1940:
Campaign in France

The Armored Forces

TO&E: British

by Dana Lombardy


The British First Armoured Division never fought as a complete unit. Formed in 1938 from the Mobile Division and the First Tank Brigade, it was sent to France piecemeal during the 1940 campaign. The Second Armoured Brigade arrived 20 - 23 May at Cherbourg with the First Support Group. The latter consisted only of the HQ and Light AA/AT Regiment, and even that, the only unit of its kind, was short its twenty-four 40mm AA guns.

The Third Armoured Brigade didn't arrive until 25 May, also landing at Cherbourg. The other divisional units were either sent to the B.E.F. in 1939, remaining under its command, or sent to defend Calais on 22 May as the 30th Infantry Brigade (the two infantry battalions and the Third Royal Tank Regiment.

The two Armoured Brigades as deployed in France each had three armoured regiments. The Third Brigade, as shown, totaled 166 Cruiser tanks with the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Royal Tank Regiments (RTR). The Second Brigade consisted of Cavalry Light Tank Regiments -- the Bays, 10th Hussars. and 9th Lancers.

The purpose of the British Army Tank Brigade (at right)was to give close support for the infantry. Originally it had been planned to provide every B.E.F. division with a battalion of these slow, heavily-armoured infantry tanks. At the start of the 1940 campaign, however, only three were available -- the 4th and 7th in France with the Brigade, and the 8th which remained in England. It was these two battalions, with Mk II "Matildas" with 2-pounder guns), that attacked Rommel's 7th Panzer and the SS Totenkopf motorized division at Arras on 21 May.

The Armoured Reconnaissance Brigades (at left)were formed from the divisional cavalry regiments and GHQ troops of the B.E.F. In March 1940, the reconnaissance contingents of the 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions (the 15/19 Hussars and the 5th Dragoon Guards, respectively) were placed under the 2nd Reconnaissance Brigade, although they continued to act as division cavalry.

Only three motorcycle battalions (at left) took part in the French campaign. These were the 4th RNF of the 50th Division, the 8th RNF of the 23rd Division, and the 1st KRRC of the 30th Infantry Brigade. 550 men in three companies were armed with 11 scout cars, 43 solo- and 99 combination-type motorcycles. Weapons totalled 227 pistols, 335 rifles, 43 LMG, 17 AT rifles, and 8 2-inch mortars.

More 1940

Related

Back to Conflict Number 1 Table of Contents
Back to Conflict List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1998 by Dana Lombardy
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com