Active 1941–1945 | ||
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Part of Guards Armoured Division 1941–1942Independent 1942–1945 | ||
The 6th Guards Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army during the Second World War formed from the Foot Guards in 1941 as the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade when the United Kingdom was under the threat of invasion and more armoured formations were required.
Contents
History
Permission was granted from King George VI and the Colonels of the Regiments involved and over the summer of 1941, the Infantry of the Guards converted into an armoured formation and so the Guards Armoured Division was formed, containing the 5th and 6th Guards Armoured Brigades, together with supporting units.
In 1942 all British armoured divisions were reorganised to have one armoured brigade and one motorised infantry brigade. The 6th Guards Armoured Brigade thus became an independent tank brigade, being renamed as the 6th Guards Tank Brigade. The brigade now equipped with the Churchill tank, served in the North West Europe Campaign landing in Normandy on 20 July 1944.
Correspondence in Winston Churchill's The Second World War (Volume V: Closing the Ring, Annex C) in April 1944 appears to indicate there was consideration of breaking the brigade up and making its personnel available as replacements for other army formations. Churchill was opposed to this, and nothing appears to have been done.
The brigade went on to take part in the Battle of Normandy in Operation Bluecoat, Operation Veritable finally ending the war at Lübeck on the Baltic Sea where they captured a U-boat.
Order of battle
The 6th Guards Tank/Armoured Brigade was constituted as follows during the war:
Commanders
The following officers commanded 6th Guards Tank/Armoured Brigade during the war: