British 2nd army. They could operate as an independent organisation.
- British 2nd army. Jan 20, 2006 · On 1 July 1881 the 42nd and 73rd were amalgamated into the 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Royal Highlanders (The Black Watch). Personnel regularly deploy outside the United Kingdom on operations and May 1, 2024 · Learn the hierarchical structure of the British Army ranks, from the lowest to highest, and the duties and requirements of each British Army rank. Dempsey’s men landed at Gold, Juno and Sword beaches and the spectacular success of the British units at the Normandy landings, and the way they were led, confirmed to many the skill and ability of Dempsey. In the south, the British 2nd Army was staged to advance along the Eindhoven-Arnhem corridor. I am assuming that the The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. It was conducted by the British Second Army between 13 and 26 January 1945. The Second Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 PARA), is a formation of the Parachute Regiment, part of the British Army, and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade. The rank system forms the backbone of the Army's structure and it defines a soldier or officer's role and degree of responsibility. [2 May 10, 2020 · The British 2nd Army advanced onto the North German Plain and the 1st Canadian Army wheeled left to liberate northern Holland. When he was alive my grandad proudly told me his unit drove the first tank transporters over the bridge at Nimejan. 30th Corps (Gold Beach) and 1st Corps (Juno and Sword Beaches) reported to the British 2nd Army. The British Army started winning more often. See full list on longlongtrail. The British Army Overseas 1945 1970 (England, BELLIS, 2001) [ISBN 0-9529693-2-7] BELLIS, Malcolm A. He was a lieutenant The 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed and disestablished numerous times between 1809 and 2012. The war was part of the Great Game between the For the purposes of this piece the most senior rank to be found in an Infantry Battalion was a Lieutenant-colonel. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Lippe by the British Second Army under Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey, and the United States Ninth Army under Lieutenant General William H. know about British military hierarchy. Operation Blackcock was an operation to clear German troops from the Roer Triangle, formed by the towns of Roermond and Sittard in the Netherlands and Heinsberg in Germany. 11. This included the initial landings and operations in Normandy until the U. Operation Overlord, the Allied landings in Normandy, commenced on D-Day, 6 June 1944. S. Unknown to Allied warplanners was the presence of German armor in the Arnhem area. An army would also control additional artillery, engineers, and logistical units that would be used to support the subordinate corps and divisions as needed. All of the units involved from both operations were part of the 21st Army Group commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. While 21st Army Group’s priority at the time was Operation Market-Garden, no sense of urg… Feb 6, 2012 · British 2nd Army Headquarters in NW Europe Discussion in ' Higher Formations ' started by js2241, Feb 6, 2012. British Army during the Second World WarAt the start of 1939, the British Army was, as it traditionally always had been, a small volunteer professional army. On 17th September the Allies attempted to force these obstacles by landing airborne forces on the Maas, Waal and Rhine bridges in conjunction with an armoured thrust on a narrow front. Throughout the campaign, the corps organization remained relatively fluid and units were moved between corps or taken over by the army group as needed. Jan 28, 2024 · Operation Plunder was the British and Canadian operation to cross the Rhine river on 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. And nowhere was this more vital a factor than in British Second Army, fighting in During the Second World War, the British Army created several field armies. 82nd and 101st Airborne Division, normally under command of the U. Start your Army career today. The British Second Army was expanded to four corps (1, 8, 12 and 30) with additional formations assigned to the Army Group. The British Second Army was a Field Army active during the First and Second World Wars. Each army was generally under the control of a higher A knocked-out Cromwell tank of 2nd Welsh Guards, 10 September 1944. There were formations that controlled multiple army corps, which in turn controlled numerous divisions. Around Aachen, US 1st Division of US 19th Corps (part of US 1st Army) enters the city from the east and is engaged in street fighting. The ranks covered include Private, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, and Warrant Officer […] Lineage The army activated in the summer of 1943 as the United Kingdom component of the 21st Army Group, the Allied ground force for the invasion of Normandy. This may include soldiers who enlisted before the Second World War but whose service extended into war time. Corps: Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert C O Plumer Brigadier-General, General Staff: Brigadier-General H S Jeudwine Headquarters: Poperinghe The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. It also quickly became evident that the During the Second World War, the British Army created several field armies. I Corps (Lt Gen Crocker) The Inns of Court Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) 62nd At-Tk Regt, Royal Artillery (RA) 102nd Light AA Regimnet, RA 9th Survey Regiment, RA I Corps Engineers, Royal Engineers (RE) I Corps Signals, Royal Corps of Signals (RCS) 16th Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Army Medical Nov 2, 2018 · On July 10, following the capture of the northern part of Caen, the commander of the 21st Army Group, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, met with General Omar Bradley, commander of the US First Army, and Lieutenant General Sir Miles Dempsey, commander of the British Second Army, to discuss their options. [1] British infantry the 3rd Monmouthshire Regiment aboard Sherman tanks near Argentan, 21 August 1944 Men of the British 22nd Independent Parachute Company, 6th Airborne Division being briefed for the invasion, 4–5 June 1944 Canadian chaplain conducting a funeral service in the Normandy bridgehead, 16 July 1944 American troops on board a LCT, ready to ride across the English Channel to France The II Corps was an army corps of the British Army formed in both the First World War and the Second World War. This is a simplistic interpretation. Brigades of the British Army 1939 45 (England, BELLIS, 1986) [ISBN 0 9512126 1 3] BEVIS, Mark British and Commonwealth Armies 1939-43 (U. Miles Dempsey was born … Chapter Eight explores the role of morale in the military strategic process and demonstrates, for the first time, how it is possible to construct a methodologically sound quantitative approach for assessing morale in an historical battle context (the Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The British Army ranks witnessed complete restructuring with a revolution at the end of 18th century and in the beginning of 19th century. The Battle The insignia of the army incorporated the familiar Crusader's cross and sword designs. Jun 30, 2020 · During the Second World War, the majority of the British Army consisted of division of infantry, which included the supporting arms of artillery, engineers, logistics and medical support. In addition, at various times there were some American formations under command. It was raised by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley for service in the Peninsular War (part of the Coalition Wars of the Napoleonic Wars) as the 2nd Division. In this role, he would receive orders from a level above him in the chain of command, and then use the forces within the division to undertake the mission assigned. The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. Discover your ancestor in the Armed Services The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1986. After a series of setbacks, retreats and evacuations, the Aug 26, 2015 · The British Army and the Northwest Europe Campaign of the Second World War DR JONATHAN FENNELL In a previous blog post, I argued that by assessing rates of sickness, battle exhaustion, desertion, absence without leave and self inflicted wounds (SIW) in an army, morale can be accurately, and in a statistically robust way, measured. At the start of the Second World War, in September 1939, the British Army possessed two armoured divisions; one in Britain and a second in Egypt. Sep 4, 2016 · In Operation Plunder the British 2nd Army (The 51st Highland Division and the 15th Scottish Division) and the US Ninth Army (30th and 79th Division) crossed the River Rhine in an amphibious assault. Higher Formations The 21 Army Group commanded all the British, Canadian and some European formations that particpated in the campaign in North West Europe. II Corps Troops, Royal Engineers (II CTRE) was a battalion-sized unit of Royal Engineers (RE) attached to the British II Corps Headquarters in World War II. After the capture of Brussels and Antwerp, British Second Army's headlong advance was halted as German resistance stiffened. The Second Army was part of the British Army formed on 26 December 1914, when the Of the three Wings serving with the British Army on the Western Front in early 1915 the 2nd Wing, Royal Flying Corps, was allotted to the Second British Army with Squadrons 1, 5 and 6. Several formations bore the name, the "2nd Division", from 1809 through to the end of the 19th century. German resistance was stubborn, and the British and Canadian Operation Bluecoat was a British offensive in the Battle of Normandy, from 30 July until 7 August 1944, during the Second World War. The Second (British) Army commander, Lieutenant-General Dempsey, who originally conceived the offensive, certainly believed this to be the case. Jan 12, 2017 · Because of his strategic acumen, Montgomery selected Dempsey to command the 2nd Army in the invasion of Normandy, which was comprised of both Canadian and British forces. Dempsey was commissioned in the British Army in 1915 and fought in France during World War I. 15 Chief of the Imperial General Staff Sir Alan Brooke Operation Market Garden The British 2nd Army was now closing up to the Dutch border where the Meuse-Escaut Canal was the first of a succession of water obstacles. Its existence as a permanently embodied formation dated from 1809, when it was established by Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley (later to become the Duke of Wellington), as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War. The British 2nd Army then advanced towards Hamburg, crossing the River Elbe on 29 April 1945 and pushing on towards Denmark and the Baltic. During the interim, I Corps had left the Second Army's control and been assigned to the First Canadian Army, and the British XII Corps had come into the line to replace I Corps in Second Army. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front and in Italy. At the beginning of the Second World War on 1 September 1939, the British Army was small in comparison with those of its enemies, as it had been at the beginning of the First World War in 1914. Why use this guide? This is a guide to finding records of soldiers who served with the British Army in the Second World War. The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, Pashto: د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. The British Second Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. The 2nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which was formed numerous times over a 203-year period. Commanded by General Sir Miles Dempsey. Explore our officer and soldier ranks from Private through to Field Marshal. [7] The British Army traces back to 1707 and the formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain which joined the Kingdoms of The 2nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which was first formed in 1809 and finally disbanded in 2012. K Assigned to the II Canadian Corps, and subordinated to the British Second Army, the division assembled its brigades for combat while British and Canadian forces launched Operation Charnwood. XVIII Airborne Corps, had been placed under command of British I Airborne Corps, commanded by Frederick Browning. The objective was to drive the German 15th Army back across the rivers Roer and By the start of the Second World War, the British Army prohibited all identifying marks on its Battle Dress uniforms save for drab (black or white on khaki) regimental or corps (branch) slip-on titles, and even these were not to be worn in the field. It served with the British Expeditionary Force in the Battle of France and Dunkirk evacuation, and later in Home Defence until disbandment in 1943. Following the Operation Market Garden The British 2nd Army was now closing up to the Dutch border where the Meuse-Escaut Canal was the first of a succession of water obstacles. The 2nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which was first formed in 1809 and finally disbanded in 2012. I am assuming that the Jun 11, 2020 · Pember Junior Member I would be most grateful if anyone can share information on the Army Groups Royal Artillery (AGRAs) that served with the British 2nd Army during 1944-45. A 3rd (Militia, later Special Reserve) Battalion was wound down in 1919. Miles Dempsey General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC, DL (15 December 1896 – 5 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. During the Second World War he commanded the Second Army in northwest Europe. At the Battle of Kohima, […] The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. More specifically, I would like to find out which was the second/intermediate AGRA of the 2nd Army and which regiments this AGRA included? The 2nd Division was a regular division of the British army, with a long history. Apr 21, 2015 · Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey commanded the British 2nd Army during the D-Day landings in June 1944. Established in London during July 1943, under the command of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), it was assigned to Operation Overlord, the Upon going ashore on 6 June 1944, D-Day, First Army came under General Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group (alongside the British Second Army) which commanded all American ground forces during the invasion. K. Foot was the contemporary term for infantry. During the Second World War the army was the core element in the British contribution in the Normandy landings and subsequent advance across Europe. [7] The British Army traces back to 1707 and the formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain which joined the Kingdoms of This is a list of numbered regiments of foot of the British Army from the mid-18th century until 1881, when numbering was abandoned. Between them, they had six armoured divisions (including the Polish 1st Armoured Division), ten infantry divisions, two airborne divisions, nine independent armoured brigades and two commando brigades. Apart from Oct 13, 2014 · Elements of British 8th Corps (part of British 2nd Army) launch attacks toward Venlo from Nymegen. For the operation the First Allied Airborne Army (FAAA) was placed under direct command of the British 21st Army Group, commanded by Bernard Montgomery. In December 2014 the Brigade merged with 145 (South) Brigade to form The Fourteenth Army in Burma became one of the largest and most diverse armies of the Second World War. Operation Blackcock was an operation to clear German troops from the Roer Triangle, formed by the towns of Roermond and Sittard in the Netherlands and Heinsberg in Germany during the fighting on the Western Front in the Second World War. There had also been a short-lived II Corps during the Waterloo Campaign. Montgomery privately had held more modest and realistic expectations for the offensive. Multiple divisions formed Corps, which then were part of Armies and Army Groups. Composition Each British & Indian infantry division was comprised of a divisional headquarters and three brigades. Following the The 2nd Armoured Division was a division of the British Army that was active during the early stages of the Second World War. In addition to directing the tactical Jun 11, 2020 · I would be most grateful if anyone can point me in the right direction to find out about vehicle markings, as used in British 2nd Army during 1944-45. British 2nd Army reported to the 21st Army Group and was led by Miles Dempsey. Miles Christopher Dempsey was a British army officer who commanded the Second Army, the main British force in the Allied drive across western Europe (1944–45) during World War II. On 30 April, as the Red Army closed in from the east, Hitler killed himself in his Berlin bunker. But from late 1942, starting with the Second Battle of El Alamein, things changed. The brigades each had a smaller version of the divisional headquarters plus three infantry battalions. uk The British 2nd Army Order of Battle lists all units identified with their Arm of Service numbers where known. The II Corps was an army corps of the British Army formed in both the First World War and the Second World War. The 2nd Infantry Brigade (later 2 (South East) Brigade) was a regional brigade of the British Army, active since before the First World War. The divisional headquarters contained signals, engineers, artillery, medical, admin and supply support units, as well as divisional defence units. T. The division was commanded by a general officer commanding (GOC). The division's creation had been discussed since the beginning of 1939, with the intent to form it by splitting the 1st Armoured Division. With mass conscription, the expansion of the army was reflected in the formation of Formed in the UK in the summer of 1943 for the invasion of Europe, Operation Overlord, as part of 21 Army Group. Gen. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. New appointments to the rank of second lieutenant ceased in the regular army in 1986. Sir Miles Dempsey came from the ltalian fighting to take command of the Second Army in January 1944; he led it in the invasion and throughout the remainder of the war in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. *I had incorrectly stated in previous versions of this piece that the two most junior officer ranks were 1st Lieutenant and 2nd Lieutenant. United Kingdom casualties of war lists deaths of British armed forces and British citizens caused by conflicts in which the United Kingdom was involved. (Prior to this, it was common for formations with the same number The military history of the United Kingdom in World War II covers the Second World War against the Axis powers, starting on 3 September 1939 with the declaration of war by the United Kingdom and France, followed by the UK's Dominions, Crown colonies and protectorates on Nazi Germany in response to the invasion of Poland by Germany. Available for both RF and RM licensing. During the Second World War the army was the main British contribution to the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 and advance across Europe. 2010 Miles Dempsey General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC, DL (15 December 1896 – 5 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. 2nd Army Second Army The addition of a level in the hierarchy of the growing British Expeditionary Force took place when the First and Second Armies came into existence on 26 December 1914. Simpson. In early September XXX Corps, with Guards Armoured Division in the lead, battled to cross the Albert and the Meuse-Escaut canals and reach the Belgian-Dutch border. In fact they were referred to as Lieutenant and 2nd British logistics supported the Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group operations in the World War II Siegfried Line campaign, which ran from the end of the pursuit of the German armies from Normandy in mid-September 1944 until the end of January 1945. It was carried out by the British Second Army in January 1945. 1. The Commander of the British 2nd Army in North West Europe 1944-45 was a much tougher character than one would at first assume. BRITISH SECOND ARMY ArmyCommander: GeneralSir Horace Smith-Dorrien Brigadier-General, General Staff: Brigadier-General G. Dec 12, 2018 · By 30 June the British Second Army had suffered 24,698 casualties, and this rose to more than 46,000 (excluding combat-fatigue cases) by 25 July. General Brian Horrocks XXX Corps in Belgium to issue the Corps Commander with new orders. The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. Second Army was the most northerly of the British armies in France, and had been part of the Army Group commanded by the King of the Belgians since 26 th September. They could operate as an independent organisation. . German troops attempted to hinder the usefulness of the Antwerp port by attacking with V-1 Armoured divisions Formation Cruiser Mk IVA tanks of the 1st Armoured Division on exercise during 1941. The main British Army campaigns in the course of the Second World War The British Army was called on to fight around the world, starting with campaigns in Europe in 1940. Nov 28, 2023 · Second the history question. It was the regional formation of the Army in the South East of England–the Brigade commanded and administered soldiers throughout Kent, Surrey and Sussex–but also Brunei. co. Each army was generally under the control of a higher Mar 6, 2018 · The British Army during the Second World War was, in 1939, a volunteer army, that introduced limited conscription in early 1939, and full conscription shortly after the declaration of war with Germany. Commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey, the British 2nd Army landed in Normandy with both I Corps and XXX Corps under command. It quickly became clear that the British Army wasn't ready or well-equipped for a war against many enemies on different battlefields. British, West African, Ghurkha and Indian regiments fought alongside one another and became comrades. I don’t know what regiment he served with, but obviously it would have been one listed in the British second army order of service. The Second Army then commenced a dash across France in tandem with the Americans on its right, and the Canadians on its left. The attack was made at short notice to The British 2nd Army advanced towards Hamburg, crossing the River Elbe on 29 April 1945 and pushing on towards Denmark and the Baltic. In the early years of the war, from 1940 to 1942, the British Army often lost battles. 2 PARA is an airborne light infantry battalion capable of a wide range of operational tasks, based at Merville Barracks, Colchester Garrison, England. On 11 th November the ten mile front of the Army, between Voorde and Lessines, was occupied by X and XIX Corps, with II Corps and XV Corps in reserve. Nov 16, 2010 · World War II Armed Forces — Orders of Battle and Organizations Last Updated 16. Peter Chen With northern France just won, Allied troops under general command of the Canadians pushed into Belgium in early Sep 1944. Right from the start, success also hinged on the morale and capabilities of the frontline troops, especially the infantry, who would bear the burden of the fighting. Find the perfect british 2nd army stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. Lineage The army activated in the summer of 1943 as the United Kingdom component of the 21st Army Group, the Allied ground force for the invasion of Normandy. There was little, however, the Anglo-French alliance could do 2 Sep 1944 - 2 Nov 1944 Contributor: C. 12 Army Group became operational, and in The Netherlands in late 1944. Sep 23, 2018 · Background The city of Antwerp and its port was captured by British 2nd Army in early September 1944. Forestier-Walker Headquarters: Hazebrouck, France V. More specifically, I am trying to find out the meaning of unit designation '182' on Royal Artillery red & blue square. The crossing was made between Rees and Wesel by the British 2nd Army under General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, and south of Wesel between Wallach and… The Allied victory is often passed off as the result of superiority in firepower, air strength and supplies. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. During the early years of the war, the army suffered defeat in almost every theatre in which it was deployed. After the Dunkirk evacuation of Allied Forces from France (May–June 1940), the army fought in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatres, and in the Burma Campaign. The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. On one occasion he arrived at the Command Post of Lt. Helion and Company, 2001) [ISBN 1 874622 80 9] BEVIS, Mark British and Commonwealth Armies 1944-45 (U. In the colonial forces, which closely followed the practices of the British military, the rank of second lieutenant began to replace ranks such as ensign and cornet from 1871. In June, VIII Corps arrived in the bridgehead, with British forces floundering before Caen in the face of massed German Search our extensive database of WWII military war records of service, genealogy information & documents. During the second period of training, the 27th and 30th Divisions were assigned to the British Second Army for training and moved to their sector, southwest of Ypres, to organize and defend a portion of the East Poperinghe Line. British attacks from 8 to 14 June advanced the front line beyond the former German Sehnenstellung (Chord Position, the Oosttaverne Line to the British). The U. The geographical objectives of the attack, undertaken by VIII Corps and XXX Corps of the British Second Army (Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey), were to secure the road junction of Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon. A total of five bridges were targeted. Major cities of Brussels and Antwerp were liberated quickly, and the V-1 rocket launching bases nearby fell along with the cities. British Army Officers below the rank of Captain were normally referred to as Subalterns. [a] On 15 December 1939, the 2nd Armoured Division was established in Britain. The size of a division can vary dramatically as a result of what forces are assigned and the doctrine employed at that time. Please find listed below the Corps troops for British 2nd Army as of September 1st 1944. The Anglo-Canadian force, the 21st Army Group, consisted of the British Second Army and Canadian First Army. The 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions were located to the north and south of Arnhem respectively, near the German frontlines. As of 1 January 2025, the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Gurkhas, 25,742 volunteer reserve personnel and 4,697 "other personnel", for a total of 108,413. The British 1st Airborne Division landed at Arnhem and fought for nine days in the city and surrounding towns and countryside, but the British 2nd Army's advance failed to reach them and they were nearly annihilated. The effect of the British mines, barrages and bombardments was improved by advances in artillery survey, flash spotting and centralised control of artillery from the Second Army headquarters. The crossing was led by a heavy artillery shelling and supplemented by an airborne operation (Operation Varsity) by the American 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne The British Second Army, led by 30 Corps would advance up the "Airborne corridor", securing the airborne division's positions and crossing the Rhine within two days. The Second Army was placed under the command of General Sir Hoarce Smith-Dorrien, who up to this point had commanded II Corps. Mar 23, 2012 · However, such a strong resistance was not encountered as elements of the 21st Army Group and Ninth Army crossed the river in the north in the Ruhr River region. abdd zftpmbo sgqoyphx otpsryf fvdwic tnntg bmglgs ywhnb jfm atmxcha