History of the Second World War (122 page)

Corps:

1st, 688

2nd, 688

Divisions:

3rd, 688

5th, 688

6th, in N. Africa, 114; in Greece, 119: in Papua and New Guinea, 356, 687-8

7th, in Tobruk, 173; in S.W. Pacific, 356, 505-6, 508, 615

9th, in N. Africa, 119, 173, 183, 286, 288; in S.W. Africa, 505

11th, 615

Brigades:

18th Infantry, in Tobruk, 173

22nd, in Singapore, 228

Army, Austrian, 63

Army, Belgian, 69, 77, 707

Army, British: strength at outbreak of war, 18; fateful change of principle in make-up of B.E.F., 76n.; in Egypt and Sudan, 108; in Greece, 118, 131, 134-5, 137, 151-2, 711; in Crete, 135-9; in Malaya, 208-9, 224, 227; lavish supply scale of, 564

in North Africa,
drives Italians back, 112-17, 171, 711; reinforcements sent to, 112, 114, 174-5; troops and supplies deflected to Greece from, 115, 117-19, 711; driven back by Rommel, 119-20, 171-2; attempts to relieve Tobruk, 174

Expeditionary Force, cut off in Belgium, 65, 69-70, 74-7; Hitler aids escape of, 74-5, 80, 708; armoured counterstroke of, 76, 80 — 1; fateful decision to build, 76n.; retreats towards Dunkirk, 77-8; evacuation of, 77-80, 84, 707-8; force left behind, 80, 84; Air Component of, 594

Army Group:

11th, 515 18th. 402

21st, 472, 561, 567, 639

Armies:

First: in Algiers landing, 317, 325-6;
in Tunisia,
402, 413, 422; in 18th Army Group, 402; main attack on Tunis in sector of, 423, 428; reinforced from Eighth Army, 426-7

Second: at ‘Overlord’, 546; near breakout of, at Caen, 552-6; captures Brussels and Antwerp, 558; fails to exploit opportunity, 558-9; fails to sieze canal bridges, 565; Hitler’s Ardennes offensive and, 646; crosses Rhine, 677; halts on Elbe, 680

Eighth:
in North Africa,
184-98, 266-80, 281-309; Rommel strikes into rear of, 189-91; pursues Rommel’s withdrawing forces, 195-8, 266-7, 305-8, 399-100; driven back by Rommel, 266, 268, 273, 276-80, 311; strength of, at Gazala, 269-271; Grant tanks for, 271-2, 279; defeat of, at Gazala, 271, 273-4; retreats into Egypt, 273, 276-80, 311; reinforces Tobruk, 276; at Alamein, 281-304; fails to carry out Auchinleck’s decisive intentions, 284-9; reinforcements to, 286-7, 289, 296; tanks of, distrusted by infantry, 286, 288; mixture of Commonwealth contingents in, 289; Montgomery takes command of, 290; slow in reaction to command, 293; gains heart at German withdrawal at Alam Haifa, 295-6; air support to, 297-299; strength of, at final Alamein, 298; slow in pursuit, 305-8, 399-40; reaches Tripoli, 400; time and supply problem of, 400, 402; in 18th Army Group, 402; Rommel’s counterstroke on, at Medenine, 409, 411-12; in Tunisia, 413
et seq.;
subsidiary role for, in final offensive, 423-5, 431; reinforces First Army, 426

in Sicily,
444-6

in Italy,
landings of, 452, 456, 474; approaches Salerno, 464-6; slow progress made by, 465-7, 470-2, 523; Leese takes command of, 472, 528; redeployment of, for ‘Diadem’, 532-3; tackles Cassino, 533-5; losses of, 536; switched back to Adriatic coast, 539; attacks Gothic Line, 539-41; desertions from, 542; in 1945 offensive, 670-2 Fourteenth, 515; at Imphal battle, 518-19; recaptures Burma, 519, 633-8, 687; losses in, 520

Corps, Army:

4th, in Burma, 515, 517-18, 633, 635-638, 687

5th, in Tunisia, 340, 410, 423-5, 427-8; in Italy, 467-8, 471, 540, 671-3 9th, in Tunisia, 422-5, 427-8; night attack of, 428

10th, in Western Desert, 279, 295, 301; ‘grounding of’, 400; in Tunisia, 416-18, 421, 424; in Italy, 460-3, 469, 472, 527, 539-40, 671-2

13th, in N. Africa, 184, 187-8, 191, 193, 196, 271, 278-9, 284-5, 290, 295, 301-2; in Italy, 457, 467-8, 471, 534, 538-41, 671-2

15th, in Arakan, 515-16, 634

30th, in Western Desert, 134-9, 191-3, 196, 271, 284-6, 290, 301; in Tunisia, 416-17, 420; in Italy, 457; in Ardennes offensive, 656-7

33rd, at Imphal, 519; in Burma, 633, 635-7, 687

Division, Airborne:

1st, in Sicily, 441; in Italy, 456, 466-7

Divisions, Armoured: tank strength of, 403n.

1st, in North Africa, 267-8. 270. 272; at Alamein, 284-5, 288; refitting, 291; in pursuit, 305-6; in attack on Mareth Line, 418-19; attacks at night, 419; transferred to First Army, 423

2nd, 119, 172

6th, in Algeria and Tunisia, 335, 341, 406, 422-3, 428-9, 431; in Italy, 532-3, 671-2

7th,
in North Africa,
112-17, 119, 178, 184; tank replacements for, 194-6; fails to cut Rommel’s line of retreat, 195-6; at Gazala, 272, 274; reorganised, at Alamein, 284, 287, 291, 302; in pursuit, 305-7, 398; sent to First Army, 426-9; excessive caution of, 429
in Italy,
464, 469; withdrawn to prepare for ‘Overlord’, 472

10th, 291, 305

11th, 558, 565

Guards, 558

Divisions, Infantry:

1st, 528, 530-1

4th, 427

5th, 440, 458, 637

17th, 518, 636

20th, 518

36th, 635

46th, in N. Africa, 410, 422; in Italy, 460, 462, 469, 527

50th, in N. Africa, 271, 275, 288, 421; in Sicily, 440

51st (Highland), in N. Africa, 305, 398-9, 420-1; in Sicily, 440

56th, in Italy, 460, 462, 469, 530-1, 672

70th, in Tobruk, 183; in Chindits, 516

78th, in N.W. Africa, 334-5, 341, 410; in Sicily, 445; in Italy, 467-8, 532 Y, 410

Brigade Groups, Armoured:

4th, 184, 186

26th, 408

Brigade Groups, Infantry:

11th, 337

36th, 334, 336-7

Brigades, Armoured:

2nd, 287

4th, 116-17, 184, 186-8, 194-7

7th, in N. Africa, 116, 184, 187-8; in Burma, 235-6

8th, 291, 294, 419

22nd, 184, 186-9, 194, 198, 287, 291, 294

23rd, 287-8, 291

26th, 406

29th, 658

Brigades, Guards (Motor):

1st, 406, 532

22nd, 176, 184, 198, 268, 276

24th, 672

Brigades, Infantry:

150th, 274

231st, 440

Brigade, Jewish, 671

Brigades, Long Range Penetration: 16th, 517

77th, 517

111th, 517

Brigade, Rifle: 117

Brigade, Special Service, 468

Brigades, Army Tank:

1st, 76

32nd, 276

Regiments and Corps:

Black Watch, 2nd, 124

Derbyshire Yeomanry, 429

Gurkha, 532, 637

Hussars, 3rd, 117; 7th, 117, 187; 8th, 188; 11th, 112, 116, 429-30

Lancers, 17th/21st (Blade Force), 334-335, 337-9

Royal Artillery, 96-8.
See also
Artillery

Royal Tank Corps, 66.
See also
Tank warfare, Tanks, etc.

Royal Tank Regiments: 1st, 116-17, 173; 2nd, 117, 176, 188; 4th, 124, 126, 176; 6th, 187; 7th, 113-15, 126, 173; 40th, 288; 46th, 288

Royal West Kents, 6th, 336

Royal Scots Greys, 462

Army, British East African, 121; composition of, 124; invades Italian Somaliland, 124-5; in Ethiopia, 125-7; conquers Eritrea, 126

Divisions:

1st (South African), 124

11th (African), 124-5

12th (African), 124

Brigades:

1st (South African), 124

22nd (East African), 124

24th (Gold Coast), 124

Army, Canadian:

Army:

First, 560-1, 677

Corps: in Italy, 535, 540-2

Division:

1st, in Sicily, 440; in Italy, 458, 466, 471

5th (Armoured), 533

Army, Chinese Nationalist: 206; of Stilwell, in Burma, 236, 364, 517-18, 635; lack of success of, 634-5

Army, Czecho-Slovak: lost to Allies, 22

Army, French: strength of, 15, 18-19; illusions about strength of, 17, 19; out-of-date ideas in Command of, 21, 32; over-confident, 21; mobilisation system of conscription, 32, 706; trapped by advance into Belgium, 69-70, 707; spreading paralysis in, due to speed of German advance, 72-4; troops of, evacuated from Dunkirk, 79-80

in Italy,
527, 529, 534, 536, 539; removed for Operation ‘Dragoon’, 538, 540

Armies:

1st, 76, 79

7th, 67

Corps, 19th, 402, 424; Franc d’Afrique, 430

Division: Goums, 534

Brigade: 1st (Free French), in N. Africa, 269, 272, 275

Army, [Vichy] French, resistance from, in

‘Torch’ landings, 320-6; African, 326; co-operates with Allies in Tunisia, 332, 402, 424

Army, German, warnings to Hitler from Generals of, 6; weakness of (1938-9), 15, 21-2, 35-6; invades Poland, 16, 28-9, 705-706; not ready for war, 18-19, 21; illusions regarding strength of, 19, 66, 119; armoured and motorised divisions of, 22, 28-29, 70; Blitzkrieg methods of, 22, 27, 706; superior to French in new arms, 34-5; ‘will to war’ of soldiers of, 35; attitude of, to Hitler, 36; victory of, in West, 70-5; exploitation of Meuse crossing by, 72-3; gap between old school and new in, 72-3; enters Paris, 85; partly demobilised after fall of France, 89; unprepared for invasion of Britain, 89, 708-9; Groups in East (1941-5), 148; strength of, against Russia, 149, 157-9, 165; change in organisation (1942), 243; in defence of Channel coast, 546-7; at ‘Battle of Bridgehead’, 547; delayed by bombing of communications, 547; discord between Generals in, 548; Hitler’s orders disastrous for, 557-8; 100-mile-wide gap on Belgian flank of, 558-9; extricated from Greece and Yugo-Slavia, 585; benefits from shortened front in East, 588, 668; growing decrease in mobility of, 666; fights on own soil, 667-9

in North Africa. See under
Afrika Korps and
in Tunisia

in Italy,
450; Mussolini reluctant to accept reinforcements from, 436; under Italian command, 436; escapes from Sicily to, 440, 445-6; prepared for Allied attack, 458-9; at Salerno, 461-5; reinforced, 463, 470, 526, 538; resistance of, up length of Italy, 468-73, 523, 526, 529, 534; reorganised to meet Anzio landing, 528; at Cassino, 529-32, 535; attacks Anzio bridgehead, 530-1; thrown back, 534-6; losses in ‘Diadem’, 536, 538; holds Gothic Line, 538-41; in March 1945, 670-1; final collapse of, 673-4

in Russia,
invades Russia, 159; lured ever deeper in, 160; caught by winter, 160, 167, 710; meets tough resistance, 162; hampered by un-mechanised troops and bad roads, 162-3; hampered by rain, 163; crosses Dnieper, 164; disastrous two-month pause in advance of, 165-7; deflected from road to Moscow by Hitler, 166-8; winters in bastion-towns, 241-2; needs reinforcements for renewed offensive, 243; starts 1942 with little likelihood of success, 244; changes in high command in, 244-5; forced to rely on allied troops, 247-8, 259; 1942 offensive of, 249-65; lowered morale of, 260; attempts relief of Paulus, 263; threats to, in Caucasus, 477-8; escapes to Rostov, 478-9; effect of Stalingrad disaster on, 479; successful counter-offensive of, in S., 482-4; retreats in N., 483; Kursk offensive of, 484-5, 488-90; handicaps to, due to dilution policy, 486; technical superiority of, over Russians, 488; difficulties in refitting and accumulating reserves, 488; overstretched and short of reserves, 493; conflicting estimates of losses in, 494; nearly at end of resistance, 495; holds on to N. front, 496-7, 576-7; short of tanks, 496; shrinking forces of, over wide front, 569, 571; refused permission to retreat, 569-71, 710; trapped in Korsun pocket, 570-1; driven back into Carpathians, 573; counterstroke of, along Dniester, 574; shortened front in N., 576-577; temporary stabilisation of front, 577; meets Russian summer offensive, 578-82; remarkable rally of, 583, 588

in Sicily,
439, 442-6

in Tunisia,
329, 335-7, 397-432

Army Groups: in East (1941-45), 148

Bock’s, in Poland, 28; breakthrough in Ardennes, 38; prepares for invasion of Britain, 89; in Russian campaign, 132, 148-9, 159, 161-5; part deflected south to Kiev, 167; passes to Kluge, 245