British Guards Armoured Division

Although organized and equipped in basically the same way, and faced with generally similar tasks, there were marked differences between the three British armoured divisions which fought in North-West Europe during 1944-45. The 7th had evolved gradually from pre-war days (as described in Vanguard 1 by the present author) and had fought continuously since 1940. while Guards and 1 1 th Armoured were formed only in 1941 and spent nearly three years training in the United Kingdom before going into action for (he first time in Normandy in mid-1944. The 1 ith Armoured, like 7th, had a mixture of cavalry, yeomanry and RTR units in its armoured brigade, and had rifle, light infantry and county battalions among its infantry, while Guards Armoured was unique in that virtually all its units, both armoured and infantry. had common origins as foot guards battalions within the Brigade of Guards, before retraining as tank crews and lorried or motor infantry. Guards Armoured also possibly enjoyed less disruption and greater continuity than the others once it went into anion: unlike 7th Armoured it kept the same divisional and brigade commanders throughout its period of active sen ice. and unlike 11 th it retained the same type of tank, the Sherman, until the end of the war. It also drew reinforcements for its two

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