History
In Poland and western Europe in 1939 and 1940, the German armoured formations demonstrated what some observers felt were dramatically improved new tactics, leaving the Allied forces with a perceived need to address these developments. The continued evolution of the Royal Armoured Corps was the British answer.
The Division was organized in March 1941, in Yorkshire under Major General Percy Hobart. A veteran of the Royal Tank Corps, he had already strongly influenced the shape of the 7th Armoured Division, but his original and innovative ideas had led to his retirement from the army. Reinstated after the disasters of 1940, he further realised his vision with the 11th Armoured. Under his leadership the Division adopted the “Charging Bull” as its emblem. From 1942 to 1944 it conducted intensive training while gradually receiving new, more modern equipment.
In July 1944, after the Allied invasion of Normandy, the British 11th Armoured Division participated in Operations Epsom and Goodwood. It also participated in the drive to Amiens, the fastest and deepest penetration into enemy territory ever made at that time. On 4 September, the Division captured the city of Antwerp.
Soon thereafter, the Division pushed forward into the German-occupied Netherlands. In March 1945, it crossed the river Rhine and captured the German city of Lübeck on 2 May 1945. It occupied the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp on 15 April 1945. When the Division entered the camp, more than 60,000 emaciated prisoners were found in desperate need of medical attention. More than 13,000 corpses in various stages of decomposition lay scattered around the area. Units of the Division and its higher formations were detached to oversee the cleanup of the camp. From the end of the war in Europe (8 May 1945), the Division controlled the province of Schleswig Holstein until it was disbanded in January 1946.
The 11th Armoured Division was reformed in the autumn of 1950, but was converted into the 4th Infantry Division in 1956.
Read more about this topic: 11th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)
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