The division was formed in the United Kingdom under
Northern Command on 12 September 1940, commanded by
Major-General John Crocker, an officer of the
Royal Tank Regiment who had recently fought in the
Battle of France. The division initially had the
20th and
26th Armoured Brigades under command, as well as the
6th Support Group. In late April 1942, the 20th Armoured Brigade was transferred from the division and replaced by the
38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade and the 6th Support Group was disbanded in June. The 6th Armoured Division, now commanded by Major General
Charles Keightley, taking over from Major General
Charles Gairdner, soon began intensive training in preparation for service overseas. In October 1940, armoured regiments within the Division, such as the 2nd Lothians and Border Horse, were supplied with
Matilda MkI.I tanks, then in May 1942 Crusader MkII tanks, in August 1942
Valentine Mk.V tanks and in October
Crusader MKIIIs. Subsequently the
M4A2 Sherman medium tank was added to their inventory by March 1943. In November–December 1942 The division participated in the
Operation Torch assault landings in Bone, closest to the Axis Forces in all the Torch landings that stretched from Morocco to the Tunisian border. In November 1942 they saw their first action as part of
V Corps of the British
First Army, First Allied Army in the
Tunisia Campaign. In March 1943, around the same time when most of the units had been supplied with American M4A2 Shermans, the 6th Division came under IX Corps. After Tunisia, the Division participated in the
Italian Campaign as part of the British
Eighth Army and ended the war in Austria, again under the command of V Corps.
Kasserine of the
17th/21st Lancers on a road near Bou Arada, Tunisia, 13 January 1943. On 30 January 1943, the German
21st Panzer Division (veterans of the
Afrika Korps under
Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel) and three Italian divisions met elements of the French forces near Faïd, the main pass from the eastern arm of the mountains into the coastal plains. The French were overrun and two US units near them were surrounded. On 19 February 1943, Rommel launched what would become the
Battle of Kasserine Pass. After two days of advances through the American defences, the
Afrika Korps and the Italians had suffered few casualties, while the American forces lost a significant number of men and two-thirds of their tanks. During the battle the Italian
131st Centauro Armoured Division captured more than 3,000 American soldiers. On the night of 21 February 1943, the 6th Armoured and
46th Infantry Divisions, arrived to bolster the American defence, having been pulled from the British lines facing the Germans at Sbiba. Counter-attacks by Italian troops were also ordered on the British and Americans. Two battalions of experienced Bersaglieri soldiers are recorded by the 23rd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery as having made a daylight counter-attack through the Ousseltia Plain, which was repelled. Next day opened with another German counter-attack against the Americans, until the arrival of four US artillery battalions made offensive operations difficult. (POWs) carry a wounded British soldier during the 6th Armoured Division's attack on the town of Pichon in Tunisia, 8 April 1943. Faced with stiffening defences and the news that the Eighth Army had reached
Medenine, only a few kilometres from the
Mareth Line, Rommel decided to call off the attack and withdraw on the night of 22 February 1943 to support the Mareth defences, hoping that the Kasserine attack had caused enough damage to deter any offensive action from the west for the moment. The Axis forces from Kasserine reached the Mareth line on 25 February. It was after the battle of Kasserine Pass that the 6th Armoured Division was reorganised and equipped with the M4 Sherman tank. In March 1943 the division was assigned to the recently arrived
IX Corps (Lieutenant-General John Crocker) the former first GOC of the division, who was later wounded in a training accident and replaced by Lieutenant-General
Brian Horrocks. The division was the spearhead of the final assault by the First Army in May 1943, breaking through to Tunis. The division went on to take the surrender of the famous
90th Light Division and participated in the round up and capitulation of all Axis forces in North Africa in May 1943.
Italy In Italy there was no more mobile warfare in wide open spaces. The division would spend much of its time supporting the infantry as the Allies came across defensive line after defensive line. The 6th Armoured Division, now under Major General
Gerald Templer (replaced by Major General
Horatius Murray after Templer was injured in early August), was now part of XIII Corps, which had been assigned to the US
Fifth Army (
Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark) to form its right flank and fight in the high
Apennine Mountains during Operation Olive in August and September 1944. The Gothic Line (
Linea Gotica) formed
Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of the
Second World War during the fighting retreat of the German forces in Italy. The 6th Armoured Division captured the San Godenzo Pass on Route 67 to Forlì on 18 September.
Spring 1945 Offensive By 19 April, the Argenta Gap had been forced and the 6th Armoured Division was released through the left wing of the advancing
78th Infantry Division, to swing left to race north-west along the line of the river Reno to Bondeno and link up with units of the Fifth Army advancing north from west of Bologna, to complete the encirclement of the German divisions defending Bologna. On all fronts the German defence continued to be determined and effective but Bondeno was captured on 23 April. The 6th Armoured Division linked with the US
10th Mountain Division (
IV US Corps) the next day at Finale. The IV US Corps had broken through onto the plains on 19 April, bypassing Bologna on their right. Bologna was entered by the Poles advancing up the line of Route 9 on 21 April, followed two hours later by the II US Corps from the south. ==Post-war==