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Exercise Spartan
Exercise Spartan was a Second World War exercise that took place from 4 to 12 March 1943 in England. It was a test of the structures, components, and organization of the Canadian Army at that time. The exercise was the largest field force ever commanded by a Canadian officer up until that time. It was described by ''The Times'' as “the greatest offensive exercise ever staged in the military history of these islands.”C.P. Stacey''CMHQ Report 94'', ''Exercise Spartan, March 1943''.12 May 1943. Background Exercise Spartan was a follow-up to Exercise Bumper conducted in October 1941. This one however, was an offensive exercise where the Allied Army under the command of a Canadian General was expected to advance across a bridgehead and take the capital city of the fictional enemy country of Eastland which was located at Huntingdon.Rickard, John Nelso"The Test of Command: McNaughton and Exercise “Spartan,” 4–12 March 1943."Canadian Military History 8, 3 (1999) Purpose of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
II Canadian Corps
II Canadian Corps was a corps-level formation that, along with I (British) Corps (August 1, 1944 to April 1, 1945) and I Canadian Corps (April 6, 1943 to November 1943, and April 1, 1945 until the end of hostilities), comprised the First Canadian Army in Northwest Europe during World War II. Authorization for the formation of the corps headquarters became effective in England on January 14, 1943. Over March 4–12, 1943 the new Canadian corps was involved in Exercise Spartan, a large-scale training exercise in southern England. This exercise revealed weaknesses in the command of both the new Corps and of First Canadian Army, and this led directly to several changes in leadership over the subsequent year. The first commander of II Canadian Corps was Lieutenant-General Ernest William Sansom, effective January 15, 1943. Concerns over his leadership abilities and health caused Sansom to be replaced by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds on January 29, 1944. Simonds led the corps for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
61st Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 61st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in 1939 as part of the expansion of the Territorial Army in response to the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. The division was created as a duplicate of the 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division, and was assigned to home defence duties. While the division was never deployed overseas, its headquarters staff was deployed to Norway and briefly fought in the Norwegian Campaign. Afterwards, the division was deployed to Northern Ireland for almost three years as a result of rumours of a German intention to invade. In Northern Ireland, the division manned static defences, conducted internal security, and trained for future operations. Returning to England, the division participated in military exercises and was scheduled to join the 21st Army Group for the Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of German-occupied France. It lost this role in late 1943, and was assigned to train replacements f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
49th (West Riding) Infantry Division
The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the division fought in the Norwegian Campaign and in North-western Europe. After the Second World War, it was disbanded in 1946, then reformed in 1947. It remained with Northern Command until finally disbanded in 1967. Formation The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which combined and re-organised the old Volunteer Force, the Honourable Artillery Company and the Yeomanry. Originally designated the West Riding Division, the division was composed of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd West Riding Brigades, each with four infantry battalions, along with supporting units. The division was one of fourteen divisions that made up part of the peacetime TF. In peacet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XI Corps (United Kingdom)
XI Corps was a corps-sized formation of the British Expeditionary Force, active during the First World War that served on the Western Front and in Italy. It was recreated as part of Home Forces defending the United Kingdom during the Second World War. First World War Western Front XI Corps was formed in France on 29 August 1915 under Lt-Gen Richard Haking. Its first serious engagement (as part of Sir Charles Monro's First Army) was the Battle of Fromelles (19 July 1916), a diversion to the Somme offensive in which two untried divisions were launched into an ill-planned subsidiary attack in Flanders. It achieved nothing but cost thousands of casualties, and caused great resentment in Australia. ;Order of Battle at Fromelles General Officer Commanding Lt-Gen R. Haking * 61st (2nd South Midland) Division * 5th Australian Division Italian Front XI Corps was one of two corps HQs moved to the Italian Front in November 1917. ;Order of Battle in Italy 1 December 1917 GOC Lt-Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
42nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom)
The 42nd Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army raised during the Second World War. History War Service The division was formed in late 1941 by converting the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division.Joslen, p. 42 The 42nd Division was a 1st Line Territorial Army (TA) infantry formation that saw service in the Battle of France and was evacuated at Dunkirk in June 1940.Joslen, p. 68 The division was converted on 1 November 1941 into an armoured division. The division's first commander was Major-General Miles C. Dempsey. However, the division was not posted overseasChappell, p. 15 and its divisional headquarters was disbanded on 17 October 1943; the division's infantry was assigned to the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division and its armour to the 79th Armoured Division. General Officer Commanding Two men served as the General Officer Commanding of the 42nd Armoured Division: * Major-General Miles Dempsey: November 1941-December 1942Joslen, p. 29 * Major-G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
9th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)
The 9th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army, raised during the Second World War. It never saw active service during the war as a complete division. History The 9th Armoured was created on 1 December 1940 and dispersed and disbanded on 31 July 1944. It never saw active service during the war as a complete division, although its 27th armoured brigade fought in the Normandy campaign and NW Europe in 1944. General Officer Commanding The 9th Armoured Division had three men who held the position of General Officer Commanding during the Second World War. Component Units Component units included: 27th Armoured Brigade ''(transferred from division on 10 August 1942)'' * 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards * 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) * 1st East Riding Yeomanry * 1st Battalion, Queen Victoria's Rifles - ''renamed 7th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps on 22 March 1941'' 28th Armoured Brigade * 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards * 15th/19th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VIII Corps (United Kingdom)
VIII Corps was a British Army corps formation that existed during the First and Second World Wars. In the latter, it took part in the Normandy Campaign in 1944, where it was involved in Operation Epsom and Operation Goodwood. It would later play a supporting role in Operation Market Garden and finish the war by advancing from the Rhine to the Baltic Sea. Prior to the First World War In 1876, a Mobilisation Scheme was published for the forces in Great Britain and Ireland, which included eight army corps of the 'Active Army'. The '8th Corps' was to be headquartered at Edinburgh and was primarily militia formation. In 1880, its order of battle was as follows: *1st Division (Edinburgh) **1st Brigade (Edinburgh) ***Kerry Militia (Tralee), Northumberland Militia (Alnwick), Fermanagh Militia (Enniskillen) **2nd Brigade ***Antrim Militia (Belfast), Cavan Militia (Cavan), Donegal Militia (Lifford) **Divisional Troops ***50th Foot (Edinburgh), Ayrshire Yeomanry (Ayr) **Artillery *** ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Gammell
Lieutenant-General Sir James Andrew Harcourt Gammell (26 September 1892 – 1 September 1975) was a British Army officer who fought during both the First and the Second World Wars. Early life and military career Born in Edinburgh on 26 September 1892, the son of Sydney James and Alice Stobart, Gammell was educated at Winchester College, followed by the Pembroke College, Oxford, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Scottish Horse in January 1913. He transferred to the Royal Field Artillery on 5 August 1914, the day after Britain entered the First World War. Gammell initially served with the 113th Battery of the 25th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, part of the 1st Division, and was sent to France on 20 August as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). In March 1915, he was awarded the Military Cross (MC): the citation for the medal reads: Later in the year fought in the Gallipoli campaign where he was twice mentioned in dispatches and, after this, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
