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5th Guards Armoured Brigade
The 5th Guards Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army, a component unit of the Guards Armoured Division, that served in the Second World War in North-west Europe from June 1944 until May 1945. History This brigade was converted from the 20th Infantry Brigade (Guards) on 15 September 1941. It was stationed in the United Kingdom on training and home defence duties, anticipating a potential German invasion. The brigade remained in the United Kingdom until 30 June 1944 when it arrived in Normandy with the rest of the Guards Armoured Division as part of Operation Overlord. The brigade served throughout the North West Europe Campaign. On 12 June 1945 it was converted to the 5th Guards Brigade. Commanders * Brig. W.A.F.L. Fox-Pitt * Lieut. Col. R. Myddleton * Brig. C.M. Dillwyn-Venables-Llewelyn * Brig. Norman Wilmshurst Gwatkin 1943–45 Component Units Structure upon formation in 1941: * Headquarters * 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards - Armoured * 1st Ba ...
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of List of islands of the United Kingdom, the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering . Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. It maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London. The cities o ...
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The British Army In North-west Europe 1944-45 BU4676
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee'') ...
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Armoured Brigades Of The British Army In World War II
Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or from a potentially dangerous environment or activity (e.g. cycling, construction sites, etc.). Personal armour is used to protect soldiers and war animals. Vehicle armour is used on warships, armoured fighting vehicles, and some combat aircraft, mostly ground attack aircraft. A second use of the term ''armour'' describes armoured forces, armoured weapons, and their role in combat. After the development of armoured warfare, tanks and mechanised infantry and their combat formations came to be referred to collectively as "armour". Etymology The word "armour" began to appear in the Middle Ages as a derivative of Old French. It is dated from 1297 as a "mail, defensive covering worn in combat". The word originates from the Old Frenc ...
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List Of British Brigades Of The Second World War
This is a list of British Brigades in the Second World War. It is intended as a central place to access resources about formations of brigade size that served in the British Army during the Second World War. * List of British airborne brigades of the Second World War (includes airlanding and parachute brigades) * List of British anti-aircraft brigades of the Second World War * List of British infantry brigades of the Second World War (1–100) * List of British infantry brigades of the Second World War (101–308 and named) * List of British mobile brigades during the Second World War (includes armoured, cavalry, armoured reconnaissance, motor machine gun, support groups, and tank brigades) * List of British special service brigades of the Second World War See also * British Army during the Second World War * British deception formations in World War II * British infantry brigades of the First World War * Military history of Britain during World War II {{DEFAULTSORT:Br ...
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British Armoured Formations Of World War II
During the Second World War the British Army deployed armoured divisions and independent armoured and tank brigades. Background During the interwar period, the British Army examined the Lessons learned, lessons of the First World War; a need was seen for experimentation with and development of Military theory, theories of Maneuver warfare, manoeuvre and armoured warfare, as well as the creation of the short-lived Experimental Mechanized Force. The long-term impact was for the army to move towards mechanisation, to enhance battlefield mobility. By the 1930s, the army had established three types of divisions: the Division (military)#Infantry division, infantry division, the mobile division (later called an Division (military)#Armoured division, armoured division), and the motor division (a Motorized infantry, motorised infantry division). The primary role of the infantry division was to Penetration (warfare), penetrate the enemy's Defense line, defensive line, with the support of inf ...
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Norman Gwatkin
Brigadier Sir Norman Wilmshurst Gwatkin (2 August 1899 – 31 July 1971) was a British Army officer and courtier in the Household of Elizabeth II. Military career Gwatkin was the son of Hugh Fortescue Wilmshurst Gwatkin and Vera Philpots. He was educated at Clifton College before attending the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He commissioned into the Coldstream Guards in 1918. He subsequently joined the Royal Household. He was invested as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in 1937, while serving as Assistant Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office. In 1940 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Gwatkin saw active service in the Second World War and in 1944 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order while commanding the 5th Guards Armoured Brigade in Operation Overlord. He returned to the Royal Household after the war. Between 1950 and 1952 he served as an Extra Equerry to George VI, and held the same role in the household of Elizabeth II until his de ...
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William Fox-Pitt (British Army Officer)
Major General William Augustus Fitzgerald Lane Fox-Pitt, (28 January 1896 – 26 April 1988) was a British Army officer who served in both the First World War and Second World War. Early life Fox-Pitt was born in London on 28 January 1896, to Lieutenant Colonel W. A. Fox-Pitt, a soldier with the Grenadier Guards. For his education he attended Charterhouse School before following his father into the army, joining the Cheshire Regiment in August 1914. First World War and interwar career Fox-Pitt sailed for France with the Cheshire Regiment in October 1914 before transferring to the newly formed Welsh Guards the following year. While with the regiment, he was wounded in the fighting at the Hohenzollern Redoubt. Commanding a company at Ginchy on the Somme in 1916, he won a Military Cross. The citation for the award stated: Fox-Pitt was injured once more during 1918. Remaining with the Welsh Guards after the war, Fox-Pitt commanded the regiment's 1st Battalion from 1934 to 1939 ...
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Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day (military term), D-Day) with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune). A 1,200-plane Airborne forces, airborne assault preceded an amphibious warfare, amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August. The decision to undertake cross-channel landings in 1944 was made at the Washington Conference (1943), Trident Conference in Washington, D.C., Washington in May 1943. American General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, and British General Bernard Montgomery was named commander of the 21st Army Group, ...
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Invasion Of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune). A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August. The decision to undertake cross-channel landings in 1944 was made at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. American General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, and British General Bernard Montgomery was named commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all the land forces involved in the operation. The Normandy coast in northwestern France was chosen as the site of the landings, with the ...
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Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (), was Nazi Germany's code name for their planned invasion of the United Kingdom. It was to have taken place during the Battle of Britain, nine months after the start of the Second World War. Following the Battle of France and that country's capitulation, Adolf Hitler, the German Führer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, hoped the British government would accept his offer to end the state of war between the two. He considered invasion to be a last resort, to be used only if all other options had failed. As a precondition for the invasion of Great Britain, Britain, Hitler demanded both air superiority, air and naval superiority over the English Channel and the proposed landing sites. The German forces achieved neither at any point of the war. Further, both Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the German High Command and Hitler himself held serious doubts about the prospects for success. Nevertheless, both the German Army (1 ...
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20th Independent Infantry Brigade (Guards)
The 20th Independent Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army, raised during the Second World War. History The brigade was formed in Aldershot Command in April 1940.Joslen, p. 262. It served during the Battle of France in 1940, briefly defending Boulogne in May 1940 (22–23 May 1940) before being successfully evacuated.Ellis, Chapter X : ''Defence of the Channel Ports: 22nd May to 26th May 1940'', pp. 153–159; accessdate = 29 November 2012. After return to the United Kingdom, the brigade served in Eastern Command and London District. On 15 September 1941, the brigade was converted into the 5th Guards Armoured Brigade; a component of the Guards Armoured Division. It served with distinction through the battles in Normandy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Commanders The following officers commanded the brigade: * Brigadier Oliver Leese (from 22 April 1940) * Brigadier William Fox-Pitt (from 10 May 1940) Order of battle The following units ...
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Allied Preparations For D-day H38532
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called allies. Alliances form in many settings, including political alliances, military alliances, and business alliances. When the term is used in the context of war or armed struggle, such associations may also be called allied powers, especially when discussing World War I or World War II. A formal military alliance is not required to be perceived as an ally—co-belligerence, fighting alongside someone, is enough. According to this usage, allies become so not when concluding an alliance treaty but when struck by war. When spelled with a capital "A", "Allies" usually denotes the countries who fought together against the Central Powers (German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman Empire) in World War; I (the Allies of World War&nbs ...
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