History
The original Royal Marines Armoured Support Group was formed in World War II and took part in the Invasion of Normandy, where it provided fire support. It was primarily equipped with Centaur IV tanks fitted with a 95mm howitzer; there were also a smaller number of Sherman tanks, which were used as artillery observation posts or command vehicles. The Group consisted of five Armoured Support Batteries, organised in two "Armoured Support Regiments", each of two Armoured Support Batteries, plus an independent "Armoured Support Battery".
Each Battery was subdivided into four Troops, with each Troop equipped with four Centaur IV and one Sherman tank, giving a total of 80 Centaur and 20 Sherman tanks in the entire Group. The Group did not fight as a single military formation, but rather was divided between the British & Canadian D-Day beaches.
- 1st Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment at Gold Beach comprising the 1st Battery (A, B, C, and D Troops) and the 2nd Battery (E, F, G and H Troops).
- 2nd Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment at Juno Beach comprising the 3rd Battery (J, K, L and M Troops) and the 4th Battery (N, O, P and Q Troops).
- 5th Royal Marine Independent Armoured Support Battery at Sword Beach comprising R, S, T and V Troops.
The World War II RMASG was disbanded two weeks after D-Day (D+14). The present day Royal Marines Armoured Support Group was formed on 10 December 2007.
Read more about this topic: Royal Marines Armoured Support Group
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