A living history of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces. British Divisions WW2. Researching the activities of British units which fought in WW2 is becoming more and more commonplace; either for those with an interest in specific regiments or divisions, or for family historians.
This new and important part of the site will examine the Order of Battle of every British Division that saw active service in WW2. For each division all the units that served with it are listed, with details of where it served and in which major battles. A list of divisional commanders is included, and under the Notes section are listed any known published histories of the division, any Victoria Crosses won, and other miscellaneous information. For the moment I have only listed divisions which saw active service during WW2 - those that remained in Britain and supplied drafts are not shown.
And to start with I have largely included divisions which saw service in Italy and North-West Europe. Corrections and amendments welcome! This may take me some time to complete - so keep checking back! Richard Dick Winthers - Band of Brothers - Frères d'Armes - Les vétérans. Biographie Originaire de lancaster Country en Pennsylvanie, diplômé du Franklin Marshall College, Richard Dick Winters s'engage dans l'armée en 1941.
Durant les entraînements de base, Winters est intrigué par son officier d'instruction qui fait un discours explicatif d'une heure sur un fusil qu'il croyait tenir dans ses mains alors que ce n'était pas le bon. C'est également durant ses classes que Winters découvre les troupes aéroportées. Il décide aussitôt de s'engager comme volontaire dans les "Airborne troops" dont il ne connaissait pas l'existence, tout comme une grande partie des Américains à l'époque. Il rejoint la Easy Company durant l'été 1942 en temps que chef de section aux terrains d'entraînement de Toccoa en Géorgie.
En Normandie, Meehan est tué le Jour J, et Winters devient le commandant de la Easy par suppléance. Il est décédé le 2 janvier 2011 à 92 ans. Opération "Medal of Honor pour Richard D. Pour participer à l'opération "Medal of Honor pour Richard D. 1st Armoured Division (United Kingdom) The division was formed in November 1937 on the initiative of General Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS).
At the time, it was named the The Mobile Division. The choice of the division's General Officer Commanding reflected the tensions within the army. The Secretary of State for War (Leslie Hore-Belisha) wanted a Royal Tank Corps officer to command, as tanks would be the main force of the division, but Montgomery-Massingberd wanted a cavalry officer. Supporters of Montgomery-Massingberd proposed that the tank element of the division should be formed from cavalry regiments equipped with light tanks only, and that the tank brigade and its heavier tanks be removed from the division. The compromise was the appointment of Major-General Alan Brooke, who was from the Royal Artillery.[3] When Brooke was promoted, his replacement was a cavalry officer. Royal Artillery 1939-45. Thehistorybunker.co.uk/acatalog/Tommy400. British Infantry Battalion TO&E. Below is a 1:1 schematic image of a WWII British Infantry battalion TO&E (Table of Organisation and Equipment, TOE).
The same organisation was used for the infantry battalions of the infantry brigades of both Infantry and Armoured divisions. An Infantry division had 9 infantry battalions, in 3 brigades, see here for divisional TO&E . An armoured division had a single infantry brigade (of 3 battalions) and also a motor battalion which was organised differently. The Divisional Assets, on the right had side, are proportional assets from a full infantry division that could be attached to a battalion. 2nd Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) The 2nd Armoured Brigade was a regular British Army unit during the Second World War, originally titled 2nd Light Armoured Brigade.
British Armoured formations of the Second World War Bright, Joan, ed. (1951). The Ninth Queen's Royal Lancers 1936–1945. Aldershot: Gale & Polden. 2 Armoured Brigade at Orders of Battle.com?