, pressed by a fresh frontal attack and in danger of being encircled, withdrew some north-westwards to defensive positions around Wadi Akarit.
At the Battle of Wadi Akarit, which occurred from the brigade first came up against the Tiger I. The brigade, still supporting 2nd New Zealand Division, was next involved in the battles at Enfidaville and Takrouna. Following the capitulation of the Axis forces in North Africa on 13 May, the brigade slowly made its way back to the Nile delta and then was transferred to Britain, arriving on 9 December 1943. After an extended leave, the brigade reassembled in the New Year and was informed of its role in the forthcoming invasion of Normandy.
The high level of experience gained by the brigade in North Africa contrasted with many of the other armoured units earmarked for the invasion; some of whom had not seen action since the fall of France in 1940. In an attempt to equalise the level of experience across the brigades, an exchange of units took place in February 1944, the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment was exchanged with the 29th Armoured Brigade, part of the inexperienced 11th Armoured Division, for the 24th Lancers and the Staffordshire Yeomanry was exchanged with the 27th Armoured Brigade for the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. Shortly thereafter, Brigadier Bernard Cracroft assumed command of the brigade, which now comprised:

Order of Battle D-Day

4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards
24th Lancers
Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry
147th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
12th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps
168th Light Field Ambulance
552nd Company Royal Army Service Corps
8th Armoured Brigade Workshops R.E.M.E.
265th Forward Delivery Squadron.

While the staffs were involved in the planning of the invasion, the men took part in intensive training exercises.

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

Gold Beach

was the Allied codename for the centre invasion beach during the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. It lay between Omaha Beach and Juno Beach, was 8 km wide and divided into four sectors. From west to east they were How, Item, Jig, and King.
The landing area was defended by elements of Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter's 716th Static Infantry Division and the 1st Battalion of the 916th Infantry Regiment, which had been detached from Generalleutnant Dietrich Kraiss's 352nd Infantry Division.
Gold Beach was allocated to the British Second Army's XXX Corps. The actual assault was to be made by 50th Infantry Division, which had been reinforced with 56th Independent Infantry Brigade and supported by the 8th Armoured Brigade. The division's primary objective was to seize the town of Bayeux, the Caen-Bayeux road, and the port of Arromanches; the secondary objectives being to make contact with the Americans landing at Omaha Beach to the West and the Canadians landing at Juno Beach to the East.
The 231st Infantry Brigade, followed by the 56th Infantry Brigade, landed in the west, with DD tanks from the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry in support. The assault battalions were the 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment on Jig Green and the 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment on Jig Green.
The 69th Infantry Brigade, followed by 151st Infantry Brigade, landed in the east with DD tanks from the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards in support. The assault battalions were the 5th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment on King Red and the 6th Battalion, Green Howards on King Green.

The Landings

H-Hour for the Gold beach landing was set for 0725 hours. For the first time in history, tanks were to lead an assault from the sea on all sectors of the beaches. The secret of the "Duplex Drive" had been well kept, for the German appreciation was that they would have no tanks thrown against them during the first five hours. Unfortunately, the sea conditions in the 50th Division sector were adjudged too rough and the tanks were not launched 2 miles out as planned, but a couple of hundred yards from the shore. In spite of this, the 4/7 DG lost 5 and the SRY 8 in the breakers. Throughout the day both Regiments had all three squadrons continually committed, supporting in turn 231st Infantry Brigade, 151st Infantry Brigade and 69th Infantry Brigades. Night fell with all objectives obtained, all tanks committed and no reserves on shore.