Tank Battalions North Africa

Discussion in 'RAC & RTR' started by DavidW, Sep 30, 2012.

  1. DavidW

    DavidW Well-Known Member

    Hopefully I can bring this thread back on course a little.

    Can anyone locate 1 RTR on 10th June 1940?
    I am assuming somewhere in Egypt.

    Thanks.
     
  2. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    Unfortunately the war diaries I have are missing for the months of June, July and August 1940. Deleforce's book, Battles with Panzers quotes a Sergeant in the unit as stating that the 1st RTR was in its peace station near Cairo on internal security duties. Liddel-Hart's The Tanks is not clear on their location.
     
  3. DavidW

    DavidW Well-Known Member

    Thank you David.

    I'll go with Cairo!
     
  4. mconrad

    mconrad Junior Member

    Frederick's exact words: "'Royal Tank Corps... Became a wing of the Royal Armoured Corps 4.4.1939 as the Royal Tank Regiment. (Battalions called regiments when part of armd formations; all battalions termed regiments from 19.9.1945.)"

    Inside George Forty's "Royal Tank Regiment - A Pictorial History" we see the CO ('Pip' Roberts) of 3rd RTR recalling an order in June 1942 "Hullo, Battalion - orders: 'B' and 'C' Squadrons (Grants) take up battle line on the small ridge 300 yds to our front..." And later, he recalls his orders to his adjutant: "Peter, tell brigade we are holding our own but I do not anticipate being able to stay here for ever, and suggest that 5th Battalion should come up on our right." That's 5th RTR Roberts is referring to.

    Jack Wardrop of the 5th RTR has his diary quoted (September 1942): "The 5th Battalion had been on the desert since March and it was thought that they were sick of it..." "At the end of his speech Fearless asked us to step forward if we wanted to stay and the whole battalion took a pace forward." [The CO, 'Fearless' Jim Hutton.]

    Major Bill Close of the 3rd RTR wrote of being outside Amiens in France in 1944: "Eight o'clock on an overcast evening and the battalion was busily refuelling and replenishing its ammunition."

    Writing post-war, Lt-Col Alan Jolly, CO of 4th RTR wrote regarding the Rhine crossing in 1945: "As soon as it [Tank Corps flag] had safely returned to the home bank it was taken to Bn HQ from where it was despatched the next day by liason officer to 21st Army Group."

    Forty varies from Fredericks when he says: "Army Order 42 of 1946 [sic] authorised an important change of nomenclature from 'Battalions' to the Cavalry term "Regiments'..."

    Forty quotes post-war histories, for instance that of 44th RTR, which refers to the wartime unit as 'the regiment.'

    So, take all this for what it's worth.

    Regards,
    MC
     
  5. Yes they did.
     
  6. Robert-w

    Robert-w Banned

    It was formed from tank battalions which were expanded from the companies in the original tank force used on the Somme in 1916
     
  7. MarkN

    MarkN Banned

    Who were 2 Hussars???
     

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