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.
| 9th Armoured Division | |
|---|---|
 Formation sign of the 9th Armoured Division.[1] | |
| Active | 1 December 1940–31 July 1944[2] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Armoured |
| Size | 14,964 men[3] 227 tanks[nb 1][nb 2] |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Major-General Brian Horrocks |
History edit
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.[5]
General Officer Commanding edit
The 9th Armoured Division had three men who held the position of General Officer Commanding during the Second World War.
| Appointed | General Officer Commanding |
| 4 December 1940 | Major-General Brocas Burrows[2] |
| 20 March 1942 | Major-General Brian Horrocks[2] |
| 12 August 1942 | Major-General John D'Arcy[nb 3] |
Component Units edit
Component units included:[6]
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
- 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
- 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars
- 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
- 2nd Battalion, Queen Victoria's Rifles - renamed 8th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps on 22 March 1941
9th Support Group (disbanded 12 June 1942)
- 11th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
- 6th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
- 74th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 54th (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
7th Infantry Brigade (transferred to division on 5 June 1942)
- 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers
- 6th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
- 2/6th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment
Divisional Troops
- 1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars - (16 January 1943 - 10 July 1943)
- 6th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery - (12 June 1942 - 10 July 1944)
- 141st (Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - (12 June 1942 - 10 July 1944)
- 74th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery - (12 June 1942 - 6 November 1943)
- 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery - (12 November 1943 - 10 July 1944)
- 54th (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery - (12 June 1942 - 2 March 1944)
- 150th (Loyals) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery - (2 March 1944 - 10 July 1944)
See also edit
Notes edit
- Footnotes
- ^ 201 tanks and 26 anti-aircraft tanks.[4]
- ^ These two figures are the war establishment, the on-paper strength, of the division; for information on how divisions size changed over the war please see British Army during the Second World War and British Armoured formations of World War II.
- ^ D'Arcy was appointed as the acting General Officer Commanding on 12 August 1942 at the rank of Brigadier, he took official command of the division on 8 September 1942 with the rank of Major-General.[2]
- Citations
- ^ Cole p34
- ^ a b c d Joslen, p. 23
- ^ Joslen, p. 129
- ^ Joslen, p. 6
- ^ Anderson, Richard C. (2009). Cracking Hitler's Wall: The 1st Assault Brigade Engineers on D-Day: The 1st Assault Brigade Royal Engineers on D-Day. Stackpole Books. p. 8. ISBN 978-0811705899.
- ^ Ordersofbattle.com 9th Armoured Division subordinates
References edit
- Joslen, Lieutenant-Colonel H.F. (1960) [1960]. Orders Of Battle Second World War 1939-1945. Naval & Military Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- Cole H (1973) Formation Badges of World War 2. Britain, Commonwealth and Empire Arms and Armour Press SBN 85368 078 7
External links edit
- "9 Armoured Division". Orders of Battle.com.
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