This is the order of battle for the ground forces involved in Operation Crusader, a World War II battle between the British Commonwealth and the European Axis Powers of Germany and Italy in North Africa between 18 November – 30 December 1941.
British and Commonwealth Forces
Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command: General Claude Auchinleck
Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham, succeeded on 26 November by Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie
Lieutenant-General Willoughby Norrie
7th Armoured Division (Major-General William Gott)
4th Armoured Brigade
8th Hussars
3rd Royal Tank Regiment
5th Royal Tank Regiment
2nd Battalion, Scots Guards
2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
7th Armoured Brigade
7th Hussars
2nd Royal Tank Regiment
6th Royal Tank Regiment
22nd Armoured Brigade
2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
7th Support Group
3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
4th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
1st Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps
2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade
60th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
One Battery, 51st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
Divisional troops
4th South African Armoured Car Regiment
King's Dragoon Guards
11th Hussars
1st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
1st South African Division (Major-General George Brink)
1st South African Infantry Brigade
1st Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles, South African Infantry Corps
1st Battalion, Royal Natal Carabineers, South African Infantry Corps
1st Battalion, Transvaal Scottish Regiment, South African Infantry Corps
3rd Field Artillery Regiment,South African Artillery Corps
5th South African Infantry Brigade
Regiment Botha, South African Infantry Corps
South African Irish Regiment, South African Infantry Corps
3rd Battalion, Transvaal Scottish Regiment, South African Infantry Corps
4th Field Artillery Regiment,South African Artillery Corps
22nd Guards Brigade
9th Battalion, Rifle Brigade
3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards
Lieutenant-General Reade Godwin-Austen
2nd New Zealand Division (Major-General Bernard Freyberg)
4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
18th Infantry Battalion
19th Infantry Battalion
20th Infantry Battalion
5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
21st Infantry Battalion
22nd Infantry Battalion
23rd Infantry Battalion
6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
24th Infantry Battalion
25th Infantry Battalion
26th Infantry Battalion
4th Indian Infantry Division (Major-General Frank Messervy)
5th Indian Infantry Brigade
1st Battalion, The Buffs
3rd Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment
4th Battalion (Outram's), 6th Rajputana Rifles
7th Indian Infantry Brigade
1st Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
4th Battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment
4th Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment
11th Indian Infantry Brigade
2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
2nd Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry
1st Battalion (Wellesley's), 6th Rajputana Rifles
Divisional troops
The Central India Horse (21st King George V's Own Horse) (Reconnaissance)
1st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
25th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
31st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
1st Army Tank Brigade
8th Royal Tank Regiment - Valentine Infantry Tank (Lt Col Brooke)
42nd Royal Tank Regiment( Lt Col Willison later Lt Col Martin)
44th Royal Tank Regiment - Matilda Mk II Infantry Tank (Lt Col Yeo)
Major-General Ronald Scobie
70th Infantry Division
14th Infantry Brigade
1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
2nd Battalion, Black Watch
2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
16th Infantry Brigade
2nd Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment
2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment
2nd Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment
23rd Infantry Brigade
1st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
1st Battalion, Essex Regiment
4th Battalion, Border Regiment
Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade
I Carpathian Rifle Battalion
II Carpathian Rifle Battalion
III Carpathian Rifle Battalion
11 Czechoslovakian Infantry Battalion
2/13 Australian Infantry Battalion
Carpathian Machine Gun Battalion
Carpathian Field Regiment
32nd Army Tank Brigade (Brigadier A.C. Willison)
1st Royal Tank Regiment
4th Royal Tank Regiment
'D' Squadron 7th Royal Tank Regiment
Brigadier Denys Reid
29th Indian Infantry Brigade
1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
3rd Battalion, 2nd Punjab Regiment
1st Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry
6th South African Armoured Car Regiment
2nd South African Division (Major-General Isaac de Villiers)
3rd South African Infantry Brigade
Imperial Light Horse, South African Infantry Corps
Rand Light Infantry, South African Infantry Corps
1st Battalion, Royal Durban Light Infantry, South African Infantry Corps
1st Field Artillery Regiment,South African Artillery Corps
4th South African Infantry Brigade
Kaffarian Rifles, South African Infantry Corps
Umvoti Mounted Rifles, South African Infantry Corps
2rd Battalion, Royal Durban Light Infantry, South African Infantry Corps
2nd Field Artillery Regiment,South African Artillery Corps
6th South African Infantry Brigade
1st South African Police Battalion
2nd South African Police Battalion
2rd Battalion, Transvaal Scottish Regiment, South African Infantry Corps
5th Field Artillery Regiment,South African Artillery Corps
German and Italian forces
Supreme Commander North Africa: General Ettore Bastico
Lieutenant-General Gastone Gambara
Corps assets:
Three batteries of truck-mounted 102mm AA/AT guns
132nd Armoured Division Ariete (General Mario Balotta)
32nd Armoured Regiment
I Light Tank Battalion
II Light Tank Battalion
132nd Armoured Regiment
VII Medium Tank Battalion
VIII Medium Tank Battalion
IX Medium Tank Battalion
8th Bersaglieri regiment
132nd Artillery Regiment
One battalion attached from the 26th Artillery Regiment, Pavia division
One battalion attached from the 24th Corps Artillery Group
101st Motorised Division Trieste
65th Infantry Regiment
66th Infantry Regiment
9th Bersaglieri Regiment
551st Heavy Weapons Battalion
21st Artillery Regiment
RECAM (Raggruppamento Esplorante del Corpo d'Armata di Manovra - Reconnaissance Group of the Mobile Army Corps)
III Light Tank Battalion (attached from the 32nd Armoured Regiment, Ariete division)
LII Medium Tank Battalion
"Romolo Gessi" Battalion, Italian Africa Police
"Giovani Fascisti" Infantry Group (2 bns)
Raggruppamento Batterie Volanti ("Portees" - truck mounted - Artillery Group)
General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel
German Afrika Korps (commanded by Generalleutnant Ludwig Crüwell)
15th Panzer Division (Generalmajor Walter Neumann-Silkow until 6 December (killed in action), then Generalmajor Gustav von Vaerst)
8th Panzer Regiment (2 bns)
1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment
2nd Machinegun Battalion
3rd Engineers Battalion
33rd Recon Battalion
33rd Anti-tank Battalion
33rd Artillery Regiment
21st Panzer Division (Generalmajor Johann von Ravenstein until 29 November (prisoner of war), then Generalmajor Karl Böttcher)
5th Panzer Regiment (2 bns)
104th Infantry Regiment (2 bns)
15th Motorcycle Battalion
3rd Recon Battalion
200th Engineers Battalion
39th Anti-Tank Battalion
605th Anti-Tank Battalion
155th Artillery Regiment
Special Purpose Division Afrika (Renamed 90th Light Africa Division from 28 November 1941) (Generalmajor Max Sümmermann until 10 December (killed in action), then Generalmajor Richard Veith)
2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment
155th Infantry Regiment (3 bns)
3rd Battalion, 255th Infantry Regiment
3rd Battalion, 347th Infantry Regiment
361st Infantry Regiment (2 bns)
900th Engineers Battalion
580th Recon Battalion
Elements from the 300th "Oasis" Battalion
2nd Battalion,115th Motor Artillery Regiment
2nd Motor Artillery Regiment (Italian)
55th Infantry Division Savona (General Fedele de Giorgis)
15th Infantry Regiment
16th Infantry Regiment
"Genova Cavalleria" Machinegun Battalion
155th Machinegub Battalion
Elements, from the 300th "Oasis" Battalion (German)
12th Artillery Regiment
Lieutenant-General Enea Navarini
Corps assets:
3rd Motor Artillery Regiment
16th Corps Artillery Group
8th Army Artilley Group
24th Army Artilley Group
340th Frontier Guards Artillery Group
340th Frontier Guards Engineers Battalion
17th Infantry Division Pavia
27th Infantry Regiment
28th Regiment Pavia
V Light Tank Battalion
"Lancieri d'Aosta" Machinegun Battalion
17th Heavy Weapons Battalion
26th Artillery Regiment
25th Infantry Division Bologna
39th Infantry Regiment
40th Infantry Regiment
25th Heavy Weapons Battalion
205th Artillery Regiment
27th Infantry Division Brescia
19th Infantry Regiment
20th Infantry Regiment
27th Machinegun Battalion
1st Motor Artillery Regiment
102nd Motorised Division Trento
7th Bersaglieri Regiment
61st Infantry Regiment
62nd Infantry Regiment
551st Anti-Tank Battalion
46th Artillery Regiment
