Permission was granted from King George VI 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 and 6th Guards Armoured Brigades, together with supporting units. The 6th Brigade, was converted from the 30th Independent (Guards) Infantry Brigade[2]
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.[3] The brigade, now equipped with the Churchill tank,[4] served in the North West Europe campaign landing in Normandy on 20 July 1944.[5]
Correspondence in Winston Churchill'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.[6]
Prior to Operation Plunder and after Operations Veritable and Blackcock, the 6th Guards had units of Artillery, Engineer and other units added to their formation. The Brigade then became known as the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade through to V. E. Day.
CommandersEdit
The following officers commanded 6th Guards Tank Brigade during the war:[10]
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
"6 Guards Armoured Brigade". Orders of Battle.com.
"6 Guards Tank Brigade". Orders of Battle.com.
"6 Guards Brigade". Orders of Battle.com.
October 21, 2023
guards, tank, brigade, united, kingdom, guards, tank, brigade, armoured, brigade, british, army, during, second, world, formed, from, foot, guards, 1941, guards, armoured, brigade, when, united, kingdom, under, threat, invasion, more, armoured, formations, wer. 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 6th Guards Armoured Brigade6th Guards Tank Brigade6th Guards BrigadeInsignia of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade 1 Active1941 1945Country United KingdomBranch British ArmyTypeArmouredSizeBrigadePart ofGuards Armoured Division 1941 1942Independent 1942 1945 Contents 1 History 1 1 Order of battle 1 2 Commanders 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References 5 See also 6 External linksHistory EditPermission was granted from King George VI 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 and 6th Guards Armoured Brigades together with supporting units The 6th Brigade was converted from the 30th Independent Guards Infantry Brigade 2 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 3 The brigade now equipped with the Churchill tank 4 served in the North West Europe campaign landing in Normandy on 20 July 1944 5 Correspondence in Winston Churchill 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 6 The brigade went on to take part in the Battle of Normandy in Operation Bluecoat 7 Operation Veritable finally ending the war at Lubeck on the Baltic Sea where they captured a U boat 8 nbsp Churchill tanks of 6th Guards Tank Brigade laying a smokescreen during the advance on Venray Netherlands 17 October 1944Order of battle Edit The 6th Guards Tank Brigade was constituted as follows during the war 9 4th Tank Battalion Coldstream Guards 4th Tank Battalion Grenadier Guards 3rd Tank Battalion Scots GuardsPrior to Operation Plunder and after Operations Veritable and Blackcock the 6th Guards had units of Artillery Engineer and other units added to their formation The Brigade then became known as the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade through to V E Day Commanders Edit The following officers commanded 6th Guards Tank Brigade during the war 10 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 GreenacreSee also Edit nbsp United Kingdom portal nbsp World War II portalBritish armoured formations of World War II List of British brigades of the Second World War Rhino tankNotes Edit Cole p 123 The Guards Divisions 1914 45 By Mike Chappell p 28 Guards Armoured 6th Guards Tank Brigade The Story of Guardsmen in Churchill Tanks D Day tanks Archived from the original on 9 August 2007 Retrieved 8 October 2008 Churchill Winston 1954 Appendix C notes of 4 April 1944 4 April 1944 and 9 April 1944 The Second World War Vol V Closing the Ring London The Reprint Society pp 541 542 British Armour in the Normandy Campaign 1944 By John Buckley p 101 brief history of the brigade Joslen pps 157 197 Joslen pps 157 197 References EditBuckley John British Armour in the Normandy Campaign 1944 Published by Routledge 2004 ISBN 0 7146 5323 3 Chappell Mike The Guards Divisions 1914 45 Published by Osprey Publishing 1995 ISBN 1 85532 546 2 Cole Howard 1973 Formation Badges of World War 2 Britain Commonwealth and Empire London Arms and Armour Press ISBN 978 0 85368 078 9 Forbes Patrick 6th Guards Tank Brigade The Story of Guardsmen in Churchill Tanks Published by Sampson Low 1946 OCLC 464061159 Joslen H F 2003 1960 Orders of Battle Second World War 1939 1945 Uckfield East Sussex Naval and Military Press ISBN 978 1 84342 474 1 See also EditList of British brigades of the Second World WarExternal links Edit 6 Guards Armoured Brigade Orders of Battle com 6 Guards Tank Brigade Orders of Battle com 6 Guards Brigade Orders of Battle com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 6th Guards Tank Brigade United Kingdom amp oldid 1175661319, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
