With the outbreak of war with Germany on 3rd September 1939, the Mobile Division moved up to the Egyptian-Libyan frontier, where they took up positions. During this period 3rd RHA had been re-equipped with both 2-pdr and 37mm Bofors Anti-Tank In May 1941, the Division took part in, In January/February 1942, the Axis forces attacked again, but the 7th Armoured Division was refitting after the Crusader battles and did not return to the Western Desert until April that year. Brevity comes at a time when Rommel is hard-pressed to repel it. Suez and Egypt are under British control, while Libya (Cyrenaica, named after the ancient city of Cyrene) and Ethiopia are under Italian control. A significant part of Axis supplies never reach the frontlines, being destroyed by Royal Navy bombardment or Royal Air Force attacks. It was formed in the desert of North Africa just before the Second World War and fought in most of the major campaigns of the war, ending up in the heart of the Third Reich itself - Berlin. The 1st RTR had already served in the desert before, in 1936, so they had already built up considerable desert experience, but undoubtedly the most experienced unit in either the British or Italian armies was the 11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars - "The Cherry Pickers". “Boxes”, which are strongpoints comprised of fixed groupings of infantry and supporting arms such as anti-tanks guns, ditches, anti-tank & anti-personnel mines, booby traps, barbed wire, are dug around the defensive lines. The Desert War continues well into 1943 with Operation Torch and the Invasion of Morocco and Algeria by the U.S. forces, but this is a topic for another time. The It was in fact Churchill who said ....."It will be enough for any man to say The significance of the colour patches as worn by the 9th Division and members of the 18th Brigade of the 7th Division is that the shape has been varied from the AIF standard diamond to that of the letter 'T' in tribute to the Battalion's involvement in the defence of Tobruk. The 7th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army that saw distinguished active service during World War II, where its exploits in the Western Desert Campaign gained it the Desert Rats nickname. In overall command of the Tobruk defense was Maj. Gen. John Lavarack, former commander of the Australian 7th Division. The 11th Hussars and Support Group took up positions near Mersa Matruh, from where the Hussars could move out and reconnoitre the wastes of the Western Desert. Spearheaded by the 7th Armored Division which would later become known as the “Desert Rats”, the forces under Major-General Richard O’Connor push the rest of the Italian 10th Army out of Egypt and capture the ports along the Libyan coast. VTOL VR As most people are aware by now,... Post was not sent - check your email addresses! guns so its four batteries could perform and anti-tank role Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Indeed the Australians have a Rats of Tobruk Association, but the only true "Desert Rats" are the men who served in the 7th Armoured Division, whose shoulders or vehicles wore the Jerboa emblem. The garrison, commanded by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, consisted of the 9th Division (20th, 24th, and 26th Brigades), the 18th Brigade of the 7th Division, along with four regiments of British artillery and some Indian troops. on the Memorial plinth, commemorating the Desert Rats from 1945 to date. It is good to know that one of the first Brigades that served with the Division, but left it, now continues its heritage. disbanded, being perpetuated by 7th Armoured Brigade. roadworks in this area made it necessary to move the monument, so it was removed From the Germans’ perspective, the invasion of the Soviet Union starts on June 22 1941 with Operation Barbarossa. produced for a design of desert rat (pictured below) which was approved by the Its occupation by the British deprives the Axis of a supply port closer to the Egypt–Libya border than Benghazi, 900 km west of the Egyptian frontier, which is within the range of RAF bombers. The British Army had deployed small armoured car forces in the Western Desert of Egypt and Cyrenaica for many years, with the first ones operating in the Western Desert towards the end of the Great War. Divisional commander) saw a young local boy with Jerboa in his pocket. 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